Torque Skeleton Generator

Torque Skeleton Generator

I started writing this script during my time as an intern at GarageGames (Feb.-July '05). I continued working on it in my spare time thereafter.

This is a script for both 3D Studio MAX and Maya that automatically generates a custom skeleton for use with the Torque Game Engine. First it creates a series of joint locators, which you can place where you want your joints to be by aligning them to your character model. Then you set up your options and click a button to create the skeleton and control rig. There is a base character model included with both versions that you can use as a starting point for your own character or as a reference to set up your own character.

New in version 1.5: The Prop Control creator helps with animating a character holding a prop, e.g. a gun or a sword. You can set keys for locking-to and releasing-from the Prop Control object at any time during an animation.

The beauty of the script is that it creates and identical rig every time (initial rotational values of all bones is always 0), so you can create differently proportioned skeletons for different characters, and the animations will be interchangeable across any Torque characters, regardless of the originating 3D application. A version of the script for Blender 3D using its python scripting interface is currently in progress postponed indefinitely due to deficiencies in the Blender/Python API.

I came up with the idea for this system and implemented it myself in an effort to solve the problem of standardizing the various character skeletons available as "Torque Character Packs".

I had never written a Maxscript or a MEL script before I undertook this project. I taught myself as I did it. (Same goes for Python/Blender).  Since writing this script, however, I have used my Maxscript knowledge to write several (much smaller) tools that suit my personal modeling style to make it more efficient.