THE AWESOME ADVANCED STUFF TUTORIAL!
this thread will contain some more advanced stuff...
so, here is what will be covered:
-one-slot bone modifications (not the same as size mods)-
-modifying your model to make the rig easier-
-more stuff later-
ONE-SLOT MODIFICATIONSQ:when does this process start?
A: BEFORE aplying the SKIN modifier
Q: when is this finished?
A: at the very END of the importing process
Q: what do i need done already?
A: you need the model fitting your boneset almost completely (except the bones u're going to modify)
Q: shall we start?
A: sure!
we're in 3ds max, with our model and our boneset, so let's say it's over ganondorf, who has abnormally long arms, we're gonna fix that.
probably most of the models u wanna put over ganon will fit completely except the arms (with this i mean legs fit correctly, so does the torso and the neck, so maybe you want to change the position of the ShoulderJ bones and the arm bones, to make them symetrical edit one of the two sides, right click on the move icon, and copy the X axis of the absolute world part and paste it on the other bone (remember that one should be a positive value and the other one a negative value)
now we have the boneset editted (do this with any bone you want, but remember we'll edit the motionpac, so dont move too many bones around for filesize purposes...)
[enter rigging process here]
[exporting model]
[importing to brawlbox]
now we have our model in brawlbox, if u preview the model, he'll be as in 3ds max, of course, but if u load the motionetc.pac of the character he is over, u'll notice all his editted bones go back to place, and probably giving u some ugly stretching...
copy the motionetc.pac and paste wherever u want, open it with brawlbox, open the fitmotion tab and right click on the animation data, now click on edit all.
u'll get a window, make it look like this:
do this once for each bone u editted, now in ur model, change the bone names to what u've inserted up there.
try ur new fitmotionetc.pac with ur new model and see the awesomeness of awesome proportions.
DISCOVERING THE AWESOME MODIFIERS AND TRICKS IN 3DS MAXQ: what will we learn here?
A: lots of stuff, orientated to making the rigging process a bit easier.
Q: where does this process begin?
A: before the rigging process.
Q: where does this process end?
A: before the rigging process
Q: can i do this stuff after rigging?
A: some, yes... most, no...
Q: shall we begin?
A: sure!
MODIFIER 1: vertex weldQ: can this be done after rigging?
A: i think so, use the modifier and then move it below the skin modifier.
Q: when should i use this modifier?
A: when your model is separated for no logical reason, but has perfectly matching vertices.
i'll only mention this modifier, for all you people who don't know this exists...
if you apply this modifier, all the vertices at the same position will merge together.
this is very usefull, since some models come separated in polygons, instead of real objects, and are impossible to smooth out, by using this modifier you will be able to smooth the model. ^^
TRICK 1: getting ur model in few piecesQ: when should i do this?
A: when you have a lot of objects using the same texture.
Q: can this be done after rigging?
A: NO!
ok, so what we're going to do here, is attaching all the objects that use the same texture, a GREAT example of models needing this are the mvc3 models.
first, be sure that ur models have no modifiers, if the do have them, right click the last (upper) and click on collapse all, this should get rid of all the modifiers by applying them definitely in ur model.
now that ur model doesnt have any modifiers anymore, select one of the objects you want to merge, right click and click on "Attach", now simply click on every object you want to include in your "global" object.
once you have them all together, we'll apply a vertex weld modifier, that way, when the vertices are in identical place, they'll merge into one, getting rid of the holes between the arm and torso for example.
we're done now, this way u won't have to care that much for giving two vertices the exact same weight values, since they're now just one!!
MODIFIER 2: prooptimizerQ: when should i use this?
A: when your model has waaaaay too many vertices and faces, remember that if ur model uses quads, the face count will double, since brawl uses triangles...
Q: can i use this after the skin modifier?
A: NO!
tip: use this after TRICK 1 if you are going to use that trick.
this modifier is pretty simple too, apply it to the main objects, like the torse, arms, legs and head, u probably wont want to apply it to hair...
once you've selected the modifier, look at the options, and check both "keep textures" and "keep UV boundaries", now click on calculate, and the modifier will calculate how many faces and vertices ur selected objects have all together, now simply reduce the % as much as you can without making it look crappy, and you're done!
MORE TO COME!!!!