Required bones?

[zynithra]

Hello!

I am trying to create a test vehicle for my UDK WIP, and I have the mesh ready. The vehicle itself is a spacecraft/aircraft type of thing, but the game is top-down 2d, so I don't really need movement along the Z-axis. As it is a test vehicle, I don't really need any animations at this point, so I was wondering if anyone could help me out by sharing their knowledge on what bones I need. If it's a vehicle that moves like the manta, do I still need invisible wheels with bones to them? I tried looking at the Manta's skeletal mesh, but couldn't find anything else connected to the ground than the root bone, or 'engine' in the Manta's case, but I am not knowledgeable enough to figure out whether that's what actually keeps it up in the air or not.

So, if I require absolutely no animations for this test vehicle, do I still need the root bone, and do I require anything else on top of that?

Thanks a ton in advance!

//Z

[geodav]

you still need at least the base bone, please don't name it "root", try watching some of my UDK/UT3 vehicle videos to get an idea of the work flow

[zynithra]

Yeah, I actually found your site after posting that. Great tutorials man, thank you! I think I have it figured out now.. somewhat. ;D