[MD5] export add-on for Blender 2.63+

motorsep · June 18, 2012, 07:02:31 PM

There are some folks who are interested in doing this, and therefore I created a mock up of the GUI and technical description, in case you are still interested: http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?258069-PAID-job-MD5-exporter-for-Doom-3

nemyax · June 18, 2012, 07:15:53 PM

> types in Action names
A resounding NO. If batch export is to happen in this one, it will be based on timeline markers, not actions in the Blender sense. I don't want to go near that can of worms.

motorsep · June 18, 2012, 07:54:22 PM

You need to have each animation in a separate Action. There is IQM exporter that does just that - it takes Action and exports only amount of frames occupied with keys. Nothing more nothing less. Sometimes animation needs to be shorter than Action timeline is, so markers would help a lot.

That's just sane workflow. You exporter provides workflow from 90s, when command line tools were common.

nemyax · June 21, 2012, 09:07:42 AM

The script has been updated:
1. Added batch export.
2. Added popups blocking the file selector if export is not possible (not implementing this from the start was very lame on my part, sorry about that).

Get it at the usual place: http://arxendofsun.solarsplace.com/downloads/io_scene_md5.zip
Don't forget to read the readme.

Spielkarsten · July 04, 2012, 09:29:58 PM

I have noticed that the export fails if you have any object transformation on the armature. If you clear that, it works fine. Maybe you could add that to the readme or fix it.

222464 · July 10, 2012, 07:40:29 PM

Hello,

When looking for a solution for an animated model format for my game engine, I found MD5, and from there I found this. First of all, thanks for sharing this! MD5 exporters seem to be pretty rare. Unfortunately though, when trying to export a MD5 mesh, I got:

I was able to export an animation just fine, but meshes don't seem work for me. Any ideas as to what I might be doing wrong?

kat · July 10, 2012, 08:04:46 PM

When you export are you select both mesh and armature (armature last), or just the mesh on it's own?

222464 · July 10, 2012, 08:28:51 PM

I tried both, no success

EDIT: The error also causes Blender to crash when exiting.

kat · July 10, 2012, 08:39:19 PM

Do you want to send me the file and I'll take a look? [email protected] if you can/are able to.

nemyax · July 11, 2012, 08:57:49 AM

Quote from: Spielkarsten on July 04, 2012, 09:29:58 PM
I have noticed that the export fails if you have any object transformation on the armature. If you clear that, it works fine. Maybe you could add that to the readme or fix it.

I'll look into it, thanks for reporting.

Quote from: kat on July 10, 2012, 08:04:46 PM
When you export are you select both mesh and armature (armature last), or just the mesh on it's own?

It doesn't matter. Only the mesh selection is used. The readme states this explicitly.

Quote from: 222464 on July 10, 2012, 07:40:29 PM
Unfortunately though, when trying to export a MD5 mesh, I got:

This error means the script can't find vertex weight data in the mesh object. It's supposed to catch this condition early, but apparently it doesn't. I'll try to fix this soon; meanwhile, please make sure your mesh is weighted properly. It would help if you uploaded your blend file somewhere.

222464 · July 11, 2012, 12:14:18 PM

I uploaded the model here: https://sites.google.com/site/cireneikualsgameprogramming/misc

Warning, it is a horrific example of programmer art!

kat · July 11, 2012, 02:37:27 PM

Did you check the email I sent you in return 222464? There are a few more problems with the model you need to address in addition to the vertex weighting issue nemyax mentioned.

[EDIT]ignore the above, I just read your reply, message was in my junk folder again.. damn filters!

222464 · July 19, 2012, 02:53:43 PM

After setting it aside for a while, I again tried to use this exporter, but unfortunately I have still not been able to successfully export a MD5 mesh.

Animations work just fine, so I don't see how it can be a vertex weighting issue.

Thanks for the help so far!

nemyax · July 22, 2012, 11:08:26 PM

Quote from: 222464 on July 19, 2012, 02:53:43 PM
I don't see how it can be a vertex weighting issue.

It is. Check your weights. And unparent the mesh from the armature while you're at it—this is wrong on so many levels (and you tricked yourself by parenting it).
MD5 animations don't use any weight information (only bounding boxes and joints), so animation export is not prevented.

nemyax · July 27, 2012, 11:08:06 AM

A small clarification: although the "swarmer" character has some weighting issues, the real cause of the error seems to be the presence of vertex groups unrelated to bones. I'll need to make the script ignore those. I'll also forbid zero weights, because they are ambiguous.