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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 10th Oct 2016 at 2:51 PM Last edited by ArtUrlWWW : 10th Oct 2016 at 5:54 PM.
Open Source Motion Capture Suit - I am looking for supporters
Hello.

I am work on my own LifeSim https://lifesim.biz/ project as a hobby and I faced with question of animation recording.

I found, that there are many paid solutions for this. For example - Perception Neuron https://neuronmocap.com/ . Note, that I am not affiliated with Perception Neuron and this post is not an adds.

I found, that only one glove, without any sensors costs about 100 USD ( https://neuronmocap.com/content/pro...r-straps-single ) and bundle of the software and only of 18 sensors costs about 1500 USD (https://neuronmocap.com/content/pro...mocap-live-solo).

It's very expensive (for me and for many other people, I think).

Now I want to realize my own Motion Capture Suit, possible it will be open source project.

My calculations shows, that it could be realized with cheaper price. For example, for glove we will need to have 17 sensors (not from neuronmocap ). Sensors price is about 4.7 USD.
It means, that glove can cost about 17*4.7 = 80 USD for sensors and + 5...10 USD for some consumables, like wires, material base glove, etc.
Ie, we can made for 85..90 USD glove with sensors.
Software of the MOCAP suit could be opensource and will include UE Editor plugin, to record animations with MOCAP suit directly in UE Editor.

Who am I. I am software developer from some Russian bank.
My CV: https://tatarstan.hh.ru/applicant/r...d1f677334716163
In the past I worked as electronic developer and I can make such device. I think, development process of the device and software could take about 1.5-2 years.

The main problem, that I am not promoter, not that man, who can easily find investments for such project, I am just an engineer.
Also, I have no friends in USA and EU, to open project on sites like Patreon, Kickstarter, Indiegogo and etc.

I need to buy electronic elements for building that suit (or glove, for first time), but I have not such money - I haven't free 100 USD for it.

As I said, dev process could take about 2 years and I would post news about dev progress every week.

More information here - https://forums.unrealengine.com/sho...-for-supporters
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Forum Resident
#2 Old 10th Oct 2016 at 4:59 PM
I think you might be on the wrong forum...this is a fan site for The Sims video games.

The simmer formerly known as Averex
My Claim to Fame
One horse disagreer of the Apocalypse
#3 Old 10th Oct 2016 at 5:02 PM
There are probably other sections here it could be moved to

"You can do refraction by raymarching through the depth buffer" (c. Reddeyfish 2017)
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#4 Old 10th Oct 2016 at 5:52 PM
No, I am not at wrong forum.
With "my" suit, you will be able to record custom animations for The Sims 4 ))).
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#5 Old 10th Oct 2016 at 5:53 PM
And for The Sims 3
Mad Poster
#7 Old 11th Oct 2016 at 11:39 AM Last edited by simmer22 : 11th Oct 2016 at 12:32 PM.
With mocap you need software that's compatible with programs you can use for TS3/4 animating, since the mocap program has to to 'speak' with the 3D program, so that the program can actually use the animations. Most of the programs available won't be advanced enough for that. In addition, mocap is just a guideline, and without a lot of cleanup work, it usually looks fake. It's possible the TS3/4 teams used mocap, but they've got the tools and the programs, and a big company in their back, plus properly set up animation rigs.

We only have the skeletons to play around with, not the actual animation rigs, and that's a world of difference. Animation rigs lets you make much smoother animations because the bones have additional links, so for instance when you lift up the foot, the entire leg moves (because that's how bodies actually work). I haven't tried the TS3/4 skeletons, but I have used the TS2 ones, and there you have to move each part individually, which makes things like walking animations choppy and "floating".

Besides, using so much money for equipment you'll only use to play a game for maybe a few more years? I wouldn't do it. It's better to just learn how to animate with the tools you already have - unless you're planning to use the mocap suit for other projects.

It's actually a lot easier to record whatever motions you want to animate with a simple video recorder, and use it as reference footage. That's what most animators do, even the professional ones, and they've been doing it ever since drawn 2D animation was all they had. You don't even need a fancy camera, although if there's an option to play back in slow motion, that's a big help.
dodgy builder
#8 Old 11th Oct 2016 at 11:40 AM
Is this about just capturing what's on the screen? That is free from fraps - support discontinued, and obs, probably others too.

... and why should I trust you with my money?

This might be modding perhaps? They make programs as far as I know.
Mad Poster
#9 Old 11th Oct 2016 at 11:53 AM Last edited by simmer22 : 11th Oct 2016 at 12:34 PM.
Mocap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnrKKjaVxCA
It's for tracking movements to help animators.

For short animations and for the limits within TS3/4, I honestly don't think you'd get much use out of a mocap suit. For a movie or a game made from scratch you'd probably get a whole lot more out of it.
dodgy builder
#10 Old 11th Oct 2016 at 12:00 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
Mocap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnrKKjaVxCA
It's for traacking movements to help animators.


Thank you for that. Do people really use ts3 or 4 for this? Isn't that a lot of work, and since I'm in the realistic corner at the moment: lets face it, Sims characters arn't the type people use money making animations with or what? If you make animated characters there is other programs where you can make your own characters as well. Sims characters is kind of stuck in that way?

I'm really a noob at this, but don't you have to change the hole way ts3 and 4 takes pictures? You have to make it stick with a character, not like programed slots. I've used it with architectural programs like Revit, and they use this thread you attach your camera too, and I mean if you plan your movie that way that's fine, but do they really do that?
Mad Poster
#11 Old 11th Oct 2016 at 12:10 PM Last edited by simmer22 : 11th Oct 2016 at 1:11 PM.
It's a lot easier to make your own characters and environments, with proper rigs and all that, than to try to modify TS2/3/4 into a moviemaking program, because without the actual program the creators used to make the games, you're stuck with very simple tools. Sure, some people make awesome films - with a lot of time, energy, and often very clever use of what already exists in the game. The moment you try to put player-made animations into it, things start getting a little choppy - depending on the animation, of course. Anything that involves moving from one place to another tend to look awful. Not always because of the animator, but because without the rig, the skeleton can't move in a way that looks natural. I've seen a few awesome animations made for the games by players, but mostly bad to horrible ones.

The thing is, people often overestimate just how much custom-made animating they need to make a good Sims movie. With some clever camera work, parts of existing ingame animations, a few cleverly made animations for things that don't exist ingame, perhaps some "green-screen", editing programs, and whatnots, you can get a pretty decent result. One of my fave movie creators was Jaydee, and she used all of this. This is an example of skillful sims moviemaking done right: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6PWfZWQ9R4 and this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFjxDwV6PmY (and bear in mind, these are rather old, the first one from 2008, and the second from 2006). Pretty sure she didn't have a mocap suit...

When it comes to sims animations/posing I only have experience with TS2 rigs, and it is possible TS3/4 rigs (possibly also Blender, cause Milkshape is awful for animating) are easier to work with when it comes to animation, but I still see the floating legs/bodies and the choppiness in videos. The skeletons do have more joints, and they seem to be a little more advanced and possibly also easier to work with than TS2 ones. For all I know, it might be possible to use mocap for them with the right tools.

A mocap suit isn't everything. It's helpful for tracking advanced movements, but you still need to be a skilled animator to use it properly. Also, the person doing the buying is probably the only one who gets to use that mocap suit, so it won't benefit a lot of people.
Field Researcher
#12 Old 13th Oct 2016 at 1:15 AM
A while back there were some interesting projects to use the MS Kinect as a low-cost motion capture device, for example: https://www.engadget.com/2015/03/08...motion-capture/
Also some work to import such into Blender: https://www.blender.org/conference/...esentations/196

I have no idea if any of this panned out, but it certainly was a cheaper route for enthusiast-level tinkering.
Test Subject
#13 Old 12th Mar 2018 at 1:19 AM
I have been using inertial mocap in our studio http://mocap.com.au, it's perfect for sims animations.
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