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Hd Character in Blender (Diffeomorphic)

MacislavMacislav Posts: 126
edited July 2021 in Blender Discussion

Hi there,

I've got a question regarding the use of hd characters in blender. I mean true hd meshes, not just with a multires or subdivision modifier, because I need it for Unreal Engine (UE4 doesn't accept any blender modifiers).

Is it possible at all to import fully working hd characters into blender (with the intension of using it with Unreal Engine) through diffeomorphic?

I'm asking because either the imported hd mesh has no vertex groups and doesn't allow the import of JCMs at all

or the base resolution mesh with applied first subdivision doesn't allow importing of JCMs. I imagine that it has something to do with the vertex order, but is there any

established workflow for using hd meshes (first subdivision) yet with JCMs (in blender/UE4)? Or should I use something like SKKeeper (blender addon that unfortunately throws away all shape key drivers during the subdivision process)?

Post edited by Macislav on

Comments

  • PadonePadone Posts: 3,688

    It is possible to import true HD meshes with jcms using the HD addon by Xin. Then true HD meshes are intended for still pictures since they're too heavy for animation. That's why we use multires instead.

    https://bitbucket.org/Diffeomorphic/import_daz/issues/357/blender-addon-to-generate-rigged-hd-meshes

    https://bitbucket.org/Diffeomorphic/import_daz/issues/438/inject-hd-shape-to-xin-and-thomas

     

  • Krys KryngleKrys Kryngle Posts: 304

    I played around a little bit and got it to work but it doesn't look good.  I think it is possible, just needs some experimentation.

    Import two characters from Daz to Blender:  one at base resolution and one at HD Resolution

    Apply your JCM's, morphs, etc. in Blender to the base resolution character.

    Then add your subdivision surface modifier or multi-res modifier to match the number of vertices of the HD character.

    Open up Diffeo, go to morphs, then 'transfer shapekeys'.  Select the HD character first, then shift select the base res character with the shapekeys and modifier added.  Click ok.

    Nearest face worked but the transferred shape keys were low resolution.  I also tried body and it transferred them but they would not work when changing the values in the shape key panel.  Maybe Geograft or Legacy or some other combination would work.

    Please let us know if you figure it out.  Would be good to know.  I'll play around some more if I get time.

     

  • PadonePadone Posts: 3,688

    Again, you need the HD addon by Xin

  • MacislavMacislav Posts: 126
    edited July 2021

    Hd addon by Xin seems to cause many blender crashes, but I've got another question: Is there any way to copy multiple shape key drivers (just the drivers) from one character to another one. Copying and pasting one at a time is possible, but it's very tedious...

    Post edited by Macislav on
  • PadonePadone Posts: 3,688
    edited July 2021

    As for the HD addon by Xin you can't hide anything for it to work since it relies on the viewport data. This is probably why you get crashes, other than that it works fine here. As for shapekeys I'm not sure if "setup > morphs > transfer shapekeys" is what you want.

    Post edited by Padone on
  • MacislavMacislav Posts: 126
    edited July 2021

    I need to copy many drivers for already existing shapekeys at once. As for the HD addon, where exactly to put the dll (dhdm_dll.dll).

    Post edited by Macislav on
  • PadonePadone Posts: 3,688

    you just have to place the addon folder in the blender addons folder as usual, the dll goes with the addon you don't have to move it

  • MacislavMacislav Posts: 126
    edited July 2021

    I've made/imported a full character with bone driven shape keys, correct anatomy merged etc. (with daz importer, everything non hd).... so far so good...., set up a working directory, a base mesh and got this (with that hd addon) on clicking "generate hd mesh":

     

    error_hdaddon.jpg
    654 x 477 - 74K
    Post edited by Macislav on
  • PadonePadone Posts: 3,688

    That's an error in the HD addon by Xin. First check that you have everything unhidden in the scene, since the HD addon relies on the viewport data. If the error is still there then you have to report the bug to Xin at diffeomorphic. Please provide a simple test scene generating the bug and the necessary steps to follow.

    https://bitbucket.org/Diffeomorphic/import_daz/issues

  • MacislavMacislav Posts: 126
    edited July 2021

    It's simple to reproduce, because the tool (clicking "generate dd mesh" shows always an error) doesn't work at all, even with the standard base character.

    Post edited by Macislav on
  • PadonePadone Posts: 3,688

    it works fine here

    steps

    1. load G8F and merge rigs
    2. set the working directory and base mesh
    3. generate HD mesh

     

    xin-hd.jpg
    333 x 217 - 24K
  • MacislavMacislav Posts: 126
    edited July 2021

    That's exactly what I did, but "boom" (error)...... Maybe something with the daz assets path (although the base meshes are stored on c), because most of my daz files are on an external drive?

    Post edited by Macislav on
  • PadonePadone Posts: 3,688

    I don't know. One difference is that relative paths don't work with external drives. So check that your scene uses absolute paths, that's an option when you save the blender file. You may also try with a content folder in the same disk to check if it works.

    I too store assets in external drives for backup. But then I install what I need in the local content folder when I start a new project.

  • davidtriunedavidtriune Posts: 452
    edited July 2021

    edit: figured it out. had an issue with HD not generating when multiple morph files selected. Didn't use the grouping feature correctly (it could be better labeled)

    But this is an awesome plugin! If you can read this, thanks Xin!

     

    Capture.JPG
    1365 x 932 - 147K
    Post edited by davidtriune on
  • MacislavMacislav Posts: 126

    It worked with "rigged with multires" despite some error report. But what is the right way to import the hd shapekeys. Are they stored somewhere?

    I did "transfer shapekeys" from the normal base mesh to the hd mesh, but now the bone rotation limits

    are lost and the shapekeys don't look as smooth as those made with SKKeeper when joints are bent.

  • PadonePadone Posts: 3,688
    edited July 2021

    Unfortunately multires doesn't support HD shapekeys, that's a limitation in blender, not from diffeomorphic. You can either have multires with a baked HD shape and base resolution shapekeys, or true HD with HD shapekeys.

    Post edited by Padone on
  • MacislavMacislav Posts: 126
    edited August 2021

    Does every character have "true HD" or what's the difference between base resolution+subdivision and true hd.

    Technically hd shapekays should be interpolated/approximated base resolution shapekeys.

    I always thought that "normal" hd is a character with at least one subdivision applied (catmull-clark, smoothened edges..), but some characters come with a custom hd sculpt which can only be seen in the higher subdivision levels or are hd characters subdivided already and can't be unsuvdivided???

    Can you enlighten me?

    Post edited by Macislav on
  • PadonePadone Posts: 3,688
    edited August 2021

    "True HD" is a high resolution mesh without subdivision that bakes the daz HD shape. This can also use HD shapekeys aka daz HD morphs.

    "Multires HD" is a high resolution mesh that is unsubdivided with multires. This also bakes the daz HD shape, but you can't have HD shapekeys aka daz HD morphs.

    Post edited by Padone on
  • MacislavMacislav Posts: 126

    Technically there shouldn't be any difference between "true hd" shapekeys and interpolated shapekeys (applying first level (multires) subdivision while keeping shapekeys, see SKKeeper blender addon).

  • PadonePadone Posts: 3,688

    The difference is that multires doesn't allow HD morphs

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