the subject just about says it all i can make 3D animetions like theres no tomorrow hehehe i have maya 5.0 and the list goes on basicly i can make any 3D animetion you could want

Hmm.. yes .. the shortcut is a good example of how to create a 3d model, but will the 3D program that you or I am using ie open source 'Blender' be able to save in the format required by Daimonin.. or in particulr the engine Ogre3d.
Studio max can, but it is retail and expensive.. not open source and yes it can save the model in the required format , from what i gather it must be in the .mesh format.  
There are a lot of free 3D programs to help you.. but few that will save in the required format.. Blender has a tool.. an export tool that will let you save your project model to .mesh  . I havnt found an import tool yet for blender though. ( I wanted to import the .mesh models from the current SVN to get an idea of size and how they were created and the frames etc.
I did find a multi 3D conversion program.. it claims to convert all types of 3d models to the required format.. i cant remember what it is called or where i got it from the top of my head.. but it was on of those trial programs 30 days then you pay unfortunantly.

But, this query goes further with the animation.. ie how may frames required for an attack.. i noticed when compiling the Daim 3d there are attack options.. which would mean a separte 'anime' frame set .. then theres the stance animation, and the diing animation, the running animation... These are things I need to learn more.

Also.. 3d can be done in different ways, it can be done just for a still shot, a 3D sequence, or in this case a game.. where by the actions are triggered depending on the game triggering points.. ie you come close to a mob ..it starts moving..it gets within attacking distance..it starts an attack sequence, it gets killed.. it goes to a die sequence of frames..and from what i gather Daimonin is using bones, skeletons method to achieve this..

So there is a lot more to learn here.. which of course would take a lot of time to get it into an easy to learn precedural format for novices like myself to understand and be of any use to the 3d project.

At this stage I am just doing basic tutorials to understand the Blender program itself.. so I have a long way to go before i get the requirements that Daimonin needs to get some models working..

My goal is to create a MT demon based on his avatar...  

PS.. I'm just giving info here with regards to the above post query for further thought. Please dont hit me over the head   . I understand a procedural 3d animated model requirements easy to understand wicky thingymajig for newbs is a time consuming thing to create and probably not on the todo list. cheers.

http://www.anim8or.com/main/ try that for windoze or this http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/software/3dPlus/default.asp  dunno how good they are (didn't do any kind of research) but they are free and claim to do 3d animation.

haven't had time to search for other linux alternatives

Yes, I have anim8tor installed also, and also Deled which is free, but Blender is the only free one that Ogre3d web site has supporting tools to help you get your work saved to the required .mesh format.

if i could just find that fancy Convert all file types to .mesh program

ok yall helped alot hehe

i got a boot leg of maya 5.0 lol but it doesnt save in .mesh

so im gonna down load all of the links and see witch ones best
thanks agien

P*E*A*C*E

Ogre3d website has export tools to export animated meshes from Maya 6.0 upto Maya 8.5

If you are adept at Maya 5.0 it might be worthwhile finding a conversion program first rather than getting to know a new 3D interface of which from what I've found on most of the free 3d programs all have their own custom file format of which you may need a conversion or export tool to find again anyway.

[removed incorrect file ref]

If you wanna help developing 3D graphics, talk to polyveg or Red in Daimonin IRC chat.

Here's the 3D file conversion program I was thinking of.. I still havnt tried it yet.

http://web.axelero.hu/karpo/

3d file conversion program. shareware

The program supports 468 file formats. It is available for Windows95/98/Me/NT/2K/2003/XP/XP 64/Vista.

Including ascii and binary  .mesh  format

OK so have we resolved what open source program is best for doing Daimonin animations?  Is it blender?  and if so, what if any plugins are needed, better yet, do we have a full list of the various sites I would need to visit and download to get going on Blender'd graphics?

i got an image www.daimonin.wetpaint.com go there and there is a charcter u could use maybe not sure how to use blender but see what u can do with it

@Sherock

hmm.. I have tried several of the free 3D programs, from my own personal point of view, I found Blender the easiest. It has good supportive help files and tutorials to help get you started. It also has supports tools via Ogre3D ; the engine adopted by Daimoin for its 3d projects which none of the others had. I remember Unislash had some supportive words on blender also from other posts but I believe he has both commercial and free versions so I will let him comment further if he wishes. I'm not sure there is an official stance on what to use, I guess it is similar to the art package Gimp being accepted but maybe not so in an official Domainon sense, after all , it dosnt matter what you use, its the end product that is required. I do see a similar approach, however, of recommending a certain 3D free program, as it will then assist with getting tutorials out that have  more Daimonin specific requirements. And if we all used the same interface it would make things clearer and easier to understand (from a nubile sense)

There was also a post on the 'News' section of website with regards to a Daimonin specific script written for Blender to help with the centering of graphics and assisting with 2D/3D graphics. I cant give any more info about it as I'm not into the graphics too much, but I'm thinking i will need to be and will understand the requirements of Daimongraphic requirements in 3D if I did.

I summise then that Blender, appears to be the 3D accepted free prorgam. Maybe Polyveg or Red could advise if this progam has all that we need to help get some 3D .meshes going