[Expert] How to Port Smash 3DS/Wii U Animations for use with Brawl Skeletons

[KingJigglypuff]

[MAJOR UPDATE]: The OP has been updated to include both Sm4sh 3DS to Brawl and Sm4sh Wii U to Brawl animation tutorials.

Sm4sh 3DS -> Brawl

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

1c.) 3DS Max.

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

Fixing the texture-less part is easy. Find the textures you exported, then drag and drop the said textures over the appropriate objects. To make things easier, you can delete the multiple VIS0 models (extra hands, extra faces, etc), as you don't need those, and it would end up causing a bit of clutter (and more lag on lower end computers).

Fixing the deformation is simple as well, click on an object, make sure the Skin Modifier is selected, then scroll down to Advanced Parameters, open it up, then disable Always Deform before enabling it again.

Fixing the Normals can be done by using the Edit Normals Modifier, but it's not needed, as you're only using the model for animation purposes. If you do want to fix the Normals, make sure you move the modifier, so it's under the Skin Modifier.

Once you're done, save your 3DS Max scene and export the model as either dae or FBX (make sure the settings are set to keep the rig and the Scale Factor is 1. Also make sure the Up Axis is set to "Y-Up"). Do not close 3DS Max, as you will need it for Part 3.

If exporting as dae gives you trouble in the later Parts, then export as FBX.

Part 2: Obtaining the animation parts.

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

Part 3: Piecing the Animation Parts Together.

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

3b.) 3DS Max (Again)

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

Part 4: Autodesk Maya.

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

4b.) Importing the animation, baking the animation, and exporting the animation.

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

Part 5: Finishing up with BrawlBox.

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

Sm4sh Wii U -> Brawl

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

2.) Ripping the Animations.

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

3.) Maya usage

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

3b.) Model Importing

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

3c.) Constraining the Skeletons

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

3d.) Importing the Animations

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

3e.) Baking the animation.

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

3d.) Exporting the Baked Animation

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

Completed Result Example:

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

This tutorial was much longer than my previous tutorials, but I hope it was worth it for those who want to back port Smash 4 movesets into Brawl. Thank you for reading this tutorial.

[Large Leader]

Thanks TheShyGuy.
Thanks KJP for having the patience v:

[spiritpyros]

My goodness this is definitely a amazing discovery for brawl modding Imo.

[R̢i҉̴̛͜d̷̕҉̴l̨̧͠͡e͘͜͠y̴̶͡͠͞]

Um...Maya doesn't export .anims...or im missing something? Im using 2013, 86x.

[KingJigglypuff]

Did you make sure you loaded the plugin for it?

http://download.autodesk.com/global/docs/maya2013/en_us/index.html?url=files/GUID-91EE8FBF-3267-4A41-BD7B-A2EBA1478F27.htm,topicNumber=d30e246543

[masamune]

Thanks for the tutorial! I don't think you've mentioned it, but when using the Wall Worm smd and qd importer, you have to enable 'animated models' before importing the smd animation. Otherwise, you won't be able to preview your animation (happened to me once.)

[KingJigglypuff]

I was fine without enabling that option, but I should get into the habit of doing so just to be safe.

I'll update the OP with that tidbit. Thanks for letting me know.

[Tabuu Forte Akugun]

I wonder if the .anim format is the same that Unity uses. Would save me a ton of work for some fighters. XD

[R̢i҉̴̛͜d̷̕҉̴l̨̧͠͡e͘͜͠y̴̶͡͠͞]

Did you make sure you loaded the plugin for it?

http://download.autodesk.com/global/docs/maya2013/en_us/index.html?url=files/GUID-91EE8FBF-3267-4A41-BD7B-A2EBA1478F27.htm,topicNumber=d30e246543

Weird. I set it to load before, but it isn't anymore. Oh well.

[SmashHero]

This is going to be ultra useful for my sm4sh movesets. Thanks a lot!!

[KingJigglypuff]

Another tip.

If your FBX animation import into Maya gets automatically scaled to 2.54 (TransN), then on the final exporting step of Part 3, set the Unit to Centimeters, then import as Inches in Part 4.

[KingJigglypuff]

I've got yet again another tip.

If your animation heavily stutters when the game is set to 1/2 or 1/4 speed, then when baking, make sure the Unroll Rotations option is enabled.

If that doesn't work, then find out which bones are freaking out when the animation is slowed, open the Graph Editor, select the affected bones from the Outliner, select all the Curves in the Graph Editor, and apply the Euler Filter to the selected Curves (Graph Editor > Curves > Euler Filter).

I was told if your animation doesn't have spinning in it, then you can just do it for the entire hierarchy.

[SmashHero]

Thanks for the tip! I had this problem but i didn't know how to fix it. Thanks to you, I can solve it now  :D

[KingJigglypuff]

You would think there would be nothing else to add on, but there's one more thing for now.

For animations that use the TransN bone for movement, you'll notice X (shows as Z in Maya) and Y movement are swapped, alongside Y being negative when it should be positive and vise verse.

TheShyGuy made another script to remedy this. https://www.dropbox.com/s/mmsqnrodqtomi4u/SwapTranslationValues2.py?dl=0

Load the script like you did in Step 4 of this tutorial (make sure you clear everything first though. It can be done via Edit > Clear All in the Script Editor). Though this time, you're only selecting the TransN of the Smash 3DS model. After selecting the TransN, select all the script text in the bottom window of the Script Editor before Executing it. This should swap X (Z in Maya) and Y while also flipping Y.

[SmashHero]

The 1/4 speed fix thing doesn't work. The keyframes are still buggy.