Path: chuka.playstation.co.uk!news
From: colin adams <colin@cobradev.demon.co.uk>
Newsgroups: scee.yaroze.programming.3d_graphics
Subject: Re: Character Animation
Date: Sat, 07 Jun 1997 17:26:21 -0700
Organization: Cobra Developments
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Lars Barstad wrote:


> colin adams wrote:
> > (a) Artists will have to Edit Graphics using RsdTool 0.3b
> >  1 frame at a time. As RsdTool 0.3b does not support
> >  multi-object editing as in AutoDesk Animator, Dpaint 4 ect.
> >  This will be very difficult when editing Data with 500+
> >  Polys & many frames.
> 
> I have done some character animation, and it's not that difficult.
> What I did was to create one object in 3D Studio. When the object is
> created, animate the parts you want WITHOUT ADDING ANY NEW POLYGONS 
> and save them as different DXF files.
> 

This Method is What I referred to When I said  Frame Flipping. For Me
its not
a Problem to Code Animation Routines. In fact They are already written.
I was Approaching the Problem from an Artists point of view. Artists are
Creative
people & Artists Will almost Certainly want to Update Graphics  Many
Times 
During The Development of a Project, Just as a Coder adds Extra Code to
a 
function or a musician adds new Riffs to a Tune.
If Every time I added a variable to a Function (Polygon in Artist case)
I had  
to rewrite the function  (Color/Texture in Artist case) I wouldn't be
very happy
with the situation & would feel that my Creativity  is Curtailed.
Graphics Creation
Becomes very much a "One Shot Affair".   
(Adds a new slant on the Statement "Yaroze Means Lets Create").   

> Convert all files to RSD. Color/Texture the original object using
> RSDTool, and manually edit the other RSD files to use the same material
> file (.mat). This way you don't have to color each frame manually.
> 
> Convert all files to TMD. To avoid storing multiple copies of the
> primitive list, write a program that extracts the vertexes & normals
> from each TMD except the first. At runtime you only have to point your
> vertex & normal pointer to the correct animframe.
> 
> Does this make sense? 

Yes It Does, Almost the same as I am doing it. Great? Minds think
Alike:-)

> I think this is the easiest way to implement
> character animation. Editing the vertexe-list directly is also possible,
> but I think you need a few different object that share the same
> behaviour to make it worthwhile to hardcode the movement.

I agree, but its a bit of a Hack isn't it?  All this stuff should be
High Level
IMHO.

 
-- 
Cobra