Do the animation sections reference off the parts?

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

I'd like to try copying the animation sections in the ivcons.xsi, and build my own version of a constructor. If the parts are all named the same as the original model parts will the game engine correctly manipulate my model after I paste the corresponding animation into the XSI file using Notepad? Or will I experience an AV when the model is loaded into the map editor. I know that the XYZ coordinates will probably be different on my model then the original model, but what do you guys think? I've heard a lot about copy and paste operations working with mixed results. Tanks, BNG.

[General BlackDragon]

Try it and see?

If you copy/paste a model animation code, as long as the model piece names match the names referanced by anim code, then the part will move.

IF they dont, the part wont move.

Will the animation code copied from a stock unit match some new unit? try it and see. You can adjust the animation code in notepad to fine tune or change it.

[Nielk1]

There is a bit more to it than that but that is the basic. Things named the same will TRY to act the same.

[mrtwosheds]

Yes it will work, if you name them properly, what it will look like is another matter.
The only piece of information linking the anims to the rest of the xsi data is the,

   Animation anim-A-name__h {
      {frm-A-name__h}

section.

[Nielk1]

The thing is your pivots have to be at the right orientation as well.

[Avatar]

Always best to stick close to the original when trying something like this, and work your way into something more 'special'...

So, make something close to a constructor, name the parts the same, orient the pivots the same, and tweak it until the constructor animations work well for it.  Then start altering parts to get more of what you want.

-Av-

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

Say for example, I load ivcons_skel into Truespace without altering the pivot point and just edit/modify the geometric objects that make up the file and then save the file as ivconbng would that keep things in-order, and still work okay guys? Sorry to sound like such a noob, but attempting animation related stuff gives me the hee-bee-gee-bees and butterflies in the old tum-tum. BNG.

[mrtwosheds]

I don't know. But it sounds like the hard way of doing things to me.
As long as all the parts of your model are built with their orientation the same and the pivot points in the right places.
Then all you would need to do to change the animations orientation (if it was different) is to move the columns of data in the animation to a different position. like 123 to 231. It would be easier to just re-orientate your original model though.

but attempting animation related stuff gives me the hee-bee-gee-bees and butterflies in the old tum-tum.

Yeah they look horrible until you realise its just allot of numbers telling the frames which way to move.
Animations do not actually need all those numbers to six decimal places you see in the xsi, they look like that because they were made with animation software. They work just as well with only 8 lines and values to 1 or 2 decimal places.