Dodgy helicopter rotors after resizing

Bugsey827 · Grenadier **Joined**: 15 Apr 2008

I resized a helicopter voxel and since then the rotors are "dodgy". I mean that when the helicopter moves and they spin, the back one just kind of goes all over.

I wanted to have a video to better show what I mean, but couldn't get OBS to work with RA2 on short notice, so I only have these screenshots.

The rotor spinning animation is 3 frames long, one of the frames it seems ok but the other two are further out. I've checked the HVA file and it seems fine https://streamable.com/2ubibe.

It was a few months ago I added this but only just gotten to it at the bottom of my list of stuff to do so it's hard to remember what I've already tried. I know I tried deleting and remaking the HVA but this was still the result.

The helicopter I'm using is the one from here https://ppmforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=30971

I have a couple of other helicopters with a similar problem but this one's the worst for it. What can I do to fix this?

I also attached it so you can check it for yourself if you wanted to.

civtransport.zip

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G-E · Defense Minister **Joined**: 09 Feb 2015

To capture RA2 you have to use the capture screen not capture game in OBS.

Without looking at your voxel, I can just say delete the .hva and start again, center the rotor on the forward and lateral axis lines with "voxel offset" and only then add the frames with the HVA rotation. Shrinkage changes offsets and even possibly the origins of the sections.

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Bugsey827 · Grenadier **Joined**: 15 Apr 2008

Yeah I'd been doing that, it's just a black screen with the audio playing. Oh well, something to work out another time.

I've had a bit of a tinker with it again, firstly when I use the HVARotation tool it moves the rear rotor like this:

If I test it in game like that, the rotor appears there where it shows in the HVA builder.
If I use the HVAPosition tool to correct it's placement like this

that's when it starts going off like in the screenshots I originally posted. Not sure what the cause is. But yes I've been careful to use "HVAPosition" and not "Voxel Offset" when making that adjustment lol.

G-E · Defense Minister **Joined**: 09 Feb 2015

When you are doing the rotation, do that first, but make sure that rotor is also centered on the white axis like the main rotor. Once you have done the rotations, use position to move it to the rear. That's the least fiddly way.

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Bugsey827 · Grenadier **Joined**: 15 Apr 2008

Still no joy, it actually just throws out an error when I try and move the vehicle in game, EIP 007073B6 lol.
If I keep both rotors on the front it's fine though. Just doesn't like being at the back for some reason.

G-E · Defense Minister **Joined**: 09 Feb 2015

You had it working stupidly before, so I'm guessing you corrupted the .hva somehow since that does cause a crash.

Which HVA Builder are you using?

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Bugsey827 · Grenadier **Joined**: 15 Apr 2008

This one https://www.ppmsite.com/download/OSHVABUILDER_2.18.exe/

G-E · Defense Minister **Joined**: 09 Feb 2015

Try this one, extract it over your existing HVA Builder install and run the WIP7 version... I worked with Stucuk to make sure it understands shrinkage and offsets properly, it's the one I use.

https://www.ppmforums.com/post-607315/os-hva-builder-22-wip-1/#607315

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Bugsey827 · Grenadier **Joined**: 15 Apr 2008

Still no luck. Didn't cause an error at least.

Also I checked the original voxel again. The original was in Allied theme but I'd used the Colour Scheme script in Voxel Section Editor III v1.38 to change it from Allied to greyscale, to resemble a civilian unit. Thought I'd start from the very beginning again just in case something went wrong somewhere along the way. Made no difference but I did notice that I didn't actually resize it, so it's purely the offset that's wrong rather than anything weird that may have happened during resizing. Not sure how much difference it makes but thought it was worth mentioning.

Also there is no "original" HVA with the download, so I can't just copy theirs. Not sure why this one is causing such a problem lol, done plenty of HVAs including animated rotors on other planes, helicopters, etc in the past.

Virgil · Stealth Laser Trooper **Joined**: 22 Jul 2018

Set your hva builder to show axis for each sections. Your rotors are not centered, that's why they go completely wrong once you start to try to adjust them. Also, don't use vxl bounds to change their position, only use hva position. hva builder might show minus numbers as 0 when changing that, at least in the version I had used, but the minus position you input is properly saved.

Bugsey827 · Grenadier **Joined**: 15 Apr 2008

Still not working. It's actually gone back to giving me an IE, same EIP as before lol.

G-E · Defense Minister **Joined**: 09 Feb 2015

How many frames are you trying to use for the animation?

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Bugsey827 · Grenadier **Joined**: 15 Apr 2008

3

G-E · Defense Minister **Joined**: 09 Feb 2015

When you add the animations in HV Builder, and hit play, it all rotates fine? Can you export a .gif (make sure to tick the box) to show us that it works?

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Bugsey827 · Grenadier **Joined**: 15 Apr 2008

Looks fine when I press play
Here's a gif

G-E · Defense Minister **Joined**: 09 Feb 2015

At a glance it appears you have quite a few frames, one of which is very close to another in rotation. I hate to ask, but what if you're doing the frames wrong? Like are you copying or adding frames?

Try limiting it to just 2 frames, with 5-blade rotors that means one frame rotated 72deg or so.

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Bugsey827 · Grenadier **Joined**: 15 Apr 2008

I'd been using Copy Frame.

Just did some tests. Using both the Copy Frame and the New Frame options, as well as varying amount of frames.

Mostly the same result as I showed in my original screenshots. Also some crashes with EIP: 007073B6. The fuselage would also wiggle back and forth.

I opened the vxl file and tried to delete the rotor sections, but for some reason one of the rotors just didn't want to delete. The other one and the body would delete fine. If I tried to delete this rotor section, it would just delete the body section instead. Thought maybe something about that section had "corrupted" or something maybe. I opened a new vxl file, imported that body and imported the rotors from another helicopter I had (which is fine). Redone the hva tests and the results were no different. Genuinely don't know what's wrong lol. Like I said before I've done animated props/rotors in the past so although I'm far from an "expert" as this sort of thing, it isn't like I'd consider myself completely incompetent either.

Might just give up and save myself the headaches lol, not the only civilian helicopter I'd been using anyway.

Mig Eater · Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2023 9:44 am Post subject:

The scale setting of the body & rotors sections are different, this inconsistency causes the calculations in the matrix to get messed up & the parts to be misaligned.

The body also has one of the "Unknown" sections set to 2 when it should be 0, dont know what it does (that's why its Unknown #Tongue

) but best to set it to the default anyway.

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Bugsey827 · Grenadier **Joined**: 15 Apr 2008

Yes, that did the trick, thanks

I copy & pasted the scale value from the body section to the rotors, and redid the HVA, and it works just fine now.

Thanks very much

G-E · Defense Minister **Joined**: 09 Feb 2015

Might as well just use my Nighthawk now #Tongue

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