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[Dr.Gonzo]

Hi, 

I just started checking out WME and I'm very impressed with it so far!

Trying to get started, I wanted to load the trinity sample actor into MAX to see
how she's done, but I can't find an importer for .x files into MAX 9, only the
Panda exporter. I tried other programs (Milkshape, Blender etc..) to convert
trinity.x into something that max can open, but with very little success.
Either the geometry or the animation got screwed up, or both.

So now I can't figure out how to create my own characters, and the
WME documentation and the samples I found weren't of much help either to me.

In order for me to get going with WME, I'd need some help on how to create sprite/3D actors
and maybe even whole scenes for WME in Max 9. Photoshop and Max would be my primary
tools to create graphic contents for WME - - *if* I can figure out how to make this work..

Are there any good tutorials out there that I've overlooked??
Something other than the docu/scene tutorial, to get someone new to WME started
in creating and importing content?

I'd really like to give WME a shot, but if I can't figure out how to use it, it's
of no use to me. And that would be a shame, since it obviously has a lot of
potential.

*Please* help!
(I hope I'm not whining? Am I? I don't like whiners..) 

[Mnemonic]

Well, from WME's standpoint it doesn't matter how you create the X models, so there are no tutorials. You'll surely find tons of Max tutorials on character creation/animation, whether using bones or bipod or physique... Then you use the Panda exporter to export the model to X format. There's a Wiki article detailing the export process. One thing to remember is that the walking animation needs to be done in-place, because WME moves the character automatically.

[adonf]

Mnemonic, "physique" is a skinning technique in MAX, not an animation one

[Mnemonic]

Oops, sorry. I'm always mixing biped and physique somehow

[Dr.Gonzo]

There's a Wiki article detailing the export process. One thing to remember is that the walking animation needs to be done in-place, because WME moves the character automatically.

Thanks Mnemonic, that helps!

I missed that article when I browsed the wiki.
There is so much information to take in when you start looking into game dev., it's dizzying.. 

[Dr.Gonzo]

Ok, here's where I'm at right now:

I managed to import my rendered background and .3ds files into WME.
Trinity is walking around in there just fine. So far so good. 

But know I'm trying to get my own 3D actor into the scene and it's
giving me problems.

The first problem is that I can't import trinity.x into MAX. There are
exporters, but I can't find an importer to see how trinity is done.

Also, the trinity.x file must already contain the walking animation, since
there's no separate walk.x file for the walking animation.
The wiki article on exporting a 3D character from MAX to .X however
describles exporting the character in separate mesh & anim files, so this
doesn't help.

I tried both; separate files and mesh/animation combined in the .x file,
but I can't get the animation to play in either case.
My actors just slides around on the ground plane, in one pose.

The wiki article on exporting a 3D character from MAX selects the "Bones"
switch when exporting the mesh, but since my charater is animated using
a biped, there are no bones to export and the mesh looks crazy when I open
it in WME.

Could someone please give my some tips on how to get my biped animated
character from 3D MAX9 into WME?
I'm sure that someone here has done this already. I'm just too stupid to figure it out.

[Mnemonic]

3D modelling is not my forte, so I'll just give you some generic tips. Panda exporter comes with some example files in .max format, so you can check those.
There is no X import, because the X format is considered an output format only; it's pretty common to maintain the model in native max format and only export it when you need to use it in the game engine. There are other programs which allow you to import X files, though, for example fragMOTION.

[Dr.Gonzo]

Thanks, Mnemonic!

After spending several hours with it, I finally figured it out! 
I managed to export a working 3D model with separate anim files.

Now I'm this much closer to actually start working on the game that
I have in mind. Nice! 

And thank you for being so helpful. I'm sure that you must be tired of us
noobs asking all these noob questions..

[Mnemonic]

Nah, that's what this forum is for.

[Dr.Gonzo]

Nah, that's what this forum is for.

I like your attitude, brother.