I can't export my animations

[Suludi]

This is what I made in 3ds Max 2012:

 

 

This is what it looks like when I export it to Skyrim:

 

 

Can someone please tell me what I did wrong? I followed pornphile`s tutorial but when the Havoc Content Tool couldn't save the file anywhere, I used the older method aeon mentions in his tutorial, and while the body mesh clearly deforms (so something must have gotten through), the animation is gone and the tail ignores me. .

 

I'm adding the max and hkx files to this post, so maybe someone can look at them and help me? I can't export any of my animations now, they all get killed in the process. Reinstalling 3ds Max didn't help.

argonianswim.7z

[pornphile]

Are you exporting using the proper rig txt file that matches the XPMS2 skeleton?

 

What errors do you get when you run footstep analysis?

[Leito86]

 the Havoc Content Tool couldn't save the file anywhere

 

This is an issue with the HCT plugin.  If you save the file in 3ds Max's installation directory, it'll save out just fine.

 

I tried exporting your animation but I didn't have any luck (characters turn into the thing).  It's possible that it's due to me not using the correct skeleton.txt.  I also noticed that there wasn't a camera in the scene either so whenever the animation played in game, I'm zoomed up close without the ability to zoom out.

[pornphile]

This is an issue with the HCT plugin.  If you save the file in 3ds Max's installation directory, it'll save out just fine.

Strange. I can save the files anywhere.

 

[Suludi]

I didn't use the XP32 skeleton, I tried to be clever and used skeletonbeast.nif & hkx. Guess it wasn't that clever after all? Then I had HCT gather its info directly from the file cause it didn't find any bones, and when I tried to convert it, there was no skeletonbeast.hkx to be found.

 

I suppose I fucked it up pretty bad...

 

pornphile, is there a tutorial on how to set up the Havoc Content Tool thingy? The screen resolution wasn't very good so I couldn't read everything. And do I really need a camera in the scene?  *hides in a dark corner, feeling stupid*

[pornphile]

I think Aeon's tutorial goes over the Havok filters. Your scene is using one of Groov's XPMSE2 skeletons. You'd need the appropriate rig.txt to export with HCT.

 

My scene files have HCT already set up. Point it to the location of the rig.txt, set frames and done.

 

It took longer to make this preview than it did the animation:

http://gfycat.com/InferiorSpanishDoctorfish

 

swimforward.7z

 

Tail animations: Apparently, you need to use a tail skeleton.

[Suludi]

I used the skeletonbeast which has three different sets of tailbones, I thought I had used the right ones... there are POS Tailbones, HDT Tailbones, and TailBones which I used. And I still don't get it. Why does the tail not work? Why does it have a different behaviour? How do I change it if the only thing I know about scripts is that they "do something"? What does this rig.txt do? Where do I find it for XP32? Where can I find a tutorial for complete and utter noobs? So many questions...

 

 

Footstep Analysis:

 

 

 --- Configuration: Animations ---
     Create Skeletons Filter
        [0xabba44f4] Warning : Skeleton "Beastskeleton" has multiple roots.
        [0xabba44f4] Warning :   Extra root found in bone : "CME Camera3rd [Cam3]"
        [0xabba44f4] Warning :   Extra root found in bone : "NPC"
        [0xabba44f4] Warning :   Extra root found in bone : "XPMSE"
        Root Node Name:CharacterBumper
        Num Bones: 541
     Create Animations Filter
         Animation
            Length: 1.333333
            Frames: 41
            Annotation: absent
     Extract Motion Filter
        Motion extracted using -1 samples
     Spline Compression Filter
         Compression
            Number of blocks: 1
            Size of largest block (PlayStation®3 SPU): 14400 bytes.
            Original Size: 1419584 bytes. Compressed Size: 14388 bytes.
            Compression Ratio: 98.664444:1.
     Footstep Analysis Filter
     Loop Animations Filter
     Prune Types Filter
        Removing hkxEnvironment ("Environment Data")
        Removing hkxScene ("Scene Data")
        Removing Resource Data completely.
        Removing 1 skeletons.
        Removing 0 mesh attachments.
        Removing 1 Transform and 0 Float  identity binding index arrays from 1 bindings(s)
        Removing 0 skins.
     Write to Platform Filter
        Wrote layout for [Tagfile] to file [..\..\export\swimforward.HKX].
    Finished in 00:00:00
 

[pornphile]

 

I used the skeletonbeast which has three different sets of tailbones, I thought I had used the right ones... there are POS Tailbones, HDT Tailbones, and TailBones which I used. And I still don't get it. Why does the tail not work? Why does it have a different behaviour? How do I change it if the only thing I know about scripts is that they "do something"? What does this rig.txt do? Where do I find it for XP32? Where can I find a tutorial for complete and utter noobs? So many questions...

I haven't really looked into beast races and their tail animations. Maybe don't animate the tail at all and use HDT tails?

A rig.txt is just a txt file with a list of bones that's suppose to be in the scene. Used by HCT. My scene files come with it.

 

Have you gone through my animation tutorial and can replace idle animations?

 

edit: Also looking at the analysis, Max 2012 can't export directly to hkx. It needs to be exported as xml first. Then converted to hkx. The animation tutorial covers this also.

[Suludi]

I want to use the tail the way crocodiles use theirs, as the main body part that moves the body forward. That excludes HDT.

 

I followed your tutorial but not for the idle animation. Going to test it tomorrow. Thanks for your help, and Leito and all others, too!