3D Models

general

Visionaire 4.0 supports 3D-Models with animations for character animations. Only a single animation is needed for each animation type (walking/standing/talking) since the fitting direction is calculated from the 3D-Model.

Visionaire uses the Assimp Library for loading 3D-Models. With Assimp Viewer ( http://sourceforge.net/projects/assimp/files/assimp-3.0/assimp-view-3.0-setup.exe/download ) you can verify yourself if the 3D-Model file can be loaded without any errors. All files which can be loaded in Assimp Viewer should also work in Visionaire.

Assimp only supports bone animations and no keyframe animation of formats like *.md2, *.md3 und *.3ds.

Due to the complexity of the file format (especially with animation) it's not always easy to get animations running in Visionaire. For example we could not export a working animation with Cinema 4D (maybe that's different now with a newer version like R14/R15). A recommended and successfully tested workflow is to model the character in Cinema 4D, export the model and then animate it in Blender. Other working models were created and animated with Maya and finally exported as *.x file.

workflow

AkcayKaraazmak' Method

Here are the steps used by Akçay Karaazmak from the creation process of the 3D model to the settings he used for exporting the 3D model.

Workflow

• I 3D modeled the character with T-pose in 3ds max. (Legs, torso, hands, head, shoes modeled seperatly). IMPORTANT: try not to work very hi-res.
• Exported the model to ZBrush for sculpting then export as obj.
• Unwraped the exported model for texturing and did the texturing in Mari. (Textures are 1024x1024, higher resolutions have issues in Visionaire). Till now its more or less a standard character development procedure.
• Then I Imported the model into 3ds max again. In 3ds max, I've merged all the parts (Legs, head, torso etc..) into 1 mesh.
• Then I used biped for rigging the character.
• After rigging, I skinned the model and animate it. Now model is ready for exporting, which is the other important part!

Exporting

I used Alin Direct-X exporter (free-version). Download link: http://www.cgdev.net/download.php

Export settings:

• In GENERAL TAB just select (scene root, material, bone, mesh, skin, animation). Leave all others unchecked!
• In VERTEXT ELEMENTS TAB just select (Textcoords). Leave all others unchecked!
• In TEXTURES TAB just select (Textures and overwrite). Leave all others unchecked!
• In MULTIPLE UV SETS TAB. Leave all others unchecked!
• In ANIMATIONS TAB. Write down your animations. Uncheck keyframes
• In TIME LINE TAB. Uncheck 3ds max and select custom with the parameter 1.
• In STANDARD material TAB. Uncheck all
• In DIRECT X SHADER TAB. Uncheck all
• In COORDINATE SYSTEM TAB. Uncheck all (If model looks weird then try to check Right-handed)
• X-File format should be text.

In Visionaire Studio: you should adjust the settings for the camera height and angle to match the character angle with your scene.