It's usual issue with x...long time ago there wasnt other so mamny weights and bones formats out there...today, ha smore sense to use b3d and md5. With irrlicht, seem to be having a lot of sense to use b3d now.
But you use max for all, it seems. Otherwise I'd say now a way less painful to get anims into irrlicht is using blender and b3d exporter:
http://gandaldf.altervista.org/b3dexporter.htm
...but if you're using Max5, I am pretty sure there's a perfectly working b3d free exporter for it. There's not for Max 9, I think.
And a pitty you don't have Ultimate Unwrap (unwrap3d.com): my painless way with max was allways exporting with the Unwrap3d free plugin for Max (*.u3d files get exported) , load the *.u3d in Ultimate Unwrap (unwrap3d as i call it) , make some change there if feel is needed, export as b3d file. Works like charm, no issues, no werid setting, no nothing. And the possibility of edits in Unwrap3d is big.I purchased, so I allways have the latest one.
This is imo one of the best way for b3d and max users, as Unwrap3d author keeps maintaining both b3d format and max plugin...It forces to export everything from max, as an *.u3d file.
Of course, for Blender users, best way is the mentioned b3d plugin.
I really would like if b3d can get lightmaps(btw, you're not doing lightmaps, do you? If they're made with good GI lighting , adds a lot of ambience and realism...lighting is crucial in a scene...) exported from blender, but unsure if there's some internal code addition needed for the plugins to export that uv and material data...
about the x issue, sure has a solution. Every 3 months passed I forget more and more of the needed tricks, as I made the full trial for once and everybody which had issues with it...there's a ton of things to consider...
specially panda has many settings...
Try to have the stack as more simple as possible before export...
the right handed, or left handed system settings, try the opposite...
Are you suing biped or bones..is all about bones...there's a way to convert biped to bones...mainly export as fbx at the very end, and reimport, then export as x...
i think you had to use ascii, and srt instead of matrix...
Did you mirored or scaled in a bad way the bones to build the skeleton? that'd ruin the exported x.
some transform making something weird internally...
try to not use multisuobjects materials, but standard ones...no material names starting with numbers, neither bones names with "." or "_" nor I thik spaces, in them....
I hope you didnt have vertices unweighted or unasigned in ytour scene...and that you may ensure (sometimes an stl check *before* riging the mesh is a great idea, to check for not noticeable errors.)
Hum.
re-reading how u describe the issue, reminds me of ...some hierarchy prob...be sure there's one root in the scene and all pending from it, and that you did set the correct hierarchy setting in Panda.(something talking bout root bone parent of all...)
Or some bones bad connected or something...
Oh, and forgot: better if you do all model as one piece, not separate pieces, just attached, but welded at vertex level... Several parts meshes in a bone hierarchy can cause that problem you say...
My advice, ensure this all in a more basi mesh export, rigged and all,with not many weird stacks and Max effects. So youc an determine what you are doing wrong.
The faster way is just test those offending files but checking all what I mention and fixing what is neeeded, and try to exprot. Beware the amtter on if ur using biped or not is important...also, the fbx i/o trick may or may not work with max5...in max6 works for very sure...
And best advice: switch to b3d format is it's possible for you.
.
in the B3D-Viewer, but unfortunately no sign of an animation in Irrlicht... .