Progress on Heads?

[Omnimmotus]

So as far as I can tell, KotOR custom heads have never been figured out. However, KotOR modding has leapt forward quite a bit since early attempts, including advances in understanding of animation. So, using knowledge we've gained, has any progress been made?

 

I've managed to extract the first Caucasian head and remove the scar and facial hair, and reexport the model into the game. Everything about the model works except for the animations. (And some minor UV issues, but that's easy to fix.) Everything is properly skinned in Max, which leads me to believe that there's simply something MDLops doesn't understand about heads. So all this revolves around MDLops being updated or someone else coming up with a tool which is able to import heads and keep their facial animations.

 

Any chance of it? Any workarounds? Anyone working on this?

 

Also, this was a test; the head I'm intending to make will require new geometry, so Taina's tool won't work. But I wouldn't mind it if someone would like to PM it to me. But that would only be for side-projects besides my main goal.

[settoken]

ok I have the replacer I can give it to you, pm me your mail.

[Omnimmotus]

PMed.

 

So can anyone elaborate on exactly what the problem is? Exactly which things don't get exported properly? Is it just the information about the facial animation, or what? Because if it's just the animations themselves, adding that functionality to MDLops might not be difficult anymore, or you might just be able to hack it together with a little hex copypasta.

 

Oh, and people reading this thread, feel free to post even if you don't really have a lot of knowledge about the subject, or any specific ideas. Any conversation is good, so just throw your thoughts out there.

 

EDIT:

Well damn. Looks like there's nothing I can do to go around or improve this issue. I guess it's all on the hands of cchargin and Tetra. This is why developers are supposed to release tools or information on formats. The worst thing that modders can do to your game is add more content, and the time it would take for you to wrap up your in-house tools for use outside is minuscule compared to the amount of interest you will gain from a flourishing mod community. Let's hope that Mass Effect doesn't share this oversight.

[magnusll]

MDlops won't work perfectly with animations because there is one particular bone structure which is not coded into it, so it cannot generate it at all.

 

I know which structure it is and I've found the way to create it in the old Torlack's code, but you'll need to wait until I get around to implement skinmeshes, danglymeshes and animations in KAuroraEditor. I wouldn't hold my breath, as it will take months.

[Eefluxx]

Take your time magnusll, you've already given us so much with the KAuroraEditor that if you do accomplish this then it will be worth the wait

 

Eefluxx