3d Max Question

[pepperman]

For the various mods that include updates to planets, how do you control the rotational speed on the respective layers (surface, clouds, atmosphere). I have been trying (key word is trying) to learn Max and can't seem to get this to work properly. The concept seems simple enough: (1) create their spheres, each with their respective textures; and (2) animate each with different time hacks. For example, I created the planet earth and applied the texture. Then animated it using 4 keys, each key having a 90 degree roatation and a time hack of 600. The total annimation being 2400 and exported it out. Looked pretty good, although the rotation seemed a little jagged. Next I created a second sphere slightly larger than the surface layer and applied the cloud texture to it. I animated it using 4 keys, each having a 90 degree roation and a time hack of 250 for a total roatation of 1000. When I exported it out, the surface and clouds rotate as expected; however, the both seem to rotate at the same speed. Apparently I am not understanding the concept so any help would be appreciated.

 

[MrVulcan]

Are you checking this in Storm or ingame?

Storm should show the animation properly. For it to work properly ingame, you need to set the animation flag:

animation = 1

Otherwise, it just makes the whole SOD spin at the default speed.

Cheers


Oh, one other thing. Are you using the new SOD exporter (script)? The old exporter (plugin) sometimes requires you to have all animation channels to have the same length. I'm not sure exactly when this is required, but I've added some extra controls to how animation is exported in the new script. Makes it so that animation channels can be of arbitrary length.

Edit: and another thing

To reduce 'jaggedness' in animations, open up the curves editor (button is right beside the hierarchy editor). Select all keys and then click on 'linear'. This will make a nice continuous animation.

 

[pepperman]

I was using the old export plug-in and max and sure enough it must have been part of the problem. I used your script just now and it worked like I suspected it would. I will take a close look at the other helpful suggestion in a moment and see what that does for the issue. Many thanls Mr. V for creating that nice plug-in. I am focing myself to learn 3d Max so that little update tool is wonderful. My next little text will come when I try and fix up a ship...actually two ship. I did a Borg Cube a while back and Achilles help do the animation for it in A2....so now I will treat it as an exercise to duplicate the process for A1. THen I have a Romulan special that I want to animate and have special weapon fire from the four winf tips similar to the Victory class ship from Crusade (Excilibar ship)/.