3D Model Animation Tools

[IrrGnu]

In the features page of this site it says

"Currently supported mesh file formats:
Animated objects:

B3D files (.b3d, r, skeleton)
Microsoft DirectX (.x, r) (binary & text, skeleton)
Milkshape (.ms3d, r, skeleton)
Quake 3 models (.md3, r, morph)
Quake 2 models (.md2, r, morph)
"
What programs are used to make these models types? When I searched for B3D it didn't seem to give me anything which was to do with a tool in which to make B3D models.

My only experience making 3D models is via 3DS max when I was at uni and since it costs a lot, I'm looking for a free (or at least, at not $5000+) modeling tool to use.

[Cube_]

well, I'd recommend blender.

I don't know if there is an addon for b3d, but one could just write it (assuming one has sufficient skill in python)
http://www.blender.org -check it out

[Korppi]

There is a B3D exporter for Blender 2.62

http://supertuxkart.svn.sourceforge.net ... runk/util/

[krom]

My opinion, after using 3dsmax for many years, I finally switched to blender and never looked back.
Things are bit different but all together it is just as powerful tool to use, and once you get used to the gui and workflow it feels better than working in 3dsmax.
And its free:)

krom

[Cube_]

oh :O
Thanks for the plugin!

[ACE247]

Thanks for the B3d plugin! Does it export animations too though?

[Korppi]

Does it export animations too though?

Yes, it does export an animations.

[IrrGnu]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I'll give blender a shot. I've never used it before though, so first thing will be to find me some tutorials

[REDDemon]

What I'll find usefull is a free-opensource editor wich is able to bind a skeleton and a animation to a simple mesh (obj for example). Blender is really hard for me to use for making animated characters. Most problems are when need to link bones and armatures to the model. The few tutorials i followed and showed a right animation ended up in a model wich was not exported correctly. I want something like:

right-clik on a joint -> bone added.
->drag n drop to adjust bones
->autobindig of vertices to bones using "volumetric zones" instead of vertex paiting.

poses + interpolation between poses + noise for movements.

Most tools will attemp to do everything but they have a long learning curve. A utility like that will be very usefull and easy to learn/use. But i'm dreaming, there's nothing like that existing.

[hendu]

Maybe try misfit model 3d. I've used it for simple modelling and animating, it's much easier to use than blender.

[fmx]

What I'll find usefull is a free-opensource editor wich is able to bind a skeleton and a animation to a simple mesh (obj for example). Blender is really hard for me to use for making animated characters. Most problems are when need to link bones and armatures to the model. The few tutorials i followed and showed a right animation ended up in a model wich was not exported correctly. I want something like:

right-clik on a joint -> bone added.
->drag n drop to adjust bones
->autobindig of vertices to bones using "volumetric zones" instead of vertex paiting.

poses + interpolation between poses + noise for movements.

Most tools will attemp to do everything but they have a long learning curve. A utility like that will be very usefull and easy to learn/use. But i'm dreaming, there's nothing like that existing.

I dont like Blender either...

Have you tried Milkshape?
its old but gets the job done with minimal headaches

I would recommend buying 3DS Max or something and learning to use it properly though

[IrrGnu]

Buy 3ds max? Noo thanks. I don't have $5000 plus $1000 a year to through around. I used it a lot in uni and I basically concluded each year added nothing meaningful. I didn't have to pay as I had a student version, but although I know how to use it, I want something free.

Hadn't heard of Misfit model 3D or Milkshape before, so I've searched around for stuff on them.

Misfit doesn't appear to be supported anymore or work on windows vista, so I might leave that one.
Milkshape looks interesting, but appears to require money for.

Hm.. I dunno, I might stick with Blender for now, I want something fairly powerful so that after I've spent the time learning it, I don;t need to learn other tools to do other stuff. 3Ds max is a pain in the neck itself to use, so having something tricky to learn isn't new to me

[randomMesh]

Have a look at the Tool List.

I like Wings3D a lot since i am a noob at modeling and it's very easy to use.

[ent1ty]

Yes, I used Wings3D as well, it's very easy to use (but only handles static meshes tho iirc)

[hendu]

Misfit doesn't appear to be supported anymore or work on windows vista, so I might leave that one.

Where'd you get "unsupported on Vista"? The home page merely states that nobody has used it on Vista and said that it works, which tells more about the popularity of Vista

As for not developed, true, but if the current features work for you, it's a free app.