I haven't seen a proper breakdown of the process one goes through to get morphs from max to VMP.

I know how to do it from LightWave, using OBJ files, but I read that I should somehow be using ASE files from max. What is the step-by-step process?

For example, I've got a cylinder that bends. How do I get that in to VMP as a morph?

Thanks,
Dustin

Also, please bear in mind that I'm not a programmer. I work with programmers who do that stuff. So don't assume anything when talking code-talk. So I guess I shoudl rephrase my question to this:

What do I (the artist) need to do, using max, to export the morphs?

and

What does the programmer need to do when working with the morphs?

Thanks,
Dustin

Hi Dustin !!

Check this out. One of my previous posts...

http://viewpoint.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/35229280...872936417#1872936417

This should help.

Cheers,

Anup

Thanks, Anup.

Here's my problem with that process though. That works fine for simple things, but what if I've animated a snake slithering along the ground, using SplineIK? The geometry doesn't have targets and it's moving through world-space. And yet, the only way it's going to show up in VMP is as a morph. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only way I believe an ASE file would work in this case is if there was a script or something that would make an instance of your object at regular intervals (every frame, or every fifth frame, or whaever). Otherwise, I think the best solution is to just export sequential OBJ files. I have not, however, found a way to export OBJ's in this way out of max.

So I'm kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place since I have no way of getting the kind of complex morphs I want to make out of max and in to VMP.

If anyone has suggestions, please let me know.

Thanks,
- Dustin

I would strongly urge you to consider using Enliven to convert these kind of animations for you into VET. You don't have to use Enliven entirely for your project, but you could at least use it to export the mtx with your animations set up.

How do you build morphs using Enliven?

You import the .max file with the animations directly into Enliven. Enliven is hooked into Right Hemisphere's Deep Exploration (v. 3.5) in order to import native file formats such as max and maya directly. Whatever Deep Exploration can read from the max file comes into Enliven and this includes spline and bone animations. So it's a direct import. No need to fuss with the complex process as with Scene Builder.

Granted, Enliven is currently version 1.0, so we have found bugs here and there. But for the most part it should work. How complex are your animations?

80% of my animations are translational, so that's easy. But I also go beyond that. For example, sometimes I need to animate a hand with articulating fingers perfrming a specific motion (IK), or a catheter moving through a zig-zagging artery (PathDeform modifier) or just a basic morph from A to B (Morpher modifer).

Will all of those things automatically come accross as morphs using Enliven?

Also, using Enliven, do I have the control to determine how many targets, in frame increments, are created for my morphs? Some morphs can be described using only two targets will others may need a target for every frame, or every fifth frame.

Thanks,
Dustin

These should be easy to do with Enliven. We have seen some issues with very complex characters that have complex bone structures, but we're working diligently to correct those issues. But your animations (and I'm very familiar with the work Magnify Group does) should work very nicely.

Yes, these animations should automatically convert to morphs once they're in Enliven. This is done through the Deep Exploration link.

My suggestion to you would be to simply download the Enliven trial version and do a simple test - one at a time - on the types of animations you need to do. The big rule of thumb to remember is, if it comes into Enliven messed up, first look at it in Deep Exploration. If it's messed up there, then Deep Exploration does not support, or had problems with, that particular Max functionality. But I have run many tests and have been quite pleased with the results (save the few bugs with very complex characters)

Just try to keep your initial test or two as simple as possible to help you get comfortable with Enliven and DE. Let me know what you think.