BVH animation for all 26 Avatar bones

[Grazdude Ragu]

I’m creating a rigged mesh Avatar in SL.

For the animation I’m using Abu’s BVH Exporter script in 3D Max2011 to generate BVH animations to import into SL.

Abu’s script generates data for 19 bones which works well.

 

Since there are 26 bones in a SL avatar I would like to find the names of the 7 additional ones in order to modify the script.

 

For example in Abu’s script the hierarchy from the root of the Avatar to the end of the right leg is:

Hip > rThigh > rShin > rFoot

 

The Skeleton which I skin my character mesh to in 3D Max (for SL the mesh upload) defines the same root to end of right leg as:

 

mPelvis > mHipRight > mKneeRight > mAnkleRight > mFootRight > mToeRight

 

 

Does anyone know the BVH names for the 7 extra bones:

 

mHipRight

mHipLeft

mToeRight

mToeLeft

mEyeRight

mEyeLeft

mSkull

 

 

Note: I found the list of attachment names for a SL avatar:

http://lslwiki.net/lslwiki/wakka.php?wakka=llAttachToAvatar

but these are a little different to the names used in the BVH file.

 

Thanks

[Coaldust Numbers]

When you upload a BVH file to Second Life using the viewer to convert it to the internal format, it will drop everything except the standard bones (along with causing various errors, like triplicating the first frame in looped animations).

 

You can make animations with the bones you're referring to, and even animate attachment points, but you have to do it by making Anim (Second Life's internal format) files with one of the various utilities for that purpose (e.g. AnimMaker, QAvimator modified to produce Anim files, the commercial Blender Anim exporter...), and then upload it using a viewer modified to upload Anim format files (e.g. Phoenix, Firestorm).

 

In general, this is not for the faint of heart. There are no Anim tools that accept BVH files with the 'extra' bones that I am aware of, so you have to get really cute and animate some standard bone the way you want those bones to move, then 'rename' the standard bone to the normally-inaccessible bone name using one of the Anim tools.

[Grazdude Ragu]

Hi Coaldust,

 

Thanks for your very helpful reply!

 

I already use Firestorm so batch uploading with it for the anim files will hopefully be straight forward.

 

To make a 26 bone animation for SL does the following workflow make sense:

 

* I have a 26 bone rig skinned to a mesh in 3D max all tested and working in SL (export DAE, import into SL, wear on AV).

* I make some animation in max using all 26 bones.

* Then using Abu’s Max script I export the standard 19 bones as a BVH file.

* Next I run a modified version of Abu’s script which collects the remaining 7 bones (which would be purposely miss named so to match 7 of the standard 19) plus another 12 bones added purely to ensure the BVH file has a full 19 bone complement.

* I then use the modified Qavimator to load these two BVH’s and save them as ANIM files. Note: I’ve looked everywhere and I don’t think there currently is a copy of the modified Qavimator on the internet.

Here:

https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/VWR-2374?focusedCommentId=112939&page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels%3Acomment-tabpanel#action_112939

 

Zwagoth Klaar states that he has removed the program as it was not entirely functional. I’d still be willing to give it a go so I’ve messaged him to ask if he is still willing to send me a copy.

 

* Lastly I filter these two ANIM files into AnimMaker using 19 bones from the first ANIM file and just the 7 extra bones from the second.

* Save the result as one single ANIM file ready for SL.

[Coaldust Numbers]

Yes, that sounds like a reasonable workflow.

 

A method you might find more pleasant, but would require spending some money, would be using this:

http://blog.machinimatrix.org/avastar/

 

As an aside, unless it's been fixed, you can only upload Anim files by using the bulk uploader (even if you only want to upload 1 file) in some clients.  It used to be that it worked with normal individual files, but this seems to have broken at some point in Phoenix, and I don't think it ever worked in Firestorm.

 

[Grazdude Ragu]

Hi Coaldust,

 

Thanks for the confirmation.

 

Looks like Avastar is just whats needed!

I’m talking with its creators now and they are being very helpful.

[Tithis String]

If u found your way can u please inform me what to do with avastar cause really i cant make it work when i upload the animation. Thanks:D