Using Morph Loader Pro

barrieM

I am trying to use Morph Loader Pro to import .obj files (made in Blender). The .obj files comprise the master object and a lot of morph targets. 

I imported the master object, selected it and opened Morph Loader Pro. The "Load morphs for:"  menu defaulted in black text to "selected node (vertex only)". I chose a couple of the morph target files and accepted the default settings. The morph target sliders appeared in the parameters tab but they only moved the master object up and down. I found 

http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/userguide/creating_content/modeling/tutorials/pbms/start (Richard Haseltine's  "Create Partial-Body Morphs for Genesis")  in the documentation center which covered Morph loader Pro for an existing Genesis character. Can it be used for "home made" props? 

Richard Haseltine

If the morph is just moving the model that usually means you had a different scaling factor applied in Morph Loader Pro from the OBJ Import, so when you apply the morph the first thing you see is the effect of scaling up (or down). Make sure that you are using the same preset in both and try loading your morphs again, with luck they will then work.

barrieM

Wow.... Thank you that worked. 

I now notice that the shader zones do not show up in the Surfaces tab. If that is where shader zones are displayed. Could that be caused by a missing .mtl file?

barrieM

Yes, that was the problem. No .mtl file.

Richard Haseltine

The .mtl file is only the material settings, the Surface groups (which I assume is the game as Shader Zones in Blender) are in the OBJ itself (the lines starting usemtl as I recall). Note that DS is stricter than some applications about valid characters, special characters and spaces are not allowed.

barrieM

I was missing a .mtl file so I assumed that was the problem, but it now looks like there is something wrong with the .obj file. I need to dig deeper. Thanks for the insight.

barrieM

I am still getting no surface groups though I do get succesful Morph controls after loading targets with Morph Loader Pro. I imported the base object through the file--> import menu with all 4 read options checked. Are there any other options? All my .obj files have been successfully imported to Poser and used as a Morphing Prop so I assume the .obj file is OK. 

3WC

Maybe something with your export settings from blender? Or import to DS? Could you post a screenshot of both?

barrieM

Thanks wwes

Note I used the Hexagon option on DS import to get a reasonable scale factor.

 

Richard Haseltine

If you open the OBJ in a text editor does it have lines starting g (for group) and usemtl (for material) in amongst the lines starting f (for facet, saying which vertices define each polygon)?

barrieM

Yes. they both end with "none" see attached

Richard Haseltine

And that's the only surface? Unless None is treated as a special case that should appear in the Surfaces pane (and in Tool Settings with the Geometry Editor active). I should add that the surface groups are loaded with the original OBJ and can't be changed via morphs or UV sets.

barrieM

There are 8 surfaces. The previous just shows the transition from v to f.  I originally imported the .obj files into Poser and created a morphing prop. I created another .obj file from the Poser morphing prop then imported it into DS. This file displayed the expected surface zones.

The following shows the transition from v to f in the poser generated .obj file. Much different to the Blender generated file.  Please let me know if there is a clue to the solution. In the meantime I will play with the Blender export options.

vn 0 0 1
vn 0.274452 0.312286 -0.909478
vt 0 0
#  ----------------------------------------------------------
#  InternalName: •SuperSpecs-Base
#  ExternalName: •SuperSpecs-Base
#  Num verts:  8640
#  Num sets:   32424
#  Num elems:  7602
#  Num tverts: 1
#  Num tsets:  32424
#  Num tElems: 7602

mtllib    Superspecs-Base.mtl
g 
g  Diamonds
usemtl Diamond shader
f 1/1/1 2/1/2 3/1/3
f 2/1/2 1/1/1 6/1/6

Richard Haseltine

Well, the f linse are certainly different - but it seems they are loading fine so I'm not sure what to make of that. Would you be willing to post the full OBJ file? You could PM me a link if you don't want to post it publicly.

barrieM

I am not familiar with PM. Tried to post the .obj file but got message "file type not allowed". Text Edit won't save as text file. Cut and Paste? How do I PM? 

 

Richard Haseltine

If you have Dropbox you could just post a link, or you could zip the OBJ up and - size permitting - that should attach to a post. To PM, click my name and then the Message button (but that would require an external link, like Dropbox or Google Drive).

barrieM

Is there a way of automating the "Create Control Property" option in Morph Loader Pro? I have 68 morph files to set. It would be nice to set its default value to "Yes", otherwise it is a very very very tedious job. 

 

Cris Palomino

http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/scripting/api_reference/samples/file_io/import_obj_morph_loader_silent/start

Cris Palomino

You could also define a Preset within Morph Loader Pro:
- Setup one object/morph the way you want
- Right-click the name of the object/morph and "Save as Preset..."
- Once a preset is saved, it can be selected from the "Preset:" drop-down menu
- Any object that is loaded into Morph Loader Pro after a preset is selected should automatically inherit the settings of the active preset

barrieM

Thank you so much. The preset method worked perfectly. Very easy and elegant too.