3ds Max + CAT + game character

wannabeartist

Hi all,

Is anyone here using CAT do rig game characters? Are there any pros or cons using it versus doing a "traditional" rig?

I'm pretty new to rigging in general so I though it would be an easier way to get started quickly, but is there some reason why I should use the regular bones instead?

Nysuatro

I think you will find a lot of information in this topic.

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80405

wannabeartist

Wow. Thanks. I should have looked that up first!

NAIMA

I dunno about others , I am not a character animator neither a character artist but the few animals I made for my island project I animated with CAT and it is AWESOME , I love it , with a simple click I can decide the walk and the movement and all the loops with very fluid results...

wannabeartist

It's indeed powerful. I'm a modeler and my rigging/animation experience is quite limited - that's why I went for CAT in the first place.

I just finished a test walk cycle with my character and it's pretty nice for a beginner

One question though, if I rig in MAX with CAT and the animations should be done somewhere else (like Maya), will the rig transfer over?

NAIMA

U need to export the bones too I guess then I see no problems , the thing is the only thing I used from cat for rigging are the bones , as then the animation is so easily done with cat , why need to switch ?

wannabeartist

NAIMA wrote: »

why need to switch ?

Well, just in case I don't do the animation myself - after all, I'm just a modeler

Mark Dygert

Right now transferring animations in CAT is kind of difficult. Biped is VERY friendly for transferring animations. Typically you need to set up your cat rig to match the incoming animations, perfectly. Then use MotionBuilder to apply it and export to max. If you have an exsisting CAT rig that doesn't match, its going to be a pain but its not impossible, if you use MotionBuilder.

From the rumors I've heard they are working to make CAT just as flexible as biped if they do that, it will be an amazing leap forward.

wannabeartist

Thanks for the info,

Good to know that!