Christopher Evans Technical Art Lead, Crytek

3. Christopher EvansTechnical Art Lead, Crytek • Responsibilities: • Artist in R&D • Pipeline tools • Character technology • Digital Janitor

4. Mathias LindnerTechnical Animator, Crytek • Responsibilities • 3rd Person Human Animations • Animation Tools • Motion Capture

5. What is this stuff? • A look at some scripted tools development at Crytek. • Beginner Maxscript Tutorial • Using example code from tools at Crytek • We started our maxscript journey from scratch • Crysis Scripted Tool Examples • A close look at the Animation tools/pipeline

6. Intended Audience • Beginner to Advanced • Code examples in slides for beginners • Tool videos/source online for advanced • Technical Artists/Animators • Anyone who wants to work faster and better in 3dsMax

7. Session Overview • CryTools Background • Beginner Tutorial • Easy Street • Basics • Loops • Animation • Transformations • User Feedback • Hacking with DOS • Production Examples

8. Session Overview • Animation Tools • Structure • Function definitions • Motion Capture Cleanup

9. CryTools: Background • In the beginning: 2006 • No scripted tools • No previous Maxscript experience (MEL) • Pipeline/Architecture built from scratch • Current: 2008 • 14k+ of lines of code • used by artists/animators across 3 studios • 2 main contributors • Scripts load from latest build on local machine • Can also sync via Perforce/LAN/Http • Modular design based on users • Rigging, Animation, Art

10. CryTools: Background • Tools are freely available as part of the CryEngine2 ModSDK • SDK: http://www.crymod.com/filebase.php?fileid=1074&lim=0

11. Easy Street: The Basics • Do Not Store Global Variables • To store things globally, make global struct --my script test = "hellow world“ print test --total noob --my script ( test = “hellow world” print test ) --hardened veteran

12. Easy Street: Not so Basic(But Important!) --creating the struct struct _myTools_ ( fn function1 = (return "myFunction1"), fn function2 = (return "myFunction2"), var1,var2,var3 ) --instance your struct myTools = _myTools_() --testing your struct myTools.function1() "myFunction1" myTools.var1 = "storeMe" Print myTools.var1 "storeMe"

13. Easy Street: The Basics • Use the Listener/Macro recorder • Maxscript docs rock (go Bobo!) • Read other people’s scripts • www.scriptspot.com • Use the Debugger!

14. Easy Street: The Basics showproperties $bone .width : worldUnits .height : worldUnits .taper : percent .length : float . . . . showinterface layerManager Interface: LayerManager Properties: .count : integer : Read .current : Interface : Read Methods: <Interface>getLayer <integer>which <Interface>newLayer() . . . .

15. Easy Street: Loops for i=1 to 4 (m += 2)for item in array do (print item.x)for obj in selection do (append obj array)for obj in $C3D* do (obj.parent = $node)for i=1 to (polyOp.getNumVerts obj) do( append locations (polyOp.getVert obj i))

16. Easy Street: Loops --sometimes you want to start laterss = SplineShape pos:(obj.position.keys[1].value)addNewSpline ssfor i = 2 to obj.position.keys.count do( addKnot ss 1 #corner #line obj.position.keys[i].value)--or end soonerfor i=1 to (items.count-1) do( rotBind items[i] root 0 0 180 false)rotBind items[items.count] root 0 0 180 true

17. Easy Street: Simplification for obj in selection do( if (classof obj) == Sphere then ( if obj.wirecolor == red do ( obj.pos.z += 10 ) ))

18. Easy Street: Simplification for obj in selection do( if (classof obj) == Sphere then ( if obj.wirecolor == red do ( obj.pos.z += 10 ) ))

19. Easy Street: Where! for obj in selection where (classof obj) == Sphere and obj.wirecolor == red do ( obj.pos.z += 10) --another example, this puts all spheres into an array called ‘spheres’spheres = for obj in selection where (classof obj) == Sphere collect obj

20. Easy Street: Loop Examples --if a selected object had a turbosmooth modifier change it’s prefs for obj in selection do ( if (obj.modifiers[#turbosmooth] != undefined) do ( obj.modifiers[#turbosmooth].iterations = 1 obj.modifiers[#turbosmooth].useRenderIterations = true obj.modifiers[#turbosmooth].renderIterations = 2 ) )

21. Easy Street: Nested Loops --this removes bones in an array from a skin modifier for u=1 to remBones.count do ( for i=1 to (skinOps.getNumberBones obj.skin) do ( if (skinOps.GetBoneName obj.skin i 0) == remBones[u].name then ( skinOps.removeBone obj.skin i print ("removing " + remBones[u].name) ) ) ) --how can we simplify? myBones = for i=1 to skinOps.GetNumberBones obj.skin collect \ --cont next line (skinOps.GetBoneName obj.skin i 0) for i=1 to remBones.count where (finditem myBones remBones[i]) != 0 do ( skinOps.removebone obj.skin (finditem myBones remBones[i]) )

22. Easy Street: Animation/Time --stepping through frameswith animate on( for i = animationrange.start to animationrange.end do ( slidertime = i obj.pos.x += 10 ))--same as above, but much fasterwith animate on( for i = animationrange.start to animationrange.end do ( at time i (obj.pos.x += 10) ))

23. Easy Street: Functions fn cutString stringIn cut =( startCut = (findString stringIn cut) return (replace stringIn startCut cut.count ""))--simple usagecutString “chicks dig technical artists” “ technical”“chicks dig artists”--more complex(getnodebyname ((cutString obj.name "C3D:") \ + "_bone")).pos.controller = Position_XYZ()

24. Easy Street: Self Referencing --returns an array containing all childrenfn getChildren theNode =( nodeArray = #() for obj in theNode.children do ( append nodeArray obj join nodeArray (getChildren obj) ) return nodeArray)

25. Transformations $.transform(matrix3 [1,0,0] [0,1,0] [0,0,1] [23.1612,0.667526,0])[-----orientation-----] [-----position-----]--maxscript cannot set parts of a transform like so:$.transform[1] = [1,0,0]--but this will work:new = $.transformnew[1] = [1,0,0]$.transform = new

26. Transformations: Dealing with Biped --let’s get the position of a biped object print $'Bip01 Head'.position -- Unknown property: "position" in $Editable_Mesh:Bip01 Head @[-25.684864,-37.348450,118.445419] --fail, ok let’s check out what properties does have showproperties $'Bip01 Head' false --again: fail… when all else fails, go the transform print $'Bip01 Head'.transform.position [-25.6849,-37.3484,118.445]

27. Other tips: Variables a = 5 b = a a += 2 print b 5 a = "ftw" b = a a[3] = a[1] a[1] = "w" print b "wtf“ --this is because of how subsets are stored in memory --for data-types that are groups of items (strings, arrays, etc) use ‘copy’ instead, example: b = copy a

28. Other tips: --try/catch try (print $.name) catch(print “nothing selected”) --reach into rollout floaters to pass vars myTool.rollouts[1].variable --create undos Undo "make point" on ( point name:"test" ) --is an object animated?obj.isAnimated --getting a position at a certain timeprint (at time 11f obj.pos)

29. Altogether:Better User Feedback On checkbutton changed state do ( if state == true then ( if selection != undefined then ( objs = (selection as array) checkbutton.text = (objs.count as string + “ objs selected”) ) else ( messagebox “No objects selected” checkbutton.checked = false ) ) else ( checkbutton.text = “Select Objects” ) ) --sample ui in course materials

30. Altogether:Better User Feedback On checkbutton changed state do ( if state == true then ( if selection != undefined then ( objs = (selection as array) checkbutton.text = (objs.count as string + “ objs selected”) ) else ( messagebox “No objects selected” checkbutton.checked = false ) ) else ( checkbutton.text = “Select Objects” ) ) --sample ui in course materials

31. Altogether:Better User Feedback try ( throw "This will be the name of your error" ) catch ( messagebox (getCurrentException()) ) --you could also use this to write out error logs on remote machines, have people send them to you when they get an error (or automatically send it)

32. Hacking Things in DOS • DOSCommand [command <string>] • CryTools has a silent command line fn • crytools.scmd [command <string>] [wait? <bool>] • Many general uses • Moving files • Perforce, AlienBrain • Glean info from ipconfig (domain, ip, MAC) • Get external info • Run small executables • Hash generator • Building/Executing external scripts • VBS/Python

33. DOS Example 1: Simple --This function will make a file writable, I use this a lot before writing to files. fn minusR path = ( if doesfileexist path == true then ( doscommand ("attrib -r \"" + path + "\"“) ) else ( print (path + " does not exist") ) )

34. Getting info from DOS • First figure out the DOS command • Dump generated text to a file with ‘>’ • Then look at it’s output • Figure out how you want to parse it

35. Getting info from DOS • Then look at it’s output • Figure out how you want to parse it

36. DOS Example 2: Output fn local2unc letter = ( cmd = ("net use " + letter + ": > " + sysInfo.tempDir + “cmd.txt") doscommand cmd loadIn = openfile (sysInfo.tempDir + "local_unc.txt") skipToString loadIn "Remote" loadInARR = (filterString (readline loadIn) " ") close loadIn doscommand ("del " + sysInfo.tempDir + "local_unc.txt") return loadInARR[2] ) local2unc "s" "\\storage\Builds" local2unc "k" "\\fs1\Artists"

37. DOS Example 2: Output file C:\Documents and Settings\christopher\Local Settings\Temp\cmd.txt Local name S: Remote name \\storage\Builds Resource type Disk Status Disconnected # Opens 0 # Connections 1 The command completed successfully. --tidbit from experience: people install DOS in different languages ;)

38. Callbacks! • Do things based on user input • Always remember to unregister! fn myFn = ( theFaces = 0 for obj in selection do (theFaces += obj.mesh.numfaces) print theFaces ) --register callbacks.addScript #selectionSetChanged "myFn()" id:#myFn --unregister callbacks.removeScripts id:#myFn

39. CryTools: Examples • Transfer Facial Morphs [ transfer_morphs.avi] • Mirror Morphs/Deformation [ mirrorMorphs.avi ] • Hierarchy to Bones [ hierarch2bones.avi ] • Hierarchy Tools [hierarchy_tools.avi] • CryInfo [ cryinfo.avi ]

40. In Closing • Maxscript helped immensely on Crysis • Scripting is a slippery slope • One day you write a script to help someone, the next it’s your job :) • Screw efficiency • If something works, and is fast… let it be. • Refactoring can be dangerous • CryTools has a lot of ‘beginner code’, but very few tools that take longer than an eyeblink to execute.

41. Animation Tools • Overview • Structure • How we used structures • Function definitions • How we used functions • Motion Capture Cleanup • Problems and solutions

42. Animation Tools • Structures • Are declared in global scope • Initialized with defined values • Structure name is self-explaining • Good for instancing variables in a structured way • Behave a bit like classes • Used about 60 different structures • Example structpivotSelSt(index =0, position =[0,0,0],pivObject) structbipPartSt ( object, part, name, pivotSel =(pivotSelSt pivObject =undefined ) )

43. Animation Tools • Function definitions • Structure placeholder will be overwritten by function • Global functions get removed • Function name is self-explaining • Example cryTools.cryAnim.getBipNames = function getBipNames index = ( ... ) getBipNames = undefined

44. Animation Tools cryTools.cryAnim.getBipNames = function getBipNames index = ( ... ) getBipNames = undefined • Advantages • Easy to maintain (for development) • No need to look at local scope of functions • Function can be defined outside of the structure • Disadvantages • Functions will be duplicated once = more time to load

45. Animation Tools • Motion Capture Cleanup • Problems we encountered • Slow workflow for Animators (lots of repeated clicks) • Bad for health and time management • Too technical to achieve code requirements • Animators had trouble to get used to constant changes • No feedback when something went wrong • Endless time spent with debugging

46. Animation Tools • Motion Capture Cleanup • Solutions: • Everything repetitive needs to be gone • Packed functions executed at once • Designed tools to speed up the animation process • Powerful User Interface • Self-explaining functionality • Compact set of tools

47. Animation Tools • Motion Capture Cleanup • Everything repetitive needs to be gone: • One Click Solutions • Simple scripts just for the purpose • No user interface needed • Examples: • Set planted keys for biped (video) • Copy Paste Transformations (video)

48. Animation Tools • Motion Capture Cleanup • Everything repetitive needs to be gone: • Batch process for animations (video) • Use of different file formats • Sub folder support • File mask • Execute scripts to solve different problems • Status report

49. Animation Tools • Motion Capture Cleanup • Powerful User Interface: Goals: • Fast production of assets • Compact functionality in one place • Animator should not care about technical things • Solutions for complex bone behavior • User Customization • Animator can change the look and functionality of dialogs

50. Animation Tools • Motion Capture Cleanup • Powerful User Interface - Solutions: • Fast production of assets • Fast loading and saving of assets (video) • Load files directly out of the production folder • Export files into the game • Using snapshots for foot alignment (video) • Speed up hand and foot cleanup • How it works (video)