site banner image
Collada plugin for After Effects

More info here
Virtual Reality and Games - UT3 and Lightwave

UT3 Characters for Lightwave 11.6.2

Scene files that contain 3 UT3 characters in a format that can be exported via the fbx format into the UDK game engine. These characters have skeletons that are compatible with the built in animations.

Links to scene files for each character

Note: 1m in lightwave = 100 unreal units

Original 3dsmax files - http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/UDKCustomCharacters.html

PSK files - download/ut3pskfeb2009.zip

Example fbx skeleton from Epic - http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/FBXAnimationPipeline.html

FBX files from trueSpace - download/UT3_FBX_Characters_from_Truespace.zip

Creation Process (Steps I took to get it into lightwave):

  1. Loaded the original max files into an old version of 3dsmax and used ActorX to export psk files
  2. PSK files were loaded into trueSpace and exported as FBX files, export scale set to 10
  3. FBX files are loaded into Lightwave layout
  4. The imported UT3 Corrupt character had a bad rotation so...:
    1. Select the b_RightClav bone and set it's pitch from 88.77 to 0.00
    2. Select all it's child bones
    3. "r" to unrest them
    4. "r" again to rerest them
  5. rotate the mesh and the fbx_bone_hiearchy_standin to 90 degrees in pitch so the character is upright

To use the character in the UDK editor:

  1. export as an FBX file from layout
    • no scaling
    • surfaces should all have unique names, otherwise they may overwrite each other on import to the UDK
    • if textures are not embedded copy the image files to the same place as the fbx file
  2. run the smoothing group program on the fbx file - udk_fbx_smoothing.html
  3. import into the UDK content browser
  4. open the anim set editor and change the origin Z from 0.0 to -51.0

At this point the built in animations will be identical between a direct psk import from the original files and the fbx import from lightwave.

Looking through the built in animations I don't see any that have animation on the b_Root bone which is a null in the original files. Truespace created it as a bone because it's skeleton structure can only have joints and bones.

General Notes

Name the mesh layers with unique names

Import to UDK override the name so the layer names are used as is, instead of combined with the file name

Layer name of UCX_ and UBX_ for collisions is supported

The textures exported from Lightwave should be in the same folder as the fbx file or use the embedded textures option.

The embedded textures export option will work even if the textures are not in the same folder.

All meshes must be UV mapped. All textures must be size power of 2.

UV maps don't have to be assigned to a surface inside Lightwave 11.6 to export.

Lightwave exports FBX 2012 without smoothing groups.

A lack of smoothing group export is fixed with the fbx smoothing application. The output of the smoothing app is an FBX 2013 file.

Node materials do not export and the following texture channels will import into the UDK editor materials:

Lightwave UDK
Color Diffuse
Luminousity Emissive
Specular Specular
Glossiness Specular Power
Bump Normal

The bump will be compressed with TC_Normalmap settings, all the others will get TC_Default compression. UDK will interprete the bump map texture as a normal map.

To get the skeleton as skelegons in modeler to use as a guide:

  1. File - Export - Save 9.2 Scene
  2. Download and install the LoadBones plugin from DStorm - http://www.dstorm.co.jp/dsproducts/FreePlugins/Bone_Skelegon/Load_Bones.html
  3. use the Load Bones plugin in modeler
  4. result will be lying down, head in -Z and front  in -Y
April 8, 2014