I wanted to convert normal clusters because sometimes I don't have the original Maya file, but that's ok. I'll just have to get the Maya file or make them use Smoothing Groups in the FBX export options in the future.
About clusters, I always freeze and delete all clusters. I work mainly in game assets production so I try to keep my final data as clean as possible to avoid any possible export problem. I never keep points or edge clusters (the only point cluster is the envelope one), lattice or any deformer besides envelope. If you keep adding hard edges you'll end up with tons of edge clusters. That's why I wrote something to automatically freeze Mark Edges op and delete the edge cluster. You don't really need clusters at all for hard edges. Just freeze and delete the cluster. The same for any other deformer that you don't need to be alive. Softimage should have a clean cluster option. Any studio that I've been or work with uses a custom tool for that. You can easily script something for hard edges selections with ICEAttributes if you need, or you can use crease filter selection because hard edges in Softimage are also creased by default. I don't have much experience with Substance so I can't say anything about it. cheers, Martin On Mon, Apr 13, 2015 at 8:12 PM, Tim Leydecker <bauero...@gmx.de> wrote: > I don´t know about converting normal clusters because I can´t really > see what you´d want to convert them to? > > In general, they are useful to assing different materials or is it because > of the clusters that you have problems using the mesh in Quixel Suite > or Substance Designer because each cluster will generate a separate > material there, even if that cluster was just meant for hard eges? > > Afaik, the clusters are needed inside softimage, you´d want that cluster > to be able to select the hardened edges inside softimage, using RMB > "select components". > > When facing problems with meshes generating multiple material entries > inside Substance Designer/Painter, I like to resort to exporting an *.obj > file, making sure I have only the actual UVset I need as "map1" merging > all elements into a new mesh I want to have share one texture set. > > If that fails, I delete the *.mtl file that´ll be generated along with the > *.obj. > > If I can, I´ll also assign the default lambert Maya material, especially > when > I want to salvage stuff from an existing Substance Tree. > > In a nutshell, I´ll try to do *.obj exports from Maya, avoiding Softimage > Clusters. > > tim > > P.S: When I´m refering to *.fbx in a 2014 build version, it´s because > that´s what a > Unreal Engine 4 expects to get, afaik they don´t support the fbx 2015 > fully officially. > > > > > Am 13.04.2015 um 11:58 schrieb Martin Yara: > > It worked ! Thanks! > > It was the "Smoothing Groups" in Maya, it wasn't checked. > > I still wish there was a way to convert that normal cluster though :P > > Martin > > On Sun, Apr 12, 2015 at 6:33 PM, Tim Leydecker <bauero...@gmx.de> wrote: > >> In the Softimage FBX import options, there is a checkbox under "Include": >> >> Hard Edges - that´s off by default, you want this on. >> >> I´m setting this to on and then I get a MarkHardEdge/Vertex op >> floating in the Modeling Stack on import of the *.fbx >> >> Those egdes are indentical to what I selected as Hard edges in Maya and >> they show up blue as one would expect inside Softimage. >> >> Unless you had triangulate on while exporting from Maya, that´ll create >> extra >> hardened edges, due to the triangulate option doing it´s thing. >> >> Unreal4engine would like to have Tri´s for import of *.fbx files but in >> terms >> of full control, it´s not adviseable to have *.fbx decide on >> triangulation. >> >> It´s better to do that manually based on the desired result and have *.fbx >> not triangulate automatically, which can lead to unwanted shading errors. >> >> For best I/O between Softimage and Maya, autotriangulation should >> definitely >> be off. >> >> >> Cheers, >> >> >> tim >> >> Am 12.04.2015 um 11:09 schrieb Martin: >> > I only get a normal cluster, so visually it is the same but the edges >> are not marked (no blue edges). >> > >> > I'll try different options and FBX versions just in case. Maybe >> something had changed in newer versions. >> > >> > Although it is visually the same, the problem with this normal cluster >> is that it is very fragile if you need to change topology and do some other >> things after that. Also any script reading hard edges won't work. Also you >> can't add hard edges because this cluster overrides everything. I'm not >> sure how much this could affect the output to a game data format but the >> biggest problem is that my client just won't accept a normal cluster >> instead normal hard edges. >> > >> > The easiest solution I found was to disconnect hard edges in Maya, and >> in SI, select border edges, mark them as hard and merge. Easily scriptable. >> Not quite the same but close enough. >> > >> > The problem is when I don't have the original Maya data and only have >> an FBX and/or a SI data with user normal cluster. I though it wouldn't be >> that hard to convert somehow that cluster to edges, but it seems it is. >> > >> > Martin >> > Sent from my iPhone >> > >> >> On 2015/04/12, at 17:17, Tim Leydecker <bauero...@gmx.de> wrote: >> >> >> >> Maybe I don´t get the question properly but for the following, it >> seems to work: >> >> >> >> In Maya, create Polysphere, select some edges, go to Normals>Harden >> Edge >> >> >> >> Export the sphere using *.fbx, in the *.fbx export options under >> Geometry, make >> >> sure that "Smoothing Groups" is ticked on and Tangents and Binormals >> is on, too. >> >> >> >> IIRC, in the *.fbx export options, those setting can sometimes be >> ticked off from a preset. >> >> >> >> In Softimage, go to File>Import>Import FBX... >> >> >> >> In my little test using Maya 2014/Softimage2014 and *.fbx plug-in >> version 2014.1 (release 214447), >> >> the sphere came in fine into Softimage, showing the hard edge rings >> created in Maya correctly. >> >> >> >> >> >> Cheers, >> >> >> >> tim >> >> >> >> >> >>> Am 12.04.2015 um 00:46 schrieb Matt Lind: >> >>> Technically speaking, hard edges is just a special case of normal >> cluster where the specific normals associated with the edges are not >> smoothed via smoothing/discontinuity/etc... They are left in their original >> raw state (perpendicular to surface). You do not need to create "hard >> edges" to have the same end result of faceted edges on the mesh. You only >> need to know which normals in the normal cluster should be interpolated vs. >> not. >> >>> >> >>> Normals live on samples (or 'polygon nodes' for the specific case of >> polygon meshes), which are the original unshared vertices of the mesh. If >> you want to preserve hard edges coming from Maya, you'll need to keep track >> of the sample indices and make sure they don't change during the >> transition. If the samples change order, then your backup plan is to >> record the vertex index and polygon index together in Maya and pass that >> along as metadata to Softimage as that'll be needed to identify which >> sample on a vertex should be flagged for hard edges (because each vertex in >> Softimage has multiple samples). >> >>> >> >>> If polygon indices change too, then the only brute force method >> available is to unshared all the edges of the mesh in Maya to force the >> vertices to be unique so when you get them over to Softimage it'll be easy >> to identify and flag...but of course unsharing on it's own will force hard >> edges on all the unshared edges so in some ways will defeat the purpose. >> >>> >> >>> An alternate non brute force method (if all the indices keep shifting >> around) is to apply a vertex color property or UVW texture projection and >> record the edge flags there, then have a plugin in Softimage read that data >> and apply the hard edges. A little clunky, but perfectly functional as I'm >> pretty sure vertex colors and texture UVW coordinates are properly >> converted. >> >>> >> >>> Matt >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2015 19:31:06 +0900 >> >>> From: Martin Yara <furik...@gmail.com> >> >>> Subject: Hard edges from Maya to Softimage >> >>> To: "softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" >> >>> <softimage@listproc.autodesk.com> >> >>> >> >>> Hi list, >> >>> Is there any way to export hard edges from Maya to Softimage as hard >> edges >> >>> (not normal clusters) ? >> >>> I though about getting a list of edges from Maya, but when I import >> the >> >>> data in Softimage the edge numbers change and differs from Maya. >> Vertex >> >>> indexes are the same though. >> >>> >> >>> Or better, is there any way to convert those normal clusters to hard >> edges? >> >>> >> >>> I have to convert character scene files from Maya to Softimage and >> right >> >>> now I'm redoing all the hard edges in Softimage and it is quite time >> >>> consuming. >> >>> >> >>> Thanks >> >>> >> >>> Martin >> > >> >> > >
