DATs, AOs and Animations. Help Please!

[sergei]

Little bit of background before i ask my question.

After a 3 month hiatus due to real life getting in the way, I've started my skinning project back up again.
I now have access to 3ds Max, so have made new AO files that I can edit and use for dazzle camo.

See screenshot


And here you can see a problem I ran into. The funnel, masts, lifeboats etc were still trying to reference the co-ordinates of the old AO file.
SO I figured out how to make an AO file that included all the additional objects that make up a ship in SH4.
Then remade the UVW files for each object, and positioned them in the correct place (using 3ds).

It's the next stage where I am running into problems.
Obviously I have to re-import each object back into the DAT with my new channel 2.
If the object is not linked to an animation this is no problem.

But some are.
Here is an example


I am trying to import 'catarg01' (the forward mast).
I am then asked if I want to import the animations as well.
I click yes. And get the error message.
It's seems to be telling me that 'catarg02' has a different number of vertices than 'catarg01'
Obviously the animation seems to connect both masts.
But why does it need the vertices of both objects to be identical?
Just to check I hadn't FUBARED anything messing around with the DAT, I checked a DAT I hadn't touched.
In it the forward mast has 1244 vertices, the aft mast has 1208.
So it's not something I have changed.

I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do next.
I have managed to get this far using internet and SUBSIM searches.
I have done a SUBSIM search for 'animation' and 'animations', but none of the threads I found seem to go anywhere near the problem I am experiencing.

I am hoping it is something really silly, like a little checkbox somewhere I have neglected to turn on.

Any help or suggestions gratefully recieved.
Thanks