Exporting Animations from Blender

From Multiverse

Creating and Importing Models

Creating Assets  •  Creating Collision Volumes  •  Exporting Models to COLLADA  •  Targeting a Wide Range of Hardware  •  Model Conversion Tool  •  Creating Material Scripts

Using 3ds Max

Using the 3ds Max Export Tool Creating Attachment Models Creating Morph Animations Transferring Biped Skeletons Implementing Vertex Lighting

Other Tools

Blender: Static Model  •  Blender: Anim. Model  •  Blender Physics  •  DeleD: Static Model  •  DAZ Studio: Creating Characters  •  DAZ Studio: Avatars  •  Using Poser

You can export models with animations from Blender, but you need to follow a few special guidelines.

Prerequisites

Download the current version of Blender, Python, and the OGRE exporter script for Blender.

Model requirements and tips

Create models on the Y/X plane, forward being +Z. The default key for this is NUMPAD7, then points coming at you toward the screen, will be the same "forward" other human models use in the viewer. Create models with the center of the object at the origin and all points probably above it. This means if you're making something above ground, the center of the object needs to be on the ground, and all your geometry will be above it.

The model also needs to be really, really big. For example a test model is x=4000, y=4000, and z=500 in units. That is probably the size of a giant in the Model Viewer. NOTE: you have to actually scale the points/bones. If you just scale the object, the scaling won't export. So if you want the scale to export, do it in edit mode, not object mode.

Then make an armature the same relative size as your model and do normal animating. The exporter supports an armature-parent relationship, or an armature-modifier relationship.

Exporting

To export your model from Blender, use the OgreXMLConverter.exe found in the Multiverse Model Viewer directory. Don't use the one from of the OGRE site, but the one in the Model Viewer directory. Run that program on each of the .xml files and you'll get your binary versions. It will create files <name>.skeletion.xml, <name>.mesh.xml, and <customname>.material.

Some of the material settings that can be output will break the viewer and probably the Multiverse Client. I'm not sure on all of them, but "vertexcolor" directive was making the client crash. You can fix that by just manually editing the file or going into blender and messing with the material properties. Just a trouble shooting tip would be; if you're crashing the Model Viewer make a really really simple .material file, I just copied some settings from an existing one in the directory. Then slowly put your settings in to find the one that breaks.