I've set up my vehicle to use animated treads (following this tutorial) but the treads aren't - animated. I made sure I set the polygons to Render Type 13, Named them as instructed on the tutorial and then I froze the model and exported.

My odf looks like this: Basically edited Snailtank - although it isn't finished. Here is my msh.option: 1. I was wondering - where do you reference the msh.option file. Do you have to allow it in the model or in the odf?

2. What's stopping my treads from working?

and as a side:
3. How do you correctly set up a weapon to use hardpoints (hp_fire in my case), and what 3D primitives do the hardpoints use in XSI?
Sorry about the long post, but I hope that these questions aren't too stupid.

I have the answer for your last question:

You can use nulls in XSI to make your hard points, only put it and name with the prefix hp, i mean name it hp_somename. then move it under DummyRoot null and positioning it with the "v" key.

See my last vehicle, it have multiples hard points for various purposes, hp_smoke (for smoke effect) hp_spark (spark effect) or you can name hp_active1 ...2...3.
In the .odf of all vehicles you can see the WEAPONSECTION, look for the FirePoint under these lines, change it for the named wath you put in xsi null for fire point. hope help you.

Are your treads separate geometry from the rest of the model? I am talking just the tread part you want to move.
You can actually have the whole tread assembly including parts that don't move but the two assemblies need unique names and are separate from the main model. Meaning 3 objects for a 2 treaded vehicle.
If not then they should be. Name them something you can easily remember like tread_left and tread_right or whatever.
Next select the polies you want to move on one of the treads set the edit flag to 13, you do not need to put the name in the polygon ID. Do the same thing to the other one.
Export as usual.
Make sure your .option file has the -keep tread_left tread_right -keepmaterial tread_left tread_right
of course using the names you chose.

Oh and hardpoints can be named anything it is just good modelling practice to call them hp_something or aimer_something etc

FragMe! wrote: Oh and hardpoints can be named anything it is just good modelling practice to call them hp_something or aimer_something etc

Ok, I thought that prefix was necesary bencause all vehicles have it....

For 1. Option files have to have the same name as the model/texture name, just with a .option at the end:
rep_inf_trooper.msh
rep_inf_trooper.msh.option
This should be it.

ForceMaster wrote:I have the answer for your last question:

You can use nulls in XSI to make your hard points, only put it and name with the prefix hp, i mean name it hp_somename. then move it under DummyRoot null and positioning it with the "v" key.

See my last vehicle, it have multiples hard points for various purposes, hp_smoke (for smoke effect) hp_spark (spark effect) or you can name hp_active1 ...2...3.

Hidden/Spoiler:

In the .odf of all vehicles you can see the WEAPONSECTION, look for the FirePoint under these lines, change it for the named wath you put in xsi null for fire point. hope help you.

This is interesting. So does the scene root have to be called DummyRoot null? Mine was called MS3DSceneRoot.
And I did exactly what you said there earlier, (using nulls) and as you can see I put them in the ODF but it's still firing from the wrong place. I will try again now, however - and see if it works, I could have got something wrong.
Thanks for everyones help, I'll try it out when I get home, I think number 2 and 1 have been solved, not sure about 2 though.

If I 'm not wrong you can use these name.

@fragme? it is correctly?

@sampip
no it doesn't have to be called dummyroot, once again it is just convention.
One question concerning you hardpoints. You didn't freeze them did you? Either
transfoms or model freeze because they shouldn't be.

If you want to see where it is putting them in game change one of the nulls out for a small cube call it hp_firewhatevernumberyoulike, don't hide it. Export your model and you will see where it is going when you look at the ship in game.

1 and 2 are solved now, so thanks everyone! I did what Fragme said, and it worked this time - dunno what went wrong the first time, maybe I forgot something. And thanks ANDEWEGET for answering 1. .
Thing is, number three is getting rather stupid now. I turned the nulls into cubes and they are at the base of the model - I did not freeze the model or do anything to it before exporting. Then, to clarify that it wasn't being stupid, I created a new cube and put it in a random place on the model. It shows up where it's supposed to be, yet the hardpoints do not. There is nothing different about either two objects except for that the hardpoints are named hp_fire and hp_fire2.

Perhaps it is something to do with my .odf?

shouldn't need it but in your .option file add in -keep hp_fire1 hp_fire2 etc see if that helps
edit:
also just looking at the odf, do you have nulls called aimer_right and aimer_left?
If not then that is why the hps are dropping back to the dummyroot.

FragMe! wrote: also just looking at the odf, do you have nulls called aimer_right and aimer_left?
If not then that is why the hps are dropping back to the dummyroot.

Ah, I didn't know you had to do that. I will try it and post back although I'm pretty sure that's what's wrong. Thanks for your help
EDIT: I do have the nulls in there now but it still fires from the DummyRoot. Should the nulls be under the DummyRoot? Where should they be? I'll try doing that -keep hp_fire hpfire1 that you suggested.

nulls go under the dummyroot.

Yeah, that's where I put them. Hmmm - I'm going to look into this a little further myself by checking some stuff with the aimer hardpoints but if anyone spots anything wrong in the .odf or notices I've missed something out then you can always say. That being said, thanks for your help already everyone