Animation Master importer

Animation:Master Importer

• Animation:Master Importer
  • How to use
  • Importing models
  • Importing animations
  • How to install

This add-on imports Animation:Master models into Blender. The following happens during import:

• Patches are converted to polygonal meshes without any subdivision. This happens only for explicitly saved patches listed in the file; if your patch is stamped, it will come through.
• Faces are not created for implicit patches. If you need to make a surface from your edge net, use Blender's excellent family of Fill tools.
• Hooks turn into regular vertices.
• A:M bones and nulls turn into Blender bones.
• CP attachments and weights are converted to vertex weights. For hooks, weights are copied from their hook bases.
• Constraints, limits and all other rigging relationships are ignored.
• Stamps turn into UV layouts, using the <decalname>/<stampname> naming convention.
• CP groups turn into vertex groups and are added to the groups that Blender uses for vertex weighting.

The add-on also imports animations in .xform format, as exported by this Animation:Master plugin.

Get the add-on here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/blenderbitsbobs/files/
The name of the file is io_scene_am_import-*.*.*.zip.

The add-on requires Blender 2.77a or later.

How to use

Important: A note on bone orientation specifics. Blender and A:M use different rest-pose orientations for bones. In Blender it's +Y that looks "down" the bone, and in A:M it's +Z. Therefore, if you try to apply A:M animations unchanged to a normal-looking Blender armature, it'll come out wrong.
The add-on supports both orientations for models and animations; the bone orientation import option can be set to either A:M-native or Blender-friendly. Whichever option you use for model import, stick with the same option for animation import to get correct results.
To help you track which option was used during the model import, the add-on names the imported armature object and associated armature data either "mdl_armature_am" (for "A:M-native") or "mdl_armature_blen" (for "Blender-friendly"). You might want to rename the armature object, but you're unlikely to have to rename the armature data (nobody ever bothers), so it's a simple hint that won't get lost.

Importing models

To import a .mdl file, click File | Import | Animation:Master model (.mdl).

Importing animations

To import an animation in .xform format:

1. Set the time slider to the frame you want the sequence to start at.
2. Select an armature that matches the animation you want to import, or a mesh associated with such an armature. This should preferably be part of a model imported with this add-on.
3. Click File | Import | Bone Transformations as Animation (.xform).
4. Specify the bone orientation used by the target armature: A:M native or Blender-friendly. (An "A:M-native" armature is bound to look weird, with bones jutting sideways; if unsure which to select, check the armature data name.)

Notes:

• The importer transfers the keys defined in the .xform file to the fcurves of the armature's bones. If your armature is rigged with constraints, drivers and IK, and those are enabled, don't expect the resulting animations to match those in the file. However, the keys will be there, so when you disable your extra rigging features at any time, you should have a faithful representation of the animation in the file.
• For bone rotations, the importer sets keys on both the Euler and quaternion channels.

How to install

1. Open Blender's User Preferences window and go to the Add-ons tab.
2. Click Install from File and specify the downloaded .zip file or the unpacked .py file.
3. Enable the Import-Export: Animation:Master Import add-on.
4. To make your changes persistent, click Save User Settings.