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798 Chapter 14: Character Studio
If you select a BIP file saved with a previous
version of character studio,thepreview
will not be visible. After selecting the file for
loading, you will be notified that the file is
obsoleteandshouldberesaved,unlessyouhave
indicated that you no longer want to see this
message.
• Step fil e (.stp )—Load footsteps without body
keyframes. Using this ASCII file format enables
developers to write programs that generate
step files for biped motion. Biped w il l generate
body keys for the loaded steps. See
stp.rt f in
the
cstudio\docs directory for more details on
thestepfileformat.
Note: In Figure mode, y ou can only load FIG files.
In other modes, you can load BIP or STP files.
Motion Preview—Lets you manually scrub throught
theanimationinaBIPorSTPfilebeforeopening
it.
Restructure biped to match file—When on, the
struc ture of the current biped is changed to match
the structu re in the BIP file.
Set lowest star ting foot height to Z=0 (.bip files
only )—
Sets the lowest starting foot height to
Z=0. This is an option in the Load File dialog.
Default=On.
In char acter st udio, the height of a motion clip
can be retained. This is important if you want
to retain the height of a motion clip for motions
adapted to characters of different sizes. If, for
example, the character is jumping off a rock and
you want to retain t he Z position of the character,
you would turn this option off. Leave this option
off if Motion Flow motions must be blended that
begin and end at different heights, such as three
clips that have the character mounting a bic ycle,
riding the bicycle, and dismounting the bicycle.
Tu rning off this option can, however, cause a jump
in the motion d uring motion flow transitions.
Turn this on for smooth tr ansitions in Motion
Flow mode. If adaptation takes place, the height is
set so that the lowest foot at f rame 0 star ts at the
Z=0 height. This lines up clips along the Z axis
and creates smooth transitions.
Tip: Use Load Motion Capture File on the Motion
Capture rollout (page 2–916)
to load the raw
version of the motion capture .
bip files that come
bundled with character studio.Thesefileshave
no footsteps and keys at every frame. Loading files
using Load Motion Capture File allows you to filter
the data and extract footsteps.
Load MAX Objects group
Loa d M A X Ob j ects —When on, character studio
will import any IK, Head Target, or linked object
saved with the BIP data.
Object list—Each object saved with the BIP file is
displayedinthislistalongwithitsobjecttype.The
only way to eliminate an object from the animation
is to resave the BIP file w ithout it and reload.
Note: The settings for loading 3ds Max objects are
only active if Load MAX Objects is checked and
there are objects in the data.
Prompt for Duplicates—Opens a Merge dialog for
each object in the BIP file that has a duplicate in
the scene.
In this dialog , you can Merge, Skip, or Delete Old.
IfPromptforDuplicatesisoff,theobjectsinyour
scenewillbeautomaticallyoverwritten.
Retarget—When on, the position of the objects in
the BIP file adapt to the s ize of the target biped ,
basedoneitherheightorlimbsizes.
Scale IK Object’ s Siz e—When on, the imported
objects are scaled in size to m atch the t arget biped.
Load List Controllers g roup
Load List Controllers—When on, and
sub-animation controllers saved with the
BIP file are loaded onto your target biped.