SOLVED: Exporting animated .X with Blender

[Shadowsong]

If I export an animated model with Blender to an .X file, the animation does not work.
In the TV Model Viewer, it tells me the animation is there and I can play it and the number of frames and all seems correct. But the model is just not moving at all.

Has anybody been able to export animated .X files with blender? Maybe there is some weird trick.

I am using:
Blender 2.5 BETA Version 2.56.1 Build r34840
Exporter Plugin: DirectX Exporter (.x) by Chris Foster (Kira Vakaan) Version 1.9

Thanks in advance for any help!

[jviper]

Sounds like the exporter you are using is not exporting the animation data in the DirectX Legacy format correctly. It might be difficult to find en exporter that does it right because the DirectX file format is becoming obsolete. I think one working plugin was called Panda, but I'm not sure (might be confusing it with a stand-alone exporter and not a Blender3D plugin). I was looking for one too by the way, but I may end up writing one myself.

I heard soon we may be moving to the fbx format, which is more current, but until then, stuck with .x.

[PaulTheAxeman]

What is this FBX format anyway. Keep seeing it around on the 3d model sites. Not really looked into it. Is it easy to produce or more compatible? Any good for us TV users?

[AriusEso]

What is this FBX format anyway. Keep seeing it around on the 3d model sites. Not really looked into it. Is it easy to produce or more compatible? Any good for us TV users?

It's a interop scene format supported by most modellers. It will probably be used more to convert data to TV's prop formats. I very much doubt it'll be supported in its entirety -- as this would be challenging and rather fruitless.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBX

[Shadowsong]

Thanks for the replies!
I have actually found a solution.
The whole exporting thing seems to be very picky and sensitive.
I can't really tell what the problem was but it works now.

There seem to be some factors:
- Make sure to export the "Bones" (Skeleton) and "Armatures" from blender
- Make sure to check "Full Animation" and "Export Armatures" when using the .X exporter plugin

However, it works now

Solved!