IQM and animating on the QC side

[goldenboy]

Stupid question: When using IQM instead of .mdl (say, using darkplaces), does the animation stuff in the QC look any different?

Has anyone actually tried this?

[Handshakes]

[scar3crow]

[goldenboy]

Do I do this:

$frame shotatt1 shotatt2 shotatt3 shotatt4 shotatt5 shotatt6

void() player_shot1 = [$shotatt1, player_shot2 ] {blah};

or something else?

Maybe we could also compile a list of pros and cons of .mdl vs .iqm for use in a Quake 1 mod.

[leileilol]

Skeletal formats benefit from having lots of frames. Use framegroup files to take advantage of it for better animation. It works best with CSQC.

Read dpextensions.qc down to the FTE_SKELETON_OBJECTS stuff to get an idea what awesome skeleton objects can bring you

[Spike]

You can use IQM/ZYM/DPM/PSK/etc the same way you can use MDL/MD2/MD3, yes.

Framegroups arn't supported by all formats, but anyway...

The major advantage of skeletal formats is how they can be blended. And the only sane way to blend sequences is from the client (read: csqc) - this is the only way to twist stuff at the hip.

So you can use them the same as mdl, but if you do the only advantage of skeletal formats is editor support or file/mem size.

[leileilol]

[goldenboy]

[goldenboy]

[Spike]

[Irritant]

[goldenboy]

So

A) it's a superior format - what Irritant (and others) said (vertex drift, loss of precision) seems to point in this direction? Requires IQM support in engines, though.

B) several parts of the skeleton can be animated by different parts of the gamecode at the same time, using different animations - strafing and looking and shooting for example, and this is done in CSQC?

Without needing to actually animate all these possible combinations in Max/Blender, just the basic movements (strafing, looking, shooting)?

This might be nice for player models (multiplayer) or things like strafing grunts, or certain monsters walking and attacking at the same time. It requires CSQC support first, though :-/

Even if this stuff isn't done *now*, someone may want to add it at a later point so having the support might be a good thing.

C) direct control over the bones allows ragdoll physics using TWIG or maybe ODE?


The net gain from this seems to be a more modern model format with the potential for more complex animations and physics.

In Quake, works like .mdl, but CSQC required for the anim tricks, some sort of physics (twig, ODE?) required for ragdoll, and IQM support required in engines.

So it has a lot of potential, but also some steep requirements, which atm only Darkplaces provides. The steepest one is CSQC.

That about right?

[Irritant]

You don't need CSQC to animate, remember Alien Arena does not use Darkplaces and is not based on Q1 sources. Everything is done in the renderer, with only minor information passed from the client.

I'm guessing darkplaces does this in CSQC to give modders more freedom.

[goldenboy]

[Spike]