Does it matter if the character has high heels?
jdavison67
Posts: 587
Should all the characters be in flat shoes, or does unreal work with characters in heels?
JD
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ok, the heels is a little "hit or mess what's gonna matter are the animations, if the animations you are using are for "flat shoes" then no issue you can have both heels and flat characters using that animation with no issues, if the animations are for "heels" then the flat can be messed and only work with the heels or maybe in some rares not even work, then pay attention to the animation.
Another problem is which if you know how to use with multiple meshes in a single character, or how to change characters bp in game then is important which normally you can't have "both cases", what i means is for exemple: a character using a flat shoe or being on his own feet, it gonna then you allow him to "change to another type of boot or shoe with heels, the "animation normally not gonna also "change if the animation is using a skeleton retargeted from a "flat feet pose" then it gonna keep using it, you must find a way (which i don't know) to readjust the feet angle in the animatin to "match the heels" or find a way to change the "skeleton from the "flat"version base pose to heel version base pose, which what is matter the "base pose of skeleton because animations can use only 1 pose as base" at time not multiples.
Okay...so it sounds like it's a bit of a work in progress...on how to work through this....
So many of my characters have heels...it definately will make it a challenge.
JD
the problem specially with the bridge is which it don't allow you have multiple skeletons, you have only one for all characters(they share the same skeleton), then when "retargeting" a animation you can use only one pose per time, which means you must have a "pose" for flat feet and one for "heels or multiple poses for multiple heels angles, otherwise you would have "multiple skeleton each one with his own "pose".
if all the characters use heels and the heels angle are the same or almost the same then the issue will be 0 or none, as long the animation you are using is fleet and you "skeleton" is market to use skeleton in the feet", if you have diferent characters using "diferent shoes with diferent angles going from flat to high heels then be ready to do a lot of work to proper adjust the mesh base pose for each type of "heels", boots angle.
the most basic and easy solution would be you have one skeleton/rigging for each character then retargeting each animation for each character, since the bridge is not made to have multiple skeletons a "workaround solution would be you export the characters without using the bridge which would make you lose a lot of it's "life of quality" stuffs, but it would allow you have multiple characters also using multiple skeletons, or the "other way to work on it would be add multiple "base poses" then making a blueprint to call each one based on the "shoes" or maybe exporting the morph target for "heels" which daz have and use it to "change the feet angle" or in last case find a way to change it maybe using ik adjusts like some ik locomotion systesm but in this case the feet will adjust based on the character itself, well you must look for the better way to fix it.
otherwise you or aways must use "high heels characters or some "level of high heels" or aways flat feet characters mixing both is when it's become problematic.
and to be fair all those stuffs are about "retargeting animations" if you already have animations made with daz characters on both heels and flat feet then no real deal, it's only if you are going to retarget animations which are not from daz any animation made using daz characters before install will work fine.
Heels are complicated. I've got some strategies for dealing with them here: http://davidvodhanel.com/daz-to-unreal-dealing-with-heels/
If the base pose has the right feet, such as Paragon's Shinbi for example, it will not work correctly, because each mesh has its individual skeleton.
Another example, you can import Shinb, Zinix and Belica in the same skeleton, if you delete one of them the additional bones that the spawn generated will disappear. This function of importing several characters in the same skeleton serves to optimize games, if your intention is to make films, videos or renderings, just create as many skeletons as you can.
To create a unique skeleton of the mesh, right click, go to create a new skeleton, after created click on the mesh again and go to the Assing Skeleton option.