Howdy. The animation sequences that I''m creating in 3dmax are not suitable for key-frame animation (things like bombs, where there is face seperation), so I want to switch to using vertex animation across the board instead. I realise that this is more memory useage but I don''t see another way to create a uniquitous animation system. Anyhow, with this in mind, does anyone know of a tool or utility I can use to extract vertex animation data from 3dstudio, or perhaps just wrap up multiple x-files into a single file? I think I know enough to go ahead and write my own exporter but... all this peripheral, low-reward/high-input work is starting to kill my joy. I think I saw something that said that this was basically an MD2 format. Is this correct? Last thing to go through a tortoise''s mind before it hits the ground at 40mph? "D3DXVec3Add (Tortoise.Pos, Tortoise.Delta, Tortoise.OldPos"

We handled this in Age of Mythology by just exporting the animation sequence in reverse frame order. Then, when you play it forwards it looks like things are exploding outwards.

To do that should be a simple modification of the exporter


Development Lead
Windows Graphics & Gaming Technologies


[edited by - herbm on May 4, 2003 12:02:11 AM]

Yah, but is that keyframe animation, or vertex animation that you used? I'm using an exporter that can take the animation and save it as a keyframe hierarchy, or that can take each frame and export it as sequentially numbered .x file. I really want the second option (because bombs and other effects are not simply rotation, scale and translation), but it makes my folders really messy having all the x files lying about.

(edited after a cup of coffee)

Last thing to go through a tortoise's mind before it hits the ground at 40mph? "D3DXVec3Add (Tortoise.Pos, Tortoise.Delta, Tortoise.OldPos"

[edited by - soaringtortoise on May 5, 2003 2:24:22 AM]