project update
I got the ragdoll designer working, at least with my own model. I can't seem to get it working with the Dark Matter II models, but in theory it should work. you simply have to copy the heirarchy properly, I must be doing something wrong.
either way, it is very usable, and probably won't be updated again until after the compo is over, because I can definately use it at this point.
click for larger screenshots:
BETA DOWNLOAD - includes ragdoll designer + test ragdoll loader .exe, plus the "franky" example in the screenshots.
-BASIC INSTRUCTIONS-
Okay first you need to load a model. once you have a model loaded:
rotate the model by dragging LMB.
zoom in/out by dragging MMB
raise/lower the model by dragging RMB
use the F1/F2/F3 keys to re-orient the model (if it's not already standing up).
Press the "g" button to toggle ghosting on the model (recommended).
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ADDING BONES
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Press the "Add" button. you should see a small box appear at the origin. now choose a limb from the "main limb" drop-down box. the position of the cube will update in real time to show the limb you are choosing. choose the root limb (usually the pelvis).
since this is the root bone, select "none" under "parent bone".
now select the "x" axis radiobox (or press the "x" key on the keyboard), and click and drag the LMB in the 3D view, while holding the CONTROL key. you can adjust the size of the bone's length. follow the same steps to adjust the Y and Z size (clicking the radio boxes, or pressing "y" or "z" then dragging LMB + CTRL). once you have the bone sized right (you can always adjust it later), click "ADD" to add another bone.
again, select a limb from the "main limb" drop-down list. the new bone should update realtime. make sure you choose a limb that is a direct child of the root bone.
follow the same steps again to size the bone.
now, choose bone number "1" from the "parent bone" list. your current bone should be bright red, and the chosen parent should be bright yellow.
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that's the basic process. you keep adding and scaling bones, and setting the parent bone for each one as you go.
you can change the current bone by choosing a new bone from the "RagDoll Bone:" drop down list. the selected bone will be displated in red, it's parent in yellow.
also don't forget to input rotational limits for the bone in the "Conemax" and "twistmax" boxes.
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NOTES
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the "parent limb" drop-down is automatically updated based on the "parent bone" selection. you should never need to mess with this value, it's there for completeness.
the "X-->" button is an automatic bone scale tool. it will set the length of the bone to the distance from the current limb to the next limb in the model. this works great for limbs in a long linear chain, like forearms, etc. press it once and the length will automatically be changed.
the "copy" button is also VERY usefull for symetrical models (like humans, etc). first build half of the model, setting the size and limits for the bones. then, add a new bone (to be the other side). then press "copy", and select the bone to copy with the mouse (in the 3D window). the size and limit information from that bone will be copied to the current bone. this makes building humans very fast and precise.
the "mousejump" controls how sensitive the mouse is. for smaller models, a smaller number workd best. for large models, a large number.
due to bone heirarchy limits, when you remove a bone, all bones made after it must also be deleted. also the bone list isn't currently updated when you delete a bone, but is when you add a new bone. (this will eventually be fixed).
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when you are done, press "Save" to save the ragdoll information to a .rag file. then you can use the loader to try out your new ragdoll!
you can also use "Open" to load an existing .rag file and adjust it.
note that .rag files are independant of the model itself, so you could in theory re-use a single .rag file on many models that all have the same skeleton setup.
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please let me know of any bugs or problems you encounter. and please post your own ragdolls if you get them working!
Go Go Gadget DBPRO!
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