Welcome to the forum Anna. Hal currently supports Microsoft Agents and Haptek. I don't think an Agent would do much for you. As far as Haptek, I have done a lot of work with haptek's starter software, called People Putty. Sometimes I can even replicate some of what their more expensive software does by use of Hap temp folder. I have been told that .obj files are needed along with the more expensive Haptek software for conversion to .haptar or .Htr , the accepted files for Haptek. Also, I understand that .3DS can be converted to .obj with other software, free or paid. However, the file limit is about 2MB. Very limited. Animation in haptek is done with .hap files.
Ogre support has been in the works for some time now, and will offer more options and larger file sizes for us in the future.
These are my opinions only! I don't speak for Zabaware or other members here. May I suggest you click on the search box in upper right hand corner of this page. Many years worth of information and wisdom can be found there! Best of luck to you in your quest!