Maya and B3D Models

g0bl1n · Post by **g0bl1n** » Sun May 08, 2011 10:21 am

Hey all, I have a model that is fully rigged and boned (or at least that is what it says from where I downloaded it). I want to put this model into a B3D format so I can put it into CharacterFx and animate it. But the problem is that the model is in a maya format. I have Maya and 3ds max at my disposal, although I do not have much experience with 3ds max and I have no experience with Maya. So I was hoping someone could walk me through how to do this? Or better yet if someone wouldn't mind doing it for me (the getting to B3D format) I would be eternally grateful!!! But in any case just thought I'd ask!

Goblin

shadowslair · Post by **shadowslair** » Sun May 08, 2011 10:46 am

Hi! Try searching for Maya b3d exporter plugin. This popped up, but looks old: http://www.bcchang.com/immersive/b3d/index.php . Never used Maya though. The 3ds max exporter is the Blitz3dPipeline, but the last version it is available for is 3ds max 9 IIRC.

Isoprog · Post by **Isoprog** » Sun May 08, 2011 12:46 pm

Hi,
If its extension is .mb then you can open it in maya and export it as .obj. CFX can import .obj I think.

Regards

shadowslair · Post by **shadowslair** » Sun May 08, 2011 12:52 pm

@Isoprog: Unfortunately .obj doesn`t support any animation, hence he cannot import it rigged. For static meshes there are many options.

Isoprog · Post by **Isoprog** » Sun May 08, 2011 1:53 pm

Sorry, I thought he will rig and animate it in CFX.

Regards

shadowslair · Post by **shadowslair** » Sun May 08, 2011 4:08 pm

@g0bl1n: Why don`t you make your life easier and skip the characterFx part and animate it directly in Maya/Max and export to .b3d/.x or some other format?

g0bl1n · Post by **g0bl1n** » Sun May 08, 2011 10:14 pm

I really just have no idea how to use Maya, but if that is easier maybe I shall try and learn how to use it. But now the question is where to start, I have two files (a .ma and a .mb). So I open each of them and notice that I do not see any bones. So I looked around for a viewing option just to make sure they were not hidden, sure enough IK Bones are being shown. The file was made with Maya 8 it says, while the version at my disposal is Maya 2012. Maybe I should find a computer with Maya 8 on it and see if that shows any bones? Or is there something I'm missing?

EDIT:
So I rigged the model myself, however I cannot figure out how to animate. I have it set to auto key, and I figured I could set key frames and animate by moving the bones. But I keep getting "// Warning: No objects selected to set keys". So I select all objects and set a key frame. Then I move a joint and none of the objects stick to their bones. If I undo the select all and key frame I can move the character's limbs with their bones perfectly fine. It's kind of frustrating, I'm a programmer not a modeler/animator damnit... So if someone can tell me what I've done wrong, please do so! Here is my current scene.