Silly question about multiple animation files in BZII.

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

I noticed multiple animation entries in the following example:

animCount = 10
animName1 = "idle"
animFile1 = "ivwalk_idle.xsi"

animName2 = "idle2"
animFile2 = "ivwalk_idle.xsi"

animName3 = "idle3"
animFile3 = "ivwalk_idle.xsi"

animName4 = "sitdown"
animFile4 = "ivwalk_sitdown.xsi"

animName5 = "walk"
animFile5 = "ivwalk_walk.xsi"

animName6 = "turn"
animFile6 = "ivwalk_turn.xsi"

animName7 = "death"
animFile7 = "ivwalk_death.xsi"

animName8 = "death2"
animFile8 = "ivwalk_death2.xsi"

animName9 = "death3"
animFile9 = "ivwalk_death3.xsi"

animName10 = "run"
animFile10 = "ivwalk_walk.xsi"

They refer 10 separate files for the entire animation sequence. My question revolves around a what if scenario. What if I made 10 separately posed still non animated models and saved them as individual models. A) Would the game engine attempt to animate them all ingame, B) Would it probably crash the game, or C) The game engine needs actual key framed objects to animate them at all?

Just wondered as in theory it seems that it should work considering the files contain at least one frame of information spread equally out for the game engine to cycle through the differently posed model files.

I'm slowly beginning to comprehend how animation works, but lack much knowledge on how to apply it as far as the game engine is concerned. Any feedback would certainly help me and other wanna be modelers get a handle on understanding the animation beast as relavent to BZII.

[Nielk1]

Animation files grab the animation data and apply it to the main model in game. Sometimes you must remove things like the flames from the animations for it to not AV. There is no way to utilize stills. Technically, key frames are stills, but all in one file.

[Avatar]

Well...  I'm not sure what you're after here.

A walker won't walk with just keyframed stills listed for the animations, but the engine will take for example:

animCount = 5
animName1 = "anim1"
animFile1 = "model1.xsi"

animName2 = "anim2"
animFile2 = "model2.xsi"

animName3 = "anim3"
animFile3 = "model3.xsi"

animName4 = "anim4"
animFile4 = "model4.xsi"

animName5 = "anim5"
animFile5 = "model5.xsi"

and make a msh file out of it.  The DLL could then set and run the animation called "anim1", "anim2" and the model will assume whatever the keyframed position is.  This is basically like making strafe animations, where you're only keyframing a few poses in a few frames.

So a stock unit won't actually be able to do much with just keyframed stills, but the DLL could.

Does that help?

-Av-

[mrtwosheds]

As far as I understand it, only the ivwalk_skel .xsi is used to actually draw the model.
All the other .xsi are there to provide the animation data for when bz2 builds the mesh.

So (a) altering say the  ivwalk_idle.xsi to a different position will have no affect at all unless you do this with an AnimationSet
(b) No I don't think this alone would crash the game.
(c) Yes the game requires AnimationSet entrys to do any animation at all.


The model data in the animfile's appear to be ignored, the AnimationSet data is applied to the main model, you could probably completely remove the legs from ivwalk_walk.xsi and it would still animate ivwalk_skel.xsi just fine if the AnimationSet sections were still present.

So no there is no quick and easy way to do animations, you have to provide a set of keyframes to animate the main model.

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

Cool, this info is very helpful guys. My biggest problem appears to be around successfully converting X animated files to working XSI animated ones. OM's XSI exporter is far from complete and there just aren't any other decent XSI modding tools for peeps on a shoe string budget.

How does a modeler go about creating the various animated files? A) Are they created one by one or B)is one complete file divided into several after animating it? In GSL when I set KF to an object and manipulate it I get an animation. If I then copy the object it too contains the same animation. Would I be able to use this method to make each part of the required files in the same workspace and then save them individually? I'm afraid that I'm still lost beyond setting simple KF's to an animated model. How is preparing an animated model of BZII completed from A to Z? BNG.

[mrtwosheds]

As you know I do it the hard way, so I can't help much with your animation program specifics.
But I would get the model as complete as I can, and then create each animation file using that 1 model as the starting point.
It is best to start each animation from the same basic position, so that it looks smooth when changing between them.

All animated frames in the model(s) will need an animation entry even if they are not moving in that sequence (eg walk)
I also found it useful to try and stick to a certain number of keyframes through all animations and sequences, it makes it much easier
to get things in sync.

It is not necessary to have accuracy to 6 decimal places one is usually enough.

Re-use and adjust. Fear not the cutnpaste of notepad, and view frequently in 3dex.

[Avatar]

If you're talking about making a walker here are some tips:

You don't need ALL of those animations, the deaths and idles are just there to give you some personality to add to the unit...   you can skip them entirely, or have 1 or all 3 of each.

The 'skel' needs to be an animation, with first and last frames keyed for anything that moves in any of the other animations.  This is what will make the unit 'snap back' to the skeleton stance when it's done moving or animating.  If you don't do that strange things will happen when it reaches the end of the other animations.

You should have a valid 'sitdown' animation for being picked up, even if it's just a couple of frames where the unit doesn't really do anything, which means the 'skel' can be called again there if you've made sure of the previous tip.

Never animate the 'head' object, if you need to counter any movements it makes due to the other animations (walk, run, idle) then add a 'neck' and animate that.  The Drak? Walker from FE... for instance, had a heck of a head bob/left-right motion that made you seasick so I had to add a neck and counter-animate it to help cut it down.

The 'feet' objects, even if they're HP's, should never go below ground...  keep them above the level of the dummyroot (inside the object's bounding box) or physics weirdness starts to happen, including the unit being 'stuck' to the ground.

So...  in a nutshell...   If you keyframe the skeleton first and last frames AND make a 'walk' animation you have all of the animations you really need to have a minimal walker working.

-Av-

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

Do each of the files, i.e., walk, sit, skel, etc., need multiple key frames? As I understand things when you set a KF you also need to set the number of frames that make up the animation range from beginning to end. Do the frames equate to frames per second, i.e., 30 frames equals one second referencing the time it takes to complete the action?

Also, as I construct the various files should I start with the skel_file first or does it really matter? For example, A) I make the skel_file (minus any KF's at this point) then copy it and paste it in the same workspace, then B) rename as many copies as I need for the entire model, and then C) do the individual animation moves for each file building upon each previous file...would that work? BNG.

[mrtwosheds]

One keyframe is about 1 tenth of a second, but it depends on what you are animating, If you make walkers/pilots go fast their animation speeds up.

Also, as I construct the various files should I start with the skel_file first or does it really matter? For example, A) I make the skel_file (minus any KF's at this point) then copy it and paste it in the same workspace, then B) rename as many copies as I need for the entire model, and then C) do the individual animation moves for each file building upon each previous file...would that work?

That's sort of how I do it. I have not animated most of my skel models...all my animations have first and last keyframes with 0 values, this amounts to the same thing as they are all based on the skel model.
I make every animation start and end in the skel models position.

[Avatar]

That's one way to do it, but it limits the types of walks and runs and idle anims you can do.  Smooth walking is very hard to do when you have to return to the skeleton stance, as realistically you 'fall' into a walk motion and then 'fall out of' it back to rest.

The engine will gladly return your model to the skeleton stance if you just use a skeleton with first/last keyframes.  You can make a very natural looking walk that way...

-Av-