Md5 Importer

[mystara]

Hello,

After many months of failing to find good MD2 models for humanoid animation, I started looking in to MD5s.
Has anyone manager to product a JPCT importer for MD5 models? Or are there any plans to include one in JPCT in the near future?

I had a go at porting the jMonkey MD5Importer. By removing all the jMonkey references, and using a couple of classes from Cyberkilla's skeletal API, I've managed to make most of the classes compile. But I just don't know enough about JPCT to complete it.

[EgonOlsen]

MD5 is using skeletal animation, i assume? For static objects, all you need are the triangles from the file and add them to your Object3D. For animations...well, that's a different story. I guess one would have to write some skeletal animation code (from scratch or based on cyber's).
Maybe MD3 is an option? It's still keyframe based, which is simpler to handle. But then again, why not use 3ds or obj instead if keyframes are fine!?

[mystara]

Yes, I believe MD5 uses skeletal animation.
It's the animation I'm interested in, since I'm trying to find an animated humanoid models. Most of the ones I've found are suitable for testing, but little else beyond that.

The code I've been porting seems to contain a basic skeletal animation. But as I say, there are some bits I haven't been able to figure out how to convert to. MD5 seems to allow parts of the model to be dynamically swapped in and out, removing the 'gun problem' from MD5s, which seem to be quite easy to find.

MD3 leaves me with the same problem of how to import it.

It's just so hard to find good animated MD2 models!

[fireside]

You could try this importer with Blender for Md3:
https://tremx.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/tremx/trunk/blender/md3_import.py

Then export the key frames as 3ds.  The md2 exporter for Blender doesn't work.

[mystara]

Meh.

To be honest, I'm even struggling to find MD3 models. This is deeply frustrating as I figured that finding the character models would be the easy bits - what with the degree to which all these fps games can be customised

[fireside]

There's an MD5 importer for Blender around somewhere also.  You could do the same thing with that.  You just put it in the scripts folder, although you'd have to take some time to learn how to open up multiple windows in Blender and export the key frames.  It's not the most intuitive interface.  Nice modeler, though.

[mystara]

I had been under the impression that exporting keyframes from an MD5 was extremely difficult, since it's a skeletal animation.

With respect to my part done port, I'd be happy to send the code to anyone who can complete it.

[fireside]

Just noticed this post, unfortunately.  It's very simple to export 3ds key frames using skeletal animation.  I do it all the time.  Skeletal animation would save on file size, though. 

[AGP]

I've got a really kickass MD2 exporter for MAX named QTip. I've e-mailed the developer a few times, and he's very cool. The exporter costs (I think) 20 bucks, and it works perfectly with jPCT's importer. So, any animated model you can find that you could import into MAX you could export to MD2 using QTip. Works for me.

[mystara]

Just noticed this post, unfortunately.  It's very simple to export 3ds key frames using skeletal animation.  I do it all the time.  Skeletal animation would save on file size, though.

Any chance of some hints on how to do this?
I understand the principle of manipulating the model such that they collectively make up frames of a walk, but I really have very little skill with modelling or animation. Is there a trick to making the software do it for me?

[fireside]

You just have to find tutorials and keep practicing.