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[Raxx]

LIA - Links In Anim8or

Ok, this is something I picked up over the weekend to give my brain something to do other than schoolwork. LIA is a pseudo hierarchy toolset that is meant to be used internally by other scripts. The user uses the tools to set parents, children, and dummy objects in hierarchical form while in the object editor. This is a means of standardization so that more than one person can write a script that manipulates the data automatically based on the LIA hierarchy system.

Toolset Developed So Far:
Make Parent: User selects the children first, activates the script, and selects the parent. All children become properly linked to the parent.
Unlink Selected: Removes all LIA formatting from the selected shape(s), and resets any dependent children of those shapes.
Unlink All: Removes all LIA formatting from all shapes in the object.
Toggle Dummy: Adds or removes Dummy marker for the selected shapes
List Hierarchy: Writes out the hierarchy in the debug output window.

LIA Format:
ID#.Parent#.Dummy.Name

ID#: Unique three digit ID number ranging from 000 to 999. Generated automatically based on available ID#s.
Parent#: Points to the ID# of the parent of that shape. 000 means no parent
Dummy: 0 means it's not a dummy shape. 1 means it is a dummy shape
Name: The given name/handler of the shape as defined by the user


I don't really expect anyone will use LIA but me (who else does any programming with ASL in the object editor? ), but I'm putting this up for documentation purposes anyway, and to toot my own horn since it'd be boring otherwise . The scripts mentioned in the toolset are all completely finished except for a few bugs I have to hammer out. I'll publish the scripts once I make the XSI exporter script compatible with the LIA system and everything's working.

[lppena]

Very cool Raxx. Just in case no one's said it lately you are pretty dog gone talented. I intend to use the functionality of the script to do more stuff with Anim8or. I'm guessing others will need it as well as so many model formats use some form of hierarchal grouping to manipulate models properly in videogames. This seems especially true for model formats used by gaming engines. I'm very thankful for your willingness to help others like myself. Thank you Raxx's, Leroy.

[Raxx]

Thanks Ippena, and sorry but with final exams and all the schoolwork boiling down at the end of the semester, I haven't had time to get back to it. The month of May is going to be pretty busy as well, but I might be able to squeeze it in. No promises!

[lppena]

Really it's not a problem Raxx. Real life is a reality of life. Do what you have to and after things settle down again perhaps you could work on the project at a later date. You've actually already accomplished more then I ever expected and best of luck with the exams my thoughts are with you in maxing them all. Thanks Raxx, Leroy.

PS: It'll give me some extra time to get used to using Anim8or as I'm afraid Truespace has spoiled me for other modeling software like Anim8or.

[lppena]

Hi Raxx, I was wondering if you could post what you have of the parenting script, so that I might monkey around with it myself? I've been using the existing XSI exporter script with quite a lot success, but some advanced BZII models require hierarchal linking. Thanks Leroy.

[Raxx]

Hey Ippena. I had taken a break from working on LIA in favor of investigating other means of exporting to certain file formats using 3rd party tools. I know it doesn't directly address hierarchy support, but it's the primary reason why the progress has stopped for now.

It's not really in any shape for being shared, just yet, and I don't feel comfortable releasing it prematurely.

[lppena]

Hey Ippena. I had taken a break from working on LIA in favor of investigating other means of exporting to certain file formats using 3rd party tools. I know it doesn't directly address hierarchy support, but it's the primary reason why the progress has stopped for now.

It's not really in any shape for being shared, just yet, and I don't feel comfortable releasing it prematurely.

I understand what you mean. I've been looking at the .a8s format and trying to figure out if I can use notepad to edit the text file itself to rearrange things around a bit. I can't help but wonder if the files can be edited to create a hierarchy that's usable for other text based formats like X, XSI, OBJ, XML, and VRML. Caligari even used a text based version for both of it's native COB and SCN formats. 3D Exploration can convert these formats to X, XSI, and quite a few other model formats. I to have been searching the web for alternate ways to do the same thing. Leroy.