3DS MAX 2011, combining rigged weights

Shadowslayer

in 3ds max, i am giving a model a simpler bone structure, to make animating easier. the model i have right now is fully rigged, but with many more bones than the skeleton i want to use. i was wondering if it was possible to combine two bones' weights into one, for example, the spine is split into five segments in the current rig, and in the new rig there are only two spine bones. can i combine spine 1-3 and 4-5 without having to completely re-rig them?

poopipe

Not very easily is the simple answer. It could be scripted but would be quite wordy so if there's only one model you're probably better off just reskinning it to the new skeleton.

If you're not subject to engine restrictions why not just make yourself a simpler control rig that only has two bones and drive the spine from that?

monster

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2904948/Tools/Martinez_RemoveBoneAssignWeights.ms

I made this tool for myself a while back. Just download it and run it from the MaxScript Run menu.

This will remove the selected bone from the Skin modifier and assign it's weights to the a different bone that you choose.

Use the Pick OBJ button to select a model with a skin modifier.

You can use the * buttons to make the drop down list jump to the currently selected bone.