[WIP] Female base model project

[zeealex 2029]

just writing that little notepad file now, do you use 3DSMax?

[3D_vet 29]

Mostly Blender late years, but Max was my tool for work back in the days of max 1 to 7, working at companies.(animating, rigging and skinning, mostly, as I used to model in better organic modelers than Max(ended up often messing with import formats, though)) . These days is mostly Blender, though... But all info is good. Stuff like what I have read in a max tut about Arma 3 (no more than 4 bones per vertex influence is stuff that works for any package)

 

And... yep. Finally after all I've read today: Doing custom anims for this game is not easy, definitely.   :)   (actually, adapting to existing game anims and game structure is what seems to be hard)

Send me all you can, there's no limit. I will find time to read it.   :)



 

[Macser 776]

I think the recent posts aren't totally unrelated to HG's work. He may well appreciate some help with the workload if he decides to go with custom animations. But that's his call of course. He might also like to take it on himself, as a challenge. :)

 

The last link you posted on the previous page is what myself, HG and others are using to export rtm animations and meshes out of Blender.

 

I'm not sure how many people have played around with FBX. Maybe that format could be used to get animations out of Object builder/O2 for import into another application? Maybe Zeealex or someone else with Max experience could shed light on that. As it's an autodesk format.

[3D_vet 29]

I have dealt quite with FBX (it has its issues, like anything, but once you know them, no trouble) but using Max. Both import and export. FBX has support in Blender, but I have read is not going to be supported anymore (dunno if both import and export) but you still can use it, I guess (even if you need to do the open the .blend in an older Blender and export...or import then save the .blend. ).

 

Ok, sorry, will refrain from more posts here...

 

cheers,

[HorribleGoat 1464]

Heh, seems that I should be away more often as thats when all the action in my posts happen! xD

What Im providing here is the new skeleton that is about 10cm shorter that the man skeleton with altered proportions gleamed from A2 skeleton to be able to use those animations too.

Preferably this new skeleton would of course have all full custom animation set with all the moves so it would work as the Arma man.

Also I've set up the animation config files so that new animations are pretty much plug and play imported by just changing the animation file path and maybe tweaking the animation values a bit. And I've been mentally preparing to do that importing and collect the new animations that community will hopefully start making. That might just keep this joint development project organized enough to provide a working character! :D

Probably will need to produce a animation move list that shows what animations are done and what are missing.

  

[3D_vet 29]

That's very good news. :)

[3D_vet 29]

Indeed, I'd rather prefer to just animate, not mess (much) with configs, complex utilities and etc. 

(And for trying here modeling(including normal maps from scratch)/texturing, I might just do that for some props or sth, unrelated to this thread and female models...)

[HM1 FMF Bison 3]

Amazing job! Keep up the good work.

[Nexusmax 16]

Keep up the good work

[HorribleGoat 1464]

Boo!

Thought to let you know I have not forgotten this project though others have made great progress with female characters. I recon there is still room for another one too.

I've been following zeealexs progress, and well you know that her female warriors look amazing and everytime she post new pictures I get this feeling I gotta try to improve my model so maybe she wouldn't be so out of place. (Which is of course the least important part of the whole project ;9)

Anyway, I've promised some folks I'd get the basic set out tomorrow.. (Or well today, but gotta take a nap first) So Im going to share the base config and reference material soon here too.

 

I've tweaked and re tweaked the face and the mesh may be a tad better now. I may not feel comfortable releasing this one yet though, but I'll pack up a mannequin version with weightings and skeleton for animating nevertheless. 

 

[3D_vet 29]

Nice!

[maffa 29]

uh arent those arms a tad too long? It looks like is the arms were resting on the sides, the fingers might touch the sides of the knees, they should go past mid-thigh...

[HorribleGoat 1464]

uh arent those arms a tad too long? It looks like is the arms were resting on the sides, the fingers might touch the sides of the knees, they should go past mid-thigh...

It's just the perspective in the renderer. The model is based on A2 women models and is the same size.

[3D_vet 29]

It's just the perspective in the renderer. The model is based on A2 women models and is the same size.

I was going to say exactly that. A high camera FOV can easily do that effect. Looking at how her legs have also accelerated perspective, I thought indeed was just the camera .

 

HG, do you think it'd be easy or hard, anyways, for us to make ourselves proportion variations of her? (ie, to make fat women, tall, short, etc..) I have no clue of that, in this engine...I'm supposing it'd wreck it due to the config files, or the weights (although reassigning the weights in Blender or anything is easy) or other things...

[3D_vet 29]

Also... hehe, feel free to send me by PM the mesh as is, anyways, my main thing here is start playing with meshes and anims to get familiar with the engine... and then produce animations, mostly.

[HorribleGoat 1464]

I was going to say exactly that. A high camera FOV can easily do that effect. Looking at how her legs have also accelerated perspective, I thought indeed was just the camera .

 

HG, do you think it'd be easy or hard, anyways, for us to make ourselves proportion variations of her? (ie, to make fat women, tall, short, etc..) I have no clue of that, in this engine...I'm supposing it'd wreck it due to the config files, or the weights (although reassigning the weights in Blender or anything is easy) or other things...

I don't think variations like that will be to difficult, each of those meshes just have to be weighted properly so they work with the animations and they need to be about the same size so it works. Other than that It does not really matter what model is used. 

[3D_vet 29]

I don't think variations like that will be to difficult, each of those meshes just have to be weighted properly so they work with the animations and they need to be about the same size so it works. Other than that It does not really matter what model is used. 

Well, that sounds really flexible ! :)   I've no probs with re-weighting, was my plate of food for long time -so much I ended hating it quite a bit, lol.... Anyway, yep, I will check how to compensate any dimensions change so it does not deform badly, I'm guessing I'll be all time checking in-game, as sounds to me is the only way to be fully sure something will look right after modifying (after the modifications I might need to make to do some custom usage, that is)... 

[HorribleGoat 1464]

Getting close to first phase release.

Prepped a slightly simplified dummy mesh for reference since the model Im making is not yet ready. 

I got configs cleaned up a bit so hopefully they are little easier to adapt for development use and have to write up a appropriate release license and check out how to best pack the A2 woman animations to go with this set. As said the A2 animations do not provide full set, but they are helpful for testing out new characters.

 

Also here is a size comparison shot. The dummy is approximately same size as women in Arma2 standing 166 cm tall compared to the approximately 180 tall ArmaMan.

[3D_vet 29]

Sorry, been swamped with work and too little around, and somehow, I missed the warning of the post update, or I did not configure it well in my forum settings, I don't know, so i was not aware of this post.

 

That's a good height !

Very nice, HG !   :)

 

I'll play all I can with it. Dummy meshes,  are toootally fine for me. I will build my own mesh and texture, am sort of *very* fast modeling (often in companies forced to make a character in an afternoon! :O  :o :o) and texturing, so, that's zero issues for me.   :)

Anyway, my main interest about it all here is start playing with the animation system of this game, and the configuration/set up you provide us is key for us Arma 3 newbies... ;) . Kindda sad to be a vet graphic artist (and an old fart) and still call my self a newbie, but I truly am in an engine I don't know...

[icebreakr 3100]

HG can't wait for your project to come alive. We can't hope that BIS will add women to game, I've been sure they'll add them in (inc. bikinis for Tanoa) with Apex, but they didnt. Also 10 GB 1.66 patch without females is another sign.

[3D_vet 29]

Edit: never mind, it was a bit of a dumb question.... :)

[Mr_Sideburns 1]

Nice work ! I always wonder why all the female civilian desapeared in Arma 3 
Indeed, mission involving civilians loose so much credibility with an only-man poputaion :/

Have you planned to create different skin tone and physical caracteristics ?

Good luck !

[HorribleGoat 1464]

55 minutes ago, Mr_Sideburns said:

Nice work ! I always wonder why all the female civilian desapeared in Arma 3 
Indeed, mission involving civilians loose so much credibility with an only-man poputaion :/

Have you planned to create different skin tone and physical caracteristics ?

Good luck !

Thanks for you interest!

My project mainly concentrates on providing a working base to build new characters from as that is what is missing right now. 

A2 had very limited set of female animations and A3 has none and no configs or anything to start with so Im trying to make something for that.

My skeleton rig and mesh is compatible with A2 animations so that helps a little but for the project to ever become a completely working character it will require either years of developing from me (real life stuff and other projects etc take majority of my time), or community effort to produce the animations for them and perhaps even new character models.

Im hoping for community contributions that can then be added to the animation pool so that It will not take forever and I know there are interested people out there. And for those people Im sorry its taking so long to release!

 

[zeealex 2029]

would a model be available in max format to help with skinning and animation reference? just out of interest. 

[HorribleGoat 1464]

11 hours ago, zeealex said:

would a model be available in max format to help with skinning and animation reference? just out of interest. 

Im confident that such can be produced as well! I have been concentrating my free time on Lost Dragons lately but I do try to push this out too in the near future! That is as soon as I get a replacement fot my GFX-card that got fried today. Dont think Ive ever lost a card due it breaking before..