Creating MML Avatars with Blender and Free Rigging Tools
End-to-end guide for turning any humanoid mesh into an in-game MSquared avatar
Software you will need:
Blender 3.5+ https://www.blender.org/download/
These tools are available below, they are specific versions, you can check the links for different versions:
Game Rig Tools: https://toshicg.gumroad.com/l/game_rig_tools
Surface Heat Skinning: http://www.mesh-online.net/shd-blender-addon.zip from this Repo
Improbable Blender add-on for the geometry utilities: https://github.com/improbable/BlenderGeometryUtilities/tree/feature/geometry_process_addon
Improbable exporter tool: https://mml-io.github.io/avatar-tools/main/tools/gltf-avatar-exporter/
Upload to MML Editor https://mmleditor.com/projects (see below)
Tips
UPDATE: It's better to install each Addon manually, in Blender you can install addons by pointing it to the zip files or python files, the Improbable Blender addon (python script above) will be a python file (.py) if there is an update you can re-download, replace it and it will be updated in Blender with the latest features, for the other addons (zip files), you'll need to download the updates, remove the old one from Blender and point it to the newest zip file. Game Rig Tools is in active development and it has updates in a regular basis.
You can manually install each add-on, so you have control for each version, if you need to update it, etc, if you are using the scripts folder (batch install) method you will have to unzip the add-ons.
If your asset already has a skeleton, you need to remove it, there is a quick button in the Improbable addon.
Combine the geometry in Blender, there is a button for that in the Improbable addon, just keep in mind this will erase all other non geometry elements in your scene and it will unify all the geometry as one, it will also remove parent transform groups.
Check out the Rig Tool video for more tips here
Quick Demo
Generative AI character Demo
After you download your final .glb from the avatar tool: https://mml-io.github.io/avatar-tools/main/tools/gltf-avatar-exporter/ you are ready to set the avatar with the MML editor:
Making the MML Character
Go to https://mmleditor.com/projects and Create a Project
Upload the Asset you made in the tool
Drag the asset to the Code window, and rename the
m-modeltag to bem-characterat the start and end of the code
Click the "Static Version" button, top right, publish and get the URL
You can now use this in the pause menu of an event where available, note if streaming you may have to allow the option to paste from clipboard in the Streaming Options
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