How to add custom animations into neverwither nights?

[Legacy_Bannor Bloodfist]

               One other VERY important setting for 3dsmax is the "Units".

Go to your main 3dsmax menus, and find the "Customize" menu, from the drop down, choose units.

EVERYTHING in NWN is done in Centimeters, so set the Units to Metric, and the unit size to centimeters.  Otherwise, when you export things, you will get serious rounding errors (they still occur, but going from US to Metric on export really screws things up).

There are other preferences to adjust, but the next most important is to "Configure User Paths".

Here you want to "ADD" whatever folders you are using for your main working directory.  Just click the Add button on both the File I/O And on the External Files rollouts.  Add whatever folders you need to those, and it is typically best if you move them to the top of the list.  (There are buttons there to help with that).

By setting those two folder options, you are telling 3dsmax to search whatever folders you added to find things like textures, or other objects it may need for specific things.  Typically it is the textures you are concerned with.

3dsmax does not recognize the .DDS format typically released with mdl files here, and on the vault.  It only recognizes the .TGA file type (or .bmp, but NWN requires the TGA).

There are tools available to help convert From DDS to TGA, just don't go backwards:  Meaning, don't convert a DDS to TGA, then back again to DDS as it causes severe data loss on the Texture.  

There are some tutorials on various bits of this located on the CTP Custom Content forums, which you joined earlier today.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Rolo Kipp]

               <looks very...>

Hey! Welcome aboard :-)

And thanks, BB, for the DDS info. Didn't know the conversion was so lossy. Guess I'll do my textures like I do my models, eh? Master copy flows downstream, but not up.

Works for me, since I work in Gimp and keep the master in xcf format to store all my layers & channels & stuff. So my typical texture work is to adjust something in the .xcf, then, if I like the change, export it as an uncompressed .tga. Eventually, those uncompressed tgas will be compressed in dds.

<...pleased>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_OldTimeRadio]

               

Rolo Kipp wrote...
Master copy flows downstream, but not up.

Yep, that's the best way to do it.  Or, at least keep it as low as you possibly can.  I'm sure there are other things at play but I uncovered some harsh rounding that happens in NWMax on export.  If you go to this thread and search for "And I think I just realized" you can read more about what I found and how to "correct" it.  You might want to consider making the changes I talk about there- it would definitely help the situation though not totally, I'm sure.  BioWare models are rounded down to 5-6 decimal places whereas NWMax rounds them down to 3-4, or something like that.  So you buy a little wiggle room.  Your mileage may vary, but for fine positioning involving nodes or vertices, it seems to be worth looking into.

Works for me, since I work in Gimp and keep the master in xcf format to store all my layers & channels & stuff. So my typical texture work is to adjust something in the .xcf, then, if I like the change, export it as an uncompressed .tga. Eventually, those uncompressed tgas will be compressed in dds.

LOL, I use the exact same workflow.  Sometimes my layers get out of control but Gimp doesn't seem to mind.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Rolo Kipp]

               <round & round he goes...>

OldTimeRadio wrote...
Yep, that's the best way to do it.  Or, at least keep it as low as you possibly can.  I'm sure there are other things at play but I uncovered some harsh rounding that happens in NWMax on export.  If you go to this thread and search for "And I think I just realized" you can read more about what I found and how to "correct" it.  You might want to consider making the changes I talk about there- it would definitely help the situation though not totally, I'm sure.  BioWare models are rounded down to 5-6 decimal places whereas NWMax rounds them down to 3-4, or something like that.  So you buy a little wiggle room.  Your mileage may vary, but for fine positioning involving nodes or vertices, it seems to be worth looking into.

Hmmm... looking at the script, g_RoundOffVertices is only supposed to be true for tiles. Not sure I'm gonna mess with it at the moment, but I'll definitely be watching it. TY. :-)

<...'cuz he adores spirals and labyrinths and...>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_OldTimeRadio]

               Huh- I can't explain that.  Maybe I just quoted the wrong bit of script or something or maybe it was a reused bit of code.  I definitely know I was able to change the rounding because it was the only way I could possibly get Estelindis's beautiful necklaces to export correctly after importing them.

<...parenthetically scratching his head...>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Estelindis]

               One more note on custom animations: Ninja Weasel Man's romantic animations are part of ProjectQ.  It seems most authors haven't done much with them, but Andarian's Sanctum of the Archmage series shows how they can give us some really tender moments:



If anyone wants advice on how to use these great animations, this thread on the Q forum has some information.  TrickyHands suggests looking at "q_anims_inc" for functions related to the animations and volunteers to answer any questions about said file.

Rolo Kipp wrote...

Oh!
My!
GOODIES!

I'm glad you like them!  I've used them for years and couldn't go back to not having these extra animations at my fingertips.  I believe that an update is needed to make them work properly with 1.69's custom radial feats (and maybe, for that matter, the romantic animations; I haven't looked into that myself).  There are two possible compatibility packages here and here, though at this stage I can't remember if I looked to either of them when I made my updates for my own module-specific hak.

WebShaman wrote...

And this, folks, is why we mourn the loss of the Legacy forums.

So much information...knowledge.  Links, ideas, building on each other's works.

*sigh*

I truly hope we get it back.

I agree whole-heartedly.  I'm skeptical as to whether Bioware ever will restore them, but at least we have the fully searchable NWN Ombibus to help us in the meantime. I have found it wonderful particularly for preserving the homebrew function thread from the old scripting forum.   :-)

OldTimeRadio wrote...

I definitely know I was able to change the rounding because it was the only way I could possibly get Estelindis's beautiful necklaces to export correctly after importing them.

And just as I was talking about NWN Omnibus, here's the fine individual responsible for that treasure!  I'm glad you were about to find a solution for importing/exporting the necklaces (and thanks for the compliment), but if you ever want my scene files for anything I've made, just let me know.  (I don't make anything without saving and keeping scenes.  Mind you, they are GMax scenes, not 3dsMax.)
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Estelindis, 15 septembre 2011 - 02:19 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Simpson3k]

               Hm wow thats really alot of information here *walks around puzzled, confused, nearly hitting the wall*

Well something surprised me really, as i imported one of those mdl files of that alternate combat animation pack, i found out that all possible animations for each race/gender-part are put into one mdl file. Means the human-female mdl contains all animations from unarmed battle till 2H-Weapons.

So does that mean, when i want to add a new emoteanimation for human females at a running server module, that i have to insert that animation into the mdl file wich already contains all possible emoteanimations for human females on that server?

How do i tell nwn then where my new animation starts and ends..and can i simple add it to the end of the mdl or at the beginning or do i have to put it into the middle somewhere at a very special spot?
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Rolo Kipp]

               <Making a completely useless...>

Simpson3k wrote...
Well something surprised me really, as i imported one of those mdl files of that alternate combat animation pack, i found out that all possible animations for each race/gender-part are put into one mdl file. Means the human-female mdl contains all animations from unarmed battle till 2H-Weapons.

Actually, the animations are inherited from a chain of "supermodels". The female human animations come from a_ba.mdl, but *that* model gets non-combat anims from... er, don't remember :-P Anyway, the animations are spread out among 3 or 4 models with a common theme.

So does that mean, when i want to add a new emoteanimation for human females at a running server module, that i have to insert that animation into the mdl file wich already contains all possible emoteanimations for human females on that server?

Any animations you want to *change*, just put that animation on your model and your custom animation will override inherited anims. But to be useable in game the animation needs a specific name and the info has to be stored on the aurabase object before you export it.

So, your new "Taunt" animation will have the same name as the old one, but it may have a different range of frames and, of course, different keys.

You do *not* need to store the other default anims on your model, just the ones you want to override.

How do i tell nwn then where my new animation starts and ends..and can i simple add it to the end of the mdl or at the beginning or do i have to put it into the middle somewhere at a very special spot?

Hmmm... At this point, I really recommend reading the Custom Content Guide (animations start at page 109).

<...last will and testament>
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Rolo Kipp, 15 septembre 2011 - 06:21 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Simpson3k]

               Hm ok just had a talk with the server host, most of the importing stuff he does himself so i focused more on the animation itself. Got a nice set of models from him to work with. First goal is a sitting animation with the legs ahead in one line from above, bended at the knees.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Simpson3k, 16 septembre 2011 - 02:58 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_AndarianTD]

               Thanks for the shout-out, Este! For anyone interested, here's a short video clip also showing the Romantic Animations suite in action.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par AndarianTD, 20 septembre 2011 - 03:46 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_WebShaman]

               OMB included them in his OHS as well!  Nothing like a little romance with your companions!
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_OldMansBeard]

               

WebShaman wrote...
OMB included them in his OHS as well!  Nothing like a little romance with your companions!

Well, not quite. '>

The kissing in the OHS is done with built-in Bioware animations, just scripted rather carefully to fit together. The Ninja Weasel package gives you genuine custom animations, which is a whole different kettle of fish and much more versatile.

Fun, though. '>

OMB
               
               

               

                     Modifié par OldMansBeard, 20 septembre 2011 - 02:37 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_WebShaman]

               O_o  You did the scenes really well, then.

I stand corrected.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Rolo Kipp]

               <tucking another treasure away ...>

WebShaman wrote...
O_o  You did the scenes really well, then.
I stand corrected.

Glad you made the mistake, though... :-)
Motivated me to go grab more OMB stuff from the Vault!

<...in his Proving Grounds>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Jenna WSI]

               

Estelindis wrote...

One more note on custom animations: Ninja Weasel Man's romantic animations are part of ProjectQ.  It seems most authors haven't done much with them, but Andarian's Sanctum of the Archmage series shows how they can give us some really tender moments:



If anyone wants advice on how to use these great animations, this thread on the Q forum has some information.  TrickyHands suggests looking at "q_anims_inc" for functions related to the animations and volunteers to answer any questions about said file.

Is there a way to get the hugging animation in the image here?