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Modo To UE4 (finally)

polycounter lvl 6
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repete polycounter lvl 6
Just a heads up modo peeps,

This was Farfarer's suggestion and it works :thumbup:
You should be able to bake in Modo and just let xNormal do the conversion from world to tangent
1. Bake from object to render outputs: shading normal in Modo (make sure to check "remap pixel values" from the render output properties.

2. Open xnormal, and under the tools tab, choose Object/Tangent space converter

3. Link to your exported low poly mesh, and your bake from Modo.

4. Click generate and watch your modo bake get doused in MikkTspace goodness

5. In UE4 you can invert the green channel: Double click the texture, under "Texture" there is the "Flip Green Channel" option.

Below was modelled and baked in modo 801 using modos cage and the shading normal. The shading normal map (object space) was converted using the Object/Tangent space converter in xNormal:

The result looks the same in UE4 as it does in marmoset :poly121:

screenshot000_zps6eda56f1.png



8)

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  • ExcessiveZero
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    ExcessiveZero polycounter lvl 6
    Fantastic news. another feather in modos cap, Huzzah!
  • dzibarik
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    dzibarik polycounter lvl 10
    nice. I've used this method for Unity with Handplane instead of Xnormal but had troubles baking world-space map. I'll try it once again.
  • peanut™
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    peanut™ polycounter lvl 18
    Too bad, i haven't used xNormal am i missing something ?
  • DireWolf
    It's a great free utility for generating various maps. You won't miss anything much if you can already create everything in other apps.
  • Fogbrain
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    Fogbrain polycounter lvl 5
    What was the issue in the first place? That UE4 wouldn't properly display tangent space normal maps in modo?
  • WarrenM
    The problem is that MODO isn't synched to UE4 so the normal maps it generates were never really right and you had to bake in xNormal. Now you can just use xNormal for a quick conversion from object space to tangent and keep more of your workflow in MODO.

    Going to give this a try, thanks!
  • igi
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    igi polycounter lvl 12
    Is it works with ray distance baking instead of cage projection? Since it's object space I have a feeling that it would work with ray distance and even without uv border gaps.

    Thanks I will try, when I can find time for it.
  • repete
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    repete polycounter lvl 6
    Right and you also don't need to export a cage file & the high poly. Also leaves you with the opportunity to do a tangent normal bake in modo to check your cage and the normals before you actually convert the object space (shading normal).

    Keep adjusting your cage/model and just Bake from object to render outputs until it's just right.
    WarrenM wrote: »
    The problem is that MODO isn't synched to UE4 so the normal maps it generates were never really right and you had to bake in xNormal. Now you can just use xNormal for a quick conversion from object space to tangent and keep more of your workflow in MODO.

    Going to give this a try, thanks!
  • EarthQuake
    igi wrote: »
    Is it works with ray distance baking instead of cage projection? Since it's object space I have a feeling that it would work with ray distance and even without uv border gaps.

    Thanks I will try, when I can find time for it.

    Because its an object space bake, you can do whatever you want to the lowpoly mesh, like not using any hard edges, or even adding in extra geometry to fix skewing that you remove later (or better, make a copy and revert).

    However, your final mesh that you use to convert back to tangent space needs to follow all the basic rules, like breaking your uv groups where you have hard edges.

    This applies to the modo workflow, as well as baking object space maps in any app, and converting in handplane or xn.
  • dzibarik
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    dzibarik polycounter lvl 10
    I forgot that you don't need a cage to bake in world space. Finally. So I don't need to explode a mesh too, am I right?
  • repete
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    repete polycounter lvl 6
    I have to test this :poly121:
    dzibarik wrote: »
    I forgot that you don't need a cage to bake in world space. Finally. So I don't need to explode a mesh too, am I right?
  • repete
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    repete polycounter lvl 6
    Here is a temporary solution for the cage (maybe it can be the bases of a permanent solution) using RayGL.

    You can see the high poly, low poly and the morph cage. The morph cage is viewed as a cage (white wires or what ever color you want):


    Set Ray GL to FULL or FAST

    visable_zps5dde0a9a.png

    use the preferences for RayGL on the right in the pic, this will take the load off your system.
  • repete
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    repete polycounter lvl 6
    The same principles apply, just tested it.

    You do need a cage and you will need to explode your mesh parts, this is very easy to do in modo with morphs :poly121:
    dzibarik wrote: »
    I forgot that you don't need a cage to bake in world space. Finally. So I don't need to explode a mesh too, am I right?
  • Snefer
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    Snefer polycounter lvl 16
    Oh, sweet! have to give this a go! : ) Might be handier than my current workflow,but just maybe.
  • repete
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    repete polycounter lvl 6
    Now this is starting to get crazy :poly122:

    Mike Hermes found this out:

    Use Handplane to covert your shading normal bake from modo to 3ds and you get exactly the same result in UE4 & Marmoset (apart from flipping Y)

    WTF !

    xNormal_zpsac38fb57.png


    handplane_zps7ca76af0.png
  • repete
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    repete polycounter lvl 6
    You can also hit "O" in the view port and use the Topo visibility to help edit your morph cage:

    topo_zps8d9ac3a4.png~original


    Means you don't have to change your wire color and the lowpoly is clearly visible :poly121:
  • MrOneTwo
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    MrOneTwo polycounter lvl 12
    I'snt it possible since Handplane exists ? (or xNormal since itcan do the same)

    Modo can bake object space for some time doesn't it ?

    What's new here then ? That UE4 is synced with something we have access to?

    PS: Also Modo can now bake tangent space normal maps for game engines - probably not synced with UE but still it bakes pretty well.
  • nervouschimp
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    nervouschimp polycounter lvl 4
    Cross-posting this from modo forums. Sorry guys, the 3DS-Max preset in handplane does not pass my torture tests... actually, it looks worse than the source engine preset in UE4. My advice to people would be to use Xnormal's object to tangent space converter, as that is the correct way to do it (because it is definitely synched), and it does not require any more effort than handplane does. Of course if handplane gets a UE4 preset, that changes things.
  • repete
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    repete polycounter lvl 6
    working on a new Tab/Window just for Baking in modo. Sorted out the cage visibility issue if you don't mind using Ray GL (it's fast).

    Set Ray GL to FULL and the high poly, low poly and the morph cage (in red) are visible:

    cage_zps1f44b990.png~original


    Set Ray GL to FAST and only low poly & cage are visible:

    cage2_zps7595931d.png~original


    Have to sort out a proper way to light the model without reflections and make it less "Gothic" :poly121:
  • AlecMoody
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    AlecMoody ngon master
    Cross-posting this from modo forums. Sorry guys, the 3DS-Max preset in handplane does not pass my torture tests... actually, it looks worse than the source engine preset in UE4. My advice to people would be to use Xnormal's object to tangent space converter, as that is the correct way to do it (because it is definitely synched), and it does not require any more effort than handplane does. Of course if handplane gets a UE4 preset, that changes things.

    If you want a normal map that uses the tangents and normals in the file you can use handplanes "input binormal and tangent" output.
  • nervouschimp
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    nervouschimp polycounter lvl 4
    AlecMoody wrote: »
    If you want a normal map that uses the tangents and normals in the file you can use handplanes "input binormal and tangent" output.

    Unfortunately, this won't work with MODO, because it does not export the tangents to the FBX file. Something that has been requested for a long time, but import/export is not an area where MODO shines. Now that blender exports tangents, MODO is the only remaining app that I've used that cannot do this. Sad.
  • DInusty
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    DInusty polycounter lvl 17
    Does anyone know what might be causing white highlights on the edges of my bakes while doing this process?

    Wagon_003_lxo_MODO.jpg

    EDIT* Should be noted that it doesn't happen until padding is applied in modo at the end of the render process
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