I hear the walk designer was tuned for P4 figures. Try using them to see if is any better. Other thing is the try using walk in place option, rather than along a path. then translate by hand, Learned these tips from Nerd's readme file in his Walk Designer.

umm Max, can handle, much better than Poser multiple figures. Poser Pro is much better exporting to Max presently. Poser Pz3 exports to Max do not recognize Max geometry (footsteps on ground) , & Pz3 motions are not editable in Max. To edit charactyers in Max- you'll need to rig the meshes. Lifefforms handles exporting to/from many apps. I know lifeforms can handle many figures at once, but not landscapes.

there is a python script for performing a "Drop to Floor" for every frame- This fixes foot both below floor/above floor issues. The script was included w Poser Pro, not sure if w P5 tho

Thanks E & Wipe

um have u checked out PPP? Has some more user friendly tools, for just this purpose.

Yes , max & Maxscript & plugs can do. But Max lacks a user friendly char generating s/w,... Poser! Together, an awesome combo. Problem, motion control of Poser figure exports. PPP figures can't interact w Max environments, like picking up objects, footsteps staying on top of ground etc. Presently I am working out the issue of rigging Poser figures to work in Max w minimum/no hand tweaking of joints, so biped can easily be used . Then all u say will come possible. The Quadro graphics cards suppose to be awesome realtime rendering of viewport.. Gefore3/4 not too shabby either.

Yes , max & Maxscript & plugs can do. But Max lacks a user friendly char generating s/w,... Poser! Together, an awesome combo. Problem, motion control of Poser figure exports. PPP figures can't interact w Max environments, like picking up objects, footsteps staying on top of ground etc. Presently I am working out the issue of rigging Poser figures to work in Max w minimum/no hand tweaking of joints, so biped can easily be used . Then all u say will come possible. The Quadro graphics cards suppose to be awesome realtime rendering of viewport.. Gefore3/4 not too shabby either.

you can delete the translate Z axis keys for the body or hip. Look at the Graph Editor for which axis contains the body motion. It typically a ever increasing upward diagonal line u want to get rid of, represents motion in one direction only.. When hips away back & forth, want to keep that so don't delete anymore than needed.

Trav, you take the prize in the "who's da man" sweepstakes. You are the king of cool free stuff. Thanks (again) bro.

cool. thx bro.

I know just what Wolf means about Poser discrimination. But Poser is my secret weopon. I doubt Poser could ever become an animators tool of choice. It is 99% used for stop motion snapshots. There are too many mature, powerhouse 3d apps to compete against. Poser could become a powerhouse utility/resource app tho . If Poser could export figures in a more useable, animatable (IK/FK)condition, its sales would skyrocket. The user friendly library structure, along with the huge free/cheap lbraries of everything an animator needs, except motion, & maybe hair (arguable), would make it an awesome toolchest of props, Poses, Figures, Faces, Clothes, Maps etc. It has a smoking fast display quality renderer (sans transparency)also. My partner & I have rigged Poser figures in Max. We had to change the mesh in a few areas (hips/armpits) tho. Once this can be done to an unmodified mesh, then a script could automate the rigging process, opening the door to Poser figures exporting to Max with full IK/FK function. Poser is 100X easier & more powerful for figure making/tweaking s/w than anything out there.

You have picked a very technically demanding world (3d anim). What you need is to get a good book (or 2), & keep your nose in it for a few months. There are no short cuts. Poser is as good as it gets, in terms of productivity per time invested. Nothing compares. I reco you learn Max's matireal editor, & export via PPP to Max. PPP doea an almost perfect import job, but you need to tweak a bit sometimes. when you get serious about character animation, then learn Char Studio. A great book is "Animation with Character Studio 3 " by Bousquet. For beginners as well. After that- In reco "3d studio Max 3 Professional Animation" by Jones & Bonney. Look for used books at Amazon.com- Ibought the latter with CD like new for $10.

Best free source- midi. get a decent midi sound card. Then ask the creators permission to use- they are usually very generous. Then, you can additionally change the instruments to suit your taste, the music plays with the new instrument can sound vastly improved. I bit the bullet & payed for music library called Backtraxx. 1000 license free songs for $400. I have also bought those 2000 sound FX & 2000 music/midi cd's at best buy for $10. They are pretty good actually. Produced by a company called Media Graphics.

Matched sets, man/woman, wrestling/fighting,.

I'm not sure what those $2000 do for the extra money.? Anyone care to explain? For me look at the Quadro DCC by Elsa ($670 street), if you want something you can serious viewport quality. Any gf3 card tho I've heard works beautifully with Max 4 viewports tho. http://www.xbitlabs.com/video/quadrodcc-3dmax/