Creating your animations

 

I decided(Prapilk) to create some dwarf animations, Hedrick did, not long ago, to create all dwarf gumps(in paperdoll)( (www.uo-graphics.com). That’s why the tutorial here will teaches you how to create naked dwarf animation.

 

BMP Extraction:

 

I tried a lot of programs but the best to use is Mulbuilder(mulbuilder.hozyxon.net), in the animation tab, press “import animation” , then in the same tab press “extract animation”, you will then get the animations in .png format(if you lack space) if you have enough space(a lot!) you are going to get them in .gif.

 

You can know see that each animations of people & accessories are “build” from 175 directory, that mean the animations are in South; S-W; W; N-W, North.

 

Now that you have the animations , you’ll need to resize them to the dwarf height. I suggest you use "XNview" wich let you work in “lots”. When it is installed  go in Tools -> Convert and choose the directory with .GIF (here for naked man it is 00000) then in Advanced operation(still in convert) -> resize canvas. What I did here on % I put 120% of width and 80% in the height for a dwarf body and then save all this in .BMP!

 

Creating .UOP

 

Now that you have your dwarf .bmp files you will need to put them in a .uop file so we can patch it in our verdata.

 

Firstly, you can see with Inside UO that the man animation is in the People and accesoires section. That means that when you look  insideuo.xml :

 

 

<Name>People and Accessories</Name>

      <Anim_file>ANIM.MUL</Anim_file>

      <AnimIdx_file>ANIM.IDX</AnimIdx_file>

      <Sequences Size="175">                                       <= Remember our 175 directory ?:)

        <Seq Start="0">Walk unarmed</Seq>

        <Seq Start="5">Walk armed</Seq>

        <Seq Start="10">Run unarmed</Seq>

        <Seq Start="15">Run armed</Seq>

        <Seq Start="20">Stand</Seq>

        <Seq Start="25">Fidget.3</Seq>

        <Seq Start="30">Fidget.2</Seq>

        <Seq Start="35">Stand for one handed attack</Seq>

        <Seq Start="40">Stand for two handed attack</Seq>

        <Seq Start="45">Attack.One handed</Seq>

        <Seq Start="50">Attack.Unarmed.1</Seq>

        <Seq Start="55">Attack.Unarmed.2</Seq>

        <Seq Start="60">Attack.Two handed.Down</Seq>

        <Seq Start="65">Attack.Two handed.Wide</Seq>

        <Seq Start="70">Attack.Two handed.Jab</Seq>

        <Seq Start="75">Walk in attack position</Seq>

        <Seq Start="80">Cast.Directed</Seq>

        <Seq Start="85">Cast.Area/Summon</Seq>

        <Seq Start="90">Attack.Bow and arrow</Seq>

        <Seq Start="95">Attack.Crossbow</Seq>

        <Seq Start="100">Take hit</Seq>

        <Seq Start="105">Die.1</Seq>

        <Seq Start="110">Die.2</Seq>

        <Seq Start="115">Horseback.Ride slow</Seq>

        <Seq Start="120">Horseback.Ride fast</Seq>

        <Seq Start="125">Horseback.Stand</Seq>

        <Seq Start="130">Horseback.Attack</Seq>

        <Seq Start="135">Horseback.Attack.Bow and arrow</Seq>

        <Seq Start="140">Horseback.Attack.Crossbow</Seq>

        <Seq Start="145">Horseback.Slap horse</Seq>

        <Seq Start="150">Turn</Seq>

        <Seq Start="155">Attack.Unarmed and walk?</Seq>

        <Seq Start="160">Bow</Seq>

        <Seq Start="165">Salute</Seq>

        <Seq Start="170">Fidget.3</Seq>

 

You can see in the directory [00000] with the .bmp that the naked man is the exact same thing as the directories named by insideUO, which will really help us!

Launch UOANIM and directly press ADD ANIMATION then enter.

Now you go in the [00000] directory, in the [A_35000] class, and take the .bmp, when this is done  you redo a ADD ANIMATION with blocknumber 1 to blocknumber 4. This will now give you <Seq Start="0">Walk unarmed</Seq>  which will go to [A-35004]. Just before <Seq Start="5">Walk armed</Seq>  save the .uop by pressing create patch and name it Walk Unarmed.

You will have to do this almost 35 times until the 174th directory, and so you will have the 35 .uop necessary for the animation.

But before everything , since we resized the animation, we’ll have to look that it is neither under or up the ground! Begin directly by STAND animation by seeking the  BMP in the directory :  [00020] to [00024]. (Where there is only one by directory)

 

Seeing the In-Game animation

First launch Mulbuilder 1, create a new project and then a new gear anim. Personally I’ve put

-Name= Dwarf man

-ITEM ID = 03b24

GUMP ID= C700

You can use ASL, it’s a software done by Belgar to see the freeblocknumbers. In script I put :

[ITEMDEF 03b24]

NAME=Male Dwarf

TYPE=T_FIGURINE

TDATA3=3b0

CATEGORY=Miscellaneous

SUBSECTION=Character Icons

DESCRIPTION=Male dwarf

In art you put whatever picture you want, personally I have put Dwarf gump, and in gump I suggest you put the dwarf gump done by Hedrick( www.uo-graphics.com // Nain) In tiledata tab I have put Weight=2(useless but so what?;)) Quality Layer=15 And Gump ANIM=944(should be automatic). In flags I chose Wearable only.

Now go in the animation Tab and press import animation dialog, click on UOP and choose your Stand uop, you’ll see the animation are put in the good order. Choose(with shift) from one to the forth one and press >>Selected. You will the see your animation in the right window. Keep doing this until STAND(either by always putting the STAND or no-animation).

Once it’s done , you will be able to go in game and make sur your dwarf is at the good height, so you can adjust your .UOP, if it is not. To proceed in the “in game check” do this ; save your gear anim. Then go in Original tab, then Import all Essential and finally generate all.

Replace your old UO *.mul files by your new ones and put verdata.scp in you sphere folder and add the name of the files to spheretables.scp (like every new scripts).

After this I suggest you modify your verdata.scp to have a complete NPC script. IT should look like this :

[ITEMDEF 03b24]

DEFNAME=i_pet_MAN

NAME=c_MAN

TYPE=T_FIGURINE

TDATA3=c_homme_nain

CATEGORY=Miscellaneous

SUBSECTION=Character Icons

DESCRIPTION=c_dwarf_man

 

[CHARDEF 03B0]

DEFNAME=c_MAN

NAME=Dwarf

ICON=i_pet_MAN

ANIM=01FC98

CAN=MT_EQUIP|MT_WALK|MT_USEHANDS

DAM=2,8

ARMOR=9

RESOURCES=8 i_reag_bone

FOODTYPE=15 t_food, t_fruit

DESIRES=i_gold,e_notoriety

SHELTER=r_house

AVERSIONS=t_TRAP,t_eerie_stuff

BLOODCOLOR=0

 

CATEGORY=Dwarf

SUBSECTION=Man

DESCRIPTION=Man dwarf

 

ON=@Create

NPC=brain_human

COLOR=colors_skin

 

FENCING={15.0 38.0}

PARRYING={15.0 38.0}

SWORDSMANSHIP={15.0 38.0}

WRESTLING={15.0 38.0}

MACEFIGHTING={15.0 38.0}

MAGICRESISTANCE={15.0 38.0}

TACTICS={15.0 38.0}

Once it is done launch sphere, your client, and enter .add 03b24, you should be able to put the gump on you and see the stand dwarf animation, now you can adjust if you need more Z , or less and so on.(do this on every single animation(stand W, stand north and so on).

We can now see that it is 16 of Z, so in UOANIM to this with every .bmp ; press the up arrow to adjust it correctly.

Once you are sure they are well placed, go in Mulbuilder and repeat the same actions, in anim import dialog choose your .uop , then >>selected and then save you gear anim.

Once you will know this tutorial by heart you will be able to make an animation in 3 or 4 hours. Lower you can download the .uop of the dwarf. But I especially did this tutorial to find motivated people who would be able to join with other to create a software that could make it easier to us.

And in the .uop I made, it is normal that the horseback animation is a bit “lower” , I had in mind to make a pony ;).

And if you want to do like I did, one .uop for everything, launch Michelangelo, press import  choose Anim. In MUL put verdata.mul in IDX change it for a .mul and choose verdata.mul and as blocknumber the one you see in Inside UO (here it was 130200) and then press ok. You should then see all dwarf animations, press Anim and then SAVE FILE AS… name it dwarf and so you will have a new Dwarf.uop.

 

Originally wrote by : Prapilk(Mertens Laurent) 

Translated by : Mini-no