importing avatars with cal3d

[marcoleon]

I followed the instructions, but Vizard doesn't recognize the bones or the materials or the mesh from my .cfg file. Does it have anything to do with my using .cmf, .crf, and .csf files instead of the ones in the avatars included in Vizard?

This is the error message I get:

**************************************************
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* VIZARD 2.51c *
* *
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Loading File: tut_ground.wrl
Loading File: Masha.cfg
cal3d : Incompatible file version in loader.cpp(711)
cal3d : Invalid handle as argument in coremodel.cpp(552)
cal3d : Invalid handle as argument in coremodel.cpp(516)
cal3d : Invalid handle as argument in coremodel.cpp(516)
cal3d : Invalid handle as argument in coremodel.cpp(516)
Model::create: ERROR: Can't create a model. Most probable reason is that the core doesn't have any data.
Model::stop: ERROR: The model doesn't have a mixer
cal3d : Invalid handle as argument in skeleton.cpp(103)

[tobin]

I doubt it. I suspect right now that the Cal3D exporter you're using is incompatible with the previous version of Cal3D which Vizard uses to import. This will take a day to verify, and if it's the case then we'll need another day to recompile our loader to bring it up-to-date with the latest version of Cal3D.

We will update you shortly.

[tobin]

We've verfied that it is the exporter/importer version mismatch. We'll now try to update Vizard importer for you.

[tobin]

Updating the Cal3D loader is more involved than we had guessed, which means we require 2 weeks to provide an update. In the meantime, you could try finding a license to Max5 or 6 and use the old exporter. Or, you could send your Character Studio file to us at support@worldviz.com and we a stop-gap service of exporting the model for you.

[marcoleon]

would i be able to use 3ds max 7 still if i got an older version of the cal3d exporter?
would that work?

[tobin]

The older Cal3D did not include precompiled binaries for Max 7. What you could do which would be faster on our end would be to send us the Max 7 SDK "include" and "lib" folders. This would allow us to quickly recompile the old Cal3D exporter to work with Max 7 rather than making you wait for the longer term solution in which we rebuild our loader to handle the new Cal3D exporters. Does that make sense?

When you install Max, an option is to install the Max SDK. When you do, a folder will appear in your Max installation called Max SDK. In there you'll find the "include" and "lib" subfolders. These are what you could zip and email to support@worldviz.com. These are helper files that allow developers to create products (plug-ins) for Max.

[marcoleon]

Yes, I sent the zip file just now.

[rdotsch]

Hi!

I've got exactly the same problem. Only I'm using 3ds max 8 (but an exporter binary of Cal3d 0.10, compiled for 3ds max 7, which might be the problem). I get these errors:

Loading File: fromthetop\testy.cfg
cal3d : Incompatible file version in loader.cpp(711)
cal3d : Invalid handle as argument in coremodel.cpp(552)
cal3d : Invalid handle as argument in skeleton.cpp(103)
Model::create: ERROR: Can't create a model. Most probable reason is that the core doesn't have any data.
Model::stop: ERROR: The model doesn't have a mixer

Regards,

Ron

[farshizzo]

Hi,

Vizard 2.5 uses an older version of Cal3D, so it won't be compatible with any files created using the 0.10 exporter. We have the Cal3d exporters for the version Vizard uses. However, we don't have the 3ds Max 8 sdk. I can give you the version of our exporter for Max 7, but I don't know if it will work. Send me an email at lashkari@worldviz.com if you would like these files

[deeply_immersed]

Hi-

I'm trying to figure out what version of Max I need if I want to do cal3d exporting for Vizard. What's the status for cal3d exporting? Can I export from max 7 with the old cal 3d exporter? or from max 8 with the new exporter?

[farshizzo]

Hi,

We have generated the Cal3D exporter that will be compatible with Vizard for 3D Max versions 5 through 8. I just noticed that the plugins are not on the download page. It may take a while to put them there, in the meantime you can email me at lashkari@worldviz.com and let me know which versions you need the plugin for and I will provide them directly to you.

[deeply_immersed]

I just checked back and they're on the download page. Thanks.

[deeply_immersed]

Hey-

I downloaded the cal3d exporter for 3dmax 8 and put it in the plugins folder, but when I started max, the dll and dle failed to initialize.

[farshizzo]

Hi,

Are you also placing the cal3d.dll file in the same directory as the exporter?

[deeply_immersed]

Yes. All three files are there. Should they be?

[farshizzo]

Hi,

Yes, the Cal3d importer/exporter plugins depend on the cal3d.dll file. I'll do some testing here to see what the problem is. In the meantime, try replacing the cal3d.dll file that came with the plugins with the cal3d.dll file that is included in your [Vizard25]/bin directory.