Sequence Painter: The Sequence Painter does something similar to the Vertex Animation Tool's but with one key difference, the information for the vertices positions is stored in the meshes UV's instead of a 2D Texture. This option, only available if Key Frame Meshes is enabled, will process the selected Key Frame Meshes in the order that they were selected. This option allows you skip frames to try and save on Texture space. This option defines the frame that the animation should end on. This option defines the frame that the animation should start from. This button will process the animated meshes that are in the 3Ds Max scene, creating and then exporting the required Textures. Vertex Animation Tools: The top section of the Vertex Animation Tools, called Vertex Animation Tools, is for generating a 2D Texture that will store the morph target vertex positions and normals.Īnimation Options allows you to pick between using animation that was created using the Timeline in 3Ds Max or use individual Key Frame Meshes that were created in 3Ds Max or another 3D package like Maya or Blender and then exported out of that package frame by frame so the animation could then be re-constructed inside 3Ds Max. In the following section we will go over what these two methods are and how they differ from one another. Inside of the Vertex Animation Tools you will find two entirely different methods for affecting the vertices of Static Meshes. This means that if you want to affect the vertices of a Skeletal Mesh in a similar manner you will need to use Morph Targets instead. This tool will also not work with Skeletal Mesh Animations as the bone transforms are not available to the Material Editor. The tool generates the data in the Texture using the following formula.įinal texture resolution: X = number of vertex in the mesh, Y = Number of frames captured.ĭue to this limitation this tool is best suited for Visual Effects or ambient Static Meshes that require animations but might not justify using a complex animation rig to do so. This is because the maximum Texture size a Texture can be for DirectX 11 is 8192 pixels in either the X or Y direction. While this tool is very good at reducing animation overhead by storing complex animation data into a texture, there are a few drawbacks to using the tool.įirst of all the tool can only affect a maximum of 8192 vertices in a single 2D Texture. The newest version of the Verext Animation Script has been updated to correct for the way 3Ds Max 2014 and later handle image gamma. Engine\Extras\3dsMaxScripts\VertexAnimationTools.ms The Vertex Animation Script will be in the following location and is called VertexAnimationTools.ms. This script is only available in Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) Version 4.8 or later. In the following documents we will cover how you can use this script to generate content for your UE4 projects.īefore we can begin using the script there are few things to be aware of so you can get the best results possible when using this technique. One of those advantages is allowing you to use complex animation data inside systems that would not otherwise be capable of utilizing Morph Targets like the Cascade Particle Editor. In the past you might have used Morph Targets to do the exact same thing, however this new method has a few advantages that Morph Targets do not. Storing complex animation data into 2D Textures or a meshes UV's is a great way to reduce animation overhead while still maintaining the required look and feel of the animation.