What I recommend would be to save the animations as "XML Animation" files and then import them into your main scene.
to do this you will need to be familiar with how to select/hide/freeze specific objects and the animation timeline.
open two separate instances of 3DS Max
Export the desired model from WoW Model Viewer as a FBX with no animations included [ This model will be referred to as BaseModel ]
Export the same model as FBX with specified animation (example: Attack1H) [ This model will be referred to as AnimModel ] *I recommend only exporting one animation at a time until you are comfortable with the process.
Import AnimModel into 3DS Max
select the mesh, right click and choose "Freeze Selection", the mesh should now appear grey
with the mesh frozen, now select all the bones in the scene, you should see keyframes in the timeline on the bottom of the screen, scroll the timeline to the last keyframe, this will be the animations duration.
with the bones still selected, on the top menu bar, select "Animation > Save Animation..." you should see a dialog box pop up that says "Save XML Animation File" at the top
In the Dialog box, on the Right-hand side, Check the box marked "Segment"
In the "From:" box, put the frame number of the start of the animation (in this case, should be "0")
In the "To:" box, put the frame number of the end of the animation duration
Choose a name and click "Save Motion"
Import BaseModel into a new (the second) instance of 3DS Max
Select the mesh, right-click, and freeze
Select the bones
In the top menu bar, select "Animation > Load Animation..." this should bring up the "Load XML Animation File" Dialog
in the Dialog, Navigate to and select the animation file you just created (should be titled *name*.xaf)
On the Right-Hand side of the Dialog, click the radio button next to "Insert At"
In the box under "Insert At" choose the frame number at which you would like animation to start at
click the "Load Motion" button
and your done! you should now see the keyframes in the animation timeline
using this technique you can choose which animations you would like and import them into SC2 Sequences without overriding existing animations.
I am currently assisting on a project that requires a specific animation for one of the building models.
The design doc calls for a single unique animation to be played throughout the build cycle (non-looping).
Is it possible to adjust the speed at which the animation plays via data (actor maybe)? Looking for solutions that allow
the animation to be adjusted dynamically to avoid having to do a 1-to-1 with the ingame build time.
Any feedback regarding the issue would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Hey, just bumping this thread. THere's a good amount of people on the discord.
the great thing about it, it has multiple chat rooms. SO, we can have a "chat" room, and an assistance room, and a testing room. Not to mention, it has voice chat, although no one has used it yet i think.
Another thing is that the chat doesn't disappear. IE, you can ask a question when no one is on, and when someone gets on that might know it, they can answer, and you can see it when you get back on.
not ot mention, it has great mobile apps! Looking forward to more people joining. PS, we need someone good with actors to help answer a question for this guy :D
Adding another bump! Discord is really helpful, would like to see the mapster channel grow.
Dude, have you all forgotten about Skyrim already? Mods should stay free, and commercial games should be left to the professionals who need the money.
Turning Starcraft II modding into a commercial endeavor will either fail (because nobody pays for content when there are plenty of free alternatives, be it other SC2 maps or other games in general) or will turn this into a much, much smaller community (because most people play the Arcade because it's free, and once paid content gets favored they'll be gone).
Skyrim was definitely a good example of how not to integrate a payed mod system.
I agree, mods should stay free, for theplayers.
When you add a barrier of entry to any game, it's going to make a smaller player base. AAA games recently have been falling into this trap a lot, with season passes for maps and characters that segment people who pay for DLC vs those that don't. This act has arguably destroyed games like Evolve and Titanfall.
Now what if instead of trying to appeal to players, you were to make your mods available to otherModders. This changes the perspective from paid content, which feels like a hinderance, to a paid convenience.
Let's say you had a great idea for a MOBA game, you could buy a data package that had premade heroes, a terrain package for moba style games, a trigger package for unit spawns, and an art package because maybe you want a fantasy theme rather than a sci-fi one. With this you have a base to build out your ideas.
But it's none of it is required, all of these things can be created by you the modder if you want to put in the time and effort. This just adds a convenience and assistance for those who may not have the time or experience with the editor to create the maps they envision.
(NOTE: after reading through what I wrote, I want to clarify by mods I mean SC2mods, or dependencies, as they are basicly packages that can be added to most maps)
Another scenario would be: Have you ever played a map you really liked and had an idea "What if?"
"What if they added warcraft units to nexus wars?" or "What if you had multiple ships in StarBattle?"
Currently, if a map is locked, you would need to create everything from scratch. If a map is unlocked you could make your changes, uploaded it, and not give any create to the original map maker.
Now with a system that allowed protected mods to be shared, you could have your own version of a map, and all blizzard would need to add is a section in the description that shows "Dependencies" and have that link back to the original. Credit is given where it's due. You may even want to have a note on the loading screen, or add a menu in game that lists all the mods (dependencies) and a description of what they are.
Basicly a website that allowed users to browse for assets they are interested in. Could offer paid content or could be completely free. Having a rating system, comments, and sorting would be greatly beneficial.
Pretty much most of the counter arguments have been made.
Even as a consultant, working with Blizz can be pretty tough. I have a friend
that used to work for a studio that did animated graphics for a few blizz productions
(think like the hearthstone cinematics and such). On normal outsourcing projects companies might
check in once a week or every few days, from what I heard, blizz was asking for updates almost hourly.
Everything Blizzard does is super well polished, it makes sense that they would hold all content to that scrutiny, as it's their reputation on the line.
so hire as consultants? Absolutely no, I don't believe it would benefit anyone.
Should Blizzard offer incentives for mapmakers? Hell yes!
Having more events like "rock the cabinet" or even promoting maps via social media I think could do wonders for the community.
Another issue is that there is currently system in place for sharing content and maintaining credit/ownership. We need something similar to the Unity Asset Store.
I personally work on art assets. There is no practical way for me to share a complete unit. Creating a single unit from scratch that includes the model, texture, animation, death (model/texture/animations), and FX; usually can take 100+ hours.
Just releasing it into the wild, you have no idea who is using it and if you are even getting credit. Even with credit, the other person will still have to implement everything in data.
I feel many data and trigger people may have similar concerns. If you spend days or weeks setting up a bunch of hero units with abilities, why should someone else benefit? I believe this
has led to stagnation in the community and maps as a whole.
If blizzard optimized dependency mods, added a system that allowed people to implement protected mods (use mod components without the content being downloaded locally), and added a storefront,
I believe we would see sooo much more activity in the modding scene. But, this is a rant for another time...
I wouldn't get discouraged. I live in California relatively close to a lot of major studios, believe me when I say it can take TONS of applications to get a position at a major studio. I've applied to Blizzard, Riot, Carbine, Obsidian, Disney, Naughty Dog, Activision, Zindagi and numerous smaller developers; 99% of the time, no response.
I didn't get an human email back from naughty dog till about the 10th try, and got a phone interview on the 15th try (still didn't get the position). Once you pass the phone interview comes the "test". I don't know about code or game design, but for art, you are given a task to demonstrate your skills. In my case for a graphic design position I was given a parked car and a stock road image and instructed to create a splash screen where it looked like the car was speeding down the road. Another was a 3D position where I was given a character sheet and instructed to model and texture with a specified poly limit. Then once you pass THAT, they bring you in for a personal interview. And after aaaaaaaallllll that, you get to be the rookie member of the team that everyone will dump the grunt work they don't want to do on. Welcome to game dev :D!
I'm not sure how the game industry in germany or europe is, but if you are looking to work for blizzard I would recommend first getting a job at a smaller studio (perhaps a mobile or indie dev), after you have worked on two or more games, apply for a AAA studio (I recently had a former colleague get a position at IO interactive). If you have experience at a AAA studio, big publishers are much more likely to consider you.
And as Deltron mentioned, connections are everything. Try and find devs on social media and see if you can connect with them, If nothing else you may get some useful feedback, just don't pester them.
Correct, or use the 3rd party M3 Exporter that usually packaged with the M3 Importer.
Unfortunately I am unaware of any such tutorials specifically for SC2 Portrait modeling. If you plan on doing full custom portraits, might want to look into zBrush, if you just want to make edits and tweaks, the same principles for regular modeling in 3DS Max should work.
Can you post an image of the issue you are receiving?
As far as I'm aware, the 3rd party M3 tools do not directly correlate with the SC2 Art tools. Materials / particles / cameras etc. have to be recreated with the Art Tools systems to function properly with the exporter.
To have the textures populate automatically, you could try extracting all the DDS files to your "...\Autodesk\3ds Max 2011\maps" folder using a MPQ Editor. I believe the files are housed in one of the "Base.SC2Assets"
- ( open the emitter source file. ex: Marine_Death) select the emitter and choose file > Save As > Selected (which you did)
Save the Animation
- Select the Emitter
- In the menu bar, Choose Animation > Save Animation
- In the save animation dialog, choose Segment > Active Time Range (button of clock with a line over it)
- Check the From and To are correct
- Save
Import
- In your working project, Import > Merge or drag and drop the emitter max file
- goto the segment in the timeline that you wish to have the animation play
- select the emitter
- in the menu, choose Animation > Load Animation
- select your animation file (.xaf)
- in the load animation dialog, choose "Replace" at *enter the starting frame of your current sequence*
Notes:
Should see the keyframes in the timeline.
The primary attribute that is animated in a particle is the Emission Rate, which is how often is spits out particles.
squirt amount is how many particles per emission, life is how long before the particle is removed. More info can be found within
the art tools docs.
0
Adept portrait obj-ified.
Obj and mtl file attached.
0
the model I tried was this one:
https://www.sc2mapster.com/projects/dow2-units/files/914659
when checking in the editor and 3ds max the textures applied fine, it may be your import method.
you can try this:
- Create a map and Save it
- Open up the Import Module (F9)
- Right click in the "Document Files:" box and select "Import Files..."
- Navigate to the folder containing the model you want to import, the folder itself should contain the "Assets" folder and the M3 model
- Once the files have been imported SAVE and Close the map, then Re-open it.
- If you click on the M3 file in the Importer Module, you should see the textures on the model.
demo map attached
0
can you post a link to the models you are referring to?
0.952590959206174
Hello,
What I recommend would be to save the animations as "XML Animation" files and then import them into your main scene.
to do this you will need to be familiar with how to select/hide/freeze specific objects and the animation timeline.
*I recommend only exporting one animation at a time until you are comfortable with the process.
using this technique you can choose which animations you would like and import them into SC2 Sequences without overriding existing animations.
0
posted on the official facebook and website
https://starcraft.com/en-us/
0
@ArcaneDurandel: Go
Awesome! Thank you for this information.
0
Hello,
I am currently assisting on a project that requires a specific animation for one of the building models. The design doc calls for a single unique animation to be played throughout the build cycle (non-looping).
Is it possible to adjust the speed at which the animation plays via data (actor maybe)? Looking for solutions that allow the animation to be adjusted dynamically to avoid having to do a 1-to-1 with the ingame build time.
Any feedback regarding the issue would be appreciated. Thank you.
0
would be cool to see a "Worms" artillery style game using this kind of terrain as well
0
Adding another bump! Discord is really helpful, would like to see the mapster channel grow.
0
@Talioso21: Go
Very cool
0
Skyrim was definitely a good example of how not to integrate a payed mod system.
I agree, mods should stay free, for the players.
When you add a barrier of entry to any game, it's going to make a smaller player base. AAA games recently have been falling into this trap a lot, with season passes for maps and characters that segment people who pay for DLC vs those that don't. This act has arguably destroyed games like Evolve and Titanfall.
Now what if instead of trying to appeal to players, you were to make your mods available to other Modders. This changes the perspective from paid content, which feels like a hinderance, to a paid convenience.
Let's say you had a great idea for a MOBA game, you could buy a data package that had premade heroes, a terrain package for moba style games, a trigger package for unit spawns, and an art package because maybe you want a fantasy theme rather than a sci-fi one. With this you have a base to build out your ideas.
But it's none of it is required, all of these things can be created by you the modder if you want to put in the time and effort. This just adds a convenience and assistance for those who may not have the time or experience with the editor to create the maps they envision.
(NOTE: after reading through what I wrote, I want to clarify by mods I mean SC2mods, or dependencies, as they are basicly packages that can be added to most maps)
Another scenario would be: Have you ever played a map you really liked and had an idea "What if?"
"What if they added warcraft units to nexus wars?" or "What if you had multiple ships in StarBattle?"
Currently, if a map is locked, you would need to create everything from scratch. If a map is unlocked you could make your changes, uploaded it, and not give any create to the original map maker.
Now with a system that allowed protected mods to be shared, you could have your own version of a map, and all blizzard would need to add is a section in the description that shows "Dependencies" and have that link back to the original. Credit is given where it's due. You may even want to have a note on the loading screen, or add a menu in game that lists all the mods (dependencies) and a description of what they are.
By storefront I was referring to something like the Unity Asset Store or Steam Workshop:
https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/
http://steamcommunity.com/app/570/workshop/
Basicly a website that allowed users to browse for assets they are interested in. Could offer paid content or could be completely free. Having a rating system, comments, and sorting would be greatly beneficial.
0
Pretty much most of the counter arguments have been made.
Even as a consultant, working with Blizz can be pretty tough. I have a friend
that used to work for a studio that did animated graphics for a few blizz productions
(think like the hearthstone cinematics and such). On normal outsourcing projects companies might
check in once a week or every few days, from what I heard, blizz was asking for updates almost hourly.
Everything Blizzard does is super well polished, it makes sense that they would hold all content to that scrutiny, as it's their reputation on the line.
so hire as consultants? Absolutely no, I don't believe it would benefit anyone.
Should Blizzard offer incentives for mapmakers? Hell yes!
Having more events like "rock the cabinet" or even promoting maps via social media I think could do wonders for the community.
Another issue is that there is currently system in place for sharing content and maintaining credit/ownership. We need something similar to the Unity Asset Store.
I personally work on art assets. There is no practical way for me to share a complete unit. Creating a single unit from scratch that includes the model, texture, animation, death (model/texture/animations), and FX; usually can take 100+ hours.
Just releasing it into the wild, you have no idea who is using it and if you are even getting credit. Even with credit, the other person will still have to implement everything in data.
I feel many data and trigger people may have similar concerns. If you spend days or weeks setting up a bunch of hero units with abilities, why should someone else benefit? I believe this
has led to stagnation in the community and maps as a whole.
If blizzard optimized dependency mods, added a system that allowed people to implement protected mods (use mod components without the content being downloaded locally), and added a storefront,
I believe we would see sooo much more activity in the modding scene. But, this is a rant for another time...
@OutsiderXE: Go
I wouldn't get discouraged. I live in California relatively close to a lot of major studios, believe me when I say it can take TONS of applications to get a position at a major studio. I've applied to Blizzard, Riot, Carbine, Obsidian, Disney, Naughty Dog, Activision, Zindagi and numerous smaller developers; 99% of the time, no response.
I didn't get an human email back from naughty dog till about the 10th try, and got a phone interview on the 15th try (still didn't get the position). Once you pass the phone interview comes the "test". I don't know about code or game design, but for art, you are given a task to demonstrate your skills. In my case for a graphic design position I was given a parked car and a stock road image and instructed to create a splash screen where it looked like the car was speeding down the road. Another was a 3D position where I was given a character sheet and instructed to model and texture with a specified poly limit. Then once you pass THAT, they bring you in for a personal interview. And after aaaaaaaallllll that, you get to be the rookie member of the team that everyone will dump the grunt work they don't want to do on. Welcome to game dev :D!
I'm not sure how the game industry in germany or europe is, but if you are looking to work for blizzard I would recommend first getting a job at a smaller studio (perhaps a mobile or indie dev), after you have worked on two or more games, apply for a AAA studio (I recently had a former colleague get a position at IO interactive). If you have experience at a AAA studio, big publishers are much more likely to consider you.
And as Deltron mentioned, connections are everything. Try and find devs on social media and see if you can connect with them, If nothing else you may get some useful feedback, just don't pester them.
0
@kim743: Go
Correct, or use the 3rd party M3 Exporter that usually packaged with the M3 Importer.
Unfortunately I am unaware of any such tutorials specifically for SC2 Portrait modeling. If you plan on doing full custom portraits, might want to look into zBrush, if you just want to make edits and tweaks, the same principles for regular modeling in 3DS Max should work.
0
@kim743: Go
Can you post an image of the issue you are receiving?
As far as I'm aware, the 3rd party M3 tools do not directly correlate with the SC2 Art tools. Materials / particles / cameras etc. have to be recreated with the Art Tools systems to function properly with the exporter.
To have the textures populate automatically, you could try extracting all the DDS files to your "...\Autodesk\3ds Max 2011\maps" folder using a MPQ Editor. I believe the files are housed in one of the "Base.SC2Assets"
0
@kim743: Go
Drag and drop should do it.
Here's a method for copying a particle effect:
Get Source
- ( open the emitter source file. ex: Marine_Death) select the emitter and choose file > Save As > Selected (which you did)
Save the Animation
- Select the Emitter
- In the menu bar, Choose Animation > Save Animation
- In the save animation dialog, choose Segment > Active Time Range (button of clock with a line over it)
- Check the From and To are correct
- Save
Import
- In your working project, Import > Merge or drag and drop the emitter max file
- goto the segment in the timeline that you wish to have the animation play
- select the emitter
- in the menu, choose Animation > Load Animation
- select your animation file (.xaf)
- in the load animation dialog, choose "Replace" at *enter the starting frame of your current sequence*
Notes:
Should see the keyframes in the timeline.
The primary attribute that is animated in a particle is the Emission Rate, which is how often is spits out particles.
squirt amount is how many particles per emission, life is how long before the particle is removed. More info can be found within
the art tools docs.