Just got a mesh

[Hazardmaker]

Ok, so I am working on a game that is just a simple "Oh, look, a thingy! I guess I'll shoot it!" kind of game.

Anyway, main character (3rd person view) is a robot. Now, I have model made, but I dont want to use bones for it, because of animation purposes.

So my question is, how would I be able to make the mesh itself do the movement? (I have the fore-arm and hand, and top arm, and shoulder, etc. separated and are different objects.)

[Jay]

No. You need bones to do animation in RF.

Even if animation without bones would be possible, it would not be adviseable, because it's slower. (Can't say by how much, but it's definitely slower, cause then each vertex would virtually have its own bone and that's much more complex than just a few bones (for example 1000 vertices vs. 50 bones).) Not to say it is MUCH more work to animate each vertex on it's own than just the bone and the vertices move according to them.

[Hazardmaker]

Oh, man I dont want to use bones. Well instead of applying a skin modifier, can I just link each mesh peice to it's corresponding bone?

And i was thinking more along the lines of just using a box or other basic object as a rotating point. In halo pc, what we would do for a vehicle or something else like a facial feature, is just make a box where we want the axis for movement to be, and we would link the mesh to it, and name it frame left_shoulder and we'd treat it as bone, but i guess it wont work :[

[Jay]

Oh, man I dont want to use bones. Well instead of applying a skin modifier, can I just link each mesh peice to it's corresponding bone?

Yes that's exactly what bones are for.

[Hazardmaker]

oh. im used to just usin a skin modifier and editing the vertexes affected by it.

any specific reason that equity doesnt think I have bones when I do?

I am using 3ds max 7

[bernie]

any specific reason that equity doesnt think I have bones when I do?

What format are you using to export mesh from 3dsmax7 ? The .3ds format doesn't support bones & neither does .obj. You need to export mesh as .nfo and animations as .key

[Hazardmaker]

Now it says error reading vertices error mesh and closes down

[bernie]

How many vertices has the mesh got and how many poly's?

[Hazardmaker]

the mesh has a normal amount of vertices and polies, and I've tried other models as well. And I can get anything I want into equity, until I put the biped bones into it. then it says error vertice error mesh and shuts off, so I know it's something with max's bones. Are there any specific tutorials regarding max and it's bones for RF, or can anyone tell me exactly what I should do?

[bernie]

The problem must be with the way you are making and assigning the skeleton to the mesh OR the way you are exporting the key files. You need someone who knows and uses max to help you.

[Hazardmaker]

ok. thanks guys. BTW i remember something about a phsyique modifier. i think that is what i didnt do. ill search it on the forums.