Thump! Thump! Thump! Update geometry errors for no good reason. [Solved]

docbother

The thumping is my head hitting the desktop repeatedly out of sheer frustration.

I recently remembered a neat trick for upating the geometry for a clothing item to better fit a figure it was not originally designed for. E.g., Genesis 3 Jeans on MIchael 4:

The idea is to export the clothing item after you have applied some basic transforms to it. The geometry in the exported file differs from the original geometry of the clothing item only by having the transforms (translation, scaling, rotation) applied to it before export. The exported file is then used to update the geometry in the original clothing item, resulting in an item that fits better before the autofit or adjustments are used. There should be no change in the order or number of vertices or facets. I am less sure about - and avoid using - any of the adjustment morphs before exporting because that may alter the vertex count or order somehow - not sure why or even if this would be true - I'm just being cautious.

1. Load the clothing item into a scene with the figure you want it to fit. If DS attempts to autofit, undo this by setting "Conform to" to "None."

2. Set the resolution for the clothing item to "Base". Just to be sure, set SubD levels to Zero.

3. Use the transformations (not any morphs) for the clothing in the parameters panel so that they roughly fit it to the character figure. It will be less than perfect, but that is okay for now.

4. Export the clothing figure as an OBJ file, to a new directory under my main DS content directory under the data folder. I use the Poser preset for export options.

5. Clear the scene with Ctrl-N and load the same clothing item again from the content library. Set resolutiuon to base and subd to zero. (Not sure if this is necessary, but I do it anyway while chanting a "Hail Mary.")

6. Update the clothing geometry to the geometry in the file just exported.

• Edit->Figure->geometry->Update Base Geometry.
• Select the file.
• Select the Poser preset for import options.
• Do it.

7. DS displays "The loaded geometry does not match the geometry it is updating. Vertex and facet count must be the same." Sigh.

I know people encounter this with distressing regularity when attempting edit geometry in their favorite 3D editor. I have read all (ok most) ot their posts and possible solutions. Errors are typically the results of an import, export or editing error while using the other program. But I am not using another program . I am updating the geometry with the very same, unmolested, unadulterated file I just exported.

I have seen this work before. Maybe I should burn some incense first? Think happy thoughts?

Any help appreciated.

Richard Haseltine

Are you sure there is only the oen visible item when you export the OBJ - check not just things like eyelashes (for Genesis 8) but also parented props or Rigid Follow Nodes on the the item itself.

docbother

Thank you, Richard. I shudder to think of how much time I could have wasted before I would have even thought to question one key assumption:  that the selected item is exported.

Yes, there were many other things visible in the scene. I haven't tested that this corrects the issue, so I don't want to jinx the outcome and say only that I'm very hopeful this is the root of my problem.

I should hang a plaque on my wall saying, "If you get irrational results, you started with an incorrect premise."

Edit: Confirmed. This was the problem. Thanx again.