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998 Chapter 14: character studio
parameters, but you can’t change the Time To
Next Footstep parameter .
Interpolate—Allows you to control acceleration or
deceleration of the series of footsteps. When this
box is selected, a second set of step parameters
under Last Step is enabled.
Biped creates the footsteps starting with the values
of the parameters under First Step and ending with
the values of the para meters under Last Step.
By interpolating between the two, Biped produces
a footstep ser ies that changes over time.
When Interpolate is cleared, the Last Step
parameters are grayed out. Biped creates all the
footsteps using only the parameters under First
Step.
Start Af ter Last Footstep—Appends the newly
created footsteps to the end of the existing footstep
sequence.
StartatCurrentFrame—Inserts the newly created
footsteps at the current frame after the existing
footstep sequence, allowing you to make a gap in
time b efore the footsteps st art again.
First Step and Last Step
Parametr ic Str ide Length—Sets the stride length for
the new footsteps as a percentage of the length of
thebiped’sleg.Thedefaultvalueof0.75givesan
averagestrideofnormalproportions.
Avalueof1.0willproduceajumplengthequal
to the leg length, which makes the biped stretch
slightly to reach the next step. A value of 0.0 will
make the biped jump in place. A negative stride
length will make the biped jump backwards.
Whenabipedjumpsbackwards,itdoesnotsimply
reverse the forward movement but maintains the
correct foot-state sequence with the toe touching
the ground first, followed by the heel.
AdjustingParametricStrideLengthautomatically
changes the value for Actual Stride Length.
Stride Length=0.75 and Stride Length=1.0
Actual S tr ide Length—Sets the stride leng th for the
new footsteps in 3ds Max units.
The same rules apply as for Parametric Stride
Length (described above).
Adjusting Actual Stride Length automatically
changes the value for Parametric Stride Length.
Actual Str ide Height—Sets the rise or fall b etween
footsteps. You can use this parameter to create a set
of footsteps going up or down a slope or a stairwa y.
The value for Actua l Stride Height is the difference
in height in units between each of the new
footsteps. Positive va lues step up and negative
values step down.
Stride Height=5 units
Ti me to Nex t Footstep—Specifies the number of
frames in each foot movement c ycle. A c ycle
starts with the fra me a part icular foot touches the
ground,continuesasthefootlifts,moves,and
ends with the frame before the foot touches the
ground again. This parameter is only enabled if
Auto Timing is on.