Exporting Animations from 3Ds Max 8 to Ala fomat how?

[cavesyudepu]

How do i export Animations from Max 8 to the Ala Format? I have exported non-animated objects vehicles (The hover types only-coz i dont know yet how to animate the threads of the tanks) into ALO and have in-game custom objects now. Is there any links to tuturials on how to export Infantry and articulated robots/vehicle Animations? I've got some nicely redone Infantry and robotics/Vehicle type 3D models with textures and animations but i "CAN'T" export them in-game.

 

any help will be much appreciated....

Edited November 15, 2006 by cavesyudepu

[Dr. Nick]

You need to go to the Alamo utility and add the number of animations you want to export. Name each animation whatever it should be like, MOVE_00 or whatever you need. Be sure to specify which frames to export for each animation.

[cavesyudepu]

any step by step hints like ---Click utilities (The hammer icon in max), click "MORE", Click "Alamo Utility, Click "OK" Name your Animation "IDLE_00....etc", Set Animation Frames "Start" from 0 to "END" 120...etc, then What?  Do I have to click "File", then "Export"

then What? all i see in the export option files is "Alamo object (*Alo)" there's no option there to export as "Ala".....

 

any specific help will be much apperciated.... coz whatever i manage to accomplish here will diffinitely go to the "Public Usable Models" of the community..... that's my principle of sharing modding ideas anyway...

 

thanks in advance...

[Dr. Nick]

Yep, you've got it right, except the animations export automatically when you export the model to alo if you specify them in the Alamo Utility.

[cavesyudepu]

Nice.... It's auto animation export then, so if you specify an animation sequence in a model, the "named" animation is automatically exported along with the base model.... I still have a little question, how do we animate the damn tank treads? is it still in a similar process as done in c&c Generals modding? where its just the textures that is given an "animation effect" but not the tread model itself being animated? its funny lookin at the treads turning but seeing the wheels of the T4B solidly steady (Coz the wheels were part of the chassis frame model).......... Another funny animation style done by petro guys was the Juggernaught Transport in FoC, the wheels reallly do turns around when the vehicle moves but when the vehicle turns around to face another direction the front wheels never turns sideways???? I think that the modding guys in this forum can do a lot better than the artists of petroglyph if given the proper tools and modding guidelines/documentation. I've tested a very high poly vehicle in-game (somewhere around 15000 polygons), fully detailed and sporting a complete set of shader enhanced textures. built around a hundred of them in-game (by modifying the cap limits) and saw proof that the ALAMO engine could very well handle such extreme model detailing..........yet what we've got is low poly, poorly detailed, meagerly animated, and poorly textured 3D objects...............

[Dr. Nick]

Treads............I have no clue. I've tried doing a number of things, yet I still can't get 'em to work. Meshadditiveoffset is the only shader that makes the texture move that I've found and I don't think you want glowing treads...

 

And not everyone has a good computer. My computer can barely play certain mods on low detail.

As for the animation, they probably got lazy  ;D

[Kelathin]

The game is designed for a 1.0 gigahertz, 256 ram, 32 megabyte graphics card. Some people have 8.8 gigahertz, 4 gig of ram, 512 video card. The problem isn't that the engine can't support it, it's the actual pc.

[cavesyudepu]

I've inserted (exported in-game)some very well animated 3D objects from Dawn of war: Dark Crusade; it was just a matter of "naming conventions" being re-adapated to Eawar or Foc. Its really amazing to note that a game engine designed to render 3D objects in a better perspective (with shaders) is way far behind compared to a game engine with no shader enabled (well at present) presenting better animated, better textured, better detailed 3D objecs........... its a wonder why WESTWOOD (well formerly) trying to present highly detailed 3D objects in-game to their original concept of the C&C continuation were junked because "EA" hAS A BETTER IDEA.......tet petro guys adapted the smae concept.......... look at some very well modeled and animated games fro not so very well known titles......(Faces of war, Joint task force, company of heroes; a 90+ratings, etc..........) makes you wish you could infuse all their features into what you want STAR WARS shouldhave been in  the first place....... ( i was still dreamingly hoping that the fatures-in 2D perspective- presented by the last RTS STARWARS wherein you can see the light sabers of the sith and jedi impacting upon one anotehr with all those sparks through the not so very "Eye appealing 2D glory- coz at present it makes me hoping wishing for more lookin at vader slashing 5 meters away and sooooo very slow yet killing the target anyway....)

[cavesyudepu]

I am not asking the petro guys to look at this tread but they could at least read it coz "ACT OF WAR" the RTS Series we formerly believe could give us the kind of a "community athmospehere where gamers become familiar with one another in a kind of C&C old glory days were trashed because of the "devs being so aloof with the idea of mods"...

 

So? what makes Petroglyph different from those devs?........................ we'll see in the near future....................

 

yet, i aint waiting too long coz there are alot more RTS titles comin out next year.............. "C&C3 is one i'm difinitley lookin forward to because i already know how to import/export anything ingame.................and code what you like, provided its engine supported..........................