Torque Skel Documentation
(Note: These documents were written in reference to the MAX version of the script, but the functionality is the same in Maya. A“Dummy” in MAX is the same as a “Locator” in Maya. The default coordinate system in Maya is Y-up, while both MAX and TGE use Z-up, so change your settings via window>Settings/Preferences>Preferences, "Settings" category.)

Contents:

  1. Workflow
  2. Interface
  3. More information
  4. Prop Control Utility (TSMax v. 1.5 only)
 

 

 


 


 


Additional Notes on the Rig

Zeros, Axes and Parent-Space Rotations: Why does everything have to be in straight lines? Because as a part of the process of creating the skeleton, each bone is “zeroed out”, meaning that its parent-space rotations are all set to zero. This happens so that no matter what proportions your character has, the skeleton will look identical to the engine (all zeros), hence your animations will be compatible with other characters using script-generated TorqueSkels. What this means to you in basic terms is that every bone's local axes are aligned with the world space axes. So, as long as all your character's joints are also aligned to world space (in straight lines along the axes), the bones' local axes will be aligned correctly.


The only exception to the rule is the thumb. Because the thumb's natural position is not straight along any axis, the first thumb bone, where it joins with the hand, is not zeroed out. The second two thumb bones are not zeroed out either, but if they are in a straight line with the first joint, their parent space rotations will be zeros anyway, and the local space rotation axes will be aligned correctly.


The other reason that your character must be in the exact same pose is that every animation will be derivative from this base pose, so it must be the same pose as everyone else or your animations will not be compatible with other characters and vice-versa.



Arm Setup: The elbow bones and forearm_twist bones are dynamically controlled by the rotations of the other bones in the arm, using Orientation Constraints. So even with the FK setup, you will not need to rotate these bones manually. The elbow is intended to help fix the common deformation issue of keeping the arm from interpenetrating when the elbow is bent at a severe angle. It is constrained to always be rotated halfway between the shoulder and forearm rotations. Similarly, the forearm_twist bone is constrained to always be rotated half of the hand's x rotation, allowing for smoother twist deformation on the forearm.


Pelvis Setup: The pelvis is set up so that it can be rotated independantly of the spine. This is to make weight shifts during idle and walking animations easier to accomplish by eliminating the need to counter-animate the spine.


Leg and Foot Setup: The legs are completely controlled by the Foot_Control object. There are two superfluous bones in the foot. One is the heel, and the other is the toe. These bones are used to make the IK setup work better, but should not be used to influence any vertices on your mesh. It's best to only include the ankle and ball bones when skinning your character for optimal performance in-engine.

Control Objects: The control objects make it easier to animate the skeleton by providing easily selectable objects that control one or more bones in a variety of ways.


Custom Attributes: The custom attributes use Reactor controllers to control the respective attributes of the bones or IK solvers.


Using the Foot Roll Attribute: The custom foot roll attribute that the script creates makes it easy to control the foot during walking, running animations. You will not need to rotate the bones or the Foot_Control object during the time the foot is on the ground. Simply place the control object where you want the footstep to occur, and use the foot roll attribute to control when the heel contacts, when the full foot contacts, and when the push-off from the ball of the foot occurs. You will only need to rotate the control object while the foot is in the air.