WesHowe
25th Jan 2006, 04:46 AM
This is a really complex item to explain unless you have spent time working with the GMDC, and can read and understand the layout as described in the Wiki section.
A part of the "morph" process (fat/pregnant) depends on sections in the GMDC tagged 0x7C4DEE82, we have been calling "target Indices". These sections are the only parts of the GMDC data entities prior to the first ones actually used in the model(s) that have the vertice and item data parts of the section used.
I have tried numerous times to understand where the data attached to the targets fits into the scheme. The layout is much like other parts of a mesh file, although they are not triangles because they are not always evenly divisible by 3 for an item count; there is some quantity of float data in sets of three, and an equal number of integer data items.
I have tried visualizing the data in numerous ways. The float sets are pretty small values, almost certainly vector data of some sort. If you model them, you get a small cactus looking bush emanating from 0,0,0.
I have tried matching the integers against the triangle list and the vertex list, and have never seen any pattern. I have yet to find and example where the largest index is greater than the number of vertices or triangles that would rule one or the other out. They always seem to be pretty random looking parts, sometimes a lot on one leg, and none on the other, some of one shoulder but not the other... just randomness.
I did find that I can see no problem with GMDC models manufactured without this data, and have been doing so since the BodyChop plugins came out. As long as the target section is there, it appears irrelevant whether there is data in it or not.
Anyway, if anyone else wants to take a crack at trying to see if they do anything, I have a special set of my new MilkShape UniMesh plugins that will stash the data in the models comments on import (yes/no choice) and will restore the data saved on export (yes/no choice, too). It is converted to lines of text laid out in a pattern similar to what you might see in an ascii milkshape or .obj file. On export, they are parsed and the data placed back in the target section.
They have a slightly different name (X) and title than the regular plugins, so they can be installed with the regular ones, rather than overtop of them.
So if you want to experiment, I would be curious if someone finds any appearance or behavioural difference between models with the data copied over and ones with it just left out. So feel free to try them out, but they are just an experimental version.
<* Wes *>
A part of the "morph" process (fat/pregnant) depends on sections in the GMDC tagged 0x7C4DEE82, we have been calling "target Indices". These sections are the only parts of the GMDC data entities prior to the first ones actually used in the model(s) that have the vertice and item data parts of the section used.
I have tried numerous times to understand where the data attached to the targets fits into the scheme. The layout is much like other parts of a mesh file, although they are not triangles because they are not always evenly divisible by 3 for an item count; there is some quantity of float data in sets of three, and an equal number of integer data items.
I have tried visualizing the data in numerous ways. The float sets are pretty small values, almost certainly vector data of some sort. If you model them, you get a small cactus looking bush emanating from 0,0,0.
I have tried matching the integers against the triangle list and the vertex list, and have never seen any pattern. I have yet to find and example where the largest index is greater than the number of vertices or triangles that would rule one or the other out. They always seem to be pretty random looking parts, sometimes a lot on one leg, and none on the other, some of one shoulder but not the other... just randomness.
I did find that I can see no problem with GMDC models manufactured without this data, and have been doing so since the BodyChop plugins came out. As long as the target section is there, it appears irrelevant whether there is data in it or not.
Anyway, if anyone else wants to take a crack at trying to see if they do anything, I have a special set of my new MilkShape UniMesh plugins that will stash the data in the models comments on import (yes/no choice) and will restore the data saved on export (yes/no choice, too). It is converted to lines of text laid out in a pattern similar to what you might see in an ascii milkshape or .obj file. On export, they are parsed and the data placed back in the target section.
They have a slightly different name (X) and title than the regular plugins, so they can be installed with the regular ones, rather than overtop of them.
So if you want to experiment, I would be curious if someone finds any appearance or behavioural difference between models with the data copied over and ones with it just left out. So feel free to try them out, but they are just an experimental version.
<* Wes *>