Prop point position within static Collada meshes do not get exported or interpreted correctly by the game.

[michael]

Prop points get moved and pitched 90 degrees when exported from Max to Collada and into the Game. Not sure if this is an exporter issue or a game engine issue where the game does not interpret the Collada data correctly.

[michael]

Prop point in Max prior to export.

[michael]

How it looks in-game.

[michael]

The Collada file after export from Max to the game.

[michael]

We have fixed this in the past by manipulating the dummy helper in Max prior to exporting to Collada. This is not an ideal solution, because it adds more work and testing for each and every model we export with a prop point attached, and will confuse modders in the future.

[michael]

Celtic Scout Tower Collada file

[michael]

Screenshot showing garrison flag pitched forward and in wrong position.

[michael]

It looks like this code is being misinterpreted by the game engine:

(snippet from the Celt outpost/scout tower collada file)

        <node id="prop_garrisoned" name="prop_garrisoned">
          <matrix sid="matrix">0.404669 0.000000 0.000000 0.865969 0.000000 0.404669 0.000000 0.027975 0.000000 0.000000 0.404669 6.726372 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000</matrix>
        </node>

[michael]

It seems like this should be a simple fix. We just need to figure out how this matrix data is being interpreted, how it's being misapplied, and fix it.

[michael]

As you can see, prop points are messed up.

[historic_bruno]

To update this ticket with my observations:

COLLADA models specify the up axis which the exporting 3D editor uses (it can be X-up, Y-up, or Z-up, but I think realistically we only have to worry about Y-up and Z-up), so we have to transform the mesh vertices, bones, and prop points accordingly. The game uses a left-hand Y-up coordinate system, COLLADA is always right-handed (see ​this page for illustrations of these terms), so we have to flip an axis as well.

The problem is that for static meshes we have been transforming the mesh and ignoring the prop points, the result is they appear to be offset and rotated due to using a different coordinate system. I've tested some changes to the PMD converter that seem to work with Max (Y-up or Z-up per exporter option) and Blender (Z-up - no exporter options in 2.58). I can't seem to import a model with prop points in Blender 2.49, so I haven't tested that.

Also ticket #243 is related.

[historic_bruno]

Replying to michael:

The chariot shown in bad prop points.jpg is a static mesh right?

Are there any observed issues with prop points attached to bones?

[ben]

(In [10484]) Fixes PMD converter's handling of static prop points. Coordinate conversion was not performed correctly according to the model's up-axis orientation. Fixes #886, #243.