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Author Topic: Skeletal Mesh problem  (Read 29114 times)
Hetman
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« on: November 21, 2012, 12:16 »

Hello everyone

I'm newbie in UDK and I need your advice.

I have done level with several buldings and now I want add some non-playable characters with animation (non-profit project - Machinima). Now I am learning how to attach a separate head to a body (I use Mass Effect skeletal meshes .psk files). I used animsetEditor to attach head in socket manager but problem is which bone use to join head to body properly. Neck and Neck1 have problem in display Head movement properly (1) and problem in connection to body(2). Attaching Head to Chest2 - head is like static mesh (no head movment in left or right). Head and headBase - head movement is like in animation but has problem with connection to body like on Neck/Neck1. Please for advice how join neck from head to body permanently with animation for all body - head and body. I watched many turtorials but all are about player character, not for non-playable actor for background with talk, walking or other animation. Is any tutorial for my problem?

(1)


(2)
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Gildor
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« Reply #1 on: November 21, 2012, 12:20 »

Hi.
I don't think you should attach head to socket. The head has skeleton, line remaining body parts, so it should be placed (not "attached") as second mesh on the same skeleton.
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Hetman
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« Reply #2 on: November 21, 2012, 21:49 »

Thx for answer but if socket is bad where do I must attach skeletal meshes? In AnimSet Editor or SkeletalMeshActor_Properties? Could you give me any turtorial or screenshoot?


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Gildor
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« Reply #3 on: November 22, 2012, 08:18 »

http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/AnimSetEditorUserGuide.html#Browser Pane
see "extra mesh".
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Hetman
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« Reply #4 on: November 23, 2012, 14:50 »

Extra Mesh is only for view I think because adding 2 skeletal meshes on map will be separated. Going further, Head and Body have different skeletons. Head has 42 bones (8 from body) and Body has 120 bones including 42 bones forom head. Adding Head to body skeleton is no good because head will be deformed (1). Adding Body to head is no good too because all 2 skeletal meshes will have only 42 bones from head (2) (with animation it looks funny). But I think it's only for view in AnimsetEditor. I watched thousands of tutorials and find antything, it was one good tutorial but is not available (link expired, autor H00sty). I tried many possibilities but "score" is always 1-0 for UDK xD

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Gildor
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« Reply #5 on: November 23, 2012, 16:08 »

Does deformation in 1st case made only when you're applying animation, or it's wrong even in a bind-pose?
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Hetman
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« Reply #6 on: November 23, 2012, 16:34 »

Yep even in a bind-pose.
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Gildor
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« Reply #7 on: November 23, 2012, 19:23 »

So I don't know what to do, sorry. Perhaps Mass Effect has changed skeletal system, or may be you're trying to combine incompatible meshes. Or may be I'm just not so experienced in this area.
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Hetman
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« Reply #8 on: November 23, 2012, 21:51 »

Ufff, deformation will disappear if in AnimSet Anim Rotation Only surface is clear* but I still don't know how to attach head to body... UDK magic.

Animation will be flying if we don't change commend in SkeletalMesh Properties ->Skeletal Mesh Actor ->Skeletal Mesh Component ->Anim Rotation Only = EARO_ForceEnabled
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warrantyvoider
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« Reply #9 on: November 25, 2012, 18:45 »

dunno if that helps you in any way, but im currently researching the skeletal meshes too, and I can already tell you that with at least 3 layers of indirect and hirachical bone indexing, this is a far from easy task code wise (see my researched structure so far: http://me3explorer.freeforums.org/post652.html#p652 ). My suggestion would be to import it into 3ds max with gildors tool, remap the vertices per hand to the bones and let Epics actor x export tool export it in a correct format for udk. Then try again, now it should be sorted right... just my 2 cents :p

greetz WV
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Praedor
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« Reply #10 on: May 13, 2013, 17:26 »

Gildor, I greatly appreciate your ActorX plugin for 3ds Max but I have a request.  Most of us cannot afford the $3000 pricetag of 3ds Max.  I myself greatly prefer Blender which I also find simply easier to work within than 3ds Max (my trial of 3ds Max dies in a couple days).  Blender has a psk import/export plugin but it is wonky.  I have been working with character meshes from Mass Effect 3 (Unreal 3 engine) and have tested Blender and 3ds Max.  First, here is the original character in the game that I've been working with (Ashley, blue armor, center):



I imported a psk of her mesh into Blender 2.66a and added a spike to each shoulder as a demo.  I exported it as a psk and put it back into the game.  Here is the result (a total disaster):



Crazy right?  So I took that psk from Blender and imported it via ActorX into 3ds Max and then exported it again without changing anything and put that into the game.  Here is the result:


 
You can see the spikes on each shoulder (her lighting is wrong but that is not really your plugin's, or Blender's, problem). 

What I would like to request is that you produce a standalone psk "conditioner" app.  All it would do is import a psk (and/or an fbx file), provide the same settings/switches your plugin in 3ds does, and then save the psk simply passed through your ActorX plugin/app.  It would operate without the need of 3ds Max.  A current Blender psk file could then be imported into Unreal games without much issue at all - after it passes through your own ActorX conditioning app.  This would earn the love of Blender users everywhere.  It would allow many poor modelers who cannot afford 3ds Max (or Maya) to do solid work with game mods.  It would also allow you to keep your sourcecode under wraps until you are ready to release it (it could then be used to create a proper psk plugin for Blender...finally).  What do you think?  What do you say?  PLEEEEEEEZE?
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Gildor
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« Reply #11 on: May 13, 2013, 18:41 »

Sorry, I don't have enough time even for umodel's support (there's already a queue of games to support), and I definitely don't have any time for game modding tools.
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warrantyvoider
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« Reply #12 on: May 14, 2013, 01:39 »

here some autogenerated code to give you an idea of the export code of actorx plugin (guess and rename variables to make sense of it, start at line 157, this is always the first thing that gets written to file...) good luck, I dont have time too, sry...

http://pastebin.com/kETCCRkA

greetz
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Praedor
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« Reply #13 on: May 23, 2013, 23:12 »

OK, here's my question.  What, precisely, is the skm (skeletal mesh) object inside a mass effect pcc file if not the instructions on how to render the "skeletal mesh"?  I take a pcc file, find the location of the skeletal mesh (hex editor) and then I pull that skm out as a psk and edit it by moving a single vertex into a long spike as experiment, put it back into a copy of that pcc and open it in a hex editor and compare it side-by-side with the original unchanged skm.  NO DIFFERENCE.  How can the object that seems to tell a game how to render the base character mesh not contain this information when that edit is clearly visible in the game itself?  Where are the actual coordinates/relative placement of all the vertices located if not in the skeletal mesh component of the file?
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warrantyvoider
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« Reply #14 on: May 24, 2013, 10:59 »

Where are the actual coordinates/relative placement of all the vertices located if not in the skeletal mesh component of the file?

how about the skeletal meshes themselfs? "SkeletalMeshComponent" just points to the actual mesh object...
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