Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Note
If you are using the blend-shapes version, remember to keep the faces sep-
arate wherever blend shapes have been applied.
2.
Place the models back inside their LOD group. Delete the history and rename them
to Kila_LOD02, Kila_LOD03, Kila_LOD04, and Kila_LOD05 (
Figure 14.46
,
right).
3.
When copying weights, the number of joints to which the source and destination
mesh are attached has to be the same. Therefore, you have to be sure each LOD
model is bound to the base skeleton in exactly the same way as the original. A
quick way to do this is to select each new LOD model in turn and click on the Bind
button on the GCDM shelf. This will ensure each level is bound to the base skelet-
on just the same way as the original.
With all the geometry attached to the skeleton now, we can copy the weights
across. We simply tell Maya which mesh we are copying from, and which we will
be copying to.
4.
Select the first LOD that you have already weighted, Kila_LOD01. Now, holding
Ctrl, select the next LOD (Kila_LOD02).
5.
Go to Skin > Edit Smooth Skin > Copy Skin Weights.
6.
Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the other LODs, selecting first the main LOD
(Kila_LOD01) and then the one you wish to copy the weights to.
AlltheLODsnowhavethesameweightingappliedtothem,sotheywilldeformnearlythe
same as the first LOD does. This also means that the facial animation setup for the joint
facial rig is carried across to the second LOD, saving us from having to set it up again.
Now go through each LOD and check that the weighting is correct on each model. Due to
the change in topology, there will be areas where the weighting has accidentally affected
some vertices incorrectly. This shouldn't take much work; the majority of the weighting
will have passed across just fine.
