headsWitch

SHORT DESCRIPTION

INSTALLATION

• Copy the .ms file to \Scripts
• Copy the .BMP files to \UI
• Start 3D Studio MAX 3.x
• From the MAXScript drop-down menu, select "RUN Script".
• Find the file called "headsWitch01.ms" and run it - nothing should happen.
• Right-click a toolbar and select Customize...
• Find the entry "headsWitch" in the Category "HyperImage".
• Drag the icon to the toolbar, close dialog.
• Open a SCxxxMF scene.
• Press the icon - a new floating rollout should appear.

FEATURES

• The Utility floater is 470 pixels wide and has a variable height (min 480 pixels) depending on the number of Output window lines.
• The Floater's name will contain the base name of the scene "SCxxx" or "Not A Valid Scene" if the scene is not a HyperImage Scene file.
• The Utility contains 3 rollouts.
• The "Actions" rollout provides buttons for import and saving.
• The "The Witch Says..." window gives feedback about all oparations and their success.
• The Height of this window is set to 10 lines by default. This can be changed by editing the User Variable in the script's source.
• Error messages and warnings will start with a ">" sign. Object-related Success Messages will start with the "+" sign. All other messages will be plain text. You can scroll up and down to see the whole session history. The last line will be highlighted automatically on output.
• The [SAVE Log File] button saves the text from the Output window to a text file with the extension ".LOG". A number will be added to the name to allow any number of log files in the same directory. The log file will also contain the file name, path and date/time of creation.
• The [VIEW Log File] button loads the Log file if there just one, or opens a dialog to select a file if there are more than one. If there are no files, a warning message will be output.
• The [REPORT Lipsync Paths] button prints a list of all character names and their corresponding Lipsync Paths. Only the "Green" paths will be reported - either the automatically detected path or a manually assigned path. Alternative paths ("Blue" or "Yellow") will not be reported as the characters will use the path currently set as Alternative when importing data.
• The "Options" / "Auto-Display Related Objects" checkbox is unchecked by default. When checked, only Biped parts containing the character's string except the Biped Head and the Mesh Head and Eyes will be unhideen, the rest will be hidden. This applies to Characters with the "On" checkbox activated. Activating the "On" checkbox will also update the display in case the "Auto-Display" is active.
• The "Options" / "Skip on Vertex Count Warning" checkbox is unchecked by default. When checked, an extra vertex count test will be done and meshes with different vertex counts will be skipped.
• The [Get] button lets you select the location of alternative (background) lipsync files. The MAX file name and path should be specified. This path will be saved to a configuration file and used next time you launch the utility.
• The [LOAD!] button scans the alternative path for object names and searches for lipsynch data. NOTE: In Version 0.4, the file will be scanned just once. This will speed up the collecting of alternative data.
• The "Heads" rollout contains a set of controls for all 10 characters:
• The "On" checkbox is enabled when both a Lipsynch file and a Head Mesh have been found. It is checked automatically in such a case, too. When no Head Mesh has been found in the scene but a Lipsynch file exists, the user can pick a Head Mesh manually - the checkbox will be enabled after that. The checkbox will be checked automatically if the user picked a Head Mesh manually.
• The [Character] button contains the name of the character. If pressed, It will select all objects in the scene containing the name string of the character ("Car","Diz","Gos" etc.)
• The [Head Mesh] button is disabled if no Lipsynch file could be found. It will show "None" if no Head Mesh could be found in the scene. It will display the name of the Head Mesh if one has been found or has been picked manually by the user. To pick a new Head Mesh, press the button and select a scene object or hit "H" to select by name.
• The "Lipsynch Head" drop-down list shows "None" if no Lipsynch file could be found when launching the utility. It will show "NONE" (in caps) if no Lipsync data has been found at the Alternative location after using the [LOAD!] button. It will list all object names from the Lipsynch file if one has been found. The default XXX_HEAD name will be highlighted automatically if found. The user can select a name of an object from the list manually. This object should have a valid Morpher modifier and the same vertex count as the target head Mesh. (This can be checked when importing depending on the state of the respective Option switch.)
• The Lipsynch color indicator can be RED, BLUE, YELLOW or GREEN.
• When RED, no Lipsynch file has been found after both the local and the alternative paths have been scanned.
• When BLUE, a potential Alternative path has been discovered, but not checked for existing Lipsync Data. You should use the [LOAD!] button to check the file.
• When GREEN, a local Lipsynch file has been found in the \Lipsync sub-directory, or a valid Lipsync file has been assigned manually using the character's [>] button.
• When YELLOW, a background global Lipsynch file has been found at the Alternative Path location and a valid Lipsync Mesh has been found inside the file. You should use the [LOAD!] button to check the file.
• The "Preview"/ [AVI] button plays back the AVI preview file containing the name of the character. If no file can be found nothing will happen. If more than one files contain the character's name, no player will be started. A message will appear in the System Report window suggesting to use the File/View File command instead. This button starts the Windows Mplayer. A DOS command prompt window will open in the background as long as the Player is active.

SWITCHING HEADS

• The [IMPORT LIPSYNC] button will be disabled if the scene is not a valid HyperImage scene, or no Lipsynch head files could be found.
• If at least one Lipsynch head file has been found, the [IMPORT LIPSYNC] button will be enabled.
• Press the [IMPORT LIPSYNC] button to import Moprher modifiers containing Lipsynch data for all characters having their "On" checkbox checked.
• The utility will merge the Lipsync Head with the current scene and check the vertex count of both objects. If the count is different, the head will be skipped.
• If the vertex count is the same, a copy of the imported Head's Morpher modifier will be placed on the Stack of the Head Mesh the following way: If there is an existing Morpher modifier, it will be replaced. If there are more than one Morpher modifiers on the object, the one that is nearest to the Top of the Stack will be replaced. If there is no Morpher on the Head mesh and there is a BonesPro modifier present, the Morpher modifier copy will be placed bellow the BonesPro modifier. If there is no BonesPro modifier, the Morpher will be placed on top of the Stack.
• If any error should occur during this phase, a general error message will appear in the System Report window. The cause for an error might be a missing Morpher modifier on any of the two objects, or a bug in the utility. Please contact the author in this case.
• After importing (even on nothing has been imported), the [SAVE FINAL SCENE] button will be enabled.
• Press the [SAVE FINAL SCENE] button to save a copy of the scene with a name "SCxxxCF" to the "\Character Final" subdirectory.
• NOTE: After saving the Character Final scene, the MAX title bar will display the new CF name, but the scene itself will not be updated to the new file name. Starting the Utility again will still find the original MF scene and path. Using Save and Save As... will apply to the original MF scene. This is caused by a limitation of MAXScript. It can be fixed in case this is a workflow or security problem.