Hello

I am currently using Maya as my primary 3D package and I would like to import some of my models into Vue 8.  Before I start doing so, I would like to ask if there are any specific details I should be aware of. Below are a few questions:

1. What format should models be saved in to work best?

2. How do I save textures so they import with the model?

If there are any others details I should be aware of, I'd appreciate somebody letting me know.

Thanks.

Export your model in *.obj file format. (To a directory established just for this purpose.) The textures will be exported as well.

Personally, I delete all history before exporting, and I "combine" everything that is reasonable to do so before exporting. (And, of course, you will have been meticulous about your UV mapping, yes?)

Other than that, there is no special magic needed.

Be aware that your axis settings never export correctly into an *.obj model. That is, the Maya *.obj exporter strips all info away about your axis settings. (This may be a problem with the basic *.obj file format itself, I don't really know. But, I have traced the problem to the complex lack of axis info within the *.obj file.) So, if you've made doors that open with an assigned pivot point, etc., you'll have to do these all over again inside Vue.

Hi Forester

Thanks for writing back. I asked the question about textures because I did try to export my model once and every time the textures would not import along with the model. I'll give it another try again and hopefully it works this time around.

Thanks again.

When you create an export out of Maya, there is a settings box/button at the lower right hand side (of the windowpane that asks you where you want to export the file to...)  that you can click on to see the various options for that particular export format. Click on that thing to make sure that textures are being exported, as well as the geometry. It may be that the default is to not export textures. (Sorry, it's been so long that I no longer know the default setting.)

If you are an experienced modeller who is into rigging characters or objects, I recommend Collada, rather than *.obj as an export format for Vue. Collada exports carry the bones information into Vue 8 and 9, as well as the texture and materials information. In fact, Collada exports even carry some crude animation information into Vue. Vue does not yet possess an IK capability, but at least your bone structure will make it into Vue. Collada exports (and Collada imports into Vue) are a bit touchy, so you sometimes have to dink around quite a bit to get a good result.

But the Maya *.obj exporter is rock solid.

not tried in a while (import obj)

but the very complex models I make often have hundreds of thousands of polys, Vue used to choke on those, over 200k polys it borked!

So I'd export in discrete sections, say "hull", "decks", "railings" etc

Import to vue, bit by bit, move NOTHING, until all in Vue, THEN group, and move the model, rotate to proper axis etc :)

Not sure if Vue's fixed that, I think it did in 8.5?? was a file limit length in the import, so this may no longer be an issue :)

Is no longer a problem, James. But thanks for the additional note.

HI guys

Thanks for the updates. I will take another look at saving out and hopefully it will work better with the latest version of Vue I now have. I'm sure that the older versions had the "hicks" so things should work smoother now.

Cheers

I am also interested in this as I do a LOT of work now using ZBrush 4 and rigging the models as needed. Typically, I work with something universal for the file format but have not tried "Collada". Is that better than trying to simply export "OBJ" or does that format work fine as well for rigged models?

Also, I was wondering about scale for the models. I usually like to create models fairly large, at least much larger than Poser/Daz models. The other reason is I have characters, vehicles, etc. that need scaled for certain scenes as well. So, I was wondering if after importing what is best methods to get the desired scale for the scene? What I am worried about is getting the detail off for the model or creating seams on the texture maps if they are scaled. Is this usually a problem you have to deal with and if so how? Typically, if I import a Daz/Poser figure I don't have problems with textures when scaling a character such as Victoria 4. But I am not sure about custom models and the texture maps.

About COLLADA: It works great for me, from DAZ Studio the figures come in as rigged meshes if exported correctly, and can be posed in Vue 8. The Poser COLLADA export doesn't seem to include the rigging.

Lars "bigbraader"

Attached Link: Collada - the parent site

Ok, the standard *.obj file format does not carry information about skeletons (bones), nor skinning information (weights on the vertices of the mesh that tell the mesh how much to respond to changes in the bones positions). So, if you export a rigged model into the *.obj format, this information is stripped away and lost.

However, Jeff, the *.obj format does carry information about scale, it carries information about the central axis for the entire model, and it regards "Y" as "up." It does not carry information about the locations of pivot points other than the central model axis. If you have pivot points on sub-components, such as doors, these will be stripped away upon export to *.obj.

So, if you are making your models quite large, you probably should reduce their scale just prior to export, to be safe. In most applications that someone would import an *.obj model, it is far easier to locate and re-scale a model that appears too small in that application, than it is to locate and re-scale a model that is way too large for the viewport of that application. If you did not center your model and force the model axis to be at "0", "0", "0", and the model is too large, it will be almost impossible for the user to locate and re-scale your model to fit well within their application.

Collada has several versions, and before using it, you should inform yourself about the basic content of the format. For this purpose, you should go to the website I listed above. This web site describes the information carried in the general version, provides links to downloads for some of the specialized importer/exporters, such as for MAX, and provides testing tools so that you can "see" how well your model might appear once translated into Collada format.

Please note that many applications, such as Daz Studio, MAX, Poser, Sketchup and so forth have implemented their own versions of a Collada exporter within their application. These custom-built exporters may or may not have all the features of the primary Collada export/import program, or they may have implemented an older version of Collada that lacks all the features of the current version.

Collada carries all the information common to the *.obj and *.3ds formats (scale, axis location, color), but it does not assume that "Y" is always up (Thank God!), most versions carry information about groups, about the pivot points of sub-components, it carries skeleton and skinning information, some IK information and some information about animation.

If you have software programs that always maintain the current versions of Collada in their updates, you can have everything translated well, including the most complex animations. However, almost all the major 3d programs neglect Collada in their updates, and it is rare to find a complete translation of all the information Collada makes possible. It is rare to find anything other than the Autodesk products that always allow full translation of IK systems. And then there are kinks associated with particular products. Vue, for example, easily allows importation of simple animation of a model (movement of the whole model) information that came via any Collada exporter, but only the MAX Collada Exporter seems to send more complex information (a walking cycle, for example) into Vue. If I wish to rig a dolphin in Maya and animate it in a swimming motion, for example, I actually have to transfer that dolphin mesh to MAX, rig it all over again, animate it there and then use the special MAX Collada Exporter to get that swim cycle into Vue successfully. Rather more work than it is worth!

So, good practice is to use the Collada testing tools to look at your Collada exports, and then you'll just have to experiment to learn the specific limits on Collada imports into programs like Vue.

As to your concern, Jeff, for getting visible seams on meshes under scale changes, that should not be a problem in either the *.obj or *.dae file formats. The only circumstance I think that where it would be a problem is if your texture file is too small for your model (or model component) to begin with, or if you have quite visible seams to begin with. (It is not going to have anything to do with the import or export function.)  You can determine if you have visible seams or too-small texture files by scaling up your model and taking a look at it in close-up view, of course.