Does each model part have it's own set of axes which set the pivot points?

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

I ask this because I need to know if I move them to where I want the pivot to be rather then the center of the object itself. On my walker leg if I set the axes to the center of the object then when I rotate the leg in a natural walk pose it looks odd. However, when I move the axes to where it should be to simulate an actual pivot point in relation to the walker body and it rotates very nicely. Do I need to do this for every model part that is suppose to rotate on the pivot point axes?

I've started using the keyframe editor in TS and for every frame I record one keyframe and then move the model part a fraction and then repeat the same steps again also moving the entire model forward slightly to simulate forward motion. Does this sound like I'm doing things in an orderly logical way?

After I'm done with doing all this I stretch the frame count out to 60 frames to make the entire animation quite a bit slower and more natural looking.

In TS to move the objects axes I have to click the axes icon which makes them visible on the object and movable as well. I guess by default they're set to the objects center, but because my walker's legs are one long piece the axes need to be repositioned further up where the leg touch the actual walker body.

I'm also working with bone joints attached to the entire walker body, but it looks odd as the geometry deforms with the joints and looks quite distorted when the parts are moved using only bones and joints. Any feedback on the pivot points would surely be appreciated.

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but when I move the axes of an object the pivot point also changes? I just made a simple boid model that has a body and 2 wings. I made the wings from nurbs curves converted to editable mesh. The body was nothing more then a squashed down sphere. Then attached the wings to the body object to form one complete model. However, on the wing objects I moved the axes from the center to the inner edge of each wing. With this setup the wings pivot on the inner edge now so when I applied a rotational transformation to each wing it actually made the wing objects flap like a real boid wing and moved the whole assembly upward in a slight diagonal slope. This was all done while recording several keyframes. The animation only runs about a second. I guess I'm finally beginning to understand animation a bit more. BNG.

[mrtwosheds]

The pivot point of each frame is value 0 0 0.

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

Yes I understand that the default value is 0 0 0, but it changes as a transformation is applied relative to the 3d space it occupies. For example, when I rotate the wings on my boid model the values change to either a greater or negative value as I apply a rotational transformation to the wings as I record a keyframe to simulate the flapping of the boids wings.

In TS this is accomplished by moving the axes of the wing parts from the part center to the inner edges by clicking the axes icon to make it visible on the part and then physicslly moving the axes from the center to the inner edge of each wing. I realized that not doing this caused the wing to pivot off the center of the wing resulting in a teeter-toter action on the wing; very odd looking in relation to the boids body.

You see the same held true on my walkers leg. If I didn't move the axes from the legs center up to where a natural pivot point should be the leg part didn't rotate naturally. If you take a look at this gif pic you'll see what I mean about needing to move the axes from the parts true center to the one needed to make the part rotate on the correct axes for rotational use in animating the part correctly, i.e., rotation from the actual pivot point. http://files.filefront.com/13708941

The more I learn about prepping a model using TS for doing animation I'd like to share with the community. Progress I've made so far is that a TS creates X model can be used in BZII provided the normals of a model are flipped and the export settings are modified to use the right handed coordinate system, and the X model file is prepped in Notepad to remove unwanted characters in the parts names like BZII depend hp names and other related names like flame, turret_, etc.

Issues that still need to be resolved are why textures don't appear on an X model, and if a non animated model will load into the game will a properly prepared animated X model work in BZII? I should probably also change my user name to Y O Y DO I EVEN TRY BNGX. A bit long yes, but fitting for a guy who's a glutton for head hurting punishment. 
 

[mrtwosheds]

Yes I understand that the default value is 0 0 0, but it changes as a transformation is applied relative to the 3d space it occupies.

It may well do that in truespace, but in bz2.xsi's for non vertex animation the pivot point is the 0 0 0 value of that frame.
I place frames that are to be animated with the pivot point at 0 0 0 before I convert them to .xsi.

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

When the axes are moved from the center on the object the rotational values remain at 0 0 0. What does change is it's position in the 3d space it occupies. Like all 3d modelers TS operates on the same basic principles only in a simplified manner by it's designers. TS, supports 3 types of animation that I'm aware of. Bone, vertex, and direct manipulation of objects in 3d space. It's most annoying drawback is the lack of an XSI exporter. As I understand pivot points they seem relevant to just that; the point in 3d space on which their center rotates on. This seems consistent across all 3d modeling platforms with each using it's own particular methods of creating and manipulating 3d objects.

The X exporter in TS lacks the same header format in the BZII demo X model files. This in part probably explains the missing textures on my X based BZII models. However, the geometrical data portion is read correctly by BZII, otherwise, an appropriate AV message would be issued by BZII itself. Considering this oddity, theoretically, BZII should also be able to read the X animation information correctly as well. I'm going to try to test this out in few weeks as I construct a few animated test models. If it can read the animation information correctly then the only remaining issue would be figuring out the missing texture issue.

What truly amazes me is that I'm basically an idiot in terms of 3d modeling knowledge, yet with my limited resources I'm somewhat accomplished my goal of getting an X based model into BZII. BNG, pats himself on the back and then bangs his head on his keyboard for doing more then just play BZII to begin with. 

[mrtwosheds]

When the axes are moved from the center on the object the rotational values remain at 0 0 0. What does change is it's position in the 3d space it occupies.

Yes that is the same as what I am saying, each geometrical shape (frame) has a 0 0 0 point somewhere, it is this that it will rotate about when you animate it.
So when I make a walker, for example. Before converting it to .x or .xsi I move its leg parts so that its hips, knees and ankles are positioned at the center 0 0 0 point, So after converting it I then have to put them back together (In Threed!) to make legs and then animate them. Truespace may have a way of defining the pivot for each frame, the program I use does not.

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

As far as I can tell TS doesn't really define it but makes it visible and moveable to different places within the part. I've been playing around with vertex animation and keyframing my walker and I managed to get a dance sequence using the keyframe editor in TS. I saved it as an AVI rendered animation and then converted to an animated GIF file. I wish I could figure out how to upload it for everybody to laugh at too. It's quite comical as it gyrates around.

I've also started playing around with bone animations too. Animation is difficult to comprehend the concepts of manipulating models in 3d space and getting the keyframe stuff to move in the right ways is alien to me right now, but it's a lot of fun though and the more I play around with the animation tools in TS the more I begin to put 2 an 2 together to start doing some actual model animation for BZII.