I am trying to learn jMonkeyEngine and am about half-way through the tutorials. In the Animation Tutorial an Oto.mesh.xml model is loaded and then animated (essentially) like so:
Node player = (Node)assetManager.loadModel("Models/oto/Oto.mesh.xml");
AnimControl animControl = player.getControl(AnimControl.class);
AnimChannel channel = animControl.createChannel();
channel.setAnim("stand");
From a previous question, I now understand that:
- In the modeling tool used to create the model, such as Blender, the artist labeled each available animation; and of these animations, one of them was one called
"stand". Hence, “stand” is a valid animation to call from inside jME3 - These animation labels actually live inside
Oto.skeleton.xml, but that the skeleton model file is pulled in when the code loads the mesh model file (viaassetManager.loadModel(...))
I’m a typical “enterprise” software engineer. That is, I write JVM code for big business. Boring stuff: REST services, front ends, utility software, uggh. But I’m brand new to (and very excited about!) Java game dev in jME3. But at least with jME3, I’m already a Java developer, so it’s just a mater of learning jME3’s APIs and the tricks of the gamedev trade. But 3D modeling is completely, brand-spanking-new to me. While I (slowly) ramp up my knowledge of Blender, I was hoping that there might be some magical repo of open source (or at least dirt cheap) animated models that I could use to build some starter/hobby “games” with.
Ideally, I’m looking for a model of a human being (ninja, normal-looking civilian, soldier, whatever) that already has these built-in animations. This way, I can use them to really learn the jME3 APIs and (like I said) ramp up on Blender on the side, at my own pace. But if no such “animated model repo” exists, then I basically have to learn both at the same time, or even learn how to model in Blender first. I’d prefer to do it the other way around, jME3 → Blender.
So I ask: do any such animated model repos exist? Are they open source? Again, I’m ideally looking for a human being that can be animated to portray typical movements, such as:
- Walk
- Run
- Turn head left/right
- Punch
- Kick
- Crouch
- Jump
- etc.
I don’t need it to do all (or technicall, any) of these specific things, but those actions would be the most useful in a game setting :-).
Any ideas, or am I SOL?
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