To add another datapoint,
We, too, are using a skin-around-musculature approach using GeometryUpdate
and byRef geometry.
I say musculature because our models have more than bones, they have a full
muscle system accompanying the skeleton. Thus, we have no animation data.
Our entities are completely self-motivated - if they want to look left,
they actuate muscles on the left side of their head, the bones move
appropriately (as simulated in our physics engine) and the skin is properly
deformed to match the musculature.
Our models are built in Maya, are exported to several datafiles with our
own "canning" script, and are loaded with several of our own Java3D loaders.
As you might imagine, we believe that motion capture is appropriate for
some game elements in the future (pre-scripted cut-scenes, complex moves
like a multi-combo motion or similar), but are strong adherents to the
believe that pre-scripted motion in gaming is going to become a thing of
the past very soon now.
Our next addition is to add the generation of textures using various
genetic algorithms based upon the digitial genomes that are part of every
entities specification. An entity's physical morphology is already
represented thusly, thus if two "close" species mate you get a new entity
that resembles the parents - with no modeling in Maya!
Best,
Joe Kiniry
--
Joseph R. Kiniry
Chief Scientist
DALi, Inc.
--On Tuesday, December 12, 2000 02:30:36 PM -0500 Shawn Kendall
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> We are using "Skin and Bones" using Java3D GeometryUpdate interface and
> By-Ref geometry. That means only the transforms are animated and the
> geometry is transformed in the GeometryUpdater based on it's bones
> transforms.
>
> The animation's data is procedural and keyframe based using
> interpolators (ours not Java3D) and animation data files. The
> animations are built in Maya. The models and built in Creator and Maya
> and import using our OpenFLT loader.
>
> As far as motion capture, for gaming that is the way to go. But Java
> doesn't need to know anything about where the animation data came from.
> The motion capture data is processed (mapped, cleaned up. etc.) in
> Maya and then output to the same animation file used for "regular"
> animations, which is the position and rotational keyframes.
> Hope that helps.
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