New bvh file conversion tool available

Hi All,

If, like me, you have ever trawled the Internet for bvh files to use in SL, you will know that many / most of the free ones you can find will not work in SL. (The actual files I tried are available from http://www.animazoo.com/Free_downloads.aspx )

Not to be so easily put off, I opened up a bvh file in a text editor to see what was there. Since the format was human readable, and didn't appear too convoluted, I decided that it would make an interesting project to find out exactly how the file could be adapted to be compatible with Second Life.

Three weeks later, and I've come up with bvhacker, a bvh file conversion / tweaking / viewing tool. Using it, I've managed to convert quite a few bvh files into a format suitable for SL. I'm making bvhacker free for anyone who wants it. You can download it here:

http://www.davedub.co.uk/bvhacker/


Enjoy!

p.s. any comments, suggestions etc are most welcome!

No matter which of my .bvh File i'm trying to convert i always get that the figure has too many joints for bvhacker...

Hi Isandra,

which bvh fiiles are you using?

At the moment, bvhacker requires that the bvh files have between 23 and 26 joints. This is due to the limitations imposed by SL. You can see the number of joints in the 'file properties' section (bottom left of the interface).

The bvh files I used files to write and test bvhacker all came from bvhfiles.com. Nearly all of the bvh files there have 24 joints.

If you wanted to send me one of the bvh files you are using, I could see if I can make it work for you. You can use my old hotmail dot com email which is davedubuk...

I hope this helps!

- Dave

[I've now increased the maximum number of joints, as SL will accept more joints if they are, for example, hair joints. - Dave]

um.. hopefully you aren't selling these IW as your own work. Not to mention violating IP rights of the origional creators.

Hi Luth,

absolutely not!

the bvh files available from bvhfiles.com are free to use for any purpose. I have in no way implied that they are 'my own work'!

but, just to be sure, I asked animazoo (owners of bvhfiles.com) if they had any concerns regarding me redistributing their bvh files. They have given me permission to redistribute their bvh files, and say they are likely to put up a link to bvhacker on their site.

and finally, I'm not selling ANYTHING. I'm giving bvhacker away for free.

I am a software developer myself, and so am very concious of IP rights, so thankyou for your concern.

regards,

Dave

Wishlist:

* automatic deletion of all joints not supported by SL
* automatic shrinking of the Animation if longer then 30s



All in all a nice tool!

Hi Isandra,

Thanks for your feedback, very much appreciated.

I may have some spare time coming up soon, so I may be able to add functionality for deleting joints. It would be a manual thing though, not automatic! I'll post here if / when I can find time to make the changes.

As for automaticlly shrinking the overall time to less than 30s - well, the app wouldn't know whether to remove frames from the front or back! You can, of course, remove frames manually (set 'Left' / 'Right' markers, then hit 'Trim').
If the framerate is 33.3mS, you should aim for less than 900 frames...

Have fun!

Regards,

Dave

Hi All,

Just a very brief post to say that since Animazoo have confirmed their permission to redistribute their bvh files, I've bundled up a few more into the bvhacker installation.
(see http://www.davedubuk.btinternet.co.uk/)

Once installed, you can find the bvh files in C:\Program Files\bvhacker\bvh. There are a few new ones, all of which can be edited to work with SL.

As before, I am happy to reply to any comments, questions etc posted here...

Enjoy!

- Dave

Running on WinXP, whenever I load a BVH the software crashes.

Are you trying to load the bvh file from the desktop?

If so there is an MFC bug (microsoft's fault, not mine!) in their file dialog that crashes files opened from the desktop.

Solution: move the bvh file somewhere other than the desktop and try loading it from there. (see help files for more detailed steps)

Please let me know if this is the problem!

Regards,

Dave

I'm currently working on version 1.1


Proposed new features:

Add, delete and rename joint functionality.

Bug fixes:

removal of slight jitter in arms when 'SLify' is used.


I'm not sure how much longer it will take, but I think sometime in the next couple of weeks...


: - Dave

beware of the forum morale police, their methods of incarceration are quite cruel and unusual..

trying to get your post count up?

Dave..
I wasn't specifically saying you do, but there are many "animators" who sell downloaded bvh files IW under the assumption it's their own work. I would further hate to see a tool you worked hard on used in such ways.

Luth:

I'm not sure I entirely agree with your viewpoint. I have tried making animations both by using keyframing and by converting existing bvh files. I can honestly say that finding and converting bvh files to a standard where they actually look good in SL actually takes a degree of time and effort. If an inworld vendor has permission from the original animation producers and made it clear what they are selling, I don't actually have a problem with them selling quality animations, regardless of how they were produced. As time goes by, I am confident that the 'fair price' range for converted animations will emerge naturally as a result of the mysterious workings of the SL economic system.

Surely it's the result (more natural looking animations) that counts here - not the means by which they are produced?


All:

Version 1.1 of bvhacker is nearing completion. I just have a couple of minor bugs and the documentation updates to do. In addition to the features and bug fixes listed above, the interface has had an overhaul. The arms alignment fix has worked a treat, and I'm now getting MUCH better results than before!


: - Dave

wow im suprized i havent seen this post yet.
this is very cool ill check it out when i get home
Thx
-LW

Ah, but her point is that there will be lots of people who won't bother with permission from the original animation producer. It would be like people who download free textures from the internet and then sell them in-world. I mean, I don't have any problem either with a person who gets permission to sell the animations (presumably, they would get this permission by buying the bvh files from the original animator,) but what about someone who just downloads animations from that bvhfiles place, churns them through your tool, then puts them up for sale?

Also, I think you seriously misunderstand Luth's viewpoint. I don't think she is saying that mocap is somehow illegitimate work, just that your tool will facilitate theft of the work of others. How one feels about using mocap to produce animations is a wholly separate issue from how one feels about selling animations produced by others.

Ultimately, I don't think the fact that your tool will be abused (not "may" be abused, it definitely "will" be abused) should stop you from distributing it, but don't be naive about this. Recognize the consequences of your actions.

Hi all,

I just finished bvhacker v1.1. It is now ready for download at:

http://www.davedubuk.btinternet.co.uk/

Enjoy!

; - Dave

Johan,

You make a good argument, but I have to point out the following:

Your presumption about obtaining permission by buying the files is flawed. For instance, bvhfiles.com are more than happy to allow resale of their free files provided the name 'bvhfiles.com' appears in the animation name.

If a company has placed free bvh files in the public domain it is unlikely they care much about how they are used. I very much doubt they see people using their files in SL as 'theft' in the same way you do - I personally see it more like recycling, and we all buy recycled goods right?

And finally, I don't mean to be rude here, but what exactly could I (or anyone else) gain from 'recognising the consequences of my actions' anyway? Would Microsoft gain anything by recognising that their programming tools can be used to reverse-engineer software?

Good debate though!

; - Dave

Hi Dave

You mention something on your webpage about an animation software called SLAT. I am new to making animations for SL and have found that QAvimator isn't a very precise tool (maybe due to my inexperience). So, I am wondering if Slat is any better to use but can't find any reference to it on the web. Do you have any more info about it please?

Lusus,

You only needed to search this forum!

the SLAT download is here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/free-bvh-editor

- Dave

Thanks Johan, you hit the nail on the head.



I assume it would. But for all the animations with feet turned upside down, you have to wonder how many bother to.



Hasn't happened yet. When animations were first introduced in June '04, people downloaded a bunch of anims and mocap files to put out as freebies to deter this sort of thing. That push didn't change anything, nor has the past almost 3 years.



But no one does. I'd stop pestering people about it if they obtained permission to resell the animation file and gave credit to the origional creator somewhere - be it the sign, anim name or even in the description field.

Dave,

I found the link shortly after posting my comment. It can be a pain being new to these kinds of things. Thanks for the link anyway.

Whilst looking for good software to make animations I came across a download for Autodesk's Motion Builder 7 Personal Learning Edition. I'm not sure if its common knowledge that this software is available for free. I haven't had a good look at it yet, but thought I'd share this info with anyone thats interested. This is what the website has to say:

"With Autodesk® MotionBuilder™ 7* Personal Learning Edition, Autodesk gives industry professionals and those interested in real-time character animation an opportunity to explore all aspects of this award-winning technology while developing new skills. This special version of Autodesk MotionBuilder provides free access to the software, with no time limit, for non-commercial use."

The link to download the software is:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=6837720

Im tring to use BVhacker to make a pose from Poser 6 SL friendly, but the program crashes everytime i load it. Im opening it from My Documents, is there a problem with poser 6 BVH's?

Hey,
It looks like this would be a great program..if I could get it to work. I installed it, but when I go to start the program it pops up with an error stating : This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.

I'm running Windows XP and I've tried reinstalling the file 6 times already and still get the same error. A little help?

Cliona, bvhacker came with an install program and a setup program. Kinda confusing, but you have to run both. Run the setup program and it will "repair" bvhacker. It installs a component that bvhacker needs.