For new user who want to make their own locomotive.

Damn thats right and the way Daz come in FBX it will have multi root layer so you will have to do some manipulating. I did it with Lightwave for my Blackhawk project broke it up and assigned layers and then re imported into 3Dxchange as a .obj file so only one layer for easy assignment.  Basically you will have to get it to be sub- prop-able.

Note: you don't need to purchase the physics tool box I clone has all the needed tool available.  and you can use the align function to make sure for your pivots are right

Just to end my involvement in this thread, I had actually gone ahead and found that video Makerart linked here, and that gave me enough info to start rigging.  In the course of doing that, though, I found the model I was using was kind of back-asswards (hard to explain except that the only way it really could have worked was if the wheels drove the piston, instead of the other way around).  This seemed almost impossible to get functioning, but *part* of that is the extreme tolerances iClone imposes on its physics (you can align things to be sure, but aligning what amounted to about a dozen different parts of various types proved to be too frustrating to me).

Since my time IS limited I just animated it by hand -- which took all of about 10 minutes and looks fine.  I can't imagine the physics engine looking any better (which, BTW, is one reason I've always avoided such engines, even in Max where they used to be really popular.  If you are a true animator you really can do far better by hand than any simulation anyway).  I wasted at least an hour trying to do it the other way and while I did learn some things that might be useful in the future by and large I think I will continue NOT to use physics (except for things impossible to hand animate, like hair and cloth).

(Oh, and anyone can look at my YouTube channel if they want to see my stuff -- the show Fox was going to put on the National airwaves is up there, along with a few iClone things.  My iClone shows will be coming as soon as the FW plugin is available, as nearly everything I write is dialog driven).

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Alienware Aurora R16, Win 11, i9-149000KF, 3.20GHz CPU, 64GB RAM, RTX 4090 (24GB), Samsung 870 Pro 8TB, Gen3 MVNe M-2 SSD, 4TBx2, 39" Alienware Widescreen Monitor
Mike "ex-genius" Kelley

I don't have any iClone expertise. 

But...

As you patiently wait for (10 year old) tools to come to iClone...
~ I imported Markerless Facial Mocap TO iClone (Years ago). iClone (4) :cool:
~ Re-Targeting (Myself) using a Function Curve Editor.
~ Optimize character's mesh and uv's... that are (Game Ready)
~ Quick and Accurately "Blend All Motions."
~ Progressive Moph
~ Blend IK - FK
....All of which iClone can NOT do.

Paid for 3ds Max (twice)
...Nothing to write home about.

Very nice work, impressive even,  will check out more of your videos as week winds down I subscribe to your channel. looking forward to current work and your new stuff...


 

Of this I have no doubt :)

LOL -- you mean I talk a lot? <bg>  Yeah, even my wife complains about that.

I really wish I were a more talented animator who could tell their story without so much dialog.  Oh well, at least I'm having fun.

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Alienware Aurora R16, Win 11, i9-149000KF, 3.20GHz CPU, 64GB RAM, RTX 4090 (24GB), Samsung 870 Pro 8TB, Gen3 MVNe M-2 SSD, 4TBx2, 39" Alienware Widescreen Monitor
Mike "ex-genius" Kelley

Actually thinking more about the wittiness of your comments, More a Kevin Smith thing. His stuff is also dialog driven.  You have to play to your strengths. Smith was telling a story about how he was hired to do a script for a Batman movie. He was joking how for him, being a dialog guy, a fight scene the fight would take place off camera and then the characters come in and talk about what happened...
And although yes a good story should be able to be told visually dialog is golden when done well and when driven by strong wit. King of the hill: 3 guys stand in the ally talking about guy things and drinking bear. Funny? lasted over 10 years.

Thanks, Paul.

I love KotH and the Kevin Smith story is really good -- I can definitely relate.

I well remember writing the scripts for our series and then realizing I had to animate them (2D without the great help we have in iClone).  Yipes -- animate folks climbing around on the top of a building (one scene I had written).  Hmmm, perhaps we just hear him while he's UP there and never see him?  (I actually did animate him, but it was pretty awful.  Got better as time went on but 2D animation was never my strong point).

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Alienware Aurora R16, Win 11, i9-149000KF, 3.20GHz CPU, 64GB RAM, RTX 4090 (24GB), Samsung 870 Pro 8TB, Gen3 MVNe M-2 SSD, 4TBx2, 39" Alienware Widescreen Monitor
Mike "ex-genius" Kelley

@Kelleytoons

Whats your youtube channel please? I've tried searching Kelleytoons but to no avail.



Homebuilt computer - Windoze 10, INTEL i9 9900 k @ 5.1 GHz, EVGA RTX 2080 TI XC ULTRA, 16GB 3100 MHz RAM, Asus  Maximus Hero XI motherboard, Sound blaster Z series. iClone6 & 7 Pipeline, Crazytalk 8, Crazytalk Animator 2, Facefilter, Pop video 3, Hitfilm 4Pro, Cubase 8.5 Pro,

https://www.youtube.com/user/MikeDKelley

As a very general rule I don't try and promote that here yet because it's really 2D (based around both our series as well as the product used to animate it, Moho).  However, I WILL be using iClone for some serious (or not so serious) work as soon as the FW stuff is released.

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Alienware Aurora R16, Win 11, i9-149000KF, 3.20GHz CPU, 64GB RAM, RTX 4090 (24GB), Samsung 870 Pro 8TB, Gen3 MVNe M-2 SSD, 4TBx2, 39" Alienware Widescreen Monitor
Mike "ex-genius" Kelley