3DS Max 2015/2016 .Nif Exporter 3.8.0 Crashes and Skinning Issues

[ZerasCETA]

So I've been using the exporter for weeks and for the most part it works pretty well. No issues at all when exporting basic BSTriShapes, however I've run into serious issues with BSSubIndexTriShapes and I haven't found anyone else reporting the same issues so I thought I'd bring it up myself.

 

First of all, when adding BSSubIndex modifiers, I found that you have to click the unlock button before selecting poly's. Why they would be locked in the first place, I don't know. While adding them, sometimes Max will crash and be unable to recover the scene, so obviously I learned pretty quickly to save even more frequently. Then when you do reopen max and reload your mesh, when it's time to export, I receive the error message "Unknown Error." after finalizing the nif exporter settings. Saving and closing Max, then opening and trying again seems to work. Then, if all that wasn't bad enough, occasionally when working with BSSubIndexed models, Max will crash on clicking save...

I got into a crashing loop several times the other day, where it would crash upon adding a BSSubIndex modifier on one particular mesh every time. I found that attaching it to a cube and then deleting the cube was the only way to "reset" the mesh and get it not to crash, immediately anyway.

 

I've also found that the option "Zero Transforms" doesn't appear to work as it did in previous .Nif exporters.

 

Another issue I've found, and I'm not sure where the cause is for this issue, but I found that skinned and subindexed models will sometimes have their geometry reduced in the exported version. It almost looks like it performed a weld vertices operation with a large distance variable, even when you had that option unchecked. It only does it sometimes, and i haven't pinpointed what to avoid doing to prevent it yet.

Here's a screenshot of the issue in action:
http://forums.nexusmods.com/uploads//monthly_03_2016/post-13497555-0-44356100-1458191905.jpg


So, in the face of all that, there are a ton of outfits already on the nexus and more every day. I've had moderate success building my own but its a nightmare due to these issues. I have to wonder, is anyone else experiencing the same things or is it just me? Is there a new version of the exporter not on its github page? The author hasn't put out a new version in 3 months and if this is all we ever get, that's very troubling as this exporter doesn't seem to me to be complete by any stretch...

Edited March 24, 2016 by ZerasCETA

[Ragicka]

There's definitely something about the BSSubIndex modifier and how it's handled in Max. Every armor or clothing I work on eventually crashes or errors out at some point. So now I don't even bother with it at all anymore, just import without the skeleton (removes BSSubIndex), delete the skin data (useless at this point) and then let Outfit Studio sort it out when I'm done.

This is more of a work-around than an actual solution. Like you, I've had moderate success in getting items into game but I'm not entirely satisfied. Ideally, I'd like to make my edits, adjust the skin data and apply a proper BSSubIndex. But niftools' implementation of this modifier seems incomplete and unstable as far as working with max 2016 is concerned.

I hope niftools gets an update, specifically in regards to BSSubIndex. From my understanding, that would require an update to nifskope which, in turn, requires the release of the CK. I could be wrong because I wouldn't even begin to know where in the CK you would find that information but that's all I know at this point.

At any rate, I'm glad you brought this up because it's something I've been pondering for a while. Hopefully others will chime in and maybe we can put out heads together and figure it out.

[cedaie]

Welcome to what I struggled with for an entire week trying to solve this dilemma for my Rad-Bans. Fortunately I found the solution.

 

The further away the Pivot is from the mesh, the more the mesh garbles. It has nothing to do with SubIndex OR skinning (seriously, try to export without either.) It's all on the 3ds exporter side to do with the distance between Pivot and mesh. XForm doesn't resolve or fix this either.

 

Here's a diagram I have showing the degradation. (Mesh is 120 units above 0,0,0, last image on the right, the pivot is 240 away from mesh)

 

So now that you understand the cause. The solution is simple. In the case of headwear, like your glasses. You'll need to Move the entire scene, down -120 in max, zero your mesh to 0,0,0, reset transform/scale and Reset XForm. Then skin wrap to the head mesh.

 

You'll notice then that your mesh is a lot closer to it's pivot point, eliminating this god awful bug.

Edited April 2, 2016 by cedaie