Expert: Andre Hickman - 5/30/2008

Question
Hi, I am currently trying to export some character animations from .max files to .3DS files.

I am doing the animation on a biped model and rigging a skin over it via physique or skin modifiers. This seems to work in the .max files.

However when I export the file to .3DS I can only see the biped move and the skin is stationary.

I am currently using 3DS max 9

Answer
Hey Timothy,

Sorry, but what you are trying to do isn't possible at this time.  While you can animate the rig, cameras, etc., .3DS does not have the capability of containing parametric modifiers. it can only hold the geometries, and the RIGID motion of those geometries.

Sub polygonal motion and vertex manipulation can't really be stored that way.  I think the reason is that .3ds is designed for transfer of models and motion across platforms to other softwares.  So while you can import a character model, and the motion of the rigid bone structure rig, when you get it into an unrelated software, you will have to re-apply that softwares skin modifier to reconnect the two components interaction. It would be different if all programs used the same modifiers and language to control those modifiers, but they don't.

Right now the only constant that you have between different softwares is scalar data, vector data, time, rotational data, and origins of the vectors. The modifiers have to be applied in a software specific environment file, like .max which is specifically for 3D Studio Max, and not .3ds which is used for transferring rigid models and basic scalar, vector, and rotational data.

I hope that helps you understand why the mesh isn't moving with the bones.

Cheers,
Andre