Arm authoring templates

Choose your workflow, then download its template. All three are based on the same arms.

Workflow	Editable source	Notes
Blender Armature	Download arms.blend	Original Blender 3.3 template
Blender Empty	Download arms_empty.blend	Blender 3.3; parented meshes without skinning
Blockbench Bedrock	Download arms_blockbench.bbmodel	Editable groups and cubes; accompanying geometry JSON

Source templates are not verified runtime integration

The new Empty and Bedrock templates have passed hierarchy, position, and UV data checks. Independent-arm loading, player skin binding, and in-game animation have not been validated. Dropping these files into a pack does not automatically enable them. This documentation update does not change the mod's arm loader.

How GWO currently uses arms

GWO already uses an independent shared arm mesh. It loads gwo:gltf/arms/arms.glb by default, chooses regular/slim arms and outer layers, and uses the player's skin.

During authoring, put the arms beside the gun and animate them together to check grip, reload, and inspection. At runtime the gun animation supplies arm poses, while the shared model supplies visible arm geometry. The mesh is independent; the authored motion remains coordinated with the weapon. Do not make a second set of arm animations.

Exported information	Purpose
Weapon mesh and mechanism nodes	Visible weapon and moving parts
Required arm reference nodes and animation tracks	Drive runtime arms
Authoring preview arm mesh	Not needed in every weapon model when using shared arms
Custom arms.model	Optional replacement requiring matching names and reference space

Do not delete arm animation tracks when removing preview geometry. Do not render both the embedded preview arms and runtime arms.

The original Armature template corresponds to the existing arm workflow. The new Empty and Bedrock sources are authoring alternatives whose independent-arm runtime integration is not yet validated. General rigid weapon support is not proof that skin selection and arm-part mapping work for those templates.

Open and choose an arm variant

Open .blend in Blender or .bbmodel in Blockbench. Each template includes left/right arms, regular-width MALE, slim-width SLIM, and outer skin LAYER parts.

• Regular and slim arms are alternatives; do not preview both together.
• The Empty template hides SLIM only in the viewport. Check export selection and visibility separately.
• The original source contains no embedded skin image. Import your own 64×64 player skin for preview; a missing image does not mean missing UVs.

Hierarchy and animation targets

arms_root
├─ RIGHT_ARM
│  └─ INNER_R
│     ├─ R_MALE / R_MALE_LAYER
│     └─ R_SLIM / R_SLIM_LAYER
└─ LEFT_ARM
   └─ INNER_L
      ├─ L_MALE / L_MALE_LAYER
      └─ L_SLIM / L_SLIM_LAYER

Slashes denote separate sibling nodes. Empty part nodes have _mesh children. Preserve names and parent relationships; do not parent the arms directly to the weapon mesh.

Animate Empty transforms in Blender or group transforms in Blockbench. These move whole arm parts without skinned elbow or finger deformation. No idle, fire, or reload animations are supplied.

Scale, UVs, and export

The Empty version preserves the original meshes and UVs. The Blockbench version reconstructs the subdivided boxes as 8 editable cubes while retaining dimensions and UV mapping.

Bedrock uses 16 model units per render unit. This conversion is already included to match the original model's size; do not multiply by 16 or scale to 0.25 again. BBMODEL editor coordinates and Bedrock export coordinates use different X-axis conventions; do not copy coordinates manually between them.

.blend and .bbmodel are editing sources, not runtime files. Follow the Empty route to export GLB or the Blockbench route to export geometry and animation JSON. Reopen exports to check them. Independent-arm runtime integration still requires separate validation.