EXPANSION PACKS AND MODELS QUESTION

[GHEDIXON]

I JUST BOUGHT THE CRIME & JUSTICE AND THE MILITARY PACKS. WILL I BE ABLE TO USE THE CLOTHES ON MY CUSTOM MODEL ACTOR FACES?

[Innoventive Software, LLC]

I JUST BOUGHT THE CRIME & JUSTICE AND THE MILITARY PACKS. WILL I BE ABLE TO USE THE CLOTHES ON MY CUSTOM MODEL ACTOR FACES?

Yes, it is possible but at the moment you'll need to do some manual editing, though we expect to automate the process at some point in the future.

In the meantime, here's how you do it:

1. While in Explorer (or the Finder if you're on the Mac) go into the Library folder where you find the actors dressed as you'd like one of your characters.
2. Take any one of the .AZP files in the folder and make a copy of it, giving it the name of your actor.
3. Rename it to the ZIP extension.
4. Unzip it and open the new folder that's just been created.
5. Locate the XFG file in that folder.
6. Open it in a text editor (Notepad on Windows, TextEdit on the Mac) and find the line that starts with <base_head> and change the reference to your actor, making sure you include ONLY folder path that is actually under the Library folder AND that you use colons to separate the subfolders NOT backslashes, even if you are on windows.
7. Save this XFG File and exit your text editor.
8. Select all the unzipped files and RIGHT+CLICK (Control+Click on the Mac) and choose SEND TO -> COMPRESSED (ZIPPED) FOLDER on Windows, or Create Archive (or Compress, or something like that) on the Mac to rezip all the files.
9. Rename this newly zipped file to have an AZP extension instead of ZIP, and place it in the appropriate folder.
10. Delete all the temporary files you created when you'd unzipped the original file along with the file you'd renamed to .ZIP.
11. Launch FrameForge 3D Studio 2.5 and you'll be good to go!

PS: In the future, please don't post messages in ALL CAPS as that is the online equivalent of shouting...

[GHEDIXON]

I have attached the actor whom I need in a Cops outfit. Something always went wrong after the zip extension was changed to azp. HOPEFULLY YOU CAN FIX THIS . for me I have attached the necessary files.

[Innoventive Software, LLC]

Don't know what went wrong for you... but here you go. Unzip this file to your Library/Characters folder and you should be good to go. Note that you MUST use this folder as that's where I told the Buddy Lewis (Policeman).azp file to find the Buddy Lewis head.

[GHEDIXON]

I have tried to put this actors face on the Pilot body, And it keeps coming back with an error. The procedure you outlined does not always work. I needed to move a total of seven actors to this costume and this is the only one that will not connect. Please see if you guys can make it happen for me.

This is the same problem I had for the Buddy Lewis Actor. The process does work 90% of the time.

[treehaus1]

In the meantime, here's how you do it:

1. While in Explorer (or the Finder if you're on the Mac) go into the Library folder where you find the actors dressed as you'd like one of your characters.
2. Take any one of the .AZP files in the folder and make a copy of it, giving it the name of your actor.
3. Rename it to the ZIP extension.
4. Unzip it and open the new folder that's just been created.
5. Locate the XFG file in that folder.
6. Open it in a text editor (Notepad on Windows, TextEdit on the Mac) and find the line that starts with <base_head> and change the reference to your actor, making sure you include ONLY folder path that is actually under the Library folder AND that you use colons to separate the subfolders NOT backslashes, even if you are on windows.
7. Save this XFG File and exit your text editor.
8. Select all the unzipped files and RIGHT+CLICK (Control+Click on the Mac) and choose SEND TO -> COMPRESSED (ZIPPED) FOLDER on Windows, or Create Archive (or Compress, or something like that) on the Mac to rezip all the files.
9. Rename this newly zipped file to have an AZP extension instead of ZIP, and place it in the appropriate folder.
10. Delete all the temporary files you created when you'd unzipped the original file along with the file you'd renamed to .ZIP.
11. Launch FrameForge 3D Studio 2.5 and you'll be good to go!

PS: In the future, please don't post messages in ALL CAPS as that is the online equivalent of shouting...

This still good for Frameforge3D V3?
(I couldnt find a <base_head> line in the setup file...)

Best,

Simon Sieverts

[jamesw]

This still good for Frameforge3D V3?

I believe so. (I am home now and don't have expansion packs installed here, so I can't check.)

(I couldnt find a <base_head> line in the setup file...)

Are you sure you were working with an actor from one of the expansion packs?

[treehaus1]

Are you sure you were working with an actor from one of the expansion packs?

Yes. It an actor in a hospital gown.

These instructions cannot possibly work as you have merely renamed the actors file without any reference to the new head. Please confirm.
Best,
Simon

[jamesw]

I couldnt find a <base_head> line in the setup file...

It an actor in a hospital gown.

If I unzip, for instance, Actors [Medical, Men]/Patients/Hospital Gown/actor (male) II.azp, the xfg file within does contain the line

<base_head>actors (men):actor (male) ii.azp</base_head>

These instructions cannot possibly work as you have merely renamed the actors file without any reference to the new head. Please confirm.
Best,
Simon

Step 6 adds a reference to the new head, no?


I should point out that those instructions were written before FrameForge 3 came out. If you have a customized actor based on a version 3 actor, and try to transplant it to an expansion pack actor based on version 2 actors, or vice versa, there might be some other complication.

[Innoventive Software, LLC]

Finally we have an ELEGANT SOLUTION to this problem.

In the latest version of FrameForge 3, (released today and available via going to the HELP->CHECK FOR PROGRAM UPDATES) we have a New Feature "Assign Custom Head to Costume"which allows you to take ANY custom head imported via FaceGen and assign it to any of the costumes available in any of the expansion packs.

This function is found on the TOOLS menu and the Dialog is fairly self-explanatory.

Attach Head.gif (316.1 KiB) Viewed 1697 times

All created heads are then put in the Characters folder for you.

[treehaus1]

Hi Ken,
just tested this. Seems to be working perfectly.
Thanks so much, thats a real time saver.
Best Regards,
Simon

[ThomasKoch]

I'm using the Academic version for Mac and I don't have the assign custom head in the tools menu.

Any idea where it's located?

[jamesw]

I'm using the Academic version for Mac and I don't have the assign custom head in the tools menu.

Any idea where it's located?

What version number of the program do you have? The latest Mac update is 3.3.10.10. You can ensure that you are running the latest version by going to the HELP menu in FrameForge and clicking Check for Program Updates.

You can find a menu item in pretty much any Mac program using the search field in the Help menu. Below I attach an image of what you'd find. By the way, there's a small bug: That menu item is dimmed if no shots have been snapped yet in the project file.

[Banksyde]

How cool! I had no idea you could that.