WorldViz User Forum - Problem (bones not found) with custom skeleton and Live Characters

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Problem (bones not found) with custom skeleton and Live Characters

Hey! I tried using the Live Characters Plugin for MotionBuilder to get a custom generated skeleton to animate inside Vizard. I followed the instructions in the help. I've got an fbx file that I used in 3DS Max to export to the cal3d format.
That fbx file I loaded in MotionBuilder and the cfg file added as an avatar to vizard.

The Skel1PlasticMan.cfg:

Code:

skeleton = Skel1.csf

mesh = Skel1_PlasticMan.cmf

material = plasticGreyMAT.xrf

The vizard script:

Code:

import viz

import vizmocap 

import vizfx



viz.setMultiSample(4)



avatar = vizfx.addAvatar('Skel1PlasticMan.cfg')

lc = vizmocap.LiveCharacter('localhost',8050,8055,model=avatar)



viz.go

But when starting the script and Motionbuilder with the LiveCharacters plugin running, I get error messages that bone "pelvis" couldn't be found, for example. I get this error for every bone. The avatar appears in its bind pose.
I exported the skeleton again as an xsf, so it's in readable form. You can see it in my answer below, because it exceeds the 10.000 characters limit.

As you can see, all the bones are in the namespace BVH:, but the prefix doesn't appear in the error messages before the name of the bone.
So I removed the namespace from the skeleton in Motionbuilder, but the error still occurs.
What is going wrong and how to fix it?
Help is appreciated.

skeleton xsf export

Code:



    

        0 0 0

        -0.707107 0 0 0.707107

        -0 -0 -0

        0.707107 0 0 0.707107

        -1

        1

    

    

        0 0.865469 -0.024881

        0 0 0 1

        -0 -0.865469 0.024881

        0.707107 0 0 0.707107

        0

        2

        6

        10

    

    

        -0.0902537 -0.0131387 0.0186587

        0 0 0 1

        0.0902537 -0.852331 0.0062223

        0.707107 0 0 0.707107

        1

        3

    

    

        -0.000506134 -0.377137 -0.00195374

        -0.0532019 0 0 0.998584

        0.0907598 -0.471635 0.0586206

        0.743725 0 0 0.668486

        2

        4

    

    

        -0.00125323 -0.397181 0.0259952

        -0.00141172 -0.00141571 -0.00141172 0.999997

        0.0917096 -0.0746208 0.0330959

        0.744666 -0.000103544 0.00199661 0.667434

        3

        5

    

    

        3.28064e-006 -0.048954 0.139885

        0 3.49246e-010 1.16415e-010 1

        0.0917063 -0.0256668 -0.106789

        0.744666 -0.000103544 0.00199661 0.667434

        4

    

    

        0.0898527 -0.0138191 0.0194077

        0 0 0 1

        -0.0898527 -0.85165 0.00547335

        0.707107 0 0 0.707107

        1

        7

    

    

        -0.000211582 -0.377139 -0.00201002

        -0.0519571 0 0 0.998649

        -0.0896412 -0.471172 0.0566848

        0.742891 0 0 0.669412

        6

        8

    

    

        -0.000887861 -0.397578 0.0251076

        0 0 0 1

        -0.0887533 -0.0735943 0.0315772

        0.742891 0 0 0.669412

        7

        9

    

    

        0 -0.0489534 0.139891

        0 0 0 1

        -0.0887533 -0.024641 -0.108314

        0.742891 0 0 0.669412

        8

    

    

        0 0.116352 0.0226649

        0 0 0 1

        -0 -0.981821 0.00221613

        0.707107 0 0 0.707107

        1

        11

    

    

        0 0.182773 0.000767938

        0 0 0 1

        -0 -1.16459 0.00144819

        0.707107 0 0 0.707107

        10

        12

        15

        20

    

    

        0 0.22 -0.0339583

        0 0 0 1

        -0 -1.38459 0.0354065

        0.707107 0 0 0.707107

        11

        13

    

    

        0 0.1 0.0230245

        0 0 0 1

        -0 -1.48459 0.0123819

        0.707107 0 0 0.707107

        12

        14

    

    

        0 0.160807 0.00164894

        0 0 0 1

        -0 -1.6454 0.010733

        0.707107 0 0 0.707107

        13

    

    

        -0.02 0.2 -0.0192851

        0 0 0 1

        0.02 -1.36459 0.0207333

        0.707107 0 0 0.707107

        11

        16

    

    

        -0.15 -0.02 -0.01

        -7.53644e-015 0 0.707107 0.707107

        1.34459 0.17 0.0307333

        0.5 0.5 -0.5 0.5

        15

        17

    

    

        2.41089e-005 -0.25 7.02357e-005

        0 0 0 1

        1.34457 0.42 0.0306631

        0.5 0.5 -0.5 0.5

        16

        18

    

    

        1.52588e-007 -0.25 -1.43051e-008

        -1.75603e-008 2.43911e-008 -0.0784591 0.996917

        1.43283 0.451414 0.0306629

        0.537688 0.459229 -0.459229 0.537688

        17

        19

    

    

        0 -0.15 7.15256e-009

        0 0 0 1

        1.43283 0.601415 0.0306628

        0.537688 0.459229 -0.459229 0.537688

        18

    

    

        0.02 0.2 -0.0192851

        0 0 0 1

        -0.02 -1.36459 0.0207333

        0.707107 0 0 0.707107

        11

        21

    

    

        0.15 -0.02 -0.01

        4.21468e-008 -4.21468e-008 -0.707107 0.707107

        -1.34459 0.17 0.0307331

        0.5 -0.5 0.5 0.5

        20

        22

    

    

        2.41089e-005 -0.25 -7.02524e-005

        0 0 0 1

        -1.34462 0.42 0.0308034

        0.5 -0.5 0.5 0.5

        21

        23

    

    

        0 -0.25 0

        -7.47362e-009 5.23153e-008 0.0784591 0.996917

        -1.43287 0.451407 0.0308035

        0.537688 -0.459229 0.459229 0.537688

        22

        24

    

    

        3.05176e-007 -0.15 9.53674e-009

        -2.98023e-008 -3.55271e-015 7.45058e-009 1

        -1.43287 0.601407 0.0308035

        0.537688 -0.459229 0.459229 0.537688

        23

In the first bone definition the BVH namespace is not in the name:

Code:

All the other bone definitions have it. If you change that is there any difference?

Try opening up both the sample_female_red.fbx file included with live characters and the vcc_female.cfg file included with the Vizard installation in Inspector. The namespace is listed in all the bone names of the FBX character while the namespace does not appear in the bone names of the Cal3D character. Is it the same for your character files?

The vcc_female.cfg has no namespace in the bones when loaded in the inspector. But it does seem to use different file formats than what I get when exporting with the Cal3D exporter in 3DS Max, for example it uses femFlat_high_Skeleton.csfx as skeleton.
If I remember correctly, the sample_female_red.fbx had a namespace in its skeleton.

I managed to get rid of the error messages by removing the namespace altogether and re-exporting. Adding the namespace to the root did not solve the problem. But another problem occurs in both characters, which come from different sources, one custom made, the other from the autodesk character generator: without animation they look fine and appear in their T-pose. But when using the LiveCharacters plugin, in Motionbuilder it looks fine, but in vizard the characters are a hundred times bigger than the are and look mutated, like the joints are far too distant to one another, so the limbs look really thin.

You can apply a scale to the character in the .cfg file. See the scale section in the Building CFG Files page.

I applied the scale factor, but the problems with the live characters plugin persist!
First problem: When connected to the live characters server, the character size is increased by a huge factor.

Second problem: When connected to the live characters server, the character looks like a stick figure.

See attachment "LiveCharacterSkinning2.jpg" when not connected in comparison to "LiveCharacterSkinning.jpg", when connected via live characters plugin.

I think we still do have a support subscription, but it will end soon. Should I ask my supervisor to get into contact?

Yes, you can contact us at support@worldviz.com.

I think the solution to the stick figure look of the character, when driven by the live characters plugin, was to re-export the character and making sure that 3DS Max system units are set to centimeters as well as choosing centimers in the Cal3D export options.