Question Regarding Rotation vs. Bulge Weight Maps

7th Stone Productions

I was wondering if anyone else has encountered the following crash/error...

I'm using the latest versions of "DAZ Studio Pro" and the "DAZ Studio Pro Public Build" to setup the rigging for a character. As part of the rigging process I'm setting up the weight mapping for the character and using the "Weight Map Symmetry" command in Studio to mirror copy the weight maps from one side of the character to the other. Using the Symmetry command works perfectly with the "Rotation Weight Maps", but causes Studio to crash when mirror copying the "Bulge Weight Maps". Anyone else run into this problem or a solution?

I have submitted a bug report, but thought I would check here in the Studio Forum as well.

Thanks.

kitakoredaz

I feel same thing, about weight map symmetly. sometimes ds shut down.

then I take care not use symmetly for bulge map,,

we can color buldge for reft side and right side ,then use symmetly for each bulge map,
maybe, ds can not decide how paste bulge map to X mirroer side,, I think,,

Today I tweaking rigidity color map too, then use symmetly, it stopped ds.
but next I open ds, it seems work without problem. symmetly weight is one of mistery for me.

(before I failed many time, to use symmetly, then when I try to use symmetly,
I must save modified assets, and try symmetly^^;

and yes, about rotation weight, it seems work well. (but sometimes we model not
perfect symmetly shape,, then apply symmetly, weight map easy break ,, ^^;)

I hope , If DS 5 can re-make symmetly figure ( geometry, nodes, with colored weight-map,,) easy.

after color weight, make UV, for all, then use symmetly weight,,
then, find problem,,
re-symmetly geometry from obj in 3d morelor,, seems terrible work,, for me,,

7th Stone Productions

UPDATE:

I re-installed both DAZ Studio Pro and the BETA version of DAZ Studio Pro to see if perhaps this would solve the problems I'm experiencing, but doing so had no effect on the problems. However, I am now wondering if something is going wrong when I save a scene file containing the character I am trying to rig and perhaps that is why I am experiencing problems. Is the scene file somehow becoming corrupted?

Here is what I am seeing...

-- First, I am using the Gingerbread Man model from Blondie9999's "Rigging Original Figures in DS4 Pro" tutorial (http://www.daz3d.com/rigging-original-figures-in-ds4-pro) in the DAZ Store to test things in place of the model I was using.

-- In DAZ Studio 4 Pro I can begin the "Rigging Original Figures in DS4 Pro" tutorial without any problems. I can setup the bones, create weight maps, and even mirror copy the rotation weight maps from one side of the gingerbread man character to the other side. After saving the file once or twice as a scene file and reopening it later to continue working on it I run into a weight map brush error. What happens is that the two circles that represent the weight brush curser in the viewport stop appearing when the mouse hovers over the model and the brush no longer functions. No weight editing can be done from this point forward. This led me to try opening the file in the BETA version of DAZ Studio Pro, and surprise, the weight map brush worked on the file inside the BETA. Problem solved? No... Apparently not. After saving the file with the BETA and opening it in the non-BETA the weight map brush still would not work. Curiously, I tried opening a genesis figure in a new scene and the weight map brush worked as it should once again. If I open the gingerbread man model I was working on again, however, the weight map brush stops working again.

-- OK, I opened the file up in the BETA once more and continued to work on it. It is at this point that after creating the bulge weight maps on one side of the figure that I discovered that they could not be mirror copied with the Symmetry Command, but that the rotation weight maps could. This problem is identical in both the Beta and non-Beta when I open the gingerbread man file I am working on.

Edit: Oh... I thought I would mention that I did add this update to the bug report as well.

Cayman Studios

I have found that if you add the Bulge maps prior to mirroring and then turn off the "Create maps if they do not exist" check box, then the crash does not occur. It also seems that, for instance, the Y Bulge Left on the Right bone will mirror to the Y Bulge Right map on the Left bone, so use "Entire Figure" mode to avoid disappointment and confusion.

7th Stone Productions

Thank you for the tips Cayman. Will give them a try.

I did try adding the bulge maps prior to mirroring but didn't turn off the "Create maps if they do not exist" check box. I will try it with that check box off to see if that works.

My biggest problem seems to be that after I start applying weight maps the weight map brush will simply stop working at some point for no apparent reason. The two circles that represent the brush's cursor will stop appearing and no more weight map painting can be done. However, I found that if I open up an already weight mapped character in the same scene, such as genesis, doing so will force the weight map brush to start working again on the character I'm trying to weight map. Puzzling!

Waiting to hear back from Tech Support after being informed that they are looking into the problem. Fingers crossed!.

Cayman Studios

Well, like you, I have just been going through blondie9999's tutorial, so weight mapping is all relatively new to me. Sometimes when using the brush nothing seems to be happening, but I have put that down to my general ignorance. There is both a Smooth brush and a Paint brush, and it is easy to find yourself using the wrong one.

I think the tutorial is great, but it needs to be updated. I spent ages looking for the "Polygon Group Editor" only to find it is now called the "Geometry Editor". >:(

7th Stone Productions

SUCCESS! Kind of...

The problems and errors still occur, but I succeeded in working around them to successfully complete the weight mapping of a character.

-- Problem 1: The weight map brush itself periodically stops working for reasons I have yet to pin down. The two circles that represent the brush's cursor in the Viewport simply stop appearing and no weight map painting can be done once they stop appearing.
-- Solution: I found that if I keep a genesis figure open in the scene with the character I am trying to weight map the weight map brush will continue to work on the new character and not mysteriously quit. For convenience I turn "visibility" off for the genesis figure and only select and save the character I am working on as a "character preset" and not as a "scene file". By not using "scene files" to save the character being worked on I seem to avoid a number of errors and crashes.

-- Problem 2: The "Weight Map Symmetry" command causes DAZ Studio to crash when used with bulge weight maps, if the bulge weight maps do not already exist on both sides of the character. One cannot simply turn on the "create maps if they do not exist" option under the "Weight Map Symmetry" command and expect the command to create any bulge weight maps that do not already exist, mirroring those that do exist. Doing so will cause Studio to immediately crash. Where as, you can do this with the rotation weight maps without causing a crash.
-- Solution: Always assign bulge weight maps to both sides of a character, then paint the bulge weight maps on one side of the character, and then use the Weight Map Symmetry" command without turning on the "create maps if they do not exist" option to mirror copy the bulge weight maps from one side of the character to the other.

7th Stone Productions

Deleted post. Changed my mind about what I thought was another error. Really, I had just confused myself. :red:

But glad it really wasn't another error.