.b3d format - multiple animations?

Hi

I'm just starting to look at the .b3d format and I was wondering if anybody has played with nodes under the root node each having their own animations? Are they still 'rubber-banded' to the root node with updateworld or can they be moved independently without being reset after the call to updateworld? If I haven't explained it properly think of a .b3d for a squad,platoon, regiment or whatever in an RTS, each unit being a separate animated node.

Root
____texs
____brus
____mesh
________node
________anim
____________node (first psuedo root node of first unit)

etc.

I will be playing around with it but if anybody has tried it and it's a waste of time, it's better if I find out now rather than later :^)))).

Cheers

Grumpy Old Man

This is a pretty out there question so I have no idea if it can be done. But my question to you is why do you want to do this? Why not just create each unit as a separate animated b3d file? You need to use proprietary tools to do it any other way since no animation tools will export the way you described.

They can be played.
Download Dragan's Quest demo,
and you will see it in more than one occasion.

* when you rotate the character, first of totally rotating the body it turns the head, using the techinque you say.

* when it shoots without weapons (at start) as well

Zurk are you sure?

I thought discreet animations weren't possible yet within a B3D file.

Tom

You can animate by rotating or translating the Joint after the updateworld, and of course before the renderworld and you will have full control on it.

What do you mean exactly ?

You mean have More animated models in a single .b3d file ?
In that case, no you won't be able to anim them independetly.

But I havent tried animate getchild(jointrootsoldier5,3),1,0 :P
Guess It doesnt work :)

Sorry I completly misunderstood your question.

jhocking
"This is a pretty out there question so I have no idea if it can be done. But my question to you is why do you want to do this? Why not just create each unit as a separate animated b3d file?"

I was thinking of smaller scale simpler animations for an RTS with 10 - 100 units sharing the same mesh and surface but animated and moved independently. Still high in entity count but hopefully cutting down on surface choke.

"You need to use proprietary tools to do it any other way since no animation tools will export the way you described."

Sad but true, I'd have to write a program to import separate animations into a stack and then write the stack out as a .b3d file. I'll try it out with some very simple animations (coupla quads) and let people know if it works or not.

Cheers

GrumpyOldMan

Well, if I wanted to make a character walk, then have it wave its arms without interupting the walk cycle...

I'll do some tests also