Problem with FBX export.

mxo

I've started having a really strange problem exporting FBX out of DS.

This used to work just a few days ago - but I have been playing with settings, and now something is broken.

Animation works fine in DS, baked to studio keyframes:

but on export it looks like this (in every package I've tried):

My export settings look like this:

What could be causing this?

WendyLuvsCatz

Well depending on what you are exporting to 2014 might not be supported

most programs happier with 2012

may not be the reason just a possibility 

mxo

OnlyLuvsCatz said:

Well depending on what you are exporting to 2014 might not be supported

most programs happier with 2012

may not be the reason just a possibility 

Thank you. I've tried 2012, 2010... same result.

All I am exporting is:

• Genesis 3 Female (Kyla)
• Flat bodyM walk

WendyLuvsCatz

What have you got under edit morph export rules?

also are you using a pose control too? I found my A to T pose ones using the arm and leg sliders don't export but your bones don't appear to be following the mesh either

 

WendyLuvsCatz

In order to export a A to T pose or vise versa you actually have to use the bone editor and bake rotations

mxo

OnlyLuvsCatz
Thank you for taking time to help me!

I've just tried this:

I cannot edit Final rule (it wont let me), but I tried to capture all morphs.

Still same issue.

WendyLuvsCatz

I think it was another rule added

you might have deleted it or something

I never added it but I recall if some missing it won't work

WendyLuvsCatz

I saved my rules to a csv because you can and attached it

but I feel as if thats not the issue

mxo

Thank you.

Still the same issue. I've added more entires to capture more morphs, now it exports 52mb worth of it, but problem remains.

WendyLuvsCatz

what are you importing it into?

mxo

OnlyLuvsCatz said:

what are you importing it into?

Its all the same - C4D, Blender, UE4 - same exact problem.

It was all working fine a few days ago, the only thing I remember adding was DAZ Importer (blender plugin) and the export script which was since removed (I've reinstalled DS today). None of that should affect DS.

WendyLuvsCatz

maybe delete the fbx exporter dll before you reinstall?

or all your plugins

if corrupted they don't always overwrite

mxo

Resintalled everything again. Manually deleted /AppData, All Users content - those are the only places left with Daz files after full uninstall.

Reinstalled, new scene... default Genesis 3, flat walk.

Problem remains.

WendyLuvsCatz

I meant dll's in here  C:\Program Files\DAZ 3D\DAZStudio4\plugins or your drive number if not C

but it may not help, I am stumped as I export FBX to UE4 and iClone 3DX6 OK

mxo

OnlyLuvsCatz said:

I meant dll's in here  C:\Program Files\DAZ 3D\DAZStudio4\plugins or your drive number if not C

but it may not help, I am stumped as I export FBX to UE4 and iClone 3DX6 OK

I appreciate any idea... its driving me crazy, especially since it was working a few days ago.

My drive is C and that whole directory was deleted during uninstall.

Padone

I did some tests with the g3f dance animation in daz studio 4.12.0.86.

As for the official autodesk fbx review 1.4.1, it seems there are issues when you export morphs. That is, without exporting morphs the animation works fine, while with morphs there's a strange offset. Also, it seems the armature is not applied to the mesh, that is, the autodesk viewer only displays the animation on the armature.

I also tested it with blender 2.81, there's the same issue with morphs, but the armature is applied to the mesh and the animation works fine there. You have to uncheck pre-post rotations.

Another option you may have is to import the animation in blender with the diffeomorphic plugin, then export to fbx from blender, that I guess will get better results.

   

WendyLuvsCatz

I don't have that particular animation I will admit

Padone

Everybody have it, it's included in the G3F package. Anyway any animation will do, it's the same.

WendyLuvsCatz

Well my fbx exports with morphs and animation so something different to me is happening for you two 

Padone

Exports to what ? Did you use the autodesk viewer and/or blender ? Also I didn't say the animation doesn't export with morphs, I said it exports with an odd offset. In the image below the feet are positioned bad at the start of the animation, and the whole animation runs with this offset. If I don't export morphs then everything works fine.

wolf359

Just to add to the mix...800 frame "rap dance"... G3 female..... exported FBX 2012 binary... NO morphs checked working in Lightwave3D.

WendyLuvsCatz

well no I use UE4 and iClone

I already said that

so it must be different for your softwares, sorry cannot help

mxo

Ok, so its not jut me alone. That is somewhat reassuring. Thanks for testing Padone.

I've imported directly to UE4 for testing - same thing of course:

But, when manually deleting all these morph tracks - it seems to fix the wild distrotions in feet and hands, but not the joint detachment. Wouldn't have tried this without your input, thank you.

Exporting without morphs - seems to work fine.

I'd love to be able to use Daz models in UE4, because of how rich the morph library is at this point. Hooking morphs up to a post process in UE4 is trivial (but laborsome, really really laborsome).

So far whats working is to import without animations and import animations later - and have procedural morphs run on Post Process Anim Blueprint.

Here is fbx exported from DS with * Export rule. No distortions, bones seem to match mesh. (using AlienRenders UE4)

And here is the same mesh animated with a track from FBX that was exported out of daz without morphs, then imported back for its animation and applied to the earlier mesh with morphs mentioned above.

Seems to work, but morphs are all 0 of course, because I haven't hooked them up to post process bp yet.

Padone said:

Another option you may have is to import the animation in blender with the diffeomorphic plugin, then export to fbx from blender, that I guess will get better results.

I do use that plugin, but ufortunately it rebuilds entire scene, wrecks the scale on the bones (root bone is x100) and I think that is causing other problems which make animations look like this:

So I'd have to do all my animations in Blender with that plugin, since it changes bone scale. Also I don't know blender well enough to bend it to my will yet, probably the root problem here.

So I think I'll animate in c4d then export to UE4 without morphs, and have UE4 drive morphs in post. This is actually what was working a few days ago - I just didn't get there consciously like now.

 

OnlyLuvsCatz, whats your toolchain? Daz -> iClone -> UE4? Do morph tracks export?

WendyLuvsCatz

well I use morph presets provided by Reallusion for expressions in iClone

if I change the body shape with morphs along the timeline that indeed would get the effect you had especially any scaling

things like breast size are generally OK keyframed but as long as it has the same FBM frame one all through is fine

Are you keying changes in FBM along the timeline that would explain it

WendyLuvsCatz

I am still trying to find that walk

search in DS, Windows explorer and Everything is turning up nothing

I have lots of walks both animated poses and aniblocks I bought but not that

well I found a SKAmotion heeled walk with morphs and I think this is the issue

I found I cannot do my expressions etc properly with it and its actually difficult to work with in DAZ studio, I have never exported such a motion

morphs are things I add separately and puppeteer, I will test it but I think those animations are the issue

WendyLuvsCatz

yes it is that animation

it did it for me too

I have never seen that before 

 

 BTW if bouncing boobies is what you are after, after retargetting her to the mannequin you can edit the animation Blueprint and add spring bones for her pectorals

like I did here for the skirt sides

 

mxo

OnlyLuvsCatz said:

 BTW if bouncing boobies is what you are after,

Bouncing bOObies is the sole reason of my existence.

OnlyLuvsCatz said:

well I use morph presets provided by Reallusion for expressions in iClone

It looks like one would have to set up the whole system of morphs if they use anything outside of Daz, I guess iClone does it for the user. Anyone know if something exists for C4D or UE4? I am probably going to make my own for C4D in either expresso or python.

mxo

Quick update for anyone trying to do joint control morphs in c4d.

Performance is atrocious. It takes a massive amount of time for c4d to iterate just a hundred morphs and apply a basic set on the morph, forget about previewing your animations in real time. With full morph export its even worse, perfromance is directly related to the number of morphs you have in a morph tag. I think they tested this with single morph - not hundreds like DS models use.

Kinda being forced into blender here.

 

WendyLuvsCatz

mxo said:

OnlyLuvsCatz said:

 BTW if bouncing boobies is what you are after,

Bouncing bOObies is the sole reason of my existence.

OnlyLuvsCatz said:

well I use morph presets provided by Reallusion for expressions in iClone

It looks like one would have to set up the whole system of morphs if they use anything outside of Daz, I guess iClone does it for the user. Anyone know if something exists for C4D or UE4? I am probably going to make my own for C4D in either expresso or python.

No iClone does not do joint controlled morphs, you just have basic rigged mesh and can add some custom morphs as well as expressions.

They are pretty much a DAZ studio only thing unless you want to set it all up from scratch AFAIK which is why vertex animated formats like alembic abc or mdd are popular for exporting to render elsewhere.

Padone

OnlyLuvsCatz said:

They are pretty much a DAZ studio only thing

As for the diffeomorphic plugin jcms for G3 G8 are automatically imported and drived, so you get the same deformations as in daz studio. This is not possible for G1 G2 though since they use triax instead of jcms.

mxo

OnlyLuvsCatz said:

No iClone does not do joint controlled morphs, you just have basic rigged mesh and can add some custom morphs as well as expressions.

They are pretty much a DAZ studio only thing unless you want to set it all up from scratch AFAIK which is why vertex animated formats like alembic abc or mdd are popular for exporting to render elsewhere.

I see. I am just trying to get the tolchain established from DS to UE4 with some kind of animation package in between that is not DS. Seems there is no easy way. Thank you for all the advice!