Path: chuka.playstation.co.uk!chuka.playstation.co.uk!scea!greg_labrec@interactive.sony.com From: Nick Porcino Newsgroups: scea.yaroze.programming.3d_graphics Subject: Re: TMD axes Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 22:38:02 -0800 Organization: SCEA News Server Lines: 37 Message-ID: <34221DC6.26B2@bc.sympatico.ca> References: <34221E34.D6786C07@mindspring.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: vcta01m04-63.bctel.ca Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.01-C-SYMPA (Macintosh; I; PPC) Walter wrote: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hey everybody: I don't really know where to send this, so it goes here. The question is: I have been able to create a TMD file consisting of multiple objects, like an action figure. However, there seems to be no direct way to assign local axes to each part, which makes using separate objects almost pointless. (In case anyone hadn't guessed already, this is intended to fuel a 3d fighting game.) Is there a utility for this, or perhaps some way to assign axes at the modellign phase of design where the TMD file will recognise them? This is something of a brick wall for me, and I need to get past it soon. . . any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance Walter Griswold <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< The easiest way I know to deal with this is to identify attachment points (make dummy verts at a known index if you have to) then when you create your local matrices for the parts, use the dummy vert as the initial translation for the part. It's best to model your figure in a "canonical" pose, like the daVinci drawing of the naked guy in the circle so that it's trivial to attach your parts and calc limits of rotation, etc. Then you can use the parent field of the coordinate structures to get your hierarchical calcs going. BTW, wanna get on the bones bandwagon? The TMD lib I'm making right now is specifically oriented to character animation. I'm working on the assumption that characters are going to be single meshes (with no extra parts) animated by bones embedded in the mesh (as rotation matrices linked to certain verts). I'm still casting around for ideas on ways to efficiently move groups of verts according to these matrices, and that's what the release of the library is waiting for (it's also waiting on my NURB tesselator, but one thing at a time). I know the PSX can do it. Tobal 2 and The Lost World are existence proofs of real time mesh warping and how good it looks. - nick