Justin Montoya Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 I cannot for the life of me get a file to export via the 3DStudio export tool. It seems to be completely broken. Please advise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Dear Justin, The 3ds export should be working fine -- and should not be broken, why do you say this? If you get a new project, draw a cube, and export as 3DS, does that work? If that is working, then to say it is broken would be incorrect. Most likely you have a specific file or object that may not be handled properly. If the cube test works, but another file does not, you should analyze your file based on the limitations of that format. 3DS format is very old and has limitations of between 32,000 and 64,000 objects per file, or parts per object (ie, the number of points or segments per object can not exceed that limit). Therefore, if you have a file with many many objects, you might consider exporting in parts. Or (more likely) if you have a very complicated object in the file, check that for the number of parts. 3DS format also only exports Facetted geometry, and it only exports 3 or 4 sided faces. Any Smooth objects should automatically be converted to Facetted, and any faces with more than the allowed number of sides should be automatically reduced. And any objects whose parts exceed these limitations should automatically be split into parts that do not exceed these limits. Perhaps there is something that is not being handled automatically given these limitations of this format. Given this information, please see if you can identify what part is causing the problem. For example, if your cube test works, then select a simple object in your main project, Export, and choose the Picked Objects Only option. If that works, and have an object that may exceed these limitations, pick that object and export again with the same options. Can you find an object that is causing the problem? If so, please send the object to support@formz.com so we can investigate why this occurs. You can also try manually subdividing the object so it does not exceed these limitations, and as such you should be able to work around the problem. Or you could try a more modern format (if your other software supports it). Does that help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Montoya Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 Ok, thank you for your help. It should be made more clear in the export options. We need some sort of 'Best Practices' for dealing with sharing between programs, and using all possible file types. If I need to share with a 3dStudio Max user, and 3DS files are now basically worthless, what are we supposed to use? I know there are options like OBJ, DAE... but the particulars of these are not explained, and we just need something that works without a bunch of workaround headache. I think the 'Best Practices' could be a huge help for users, and perhaps it deserves it's own forum. For example, I was recently told that .PSD files may be dramatically slowing down our files. We've been using them for years without issue, but now they are an issue? Where does it say that we should be using something in particular for best results? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Dear Justin, It is quite easy to search for information on file formats and their limitations. Here is one of many useful links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.3ds If you have the current version of formZ 8.5.0.2, then I would recommend trying the new beta FBX Translator to export to Max. You can find this here: http://forums.formz.com/index.php?/topic/3058-fbx-beta-import-export-translator-now-available/ We are not sure what you are saying regarding PSD files -- but if you have questions, including details will generally help with getting answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew West Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 I might chime in since I use both Form.z 8.5 and 3DS Max and I switch between them often. I think what Justin is looking for is what I see often in Max and other programs. When I am using Max and I export out a 3DS file that has too many polygons on a certain object I get a warning pop up that tells me this along with the name of the offending piece of geometry. In Form.z we just get either a spinning wheel of death or a failed export. It would be very helpful if we could get warnings along these lines on exports, imports, render failures, etc. Maxwell even gives you a render LOG that allows you to see what textures are being loaded and any failures. Concerning PSD files they just tend to be a lot bigger than JPEG's so they slow things down significantly. I might also add that over the years I have had to experiment with many different types of imports and exports from various software packs. Every time I think I have it figured out the software changes and I start over. Here is what I use for now when importing from other software Revit: first demand that the client strip all associated library links out of the file. Otherwise you will end up with a HUGE file containing window details, toilets, faucets, etc. Unless you need these. Next have them use DWG for export. Works every time and maintains material ID's. Once it is imported you need to separate and/or ungroup geometry and then unmesh or reduce mesh to get rid of triangulation. (reduce project size for file management) Sketchup: Forget about it unless absolutely necessary. If you have to then first get Sketchup for free. Open the file in Sketchup and start right clicking on geometry to see if it is grouped, if so choose the option to Explode it. Do this for everything you can find. Then start deleting all the garbage geometry you don't need. Plants and other stuff must go. Next, Open it in form.z and back save to version 6. Then open it in 6.7 and use the free script from the old forum to Separate Faces by Color. Save the file and then open it back up in 8.5. Now it should be pretty clean and you just need to rebuild the stuff that is poorly built. Project doctor and object doctor help to find these issues. Archicad: Yup, still around for a few. Use IGES format for export from their program Max: Have them use 3DS or DWG for export. If the poly count is too high then break up the model into parts to export. OBJ also works fine but your model will come in with only ONE material and it may be completely welded together. A real pain to explode. Autocad: DWG of course. I think that Microstation is rare but last time I got one of their files I needed to have them use VRML export. Z Brush: DWG and OBJ work fine. As for importing in general I tend to always have Join Coplanar Faces selected but sometimes I do I check Construct 3D solids. Use this if you get a model that has all the faces separated. Hope this helps someone out there. AW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Hi Andrew, Instead of giving an error message, formZ should automatically detect objects that exceed the limits fo a format (such as 3DS) and automatically subdivide them so that it works seamlessly. Of course, if you ever have a problem (like a "spinning wheel") and you can reproduce it, please send the file, and we can investigate the issue and improve it ASAP. The size of an image file on disk has little bearing on the time it takes to process. The number of pixels, and the translators involved (ie, a highly compressed JPG will take longer than a high quality JPG) will have more of an effect. From MAX, OBJ files should work fine. If you only get a single material in formZ, but you get multiple materials in other programs, please send the OBJ, MTL, and any necessary image files so we can investigate. The Construct Solids option will compare every "naked edge" of every surface against every other surface to see if the edges are coincident. If they are they will be stitched together automatically. With complex files, the time to process this will go up exponentially with the number of surfaces, so use this option only if you need it in conjunction with larger files. Thanks for your other suggestions, hopefully they will be useful to others. Evan Troxel has created a "file format cheat sheet" that may also be useful for suggestions regarding translating file formats between different programs: http://getmethod.com/blog/2010/10/26/lets-talk-the-3d-file-format-cheat-sheet.html Hope that helps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Montoya Posted February 5, 2016 Author Share Posted February 5, 2016 I think Andrew hit the nail on the head. When things go wrong in FormZ there is often little explanation of why. These files appear as though they export fine, no errors, all linked map files are created, only the .3ds file ends up blank. I think if you allowed us to see the 'log' on when these things are happening, we could help to trouble shoot ourselves without always needing to take up your time. Perhaps it's as simple as hiding a 'difficult' object, but without some sort of notification, we will likely never know. Also, what is the point in exporting a simple 'cube'? Wouldn't you just recreate that in 2 seconds if that was all you are trying to share? We're going to have complex models, plain and simple. There is no other indication that these files cannot be exported, until it just doesn't work. If there are limitations, it should be made clear when you are trying to perform that function! Finally, why can we not have the new FBX translator on FormZ 8.0.2? 8.5 has not shown to be worth the upgrade, when there are still missing and broken tools and interface issues. It is unfair to ask everyone to pay for upgrades for tools they will never use, while leaving the 'old' version in the dust, never completely updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Dear Justin, If we knew why something went wrong, we would fix it so that it worked. It is not like we are "hiding a log file that shows the errors" from you. If we are aware of an issue, we actually adjust the project or the geometry so that it just automatically works (which is better than just issuing a log error so you can know what to fix if you can read and understand this log). The goal is a seamless solution that does not require any additional effort or understanding of the user (such as automatically splitting objects that are more complex than allowed by the 3ds export -- which works properly in general). You initially reported that the format was completely broken. The "cube test" will expose whether or not that is true. The point is not to "get the cube to the other program," but to test if it is really completely broken, or if a more complicated file is required to reproduce the problem. If a more complex file is required, then if you could send part of the file that does not work, then we can investigate it to see what we can do to help you with a solution. Without knowing any more about your project, we are not sure how you expect us to help -- but again, if you can send part of the file that is not working, we will certainly look into the issue and help as best as we can. Updates include a lot more than just some new tools. There are always many "structural improvements" that are included under the hood. If the FBX plugin could "just work" with older versions of the software, we would make that available -- but that is not possible without other improvements that are included with the upgrade. So perhaps this is another "feature" that may make the upgrade worthwhile for you. We do our best to help as much as we can, and always be fair to our customers. We hope our customers can appreciate this and be fair to us as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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