Weird looking model

[anzolino]

Hi there,

 

I've converted a robe mesh from DA2 for using in DA:O. In Toolset it looks as normal but in Awakening it looks verry strange:

 

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy7/anzolino/dao/dao_tanamrun.jpg

 

I've used Dragon Blender and Blender and a simple way to convert:

- Export DA2 mesh and save as blend file

- Loading original DAO robe into Blender with Dragon Blender

- Open the DA2 blend file and rename the bones from number to BONE-number

- Replace the original mesh with new mesh and save

- Rename relevant name parts in *.mmh and *.phy

- Create a new item in Toolset -> looks fine

 

Does anybody know what I made wrong?

 

BTW: All armours looks that way in The Fade: Lost in Dreams.

 

Thanks

anzolino

Edited June 10, 2011 by anzolino

[amycus]

I don't know that much about the process in blender (i'm a max user), but that looks like a skinning issue.

 

Perhaps someone more used to blender than I am can help you further with the exact process, but if you can find and select the mesh's "skin" modfier you should be able to select it and, if it doesn't look too terrible, correct the weight paint.

 

Another solution would be, since this luckily is supposed to be a robe, is to delete your mesh's current skin modifier, import another vanilla robe mesh and copy-paste its skin modifier onto yours (and then delete everything from the imported vanilla mesh since you don't have any further use of it).

 

Assuming you don't have any idea of what the heck I just said:

The skin modifier tells the mesh how all the vertices should move with the skeleton parts.

The weight-paint tells each vertice exactly how dependant on a certain part of the skeleton it should be. red=100%, orange =80%, yellow =50% blue=1% Basically.

 

So in your pic above it looks like some vertices on his right arm havn't been associated with the skeleton's right arm at all, causing the mesh to stretch and giving you that weird orange dragged-out "cloth" (since the mesh has outstretched hand while in blender/3ds max, I'm guessing those vertices have instead been associated with the skeleton's lower parts, like the knee).

 

There is obviously a lot of other verices there that need correction, but the above example was the easiest to see and explain with.

[anzolino]

If you are right about the skin would I see the dissonance in max? I tested the model in max and everything looks fine. But I will test your sugesstion.

 

Is this also a skin problem? Until now I thought this unfunny looking Golem and my model problem have the same cause.

 

http://social.bioware.com/uploads_user/371000/370424/130313.jpg

Edited June 11, 2011 by anzolino

[amycus]

If you are right about the skin would I see the dissonance in max? I tested the model in max and everything looks fine. But I will test your sugesstion.

 

Is this also a skin problem? Until now I thought this unfunny looking Golem and my model problem have the same cause.

 

http://social.bioware.com/uploads_user/371000/370424/130313.jpg

 

Looks like it. It would be easier to tell for sure if I saw it in motion, but I'm 99.9999% sure. You say you tested the model in max? If you are in max I will have an easier way to help you. When you are in max, select the mesh and then look to the upper right white field in the interface. One of the vey first 3 rows (think it's the very first, but I could be wrong) should say "skin". Select it.

 

You might need to press the button "Edit envelopes" further down (edit:Also fill in the box "select vertices"), but afterwards you should be able to see the weightpaint if you select the skeleton parts in the list even further down. Selecting each skeleton part will show you how each vertice hav been told to move according to that part. Make sure that no vertices are painted in any colour where they aren't supposed to (aka, when selecting the skeletons right leg you shouldn't see any colourd vertices in the mesh's left arm and so on).

 

In your case the weightpaint looks really screwed up though, so it might be easier if you copy paste the skin modifier from an origins vanilla mesh. To do this (for the robe one specifically):

Start by putting your DA2 mesh in max. FIx the textures if necessary with eshme's Dragon Age material.

Select the mesh and go to the upper right white area of the interface, select the word "skin", right click and delete.

(It might look as a hedgehog at this point, but that's only temporary). Select everything in the scene, right click and select "HIDE".

Import with esme's tools an origins vanilla mesh. Should be as similar as possible to the mesh you are currently working on, so in this case, another robe.

Select the newly imported mesh, go to the upper right white area of the interface. Select the word "skin" right click and COPY or CUT.

Delete everything visible in the scene. Then unhide your DA2 mesh.

Rightclick the upper right white area of the interface and PASTE.

Export it with eshme's tools.

Try it in the game and it should look bettter. Might still need some adjustments but should still look acceptable for release if you so which it.

 

The procedure should be the same for the golem, but you would obviously need to copy or cut the skin modifier from a vanilla golem instead of another robe mesh.

Edited June 11, 2011 by amycus

[anzolino]

Make sure that no vertices are painted in any colour where they aren't supposed to (aka, when selecting the skeletons right leg you shouldn't see any colourd vertices in the mesh's left arm and so on).

 

That was the problem: some of the bones were wrong. Thanks to your description I could see it. Now it looks fine in DAO too.

 

The Golem isn't mine - it's the original model in the game. When I change the form into Golem, Spirit or Burning Man in the Circle quest "Lost in Dreams" they all are looking that strange, only the Mouse is right.

 

Many thanks.

[amycus]

Make sure that no vertices are painted in any colour where they aren't supposed to (aka, when selecting the skeletons right leg you shouldn't see any colourd vertices in the mesh's left arm and so on).

 

That was the problem: some of the bones were wrong. Thanks to your description I could see it. Now it looks fine in DAO too.

 

The Golem isn't mine - it's the original model in the game. When I change the form into Golem, Spirit or Burning Man in the Circle quest "Lost in Dreams" they all are looking that strange, only the Mouse is right.

 

Many thanks.

 

Good to hear that you got your robe working. :thumbsup:

As for the different transformations in the fade, that's really weird. Never had that problem myself, although I have used "skip the fade" mod for some time now. the problem should be the same (incorrect weight paint), though it's weird if it's only your transformations that look weird, while the "spirit", burning corpses and golems that are your enemies look fine... Maybe the transformations use a different mesh than the enemies after all? Have never tried to look at that. If you are really bothered by it I would suggest a reinstall becuse it really isn't supposed to be like that.

Edited June 12, 2011 by amycus

[anzolino]

I have it reinstalled twice and also tried different and the newest ATI driver and the newest PhysX too. Since the 1.02 patch it is messed up and now without any patches. I asked at BSN but it seems nobody knows a solution. It's time for The Witcher.