Command entry:Select a biped body part.
Motion panel
Biped Apps rollout
Workbench button
Analyze panel
The Analyze panel provides tools to evaluate the curves for the selected biped parts, and review them for certain error conditions.
It can spot spikes and noise in the curves, and locate specific keyframes that are responsible for discontinuous motion.
The errors are displayed as brown lines over the curves, and are also listed at the bottom of the Analyze panel. You can then
use the Fix panel to automatically fix errors, or you can fix errors by manually adjusting keys and curves in Curve view.
Procedures
To analyze a curve:
- On the Select panel, choose the biped object whose curve you want to correct.
You can select the object from the Select list, in a viewport, or from the Controllers hierarchy.
- Click the Analyze tab, then on the Analyze panel, choose the analyzer you want to use from the drop-down list.
By default, there are two choices: Noise Detector and Spike Detector.
- If you chose Noise Detector, choose the appropriate Property from the Property drop-down list.
- Click Analyze.
Any errors found are displayed in the error result list at the bottom of the panel. The errors also appear in Curve View as
brown lines.
- If no errors are found, try lowering the standard deviation value or make sure you have used the appropriate property when
using the noise detector. For example, if you have a problem with the rotation of a leg, but you choose a Pos property, that
error will not be detected.
Interface
- Parts to Analyze
-
These options choose which parts to analyze:
- When this is turned on, the curve displayed is analyzed.
- When this is turned on, the parts selected in the list or viewport are analyzed. Use this when you want to analyze an entire
biped without displaying all of the curves in Curve View.
- Time to Analyze
-
Sets the range to be analyzed. You can choose either:
- Analyzes the entire animation.
NoteThis is independent of the active 3ds Max time segment.
- Choose this to use the active time segment, as set by the 3ds Max Time Configuration dialog.
- These values let you specify a range with a particular start and end frame.
Analyzers group
- Analyzers drop-down list
-
Lets you choose which analyzer will be used to evaluate the curves. Each analyzer can present its own individual settings.
The default choices are Noise Detector and Spike Detector.
- Finds any large change in the animation, either rotational or positional as determined by the standard deviation value. Can
operate on specific curves as determined by the selection in the Property drop-down list, regardless of what’s currently visible
in the Workbench.
NoteIt's important to understand that noise isn't always bad. For example, in an animation of a person waving his hand, then suddenly
punching: the movement from the wave to the punch, plus the pullback from the punch might be analyzed as noise, but it is
noise that you want. The Workbench will identify the magnitude of these changes by showing you the acceleration and the jerk
curves. By being selective with the fixers, you can smooth out only what you want to improve, and maintain the rest.
- Finds any large change in the animation that also contains a change in direction (in quaternion space or position space).
Can operate on all curves in the animation, regardless of what’s currently visible in the Workbench. The analysis can be adjusted
for Standard Deviation, which is the degree to which the animation departs from its overall pattern.
- Finds knees that wobble or shake when a foot is planted. Uses Frame and Fluctuation parameters to determine what is a wobble
error.
- Finds knees that overextend when a foot is planted. Uses a Knee Angle parameter to determine extension errors.
- Property drop-down list
-
Lets you choose the criterion that the Noise detector uses to evaluate the curves errors. Use Rotational (Rot) properties
to analyze rotational errors; use Position (Pos) properties to analyze move transform errors.
NoteThis control is not available when using the Spike detector.
Options in this drop-down list include:
- Looks for noise in the speed of the rotational angle.
- Looks for noise in the acceleration of the rotational angle.
- Looks for noise in the jerk of the rotational angle.
- Looks for noise in the speed of the position.
- Looks for noise in the acceleration of the position.
- Looks for noise in the jerk of the position.
- Standard Deviation
-
Lets you set the degree to which the animation can depart from its overall pattern. For example, in data that is somewhat
noisy by design, the Noise detector can look for instances that are noisier. Lower deviation numbers mean higher sensitivity,
and thus more errors found.
_____
- Error results list
-
Displays all errors that the analyzer finds. Each entry lists the name of the body part, and the number of errors found.
Errors are also graphically highlighted with a vertical brown line in Curve View. Clicking an error entry in the list highlights
that error in Curve View.
- Analyze
-
Click to perform the analysis.
Clear Results-
Deletes the results of the latest analysis.
Load Analysis File-
Loads the results of a previous analysis.
Save Analysis-
Saves the results of the latest analysis.
