How to create custom animations in Max and import to UnrealEd 3

[lucidjit]

Some friends and I created some custom characters for UT2K4, two of which are 'humanoid' and two which aren't. For the humanoid characters, we were able to import the meshes and rigs and utilize the built-in animation sets, but we can't seem to find a way to create a custom animation set for a non-humanoid. I've scoured these forums as well as numerous others, but haven't found anything of use. All tutorials seem to refer to using the built-in rigs, but this doesn't work for us because of our non-humanoid character.

As for tools, we're using 3DS Max 8/9 and using ActorX to export the PSK/PSA files.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Darkhan]

I had the same thing going on, and found this:
http://www.neomagination.com/tutorials/

It's very helpful when you start out

[lucidjit]

Thanks for the tip, this is a great tutorial. The only part I'm having trouble with is that I'm trying to create a non-humanoid rig. Since all the bipeds in Max 8 are humanoid, am I going to have to create a custom bone rig? Or can I get rid of biped bones that I don't need? For example the model I'd like to add a rig to is of a Manta Ray. I just need a simple animation of the Manta 'Flapping' its wings.

Thanks!

[lucidjit]

I've gotten a lot further since the last pose and have learned all kinds of quirks about UnrealEd, but one thing I'm stuck on now, is the ability to rotate/translate the root bone without screwing up all the other bone keyframes. There seems to be a property in ActorX that refers to this very issue:


Fix Root Net Motion

If your model is animated such that the root bone moves, this option gives you the opportunity to disable that motion. Meaning, if you create a run cycle in Max that translates forward, this option will make it look as if the model is running in place in UnrealEd.

Only problem is, it doesn't seem to be an option in the version of ActorX that's available. According to the screenshots (http://udn.epicgames.com/Two/ActorXMaxTutorial.html#Fix%20Root%20Net%20Motion) here - where they discuss the options - they're using an older version of ActorX than the currently available 2.24 and the 'Motion' setup options aren't even present.

Any suggestions? Please??

[lucidjit]

Hi Guys -

As an update to my previous posts - I've figured out that I didn't need to use that Root Net Motion anyway. What I did was add one additional bone as the root bone. That way the entire model can rotate around that bone without moving the bone itself. The trick is to not link that node when applying Physique in 3DS Max. I'm not sure if this is the best way to do it, but it certainly does work!

Once I'm completely done, I'll write up a whole new tutorial that adds to the one I was able to utilize. It seems there are a lot of 'quirks' to the entire process and they seem to make all the difference in the world.

Thanks to all who responded!