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[Jarvis]

Hello all, just starting out with HeroEngine and followed some of the essential tutorials.

I have done the Art Pipeline tutorial/Cube tutorial where you make and texture your own cube. I was using Autodesk 3ds Max and did the "Setting up 3ds Max" tutorial. However I am not quite sure how to make a humanoid character. I used Mixamo to export just a basic character (in the attachment) but I am not sure how to get it into HeroEngine. The tutorial had me setup 3ds Max 2014 which I did and I see the HeroEngine Exporter and all of the tools are fine. I just do not know what to do from there. I am not an expert at modelling and only took a semester in Animation so I have basic knowledge but it seems not enough to do this.

Can somebody teach and show me how to get a character from Mixamo into HeroEngine? I am using Autodesk 3ds Max 2014 however I also have Autodesk Maya 2014. The character will be dynamic but static is acceptable just enough to learn how to get something in the engine. I already know how to actually import it (using the Repository Browser) just need to learn how to setup the character.

Thanks in advance.

[feredfn]

I've done this using Maya to test some systems in my game while im waiting to get my own characters,..
in short :

i downloaded a free model
gave it a Hero Material
renamed the root bone to Bip01
Created the SRB joint
Exported via character and then export tools
and Exported animations separately

That's all ,..
and its rendering in game perfectly.

[WorldWideZ]

I use mixamo (and Fuse, their new character assembly studio) for my characters.

my workflow is as follows

1) create model and upload it too the mixamo site

2) perform the auto rig and then download the rigged model as a  FBX file

3) Import the FBX to 3ds max and run the Mixamo Auto Biped Script

4) dependent on the version of 3ds max you have it might name all the bones Bip 001 , Hero wants Bip 01 , so you   will need to rename to remove the extra 0

5) Run the Character export tool in 3dsmax , and work though each step to name the model , set the directories ( you should be using [my desktop]/HE/Character/{dynamic_2/} ) , set the Root bone , and setup any animation masks you plan to use (This bit is worth some thought to save you having to re export lots later) If during the creation of the character the Hero process stops working , just cancel that bit. Once finished you can re export the mesh (remember to reset the textures ,the character export moves them to the characters directory, but if you need to change them in the material viewer to reflect this for the re export) and skeleton from the main export window , saving them over the existing files.

6) If you have used a dynamic mesh , you will have exported only one Part , you must then export all the separate mesh parts and then edit your .PAR file to include the parts in the right slots

7) Load animations in 3ds max , setting the time frame each time for the exact number of frames you want exported. Animations can be renamed later , but as always choose a strong naming convention to make the coding easier later. once the animations are exported you need to update your animationset.dat to include the new animation and you will need to create a ASQ file to accompany it. You may also need to update the AAS file so the animation can be called by the Accc. We have a standard "human" animation system that all our human models use , so we just change the [model].dat file to look for the AAS file in the correct directory.

Upload the new directory to the relative HE folder in the repo and then run the chat commands (if you closed the box in max they can be found in the setup text file that is created) and you should be able to load the character as a NPC

things to watch out for , make sure your model is the right size before you start the autobiped script. If you get exploded mesh syndrome , you might have a animation attached to the mesh that will need removing. Watch the Error window for information as the model loads if it does not function correctly.

[Jarvis]

I followed 1 2 and 3 flawlessly. It was actually cool at how I was watching it auto-rig it. However,

How do I find the root bone?

I have a whoooole bunch of bones I see that start with Bip001. And they are doubled. For example:

Bip001 Head
Bip001 Head
Bip001L Calf
Bip001L Calf
Bip001L Clavicle
Bip001L Clavicle
Bip001L Finger0
Bip001L Finger0
Bip001L Finger01
Bip001L Finger01
Bip001L Finger02
Bip001L Finger02
Bip001L Finger1
Bip001L Finger1
Bip001L Finger11
Bip001L Finger11
Bip001L Finger12
Bip001L Finger12

And so on. The nearest thing I found was Bip001 Pelvis as it was, well in the pelvis area.

I renamed it to Bip01 Pelvis and when I created the SRB it errored out about cannot identify skeleton.

I then renamed it to Bip01 and it created the SRB underneath but gave an error about could not find Bip01 Footsteps.

I can't easily rename all of the Bip001 to Bip01 that I could see, only manually. And that is alot of bones.

In 5 you say "set the Root bone" so I assume that means to click Set SRB.

Edit: It seems we may be in different Time Zones due to response time. I got the character actually imported into HE, still need to know though what to do about the Bip01 issue. In the mean time I was watching the audioless video "Hero Engine World Building 101" and doing terrain. Seems I can't paint dynamic detail though :/ I follow the terrain flawlessly but I can't see the grass. The FPS takes a hit though so it is painting it.

I am planning on making a real functiona PvE (with PvP servers to keep players happy) Zombie MMO (not the lame featureless money grabs that let players pretty much torture people by cuffing the player and ordering them around known as DayZ and Infestation, even though in their own way they are alright. Just not done the right way.) that allows first and third person. How would people recommend the character be setup, Dynamic or Static? From what I understand Dynamic allows actual parts, would that be good for a Survival Zombie MMO or will Static suffice? Players can customize their character's features such as hair, body weight, size, etc.

[WorldWideZ]

dynamic grass is broken at the moment , due to be fixed soon (i hope!)

to navigate a 3ds max scene , press the H key. this will bring up a list of all objects visible . personally i rename all the bones for neatness / not pissing my coder off later in the day. select each bone in turn in the list , and in the objects name box ( in the right hand tool menu ) delete the extra zero. This will also let you grab the bip 01 root too.

[Jarvis]

Great, thanks that helped me a lot for for Bip01 renaming issue. Now just need to get the texture on and animated. Going to try to go through 5 and 7 again though to see if I missed something. It is trying to look for the texture on my computer's original location. Instead of with it.

So, I can animate the skeleton itself, then export the skeleton with multiple animations that way?

Edit: and by texture on I mean currently it is flashing rainbow colors and the texture gives an error about not being found in "/c:/users/username/" and so on.

[WorldWideZ]

yes your texture needs to be relative to the HE/Character/ location , the initial create character files will copy the texture for the selected mesh to the characters folder , but for further exports you must tell the hero material to look in that directory for your other textures.

Thats the same for any texture , it must be in the same location in the repo as it is in your local HE directory

you can animate the skeleton directly , and characters that have the same bone system can share animations.

[Jarvis]

Yeah I got the textures to work. What I did was use a tool called "Rehome Textures", and it put the dds in the HE/Characters/vincent/maps folder. Seemed to work Off to a great start so far. Bummer that the Dynamic Detail is not working

Right now I am trying to get FPS camera to work. Followed the wiki but it doesn't work right. I switch to the FPS camera however it doesn't automatically focus and move the camera, and can't turn. And when I switch back it does not return the character's model or camera settings. Have to get out and back in. Need some updated tutorials, maybe even sample kits or something. I love Game Development but sometimes it gets so hard to get started.

Edit: Now the fps camera seems to be working :/ However the controls are inverted and it doesn't move in the direction of the camera.

Fixed the inverted by changing:

Code: [Select]

if (not GetTweakableBoolean("GameInvertMouseY")) and ( not $INPUT._InputGameInvertMouseY )
To be:

Code: [Select]

if (GetTweakableBoolean("GameInvertMouseY")) or $INPUT._InputGameInvertMouseY
Not sure if that was a mistake or what. I looked at some resources that directed me to Render Options however it could not invert Y, only X.

Also, is it supposed to drop my FPS from 120+ to 15-25 when I move the camera in FPS mode?

Edit: haha nevermind, just had to comment out the "println("Moving the mouse")" as it was spamming the server. The FPS reference world lags though bad for me, I am going to assume that it is the grass being buggy right now. With how much I edit my posts and that it would be wiser just to be in a chat or something, is there an active group anywhere that I could just talk with other developers?

[Thazager]

Yes, there is a Skype channel conversation here. https://community.heroengine.com/forums/index.php/topic,5060.0.html

[Jarvis]

Alright thanks, I posted there.

Just created a character with Mixamo's Fuze and trying to get it into the engine. Hopefully everything works right! I would LOVE to get a nice little sample going to play around with

[Jarvis]

Well I almost got everything I need now! The character is in the game fine, I can load it as an asset but when I load it as an npc, it implodes itself. It is kind of like all of the body parts fall to the ground together. Am I missing a step?

[HE-Cooper]

Yes, the animation step. :-) Take it slow, you'll get the hang of it. But you are working on a lot of complex tasks without a lot of the experience. Though you've made a lot of great progress quickly. I would shoot for a simple animated asset before a complicated character.

Otherwise, you need to follow all of the information relating to a dynamic character import pipeline...character specifications, animations, behaviors, etc.

[HE-BENNETT]

When looking for an issue, make sure you check the console in Heroblade for any possible errors.

[Jarvis]

I feel honored and blessed to be answered by the gods of HeroEngine/HeroCloud. Unfortunately I feel very noobish to ask these sort of questions, but I find the documentation to be lacking on certain aspects. Or rather on certain aspects I'd much rather watch a video on how to physically do something such as take a Mixamo Character and put it into HeroEngine.

I myself am an "Indie" Game Developer and am not experienced with certain parts of Game Development. I am currently working with my two brothers to make a Game (then again Crysis/CryEngine started exactly with 3 brothers) for we wanted to take the embodiment of a true Zombie game to make a game that we, as gamers, would play. There are NO 3D Zombie MMOs out there (Or at least there are no extremely popular Zombie MMOs, becuase nobody can be absolutely sure.).

I will go and research how to remove animations first (Google!) and let everybody know how it goes for me. I want to make a tutorial on how to take a character from Mixamo (Which personally seems popular to me, somebody else can let me know if there is another resource they use) and put it into HeroEngine. I am somewhat sad since as SOON as I bought HeroEngine, I found out that Mixamo sold their yearly ($1,500) license for $300 which is what I bought HE for (10 licenses). Which then I thought, "Dang, I wish I got both.".

Business though I think that personally HeroEngine should focus towards Independent Game Developers (This is the Era of Indies). I am curious though about HeroEngine. Idea Fabrik Plc, (I think that is the company) are you an Independent Company, or a massively big company such as, say for random example, Bioware.

[HE-Cooper]

Just focus on the information in the wiki and you'll be good to go. We don't provide tutorials for how to do modeling or animation in other folks tools, but once you get the hang of those, then you'll be good to go at importing them into the engine.