Announcing Beta Test for AutoBones auto-rigging tool

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone, just letting people know that I’m starting the initial release beta for a new auto-rigging tool called AutoBones.

What AutoBones is:

AutoBones is a system for quickly creating character rigs made up of Max bones, allowing each chain of bones to be animated as a single object, and switching seamlessly between IK and FK animation with minimal effort.

What AutoBones is not:

AutoBones will not take your character model,  automatically figure out where the joints belong, and skin and weight your character for you. After all, I need to save some features for later releases! Some amount of human interaction is still required.

What I am looking for in beta testers:

As AutoBones is not yet ready for commercial release, you need to be aware that it may not function perfectly. You need to be willing to accept this, and to let me know about any errors or design flaws so that I can fix them!

I would also appreciate any other feedback that will help me improve AutoBones, such as suggestions for new features or changes to existing features. The more feedback I get, the more I will be able to get a sense for the needs of other animators.

I have done my best to ensure that AutoBones runs smoothly, without interfering with any of the existing functionality in 3DS Max. However, if you find that the AutoBones beta is either too unstable for your needs, or is causing instability in other parts of the program, you can simply remove the AutoBones folder from your 3DS Max startup directory. Obviously, I would ask that you please let me know the exact nature of your problem as well so that I can improve the experience of other users!

The official beta launch will start on April 2nd. If everything goes according to plan, I should have a finished version ready by May 1, but I am prepared to extended the beta if a stable build is not yet available by that time.

If you are interested in participating, please visit the license agreement and download page found here: http://www.versatileartist.com/autobones/

If you want to know more about AutoBones before deciding whether or not you are interested in participating, you can look over the documentation found here: http://www.versatileartist.com/autobones/help.htm

[Anonymous]

A couple of quick notes:

First, I've gotten my first round of feedback, and the first patch is done. I have added a label to the  rollout which displays the version of the script. This can be checked against the version history on the website to make sure that your copy of AutoBones is up-to-date. Unzipping the latest version of AutoBones into your scripts directory over an existing copy will not affect your license.

Special thanks to Andy Van Dalsem for being the first tester to find an error in AutoBones! Thanks to his input, I was able to find and fix an issue that prevented the script from running properly.

Second, I have had several people who have expressed an interest in participating in the beta that I have not gotten registration requests from. If you have filled out and submitted the application, but never received a reply, please let me know ASAP, as that may indicate a problem with the mailer.

I also had a registration request that came in without a valid name or email entered. If you don't provide an e-mail address, there is no way for me to contact you with your serial number!

[Anonymous]

In order to streamline the process of collecting and distributing information related to the development of AutoBones, I have started a forum. The web address is http://versatileartist.com/autobones/forum/index.php

Registration at the forum is not mandatory for participation in the beta, but it only takes a moment to do so and is sure to be worth your while. Additionally, a new version of the program has been made available at http://www.versatileartist.com/autobones/AutoBones.zip

Please extract this file into the Scripts folder of your 3DS Max directory. When asked if you want to overwrite existing files and folders, answer "yes"

04/09/14: 0.9.0.3

-Corrected the parameters for the initial x-axis rotation of clavicle bones

-Undoing the creation of an AutoBones chain no longer throws an error

-Rotation limits for head/neck and spine chains are now optional

-Chains set to the "default" type now behave like the other chain types

----

AutoBones grew out of a collection of scripts that I wrote for myself, so its current features and capabilities are tailored to my own needs. But I would like to see it grow into a tool that will benefit as many users as possible. If you can think of any features that would help you in your own work that you think should be part of AutoBones, I am eager to hear about them!

I am currently working on adding:

-Automatic skinning

-Biped-to-Autobones conversion

I have plans in the future for:

-Motion capture support

-Stretchy bones