Handle Rotation

Unity Engine
1

Hey,

Does anyone know how to rotate the handle selection tool? I checked it out in the Unity Manual but the “Handle Position Set to Pivot” button (located near the top of the Unity interface) does not exist in Unity Version 1.6.2. Or is there a script I can access to change the handle position rotation pivot? Any ideas?

Thanks!

–Velk

Here a link to the manual, just scroll down to the “Handle Selection Tool” section:

http://unity3d.com/support/documentation/Manual/Learning%20the%20Interface.html

2

Are you talking about this:

53683--1945--$picture_1_286.png

3

yes, but that only moves the center pivot point back to the center pivot of the object. I am trying to change the center pivot of the rotation, not just the transform. The reason I am doing this is because my character was imported on the wrong axis and it would be easier to change his axis of rotation in Unity instead of changing everything in Maya and re-importing. Any ideas? Thanks for the quick response by the way =)

–Velk

4

here is my character, he can rotate and his animations work properly but he is not physically moving and the camera is not following him even though he has a smoothfollow.js script on him… also, the few times I have I have been able to make him move, he moved sideways instead of forward and vice versa. I also noticed that whenever I add him to the scene, he is EXTREMELY small and I have to scale him up a lot until he is visible. I then have to tweak his character controller attributes until they are acceptable enough to let him do anything at all. Any ideas? Here is a link to the game itself. Just try out the controls using awsd and the arrow keys.

www.personal.psu.edu/smk5026/Unity/forums_test.html

The scripts I am using on the main Char GameObject (which also has the character controller on it) are:

Sample Move Script.js
Simple Crossfade.js
The main camera has a SmoothFollow.js script on it.

Also, if you need the Unity Web Player, you can download it here:

One other thing…if it would help to take a look my scene file, let me know and I can give it to you for reference purposes. Thanks again =)

Any information is greatly appreciated!

–Velk

5

Although it’s been requested before and is a “wish list” item, you can’t modify the center pivot point in your model in Unity, that has to be done in your 3D modeling app.

BTW, I tried launching your webplayer (first link) and I was directed to the Unity 1.6.2 plug-in download page and I already have Unity 2.0 installed (?). AFAIK, this shouldn’t have happened. (I’m running Safari on a MBP 15" and OS X 10.4.10).

6

interesting, thanks for the reply =) How can I make sure that I have the center pivot/rotate handle points set properly in Maya? At the moment, I re-imported my character as a .fbx file and I made sure his pivot point was set to the center of the character and his scale is set to 1 on all axis. I am not sure what else I can to fix this problem…any suggestions?

Thanks for all of your help!

–Velk

7

There are only two ways I know of to fix this:

  1. Create a sample model in your 3D app and experiment with the export settings until you’ve gotten the model to import the way you want it. You may have to rotate or scale the model to a certain orientation, or it may be a matter of changing your export settings. I don’t use Maya, so I can’t help you with the specifics.

  2. Make the imported model a “child” of an empty Game Object “parent”. Then re-orient the model to the desired rotation and scale and add your movement script, etc. to the Game Object.

HTH

8

Thanks for the amazingly quick responses =)

I love the input you have been giving me, it is extremely helpful…

My question is, can you clarify step 2? I don’t quite understand how attaching my character to an empty game object will help me out with getting the character set up…I just don’t understand…

I’ll have to experiment in Maya some more with the export settings and scale. Thank you!

–Velk

9

Are you using Freeze Transforms in Maya? (its like Reset Transforms in 3ds Max)
Also make sure you Delete All Type → History, as it can cause weirdness.
And put your characters bones in a group, and choose Modify → Center Pivot on the group.
If you do need to scale the character, make sure its bones are in a group.

Cheers
Shaun

10

I don’t have Unity handy at the moment, but basically what you’d do is:

  1. Import your model
  2. Create a new empty “Game Object”
  3. Move the Game Object to the location and orientation you desire.
  4. Drag your model onto the Game Object in the “Hierarchy” panel so it becomes a child of the G.O.
  5. Move and rotate the model to the desired position.
  6. Now if you have a script that moves the character, drag it to the empty GO and not the model.

This won’t work in all situations, but when a simple character is involved it may be good enough. Otherwise, the only way to go is to go back to the first option I suggested.

11

thanks so much guys, your input is very helpful. I will try all of your suggestions and get back to you within the next day or two (hopefully with positive results).

At least I’m learning a valuable lesson about exporting/importing characters with animations and how their pivot points and scale dramatically effect their use within Unity. Thanks so much guys!

–Velk