Hi Chris,
saberfiend wrote:
...when importing the rigged character from lightwave whether or not the bones in the rigg need to be the exact same as the bones in the BVH file?
No, the rigs can be different within reason. Animeeple (and Motion Builder for that matter,) expects a minimum number of bones set up in a certain hierarchy, meaning for example, the hip needs to be connected to thigh, thigh needs to be connected to lower leg, etc. After you meet the minimum requirements, you can add other bones like holder bones for the chest, eyes, tail, wings, etc.
You can even name the bones whatever you like but for some programs it is recommended that you follow convention. Animeeple and Motion Builder, for example, will characterize automatically if you follow their naming. (That said, you can 'teach' these programs what your preferred bones names are.)
The important thing is that you have the minimum requirements for the skeleton. Also, since you're using Lightwave, do NOT use any of the rotational offset tools like Record Pivot Rotation. This only works within Lightwave and mess up rotations in other programs. I've been using the new Joints system in Lightwave because it allows me to set rotations to zero, which is recommended for mocap rigs, but I know there are artist who still use the old bones system because a proven workflow for them already exists. The advantage with bones in LW is that you can use the Bone Tools. (Again, check the forums for comments and videos by Cageman and Rebel Hill. Maddox has also posted a lot of very helpful information on the subject.)
If you'd like to see some sample skeletons, try exporting the rigs from iPi and Animeeple. Rebel Hill has a good
FBX tutorial at his website and a sample Motion Builder-Lightwave rig you can download and play at. This rig works with Animeeple too.
I think there may be some info in the iPi Wiki about this too.
G.