Turning off parts of a DTS shape during play
by Joey Skinner · in Technical Issues · 03/14/2006 (4:28 pm) · 9 replies
I apologize if this has already been answered in the forum. But I couldn't find it by searching the keywords I could think of.
I want to be able to turn off parts of a DTS shape during the game depending on what is going on. Is there a way to do that? Is there a tutorial or forum discussion I can look at?
If not possible, is there a way to scale or stretch a bone during game play? In other game engines, I've turned off a portion of the shape by scaling the bone to zero.
If still not possible, is there a way to "morph" a shape into another shape? That way, I could have an exact shape minus the parts I want to turn off and morph to it.
Any help or hints would be extremely appreciated.
Thanks.
I want to be able to turn off parts of a DTS shape during the game depending on what is going on. Is there a way to do that? Is there a tutorial or forum discussion I can look at?
If not possible, is there a way to scale or stretch a bone during game play? In other game engines, I've turned off a portion of the shape by scaling the bone to zero.
If still not possible, is there a way to "morph" a shape into another shape? That way, I could have an exact shape minus the parts I want to turn off and morph to it.
Any help or hints would be extremely appreciated.
Thanks.
#2
http://www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=2150
03/15/2006 (7:24 am)
Thank you. It looks like exactly what I need. If anyone else finds this post and wonders about the answer, here is the tutorial:http://www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=2150
#3
It has it limmits.
And would be a pain to add to in the long run.
03/15/2006 (8:02 am)
"hide meshes".It has it limmits.
And would be a pain to add to in the long run.
#4
If there are some newer tutorials or other ideas, I would really appreciate knowing about them.
03/15/2006 (8:22 am)
You're probably right. But at least it shows me how to traverse a ShapeInstance to look at the MeshObjectInstances. And the fact that a MeshObjectInstance has a .visible flag helps me out tremendously.If there are some newer tutorials or other ideas, I would really appreciate knowing about them.
#5
I had looked at it as a form of player customization. It has been used in "age of time" a game made with torque. I think in that appclation, it would be a nightmare to add more to it in the long run. From an artiest perspective that is..
Then again, if you use the node way (ataching new things to nodes ETC..) you also run into animation issues, but its more flexable to add to, as each new thing is a standalone object.
but, i dont know what you want it for, so this all could be pointless =)
Enjoy.
03/15/2006 (9:52 am)
Dont get me wrong, its a great resorce. And from the sound of it, the answer to your problem.I had looked at it as a form of player customization. It has been used in "age of time" a game made with torque. I think in that appclation, it would be a nightmare to add more to it in the long run. From an artiest perspective that is..
Then again, if you use the node way (ataching new things to nodes ETC..) you also run into animation issues, but its more flexable to add to, as each new thing is a standalone object.
but, i dont know what you want it for, so this all could be pointless =)
Enjoy.
#6
each male & female character has approximately 4^5 total mesh combinations possible,
multiplied even further by texture combinations. So several thousand different possible outfits.
but you're absolutely right,
if you're planning on having a truly large number of character assets,
with new assets being occasionally created,
it will be a nightmare and not a good long-term solution.
in the long term i'm going to try to look into something more flexible,
like combining different .dts files into a single character mesh.
03/15/2006 (10:06 am)
@allyn- I used this resource as the basis of a character customization system which has worked out fairly well as far as it goes.each male & female character has approximately 4^5 total mesh combinations possible,
multiplied even further by texture combinations. So several thousand different possible outfits.
but you're absolutely right,
if you're planning on having a truly large number of character assets,
with new assets being occasionally created,
it will be a nightmare and not a good long-term solution.
in the long term i'm going to try to look into something more flexible,
like combining different .dts files into a single character mesh.
#7
Like I said, the node route is more flexible, but! It comes with animation problems.
Give and take, find the balance.
I wish i was a better coder, Im learning thoe. Some scripts and basics of code every artest should know =)
Cheers!
03/15/2006 (11:00 am)
I would love to see what you come up with.Like I said, the node route is more flexible, but! It comes with animation problems.
Give and take, find the balance.
I wish i was a better coder, Im learning thoe. Some scripts and basics of code every artest should know =)
Cheers!
#8
03/15/2006 (2:46 pm)
Some exporters support visibility animations (I know 3ds max, maya, and milkshape with the plus exporter all do from personal experience). You can use this to reveal/hide parts of the mesh as part of an animation.
#9
03/21/2006 (7:55 pm)
Ah, good tip! 
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