3ds max to DAZ Studio - Selection Sets gone?!

kommunikation_f92577edf4

Hey everyone,

first Post here (but be sure, scanning the forums for a while...),
just startet to create Props for Daz Studio and nearly everything runs mostly perfect...

Outside DAZ
Modelling - Fine!
Texturing - Fine!

Export -> Import - WTF?!

Inside DAZ
Material Setup (iray) - FINE! (GTX970 gotta lot of Work :D)
Lights & Camera - fine!

This isnt my first attempt for modelling, created a lot props for computer games (ages ago, remember Half-Life 1 Mods? :D), worked as an Imaging Technican, Photographer, Computer technican etc... but today i could crush my head onto the desk...

Maybe it just a "one click-problem" (yes, i need glasses.... they are ON!)

Working with 3ds max 2011, DAZ 4.7 and 4.8 Beta

Just tried to export a model created with Max, and import it in studio for rigging, dialog shows up, imported, brought the opacity up, tadaaa there it ist... got the right scale, no errors, fine... ....... thats what i thought...
opend up the figure editor, import the geometry (inside figure editor), no errors, geometry get listed.
as soon as i get an eye on the geometry editor, there are no surface selections set (created them in Max), groups or anything else, just 1 face group, 1 surface...

mkaaay, tried a workaround, tried FBX,
tried FBX with Sets switched on
tried FBX pre-rigged in Max (bones get imported, but without bindings and they´re out of the model) in short - unusable...
(in max, everthing is fine an usable...

What am i doing wrong, or what is the right way, create the Sets in Studio??! Pls, dont tell me im using the wrong modelling App, im used to max, own a licence for it and buying maya / carrara etc. is way out of budget...

We´re talking about simple objects, cylinders, boxes, guns, cars etc... gettin scared as im starting to think of some organic stuff with complex bone assignment :D

greets
Wommi

pls let me know if you need some screens or other info´s

mjc1016

Yeah a screenshot of your import dialog box...

Richard Haseltine

Are the groups and surfaces there if you reimport into 3DS?

kommunikation_f92577edf4

... as said... it could be that easy....

maybe i should stop watching tutorials that are written/recorded ages ago..

using the node weight brush solved (worked around) the Rigging-problem...

thx to this one...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOKTIW7anH8

i´m gettin old :D
New Technology -> New Problems...

/update & info 4 other people out there,
Selection/Face Groups are still gone as soon as i export, gotta do all the groups in daz studio, current pipeline:

Do the Modelling in Max
Export to OBJ with DAZ Export Setting
Import in Daz via Menue ->Import Daz Setting
Set the Opacity to 100%
Finetuning the Scaling
Switch to Geometry Editor
Create the Facegroups
Export as OBJ 
Clear Scene
open the Figure Editor
Import Geometry 
Create the Bones
Assign Facegroups to Bones
Create the Figure
Do the weight mapping / finetuning bones etc..

next wish 4 christmas: One Click Wonder Button 4 transfering thing between different programs.....

greets wommi

(just 4 the record... YES the "groups" button was checked... reimporting to max and selections/groups/tex etc. no prob...)

mjc1016

Wommi said:

(just 4 the record... YES the "groups" button was checked... reimporting to max and selections/groups/tex etc. no prob...)

The only other thing I can think of...that there's a space in the names.

This naming convention will work...

g hip
usemtl 2_SkinHip

but

g hip
usemtl 2 SkinHip

Probably won't work.

Or if there is a space in the material name/map..same thing. Something like Kd_map skin hip.jpg won't work.

kommunikation_f92577edf4

double and triple checked that already...
next funny thing:
as soon as i detach the selected polys/faces in Max (splitting up the hole mesh into seperate objects), export the hole scene and import it in daz, it will show up as one Mesh with the Facegroups listed...
buuuuut
cause of the detaching, the vertices are broken up (by nature :D)... there is no option to weld vertices in DAZ, or am i wrong? this would speed things up a lot....

Richard Haseltine

In the past spaces haven't completely killed group names, but they have led to the rest of the name (after the firsts pace) being ignored -so in your example the name would be truncated to 2. Unless al of the surfaces and groups start with the same characters there would still be multiple groups or surfaces, just not named correctly and possible reduced in number.

Richard Haseltine

What are your export settings from Max? if you look at the OBJ file in a text editor, what do the g and usemtl lines look like?

kommunikation_f92577edf4

a few more screens :)
tried to export "faces, quads, polys" doesnt make a difference...

Texturemaps are goin fine, its just that im missing my selections sets /face grouping to assign them to the bones...

(last screenie)
another hint, as soon as i manualy kill the usemat line, so there is only the g "groupname" left, theyre get listed correctly...

in fact that will solve the first prob, buut that would kill any texturework on the model wich differs from the boning selections :D