Newbie with animation export issues

#1 The skinned mesh can not be a child of any bone in the scene. It must be unlinked.

#2 Thanks for the response Joe! :)

I've gone through and triple checked my mesh and bones with the documentation for exporting and the example files provided with the engine and I cant find a single step I've missed. I also cant spot any differences in how my character is skinned and how the example characters are skinned. The only distinction between the two is that the examples appear to have been constructed in Character Studio whereas mine were not.

All this makes me conclude I'm just not grasping some simple concept in this process.

How do I unlink a skinned mesh from the bones in Max6 without removing the skin modifier from the stack?

Thanks in advance for any more help you can throw my way.
k

#3 The skin modifier binds the vertices to the bones. They inherit the transforms of the bones. The actuall mesh in the scene never moves. If the mesh is linked to it, that is, if the mesh that is skin is a child of the bones, then it will get double transforms.

All you need to do is find the unlink button in max (it is on the main toolbar panel) and unlink it. Refer to the help file on how to do this if need be.

The mesh must not be linked to anything else in the scene.

#4 Thanks again for your help...I've been able to successfully eliminate the 'Skin found on linked node' error message only to encounter a NEW error message....'No data to export'.

I searched the site for the phrase 'detail marker' and found a forum response from April of this year. The response given by one of the Associates suggested that the root bone be linked to the start01 node. I attempted this fix on my own scene even though this suggested node structure is NOT evident in the Max6 player file I am using as a template.

Linking the root bone to the start01 node produced a success .dts file of the bones but the character's mesh was left behind.

I'm at my wits end here.

As far as I can tell my scene is structured identically to the example Max6 player files that were provided with Torque and in accord with all the documentation I can find on this website.

The example player file exports error free but my mesh and skeleton keep producing errors.

What am I missing?

Thanks,
k

#5 It sounds like your setup is somehow off. Make sure you have one detail marker, and add a number that matches the marker number to the end of the mesh.

Open up the user properties of the skinned mesh and delete any information there. Also, delete any objects that are set up for Multires from the scene.

This will give you a shape that only has one detail level, but provided everything is set up according to the docs, it should export.

One thing to re-read is the Valid Shapes section in the appendix of the 3dsMax docs. This will decribe how the exporter looks at the scene in order to determine what to export.

#6 I've set up a simple mesh and skeleton (cylinder and two bones) to see if it was the character mesh or scene itself that was causing the errors but I'm getting the same 'No data to export' message on the new scene.

Is there anywhere I can upload or email the test cylinder rigging I've created to get it looked at by an Associate?

I've created everything per the documentation and implimented all of your suggestions but it's still not exporting.

thanks,
k

#7 Katrina, are you try to export the cylinder as a static object ? or as a character. if so static shapes wont work with bones beacuse the mesh must be linked under the start dummy for them to export for static shapes and thus no data to export because the mesh is not there. To use bones the mesh must not be linked at all so bones and staic objects dont mix very well.

correct me if im wrong here people as well :)

#8 If you upload it and provide a link, I can take a look. I am pretty busy, so I may not be able to get to it for a few days (if at all)

#9 Whew! I've finally been able to get the mesh AND bones to export to a .dts file. Thank you very much for your help and patience. :)

Now I'm trying to export a .dsq file for a _root animation.

I've animated the bones using forward kinematics and linked the eye, mount0, and cam dummy nodes to appropriate bones.

I've deleted the mesh from the file so all that's left is the bone skeleton and dummy nodes.

I've UNchecked the 'Collapse Transforms' box in the Parameters menu.

I deselect everything and push the 'Sequences' button.

The export begins but Max6 crashes a couple seconds into the process.

I've compared .cfg files and everything seems kosher in mine. The only bit of code I'm concerned about is:

=Params::T2AutoDetail 51

If I drop the number below 51 or remove the code Max DOESNT crash but it exports a .dsq file that will not work in the Showtool.

If I leave the number at or above 51 Max will crash when I export.

Is there any specific node I need to add to the animted file above and beyond those needed to export a non-animated .dts file? Is there code I need to add to the .cfg file that is specific to export .dsq files? Is the 'Sequence' exporter stable with Max6?

I've thoroughly read all of the documentation and FAQs that I can find on the website and I cant find anything that solves my problem.

Thanks for your help and time!
k

#10 Hmmm....I noticed that I do not have a Sequence Helper anywhere in my file. According to the documentation this could very well be the source of my crashes.

Following the steps in the documentation I have tried to add a Sequence Helper but I do not have a 'General DTS Object' option in my Create > Helpers pulldown menu.

Is there a plugin I need to load to create General DTS Objects or can I do it from sratch using a Create > Helpers > Dummy?

If I can create a Sequence Helper from scratch, how do I create the Sequence Begin/End track inside of it?

Thanks,
k

#11 The General DTS Helpers menu option doesn't show up in the Helpers window??

Should be CreateTab -> Helpers Icon -> General DTS Objects in the pulldown?

I don't know of any way to make a sequence helper by hand, though it may be possible.

#12 Alex I don't believe that its possible to create a sequence helper by hand since the helper dummy that is created through the DTS Exporter Plugin has some very special and unique track for the helper node.

#13 I'm having this same problem, and so far, am completely confused. I did unlink the mesh and the skin(I think), and now I'm getting the No Details to Export thing. :( I'm seriously confused now. :D

#14 Jimmy,

Ensure that you have at least 1 detail marker in your scene (ie. detail128, detail64, detail32, etc.). The detail marker should be linked to the DTS Hiearchy root (ie. Base01, Bip01, etc.)

Any geometry that uses the skin modifier must be unlinked from the DTS Hierarchy chain. It also must contain detail information in it, either by having a trailing number at the end of the nodes name that matches a detail number in your scene(ie. playerMesh128, playerMesh64, playerMesh32, etc.), or uses a MultiRes modifier with the necessary object property data added to the node (which can be done by hand as the docs describe or with the AdjustLODs macroscript). Either method will work.

Logan

#15 I have something called detail2 does that count as a detail marker?

#16 As for the collapse transforms, Im curious myself. Seems it doeesnt ever make a difference to me one way or another.

#17 @Jimmy, yes that would be a details marker.

#18 Okay, I have one of those, and it still gives me the No Details error :(

#19 Well, I finally have my character in the game... Now it's just a problem with my one animation not working. Looking into that one.

#20 Hey any chance of telling us what the problem was that you fixed Jimmy, I'm running into the same problem right now, no details to export

searching arround I go....