Here You'll find the most frequently asked questions on Auto Character Setup 4 and answers to those questions. Be sure to check this section first if You run into any problem.
 
Question: I'm getting following error when I'm trying to run ACS4 converter on any object: (Line 2322, illegal arithmetic operation on data type)
Answer: You have probably installed ACS4 at location based on UNC naming for network purposes. ACS4 does not support that. Please, install all plugins using local paths (like C:\LW\Plugins\ACS4).
 
Question: Sliders do not work for me. I can select them with orange boxes but I can't move any of the sliders, they seem to be locked.
Answer: You need to switch to Sliders Tool to activate sliders. It's under Items/Tools.
 
Question: I've just purchased ACS4 and installed it on my system according to instructions. When I try the initial tutorial, I run the ACS_Converter and get the following error...
X:\LIGHTWAVE7\PLUGINS\ACS4ACS_CONVERTER.LSC (Invalid Object. Conversion Will Not Proceed)
Answer: Try to reinstall SG_Tools.p plugin manually (using Layout/Plugins/Add Plugins command) do not use Scan Directory function in Layout/Plugins/Edit Plugins panel as SG_Tools.p get installed incorrectly that way.
 
Question: I'm trying to convert textured object and in layout it looks fine just before conversion but as soon as I run the ACS converter the texture dissapear from the object.
Answer: Converter changes display mode to Shaded Solid after conversion by default. Simply open Scene Editor and change the display mode back do Textured Shaded Solid to see textures.
 
Question: How can I replace low resolution model that I animate with a higher res model and keep it from going all wonky and not replacing the animation properly?

Answer: This can be done in several ways.

A. If the rigged model's name is: My_Char.lwo :
1. Rename low resolution model for example: My_Char.lwo to My_Char_LR.lwo,
2. Rename hi res model from, for example: My_Char_Hires.lwo to My_Char.lwo,
3. Reload scene and hires model should nicely replace the old, low resolution one.

B. The other method allows You to keep both low res and high res characters in scene so while animating You see low res one and have good refresh rate but at any time You can view how the final model looks like.
1. Load add hires object to rigged scene,
2. Add one bone for it and set Falloff Type in the Bone Properties panel to the same as value in the rigged low poly character (it'll probably be Inverse Distance^128).
3. Choose "Use bones from" pop-up in Bone Properties and point to the rigged object.
4. Now set some translation for the hires object - like move it 2m in X so that it doesn't overlap with the lowres one.
This way the hires character moves exactly the same as the animated object. Set Your Bounding Box Threshold to a value slightly higher then the number of polys in the low res character. This will prevent Layout from calculating hi res object each time You move an item or scrub Timeline.

C. Finally, the last method:
1. Add a null to scene that is named exactly like the "old" mesh, for example Old_Char:Mesh.
2. Replace "old" mesh with new one.
3. Select previously created null and run ACS Renama, check Replace Text function.
4. Enter the old name in Replace field and new object name in With field.
5. Make sure Update Plugin References option is active and hit ok.
This will rename null AND update all expressions. After reloading scene should work fine with new object.
 
Question: My models always face negative Z. So when you open Layout, my character will face the camera, to put it that way. But ACS4 rigs face positive Z. Can I just rotate skeleton so it faces negative Z and fits my model?

Answer: Nope. It's a little more work to rotate rig 180 degrees so it faces negative Z. I recommend rigging characters in Z+ for various reasons. However, if You need otherwise here's what You need to do:

1. In Modeler, using Statistics Window in Polygons mode (Part menu) select all skelegons which name starts wih "NULL:slid_" (they are all located in 3rd layer named "Ctrls"),
2. Also, select following skelegons:
NULL:L_Hand_Sliders,
NULL:R_Hand_Sliders,
NULL:Spine_Sliders,
NULL:Slider_Channels.
3. You should end up with 25 skelegons selected. Cut those skelegons and Paste to an empty layer.
4. Now simply rotate all layers of rig except for this new layer and "Schematic" 180 degrees in Y.
5. Cut and Paste 25 skelegons back to the "Ctrls" layer and save object.
6. Convert modified rig in usual way in Layout.
7. Select R(L)_ForeArm bones and fix rotational limits (Motion Options) according to the pattern: when Min is -120 and Max 0 change that to Min 0 and Max 120. Do the same for R(L)_Shin bones.
8. You're ready to work. You can save those modifications as described in the Customise section of manual.
 
Question: How can I rotate a perfectly set up character 180 degrees, and still have sensible direction in the controllers?
Answer: Use Master_Rot control (the big black ring) to rotate entire rig. If You don't want Your controls to move strange after rotating 180 degrees simply switch to World Coordinates (Items/Motions/Coord System) while moving controls and the handle manipulation will not be annoying.
 
Question: My character is twice as small as the ones included in ACS4. How far can I go from the default rigs size?
Answer: Generally, scale Your characters to ACS4 rig size rather then opposite. Changing rig size significally (like ten times up or down) may affect IK chains behaviour. Also - rig controls will become either too big or too small. You can resize rig controls to Your taste and this is described in Customise section of ACS4 manual. Twice as small or twice as big character shouldn't be a problem though.
 
Question: I have character with morphs, after rigging all works fine except for morphs that seem to be distorted, what's wrong?
Answer: You probably rotated Your character to fit ACS4 rig orientation. Unfortunately while rotating mesh LW doesn't rotate morphs. You have to apply Modify/Rotate Morph function on all morphs (Transform All Morphs) with the exactly same settings as character rotation (for example 180 degrees in Y axis with 0,0,0 center of rotation) to match endomorphs to new character orientation.
 
Question: I choose all layers for conversion correctly but I get an other error and conversion stops before finishing rig or the rig works incorrectly.

Answer: Please check for one of the following:

1. Do You have any 1 point skelegons in model? If so - remove them in Modeler.
2. Do You see any clones in the broken rig? For example Head (1) and Head (2) are not allowed, each item in ACS4 has to have distinctive name.
3. Check for spaces both in object name nad all rig item names (if You added any new bones to rig). Spaces and dots are not allowed - use "_" instead for example.
 
(c) Lukasz Pazera 2002 contact