ShapeBaseImage Sequence bug
by Stefan Lundmark · in Torque Game Engine · 01/23/2005 (12:54 pm) · 11 replies
THIS IS NOT A BUG
I've replaced the crossbow weapon with one of our own, to test some animations.
What I did was to use the Visible datafield in MAX for two of the weapon parts.
Both parts occupy the same space and are set to the same position.
Part1 is Visible=0 when the weapon activates, and gets 1 when the weapon is fully activated.
Part2 is Visible=1 when the weapon activates, and gets 0 when the weapon is fully activated.
This is to give an effect of these two parts swapping with eachother.
It's a very simple change. It doesn't work ingame though. And for some odd reason, it works if I change the effect to another sequence, say.. the fire sequence.
I'm not sure on how to explain this further, but I can reproduce the error at all times.. I'll send the .max file upon request.
I've replaced the crossbow weapon with one of our own, to test some animations.
What I did was to use the Visible datafield in MAX for two of the weapon parts.
Both parts occupy the same space and are set to the same position.
Part1 is Visible=0 when the weapon activates, and gets 1 when the weapon is fully activated.
Part2 is Visible=1 when the weapon activates, and gets 0 when the weapon is fully activated.
This is to give an effect of these two parts swapping with eachother.
It's a very simple change. It doesn't work ingame though. And for some odd reason, it works if I change the effect to another sequence, say.. the fire sequence.
I'm not sure on how to explain this further, but I can reproduce the error at all times.. I'll send the .max file upon request.
About the author
#2
In that particular thread, it doesn't work. I tried it in the "Fire" thread, and it worked there.
Ain't that quite odd?
I'm using the standard crossbow datablocks, except the actual model.
Edit: I've uploaded the model and it's data here.
01/23/2005 (2:17 pm)
It plays as part of the "Activate" thread. In that particular thread, it doesn't work. I tried it in the "Fire" thread, and it worked there.
Ain't that quite odd?
I'm using the standard crossbow datablocks, except the actual model.
Edit: I've uploaded the model and it's data here.
#3
Tried to work around it by changing the scale of the parts instead of visibility, to simulate the parts being hidden (setting their scale to 0.0). That worked, more or less.. but a big nasty rendering error (looked like a stretched polygon) turned up instead.
01/24/2005 (10:46 am)
Well I guess this is another TGE-dead end then.Tried to work around it by changing the scale of the parts instead of visibility, to simulate the parts being hidden (setting their scale to 0.0). That worked, more or less.. but a big nasty rendering error (looked like a stretched polygon) turned up instead.
#4
Have you tried simply moving part 2 somewhere that can't be seen - like inside the weapon for example? In the same frame you could simply move part 1 into position (it would have been hidden when the cycle started) so it can be seen whil part 1 gets hidden?
I know it's a hack, but hey, sometimes an Indy's gotta do what an Indy's gotta do. =\
01/24/2005 (11:03 am)
Stefan, I may have a suggestion, though it's really more of a hack.Have you tried simply moving part 2 somewhere that can't be seen - like inside the weapon for example? In the same frame you could simply move part 1 into position (it would have been hidden when the cycle started) so it can be seen whil part 1 gets hidden?
I know it's a hack, but hey, sometimes an Indy's gotta do what an Indy's gotta do. =\
#5
Unfortunatly, the method you described didn't work either. I tried (as you said) to move the model down it's Z axis, just by a few units.. so that the lighten up one would show instead of the dark one. This wasn't even visible ingame, for some reason.
01/24/2005 (12:14 pm)
Yeah :) I didn't really care HOW I would do it, as long as I got the effect I was looking for. As you say, sometimes you have to avoid the problem and work around it.Unfortunatly, the method you described didn't work either. I tried (as you said) to move the model down it's Z axis, just by a few units.. so that the lighten up one would show instead of the dark one. This wasn't even visible ingame, for some reason.
#6
That's a very strange problem you've got there m8. I thought animating the pieces would work for sure.
I'm a Milkshape modeler myself, so I don't know know much about the MAX -> Torque pipeline... but my instinct tells me something isn't exporting correctly.
Not that I couldn't be wrong mind you - I can and frequently am, but something here just isn't adding up.
01/24/2005 (1:09 pm)
Hmmm...That's a very strange problem you've got there m8. I thought animating the pieces would work for sure.
I'm a Milkshape modeler myself, so I don't know know much about the MAX -> Torque pipeline... but my instinct tells me something isn't exporting correctly.
Not that I couldn't be wrong mind you - I can and frequently am, but something here just isn't adding up.
#7
Following my own rule "check the simplest things first"...
Are you sure that you designated a proper time-frame for the animation playback?
You know, it is possibly to play it so quickly that it never gets drawn properly and is therefore imperceptible.
~ Okay, now I'm just grasping at straws, but it could be worth a try to look at the timing. =)
You could always check it in show tool and step through the cycle to make sure it's animating properly. If it is, then you KNOW it's a timing issue.
01/24/2005 (1:13 pm)
Wait, wait...Following my own rule "check the simplest things first"...
Are you sure that you designated a proper time-frame for the animation playback?
You know, it is possibly to play it so quickly that it never gets drawn properly and is therefore imperceptible.
~ Okay, now I'm just grasping at straws, but it could be worth a try to look at the timing. =)
You could always check it in show tool and step through the cycle to make sure it's animating properly. If it is, then you KNOW it's a timing issue.
#8
I tried to increase the Timeout value on the Sequence in the weapons .cs file.
The animation now moves very slowly, but the effect is still not there.
Haha, it doesn't even show up in the ShowTool.
I guess that means that something is blatantly wrong? ;)
01/25/2005 (2:19 am)
Thanks Kirby for your answers.I tried to increase the Timeout value on the Sequence in the weapons .cs file.
The animation now moves very slowly, but the effect is still not there.
Haha, it doesn't even show up in the ShowTool.
I guess that means that something is blatantly wrong? ;)
#9
"He's dead Jim!"
Like I said, I know nothing about the MAX -> Torque pipeline, but I'd go back and check your dump to look for errors.
Might want to go back through the exporter docs and follow step by step to see if there's anythig you missed?
01/25/2005 (6:56 am)
Stefan - if it doesn't show up in the show tool, then that sequence didn't make it through the export, but at least that narrows it down considerably. =)"He's dead Jim!"
Like I said, I know nothing about the MAX -> Torque pipeline, but I'd go back and check your dump to look for errors.
Might want to go back through the exporter docs and follow step by step to see if there's anythig you missed?
#10
The helper object for the activate animation was not exported with the visibility flag. I didn't even know that flag existed, and Billy kindly pointed it out to me. Logan (or whoever it was who made the crossbow) didn't put that flag enabled on the Activate sequence, but on all others.. so I assumed it was the same on all.
Thanks for your help too, Kirby.
01/25/2005 (9:38 am)
Okay okay, Billy ScE helped me find the problem and it was not TGE. So this post should not be considered a bugreport.The helper object for the activate animation was not exported with the visibility flag. I didn't even know that flag existed, and Billy kindly pointed it out to me. Logan (or whoever it was who made the crossbow) didn't put that flag enabled on the Activate sequence, but on all others.. so I assumed it was the same on all.
Thanks for your help too, Kirby.
Torque Owner Brett Fattori
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