headus 3D tools

headus · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 5:28 pm Post subject:

"When subdivision model is imported without hard edges - details that look like "boxes" now become circles etc. This prevents from making correct subdivision target calculations. "

Yes, unfortunately you are correct. Because its not part of the original Catmull-Clark subdivision scheme, each modeling package has come up with a different way of adding hard/sharpened edges, and they're all different. It doesn't help of course that the OBJ format only records the face and vertex information too.

My recommendation would be to build your subd models without using the special hard edge tagging because a) they'll be more portable across modeling and rendering packages and b) they'll flatten correctly in UVLayout :-)

Phil

AlexanderT · Posts: 4 Joined: 28 Jun 2008

headus · Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 6:06 pm Post subject:

"Btw, "smoothing groups" (3DS MAX and others) are exported via .obj"

Very good point ... I'll have to make a note of that because the normals *could* be used by UVLayout to determine which edges are hard.

Phil

nematocyst · Posts: 4 Joined: 30 Aug 2007

it seems MAX needs a plugin similar to the one talked about here. We can't use mapping coordinates from a mesh edited in UVLayout and apply them to our original mesh in MAX without getting all the scrambled coordinates. Techincally speaking, the vert order has been completely re-arranged by the OBJ exporter. Because even if you don't bring an OBJ into UVLayout, and just export it out and bring it back in, the maps get scrambled. Anybody here know of a work-around of this problem? I'd love to edit my UVS in UVLayout, but not have to use the UVLayout mesh in MAX, but my original mesh (that has all my material IDS and smoothing groups). thanx

headus · Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 5:25 pm Post subject:

Have you tried the "Update" button? It preserves whatever shading/materials information is in the original OBJ.

I'm guessing here, but maybe check Max's OBJ import options too; something you have ticked (or not ticked) might be responsible for the re-ordering.

Phil

nematocyst · Posts: 4 Joined: 30 Aug 2007

the uvs still get scrambled; even when using 'update'. Phil, do you know if there's a specific setting that is needed when 'importing/exporting' OBJs from Max to make it work without any problem?

headus · Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 6:10 pm Post subject:

No, sorry, I'm not a Max user. I did find a reference to the problem here though, with a possible solution towards the end of the thread ...

http://forums.cgsociety.org/archive/index.php/t-517260.html

They're talking Zbrush to Max, but the same "double load" trick might work with UVLayout to Max.

Phil

maiz · Posts: 6 Joined: 10 Aug 2009

uvlayout have been great little tool for making uv's in xsi but unfortunately after installing xsi 2012 on win7-64 I just cant make it work any more.

It will install nicely but when you select and export object it just flicks the black console window but wont open uvlayout. It does makes folder tor the objects and exports obj but doesn't seem to reach uvlayout.

Thats how it looks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0Cu08HWQ4I

Any suggestions would be appreciated
Tnx

maiz · Posts: 6 Joined: 10 Aug 2009

This last situation, when everytings seems to be ok but UVlayout won't open, was caused by having project set to xsi samples, in other words on c: drives, where by default you do not have premissions.

After project (uvlayout temp .obj) is set to another disk, then it kind of seems to work, but...but it won't load the .obj you sent in, just seeing the load options, no object window.

Seems like UVlayout can't get the .obj from the project folder? I gave full premissions to both UVlayout and XSI installation folders and also to project folder on the other disk, but still wont load the .obj in. Seems like some kind of premissions issu but...after trying to solve it for 2 days, I just do not know any more Smile

Any ideas? Someone? Maybe?

SOLVED
There was premissions issue, I used my old (created with previous OS install) xsi project on the seperate d: harddrive to test the UVlayout and there it seems that new Win do not all the premissions to that one (even thouhg I manually gave all premissions). Just makeing new project solved these premission issues.

Tnx

headus · Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 2:27 am Post subject:

I don't use XSI myself, but I'm sure there's many others out there who will really appreciate you sharing your solution there.

Thanks!

Phil

maiz · Posts: 6 Joined: 10 Aug 2009

It actually was the solution, that you should change your current/active project to some other place than your xsi default examples one, but do not use some old project folder, that you have done before on previously installed OS (win7 in my case).

You also should run xsi as administrator, when xsi tells that you do not have premissions to UVlayout script file.

Hope it helps.