Global Animations Tutorial

[andylegate]

I've written a tutorial on how to use Global Animations and Layer SDL Animations for Max and Cyan's plugin:

http://www.guildofmaintainers.org/Forum ... 154&t=1824

And it's also up over at Alternate Worlds.

[dendwaler]

Thx Andy for another great tutorial.
I really appreciate your effort in writing all those tuts and sharing your knowledge.
Tutorials are very important and very needed by every writer who don't want to get lost .
I am a Blender user myself so won't use this one now , but did use your other ones in the past.
If they did not excist I would have given up writing.. ages ago.
(Just want to give some feedback on all your work.)
Keep on writing!

Thx again.

[tangara]

@andylegate : I have a certainly stupid question..I have read your excellent tutorial " Day / Night Cycle" on GoMa, cycle which fascinate me in Eden Gira, and I asked myself if it was possible to use this tutorial for a modification of Relto ?
Of course, I am not able to do that, this is just to know...

[andylegate]

Yes and No.

Yes, but you'll be working kind of blind, nor would things look right.

First you'd have to be using Max and Cyan's Plugin since Blender and the current GoW plugin version does not support Layer SDL animations.

You'd have to "edit" the .age file for Relto. You'd need to do this anyway, and set it up in your export folder, so you'd have your PageInfo component. You'd be changing the length of day in the .age file, but also, you're going to add a new prp file, so you'd be adding a new "page" to the .age file.

You'd need to import Relto into Blender. Then export the meshes for like the skydome and main island (that's all you'd need) as an FBX file, and then import them into Max. You use those 2 meshes as a "map" so you'll know where to put your lights that are going to move, and if you're going to add like sun and moon planes.

Then you'd export and convert just that prp file.

Now, as you can see, this is a lot of work, for something that's not going to look right, heh. You see, you'd need to have the sky change color and hues, and you would not be able to do that.......at least not this way.

There ARE 2 other options:

Import Relto into Blender, and export it completely as a fbx file, and import it into Max. Then you'd have to rebuild Relto in Max: apply all the materials and textures correctly, the sound files, put in all the logic for the things that the player does and hav happen (the bookshelf, wardrobe, totem poles), THEN, you could also go ahead and add your changes for having a day night cycle.

That would be quite a feat. not impossible, but very, very hard.

The other way would be to use tools like libPlasma and Page Editor and actually edit Relto's prp files. Again though, it would be very hard, because you'd have to input all the information on animating the color hues of the sky texture, etc.

So yah, you could do it........but you're looking at a lot of hard work! Personally I'd just make my own Age to have it, hehehe.

[tangara]

Here is a report who could not be more clear ! Thanks Andy.

[Sirius]

Else you can try to use the thing I prefer: fog settings. I know, it won't be the same at all, but you can have nice effects with it.

The fog doesn't affect the Relto as much as in the city, but you can try to set the "Graphics.Renderer.Fog.SetDefColor" to 1 1 1. You'll have a nice Relto in the morning.

But you still won't have any anim for this without python .

[tangara]

But you still won't have any anim for this without python .

Yes I know...It's also why I said I was not able to do it...Just a dream...