Thanks for trying the various exports.

Can you try you animation using the simbody file included with the updated version of the converter. While sometimes the movement of the arms won`t be exactly how you want them in the game (if a bone is rotated around box the y and z axis) , you shouldn`t get the reverse movements that you are getting. But I think this is due to the fact that the converter is set up to deal with the way the bones in the simbody file are set up.

It is like if in your body the clavicle joints starts in a different rotation, then all of the rest of the joints of the arm could be reversed.

Anyone using the new converter needs to either use the simbody file (the new one in the updated converter) or the file Crammyboy uploaded earlier called "simtest3.ms3d".

The simbody is based on the same joint rotations as in that file, but I`m unsure how he exported it from SimPE and I think he reset the joint positions in milkshape.

ow do you edit the pie menus?

I`ve uploaded version 0.1.2. This version does (or attempts to do) the conversion between xyz based animations (like most programs make) and xzy based ones that the game uses. This conversion can never always be 100% correct as some rotations will have more than one solution for the conversion process, so it wouldn`t know which one was correct. But in the animations I`ve tried it seems to work correctly. To do the conversion correctly you need to use the new "simbody.smd" file as the basis of you animation (or the file Crammybody posted called "simtest3.ms3d").

I`ve used Crammyboy`s animation which he posted in this thread as my main test animation and it converts this correctly now.

It still needs much more testing.

Miche.

I dont actually think the game applies the animation rotations in XZY order. I think this is happening because most people export there meshes in XZY order, and these are being used to make animations. Could you try a version that uses an exported XYZ mesh as a starting point for making the animations.

I also found This site which has a converter for XYZ to XZY, although I couldn't get any results that worked out of it. You may have more luck.

EDIT: Sorry. just saw your post.

As I don`t have milkshape, I can`t export any more bodies from simpe, so if you or someone could post a body exported with xyz( a smd reference file and a ms3d file.) then I`ll check again.
Edit: I think your are most likely right, my brain really hasn`t been thinking straight the last few days, I kept thinking that Y was up with the game but I was getting the opengl type coords mixed up with directx ones.

But as most people do use xzy and that`s what is needed for the models to stand up correctly in most programs then I think that`s what the converter should support anyway.

I'm using windows XP Pro and am logged in as an administrator, I haven't installed Sims 2 on that computer, is it needed for your converter?
.net-Version should be 1.1 on my machine.
I have not changed the .net settings but there is some ".NET Framework 1.1 Configuration"-Tool in my control panel. And in there, there´s an "runtime security policy" thing. I don't know if I have to change something there as I haven't the knowledge about .Net.
I can configure things for single applications there, too.

The configuration thing is looking like that:

You can stop searching, I've worked it out. OK, I think the problem was runnning the tool on another drive than C:
I tried it on O: and now on C: it works fine!

I've done something totally wrong.
I wanted to do a "Hampelmann" how we call it in Germany.
I think the translation is "jumping jack", but I don't know.

Here is what it finally ended with. Quite funny, but not right...
Could you tell me what I've done wrong?

Movie

Hope you can help. I've used the newest of your converter and have overwritten the animation in the file testanim.package in simpe.

My smd-File is here:
All seemed to be right in fragmation
SMD-File

Image of the animation I wanted to do:
Jumping Jack

From just looking at that video I have no idea what you did wrong. I don`t even know what it is meant to be. I`ll need to see the smd file you created to have any chance of helping. And also did you use the simbody file as the base for you animation?

Miche.

More test files. The zip contains simtest7 which is based on an XYZ model and simtest8 which uses the latest SimPE QA to export the model with the bones now in the correct positions.

Simtest8 works except that the l_upperarm rotation start point is 180deg off. I have no idea what I did to simtest3, but I don't seem to be able to reproduce it. Maybe Quaxi changed something. I wouldn't recommend using simtest3 as a base, because the bones are not perfectly placed.

Excellent work though. :D

For some more infos look in my previous post #83.
I've used the simbody file as base and then merged it with the animation file (Animation_template.smd) from your packed converter.

I don't know if the strange animation in the sims 2 depends on the first frame. It's not in the standard position, I have recognized this when I reloaded the smd in fragmotion. That could be the reason for the problem.

Okay I`ll look at it, but I meant to to take that template file out of the zip file, it is from a old version and is unlikely to work now.


Edit: that is most likely what is wrong with it. Just uise the simbody file and that make a animation from that.

OK, I think I will start from scratch again. I think my file is based on the file before the axis were changed (XYZ to the other type).
I think thats the reason for that errors. I will start working with the files from your current zip-file and try to make a new animation.

I hope I am able to get it to work.

Keep on working on your great tool !

Okay I`ve made the changes to fix this, but need to do further tests to check no other bones rotations have been changes (like the legs or spines or neck or head) as the x and y axis on the left arm were reversed to what they were in Simtest3. (I think you reset the bones in that one, as the upperarms starting rotations were all 0.0 where as in simtest8 they have starting rotations.)

Once I`d done those tests on the other bones, I`ll upload the new version. Then hopefully I can move on to adding other things, like the rest of the bones and support for 3d max and XSI mod tool. Then combine it into the editor and add support for multiboned objects (not sure how I`m going to handle the rotation conversions on objects as at least the sims have a set skeleton and I can inverse the axis when it`s needed (like with the left arm). )

Miche. I am posting another animation made with Milkshape, in case you need some more testing smd `s (smd, anim and package file). I used your simbody this time. In Milkshape sometimes the original first frame disapears and looks like the second one. But its still there, because it don t makes any difference. I tested to add my animation at the end of a one frame animation with your simbody, and as i said..1+10 frames=11. No difference in the game.
I looked a lot to my animation in the game and i even compared it with the result of converting with your older converter. The arms are rotating in the correct direction. It seems that the rotation angle is underestimated downwards and to the front, so everything is too far up and too far away in my sims hand-applause, so the hands never hit eachother. The leg is lifting fine and even the upper half of the body moving correctly sidewards and back and forward. Even the head is quite fine. Rotating the neck or the feet, even only small amounts, gives a 360 degrees funny rotation.
However, your converter is getting better and better and working with it is realy cool and exciting, thanks for your hard work.

The animation which you uploaded isn`t going to work because it doesn`t have the first frame where nothing has been changed in. It is needed that the first frame is completely unchanged from the way the body and bones are when you first load "simbody.smd" , you then start the animation from the second frame.

I`m not quite sure what you mean about milkshape losing the first frame. (you might mean that it lost this unchanged frame) but it is needed by the converter for the animation to turn out right

I need to do further tests on the head and neck so thanks for telling me about the problem (I`m not sure if this will be down to the lack of that first frame or a problem with the converter).

Thanks again for continuing to try the converter, we`ll get it working right in the end.

Peter,

I`ve added the needed first frame to you animation (see the included zip file) and the results (to me) seem to be nearly correct, the biggest problem I can see is one of the legs moves in the wrong direction at the end. The arms seem to be right or nearly right...it`s hard for me to be sure how correct they are as I have to keep swapping betwen the game and the animation to see the differences. You`ll have a better ideal if there are any differences.
I couldn`t see anything wrong with the head or neck but I`m not sure if you meant that problem was in this animation or another one.

I think I know what is causing the leg to move in the wrong direction and will work on correcting this tomorrow.


edit: I missed the part in your original post where you said about the hand not hitting each other when they are meant to, will need to go back and look at this. but this seems strange as the other animations I`ve tested do put the hands in the right place. You did use the simbody.smd file from the newest zip file ? as the older versions would give incorrect results.

Edit: I`ve looked again to see if the hand hit each other as they should do and they just miss, I need to do further tests but I think this could be down to the problem Crammybody said about...the bones being in slightly the wrong positions in simbody.smd.

There will be a new version of that file included in the next version.

The other problem I saw with your animation in the game is the arms seem to be kind of slightly twisted. I don`t know what is causing this or if it`s the mesh I`m using. Will need to do further tests on that as well.

Miche.

This is simtest 10. The upper body seems to be working correctly now. I have even tested some spine rotations. On the lower body, Root_rot appears to be inverted and root_trans is not scaled enough. Also I think there may be a problem with l_thigh, although it is hard to tell with root_rot off.

Animation is based off simtest3

EDIT: Download deleted, newer one in later post

Thanks I`ll check these tomorrow.

You think it is l_thigh which is wrong? I was thinking it`s the y and z axis on r_thigh (and r_calf) which are inverted.

I also wasn`t sure if some of the axis on the spines are inverted.

I`ll look into root_rot as well, any ideas what axis you think are inverted.

I know root_trans isn`t scaled correct, although I had thought I had corrected that in the lastest version but when I just looked at the source code, I hadn`t.

Miche.
Thanks for looking at my problem. After your addition of the first frame it looks nice and i cannot find anything wrong but the krossing legs at the end, they do not cross eachother at all in the milkshape animation.

I ve done a lot of tests the last hours and i must tell you that after importing and reexporting your smd file i cannot convert this to the same anim file as you. See pic. I even compared your smd with that one i menshioned i added the first frame myself...there are no differences and the outcome of the convertion here is the same. So, one possibility is that i am doing something wrong when importing/exporting the smd in milkshape or you have imported my smd file into another program than milkshape and with an export from there you could convert properly, which means that clean milkshape smd s cannot be converted correctly?

If it could be my fault, could you please tell me what options should be choosen at importing (triangles, skeleton, bones) and what at exporting (sequense, 1 bone weight). I thought i have tried all.

After all i am confused.

Miche.

After poking around the anim in SimPE and slowing the animation down some, I have found the following:

root_rot,Pelvis,spine0,spine1 and spine2 are all inverted around the z-axis. I modified the values in SimPE which appeared to fix the problem.

The problem with the left leg would seem to be caused by a gimbal lock in milkshape while making it. It appears to start out fine, but then wanders off. I reworked it and now seems to work fine.

I have uploaded the new version.

First does the smd file that I uploaded , convert (when you delete the old .anim file and reconvert the smd file) correctly for you or does that come out wrong as well.

It`s possible that you aren`t doing anything wrong. While I think I used the same version of the converter as I uploaded on here, it`s possible that I used a updated version (which I haven`t yet uploaded) to convert that animation.

I didn`t import and save your smd file in any program...to add the first frame I opened a smd file from a animation which I know has the correct first frame and copied that and overwrote the first frame in your smd file with it.

I will be posting a new version of the converter today, so wait till that is posted and then if you are still getting different results, we have to look into it.

Uploaded version 0.1.3. Which corrects some of the inverted axis. Still needs more testing though especially the z axis of all the bones.

At the moment I`m still using the same simbody.smd file (which is based on the skeleton from Crammyboy`s simtest3.). As although in a future version I will be swapping to a updated skeleton with the bones in better positions (Crammyboy`s simtest8.), to do so means rechecking every joint and correcting those joints again (as a lot are different). So I want to get at least everything right on the current version before working on that. Hopefully by about version 0.1.5 most of the axis should be correct so I can then start working on the better skeleton.

Miche.

Just tried the new converter and the body is still rotating the wrong way. The values I changed in SimPE where the z values.

The files, etc in the zip file all appear to be the same as was in version 0.1.2.

What are you calling the z axis? running down through the body from head to toe (which is the z axis in the game but the y axis in milkshape) or do you mean the z axis in milkshape?

Edit: I`ve just checked and somehow anim_converter.exe didn`t get changed in the zip file so I`ve posted exactly the same version as 0.1.2.

z-axis in the game. But version 0.1.3 is exactly the same code as 0.1.2 (same timestamps)