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[Pipann]

Hello, I'm Pipann, and new to this forum! Boy, been joining a lot of forums lately.

First of all I want to thank you developers of Wallworm for making this neat tool! I simply couldn't have done anything I have done so far without it. It took me a few frustrated attempts to understand how it works but it's a million times better than having to resort to 3D programs I have no experience with whatsoever.

So, last week I started creating my own models and releasing them on SFM. I have two submissions so far, but they're incredibly simplistic. One is a static prop and the other only has a minimal number of bones. The guides for WWMT helped me get this far. Now I've stumbled into a new problem.

For my next challenge, I wanted to submit a character. Overzealous? Yes, very.

I have the model, rigging and skinning all in place but what he still needs is facial flexes. Unfortunately, my experience with 3DS Max isn't all that great and I honestly have no idea how to go about this. I've searched for guides but the few I did find confuse me further with terms I don't understand. :(

...not to mention the fact I can't make anything out of how Valve's eyeballs work or how to reproduce it. Eyesliders?? What? How?

And then there's another question burning in my mind I haven't been able to find an answer to. When I do have facial flexes, how would I go about using WWMT to get those into SFM as well?

Sorry if I'm asking stupid questions or confusing people. I love 3D modeling, but I'm godawful at all these technical things. It's honestly a miracle I even got this far. Haha

I am using 3DS Max 2016, by the way. Cheers o/

[CarbonCopyCat]

This WW doc seems to cover exporting and creating facial flexes briefly, and this tutorial provides a more in-depth tutorial on how to make them (I've only skimmed it, so I'm not sure how good it is, but it seems like it'll work).

As for the eyeballs, I'm not sure at all, but it might have something to do with the name of the bones assigned to the eyes. I remember reading a while back that you needed to take the hand bones from the default HL2 skeleton in order to get the hands working properly, so the same might apply. I'd recommend possibly decompiling some of Valve's models and some of the models on the workshop with working eyes to compare them.

[Pipann]

This WW doc seems to cover exporting and creating facial flexes briefly, and this tutorial provides a more in-depth tutorial on how to make them (I've only skimmed it, so I'm not sure how good it is, but it seems like it'll work).

Thank you. This is exactly what I'm looking for!

As for the eyeballs, I'm not sure at all, but it might have something to do with the name of the bones assigned to the eyes. I remember reading a while back that you needed to take the hand bones from the default HL2 skeleton in order to get the hands working properly, so the same might apply. I'd recommend possibly decompiling some of Valve's models and some of the models on the workshop with working eyes to compare them.

Hmm, decompile them? I haven't tried that before. I'll give that a go.

[Pipann]

Noticing some deadness in this forum.

I got wall worm pro now and I cannot figure out how to set the default dmx option. Actually, I do, but it won't stay that way and when I attempt to export the facial flexes don't go through. Anyone know why this is happening and what I can do to fix it?

[wallworm]

The DMX Settings in WW Pro:

Default DMX: When on, all NEW WWMT Helpers default to use DMX
DMX Version: DMX version used at export time. For SFM and CSGO, this should be 18
Binary DMX: Turn this on for those mods that require it. For SFM this should be on. Some only work with ASCII, some only with Binary.

Note that turning DMX on in the global settings will only set new WWMT Helpers to export as DMX files. Existing WWMT Helpers do not update to DMX until you turn on the per WWMT Helper setting for DMX which is right above the Export buttons in the WWMT UI and is labeled "Export as DMX (WW Pro Only).

Hopefully this helps.

For Binary DMX to work, you need to make sure that there is a program named dmxconvert.exe inside the bin folder. If this program does not exist natively in SFM, you may need to copy it from another mod like CSGO.

[Pipann]

Sorry, I can't use WWPro. Not like this

As it turns out, it gave me multiple errors when I made attempts to export my models. From too many bones per vertice to the next error to the next... I'm honestly, incredibly mad with this. Mainly because the former error made me reskin my entire model from scratch which took half the day, and when I learned that doing so didn't solve anything, I just rolled back to the free version and, how about that, it worked again. All that work for nothing.

I'm sorry but I can't go on like this. It's too much.

[wallworm]

As it turns out, it gave me multiple errors when I made attempts to export my models. From too many bones per vertice to the next error to the next... I'm honestly, incredibly mad with this.

Sorry that you had this issue. This specific issue is a limitation in DMX itself. WW should have printed a notice in the MAXScript listener about the issue. If not, I'll make sure it does.

The solution to this is to open your Skin modifier, go to the Advanced rollout and change the Bone Affect Limit to 3. Max defaults to 20, Source only accepts 3. So while skinning a model in Max, you can get values weighted to more than 3 bones per vert unless you bring that value down.

You don't notice this when exporting SMD because studiomdl.exe allows compiling SMD files that have more weights, but it won't compile DMX that exceed this limit.

[Pipann]

The solution to this is to open your Skin modifier, go to the Advanced rollout and change the Bone Affect Limit to 3. Max defaults to 20, Source only accepts 3. So while skinning a model in Max, you can get values weighted to more than 3 bones per vert unless you bring that value down.

You don't notice this when exporting SMD because studiomdl.exe allows compiling SMD files that have more weights, but it won't compile DMX that exceed this limit.

I thought it was 4, from what the rest of the internet told me. Either way, wouldn't this mean I'd have to reskin again? I'm...honestly not up for that. Not again. I just want things to work.

As of now, I rolled back to VTA and the guides tell me I have to change some code in the qc file to 'define the flexes, flexcontrols and flexnames', or something. But I'm at a loss with that, too. The valve documentation ain't helping. But to be fair, I'm probably just too wound up and angry about it right now to make sense of anything.

I should take a break.

[wallworm]

The exact number is probably dependent on each engine. It may well be 4 for SFM. No, you shouldn't have to reskin. Just change the limit and then hit the button to remove zero weights.

In terms of getting it working, add me to skype and I will help you :) I emailed my Skype name.

[Pipann]

Again, thanks for the help. I don't usually thank people enough but I do really appreciate what you've done to help me out. And apologies for my earlier outburst. Things I don't understand frustrate me easily. :')

[wallworm]

You are welcome. :)

I spent some time yesterday delving into the facial flex problem I noticed while testing your file in DMX. In the process, I've discovered that there is some change in SFM/CSGO that makes WW DMX incompatible with flexes. Files that used to work don't work anymore.

I'm investigating a fix.. but until then, you must either use a mod that still works or use SMD/VTA. My best guess is that the DMX version updated, but I don't have documentation on that change yet.

[Pipann]

Ah, I see. With that question being answered, I guess I'll give VTA a go until DMX works again. Thanks for all the help. :)

[wallworm]

There is an update to WW today for DMX. It makes the vert count go down in most cases. Facial flexes still broken in CSGO, but Valve told me they are fixing that one soon.

[wallworm]

Some good news. Looks like Valve released the fix for compiling WW-style DMX files for facial flexes. I can now compile WW DMX facial flexes into CSGO in all my tests. So let me know if you are now able to use WW DMX again.

[Pipann]

I'll give it a try when I get to it again. :)