I make all of my figures by hand and set them up using .phi files. But there are occassions when I want to go back and update the model later on. That means I have to split the model up again exactly like the original for the existing .cr2 file to work properly which is very, very time consuming. And frankly keeps me from updating anything. I should theoretically be able to use the existing .Cr2 in the setup room to split the model using the AuotGroup option since It's the same model. But it doesn't split the model properly and turns it into a total mess when I use it. Does the Setup room AutoGroup function work? Or is it still in need of a major update?

Auto group ... not so much. But if your model already has the correct grouping all you'll need to do is to load in the CR2. No need to auto group.

That's what I was afraid of. I was just curious if I was doing something wrong.

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I do most of my mesh-grouping with Ultimate Unwrap 3D, although I suppose UVMapper is another option. Whenever I do use Poser's grouping tool, I group everything by hand; I rarely touch the AutoGroup button.

Perhaps markdc's AutoGroup Editor utility (sold here in the Marketplace) would be more to your liking. If I understand its functions correctly, you could use your original figure to automatically assign the updated figure's grouping.

Thanks Doc. But that isn't really what I'm talking about. Pick any of the Poser figures and group all of the body parts into one group in UVmapper. Then run it through the Setup room using the same bones for the figure in the library. And you should see that the AutoGroup function fails to properly split up the mesh. In fact It makes a horrible mish mash out of it. Since realistic organic models are made in one piece without doll like ball joints. This makes the bones feature useless unless you split the model by hand exactly like it was before. Very time consuming. And not really worth the effort. The AutoGroup is a nice feature idea. It's just a shame that it doesn't actually work very well. Frankly, I don't see how it can work properly because there are no values inside the JP's that tell the program where to split the mesh. So it just takes a guess where to split it. And that guess is usually way off from where it needs to be. That's really a shame. It would be a handy tool to be able to split the model automatically and accurately after you've already taken the time to do it once.

What's wrong with Autogroup? bB

The problem with autogroup is that it doesnt know the shape of the figure, it doesnt have to be human, it could be a four legged animal or a snake or an insect etc etc. If the autogroup had a way of inputting the figure type like human spider insect snake etc then it probably could be made to work more accurately. Poser 7 will have that as well as double sided polygon rendering < (science fiction).

Actually, Poser's autogroup does know the shape of the figure. It's getting the information from the figure's joint parameters. The problem is that this technique isn't very precise, especially in areas where multiple falloff zones overlap. AutoGroup Editor, on the other hand, seems to derive its grouping information from an already-grouped mesh (as far as I can tell).

Why don't you just rework you figure in your modelling program keeping the same group, as before, then use the same Phi file as you made the figure with to reload it and then go into the set up room and swap the bones with the orignal bones and every thing is sweet, then use morph manager to transfer all your morphs to the new figure, Save your materials in the material room and reapply them to the new one. This could probably still work if you combined or added groups in your modeller- the earilier bones would at least be mostly set up for your new figure

There isn't anything wrong with autogroup. It does exactly what it was designed to do. It gets you about 3/4 of the way there and then you need to fix the rest. It is there so we don't need to start from scratch in our grouping. I seriously hope that none of us honestly think that you could hit the autogroup button and have it magically know where it should put all the polys. LOL

I'm with 7/8'sIrish on this one: why aren't you using the obj file that the CR2 is referencing, which is by its very nature already grouped? Take this into your modeling application, modify it, then reimport into Poser, making sure the appropriate boxes are checked during import and export. Then you can just go into the Setup Room with the object selected, and double-click the existing figure to add it as the skeleton of your new figure. No messing with the grouping tool needed.

"why aren't you using the obj file that the CR2 is referencing, which is by its very nature already grouped?" Because the .obj files have far too many points to work on. And if the model is grouped and you want to alter it where two parts connect you'd drive yourself crazy dealing with all of those connecting vertices. "There isn't anything wrong with autogroup. It does exactly what it was designed to do. It gets you about 3/4 of the way there and then you need to fix the rest. It is there so we don't need to start from scratch in our grouping." If that was true Anthony then I wouldn't have a problem with it. But the AutoGroup mangels my figures so badly that it would take longer to fix it than to cut it up by hand. Connecting two body parts making chest parts where the hip is. It makes a real mess. I can make named selections of the body parts inside C4D and use the RipTide plug-in so that I can edit the nurbs model and make the conversion process to Poser a bit faster so Making changes isn't such a chore. I just had to change my workflow and do more work in C4D. But the more work I do In C4D. The more I wonder why I'm using Poser at all. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong. Thanks for the suggestions.

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When I need to work on my original model I use the smoothed mesh(working on the control cage) so I am not working on lots of vertices/points. Also check out Zbrush 2.5 when it is released in a couple of weeks because if you have lost the smoothing and are forced work on a mesh vertex by vertex, the new release of Zbrush will alow you to place control points where ever you like- fantastic

Wyrwulf: The import UV's are handy when you are setting things up after the figure is done and the UV's are layed out the way you want. Suppose you want to re-arrange the way a model is spliced. Or want to add or subtract a new body part. Just save the current UV's then go ahead and re-map the model so you can physically get at the vertices that were otherwise hidden, to re-name them. Then when you are done. Just import the saved UV's and the previous UV mapping will go back to the original and you won't have to re-do them. And you also now have new body part names to use to update the figure. That's a handy trick for getting at hidden UV's without losing the current UVmap set up. It takes a lot of work sometimes to get UV's laid out well. That trick helps you make changes without losing your previous work. That doesn't really help me with cutting up figures after I alter the geometry since the UV's vertice count won't match. Like I said. I just found it strange that I can create a figure and set up the bones by hand. But I can't simply re-use those "same" bones to re-split the "same" figure with some minor changes if I change the base model later on. Without it getting turned into a chopped up mess. With more pre-planning in my modeling program. I can get around most of the repeat set up and re-use the existing .cr2. It just would have been a nice option to have.

I don't know how hopeful this is but I recently forwarded a fairly large "joint setup" only list to e-frontier. I think everything got added to the "do" list. I do know that setup is a huge focus atm.

I guess it's a developers tool more than a users tool. I'm not sure the majority of users will even use it but I'm sure the content developers would find it very helpful.

What's making me crazy right now is trying to reweld a figure that's been morphed. Some of the seams have gaps. Grrr... What a headache. bB

Hey Geep, that doggiebot... give it a few more legs... a handle on top... a suitcase texture and you got...

LUGGAGE!