For you blender users, the newer version have an updated FBX file format importer.  I've been playing around with it and having some success.



The playback speed being a little fast is from my gif creation, not from blender.

I loaded the original max tutorial files into 3ds max, then loaded the bip animation, then export as fbx.
Then I import the fbx into blender (remembering to scale it to.1)

It's even easier for the TL2 files as the animations are there own separate max files. They seem to import better as well.


I have not had any luck using to create an animation library.

One of my big pain points is not being able to see the animation until I load it into the game. So if clipping occurs, I won't know until I export, load the game, watch the various animations, then go tweak the weights, and repeat.  Very tedious.

Hopefully I can figure out why applying an animation action is getting me weird results when all the bones should be the same.

If I get it to work, I will have to stop using Dusho's scripts and just use the regular Ogre export library. But then I would be able to customize the animations in Blender.

Naturally I will share any blend files once I figure this thing out.

Thanks for sharing this Vkoslak! It's exciting to see the progress you, Kva and Anarch keep making in the area of animations. Animations seem very powerful to me - even if it's the only thing you change, it's like playing a completely new game!

You can export animations, but you can't use Dusho's script.

There is a plugin called "Ogre 3D (.scene and .mesh)"


It has quite a few options:


I was able to change the animation on the "Good Zealot" in TL1, export it and get it to show up in game correctly.

I think I had to do a "ctrl-a" and apply rotation, scale, location on my armature, and then add a new animation.  The problem I run into is that I can't just do one animation and add it. I would have to redo all the animations.  But once I have them in blender and looking properly, I can export them to the game.

Really cool investigation, Vkoslak!
I'm glad that there is a way to do what is needed.
But I do not understand what it all means, it sounds complicated for me. 

Now that I have all the animations in FBX, I can start the process of adding them to my blend file tonight.

It is possible that someday you will make a small video tutorial about this? 

I suppose I can.

I'll need to find a way to make my microphone sound better.  Like add reverb or something 

It might take me a few days to get to it.

At this point I'm still playing with it to see what is possible.

I noticed the fishing animations are missing from the BIP files as well.

The first thing I was trying to do, was just to get TL1 animations working with TL1 Models in blender.
Then to use those animations to make a library of animations for the TL1 models. I know not many people are still trying to do things with TL1, but I have a witch mod to finish and having a library of in game animations would help me to test out my meshes and weight paints before I export them, instead of doing a lot of trial and error.

Then I want to try doing the same thing with TL meshes and animations. I will eventually create a new player mesh for TL2.

I haven't tried using a TL1 animation on a TL2 skeleton or a TL2 animation on a TL1 skeleton, yet. It is on my to-do list.

Ultimately,  I would like to be able to have a class that isn't the standard size, without having to start from scratch with making animations. Or at least to be able to add a cape.

As far as importing animations from other IP, it really depends on how the skeleton is setup.  I have had zero luck with BVH files.

If I got a whole new set of animations from somewhere like Mixamo, I could replace all the animations for a character as long as I setup my base armature to match the setup I get from Mixamo.

The animations I have converted from bip to fbx to blender work with the armature/mesh that I exported from the original. My witch class that I created initially from a Vanquisher imported via Dusho's script doesn't work with the newly exported animations. So it still doesn't solve my previewing animations issue.  But it should let me get a better setup for when I go to do TL2 modding.

One thing I tried a while back with limited success was making an IK armature that uses the animation armature as a target. This could be used to get things close, and then do some cleanup after the fact.

I guess the short version is I want to see all kinds of new classes of different shapes and sizes, with crazy armors, and I feel the animation part is one of the biggest roadblocks to that happening. Unless you want to fork out the mad cash for 3ds.

I have an update 

Excellent work Vkoslak. 
But I feel that it is very difficult for me now.