This is addressed to Raven Software.

We have tried to get your attention via email about the issue of custom animations in JK2 and SOF2, but we have not received a reply yet.

Recently, the JK2 editing community found out how the GLA format works (every frame is 216 bytes), and a program was made that could merge two GLA files, allowing us to edit the _humanoid.gla file. However, we found out that the skeleton in the root.xsi files which came with the JK2 SDK was not the same one as the one used for the animations (the linkings and the hierarchies were different).

We would very much like for you to release the skeleton to the community. With it, custom animations are within our reach and most of us will probably be ecstatic with joy. You have already done so much for the SOF2/JK2 community (well for the JK2 community at least - we have source code, sample models, great tools and many other things). The ability to add new animations to the game would do so much to expand the life of this game - Half-Life was released in 1998 and five years later people are still playing it because of the modifications.

Please consider it - it would be a great thing for us modders.

Thank you for your time,
Nith Sahor.

I remember your mod - it used to be hosted on JediKnightii.net right?

Same here, we're about to start animating in about a month and I'm just beginning to hear about these problems (We're using SoF2)- I've kept away from U2 and UT2k3 because I like the Ghoul engine so much and the support mod makers have had so far, I'm sure Raven will come through again.

Yep I agree...

Ark

There are a great many things that might go wrong with making new animations, and I understand Raven's hesitancy.

I know that everything will turn out A-O-K.  I'd just like to see actual new animations (not my bugged out Mace Windu) by the 1 year anniversary of JK2's release.

I'm not leaving JK2, anyway.  I'm annoyed at the attitudes expressed by some on this subject (no one here), I didn't really ever think about looking at animations - I beleived what I was told - that they were not possible.

Thanks Raven!

(To those who are puzzled, and SOF2/JK2/JA modders, go to http://www.aotctc.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=2859 . Enjoy )

jk2 only...

Too bad it doesn't work :P

If somebody at Raven could actually ... show us ... you know ... and XSI file with the correct hierarchy ... used to create the GLA files for a given game ...  that'd be helpful.

Michael Gummelt also said this at the jk2 forums that raised my brow

This thread

Quote (Michael Chang Gummelt @ Mar. 31 2003)

Again, we released everything we could and we tried release something that would allow people to make their own animations, but the process was too arcane and the tools to expensive and exotic. We put a lot of thought into it (for both JK2 and SoFII) but it just didn't work out. Believe me, we would have loved to have made it easy if we could have. From what I understand, we released some info and gave some people the almost 700MB of anim data needed to make their own animations and rebuild our humanoid skeleton with those new anims, but no-one was quite able to get it working.