Distorted mesh in-game

[Taylor17387]

I've recently tried to edit some vanilla meshes in 3ds max. I had some previous experience with Milkshape 3D, but this program is totally new for me and I must have done some big mistake during the process of creation, because what I see in-game is the terribly distorted image that I attach below.

 

The appearance of the skin in 3ds Max seems also distorted, as seen here:

At first I thought that it was something related with the LOD2 and LOD3 files. But even after making LOD2 and 3 versions (as explained here: https://forum.bioware.com/topic/131863-problem-with-several-armor-mods-armors-distorted-when-viewed-from-far-away-workaround-found/?p=3390077) the distortion persists.

 

What I've done so far:

-Import an .mmh using Eshme's plugin. I didn't import collision, but imported the .mao file.

-Delete some parts of the mesh.

-Import a different .mmh, also without collision. I chose "Merge with selected" in the import dialogue.

-Delete some parts of the new mesh and rescale it.

-Attach one mesh to the other, so they form a single unity and I can weld the gaps between both meshes.

-Adjust the UV map.

-Export with Eshme's plugin.

 

I didn't touch the skeletons and bone assignements at all, but I suspect it has something to do with it. In the original meshes, when I clicked on the bones I saw vertices highlighted in many different colours. In the edited mesh, however, all the highlighted vertices are red. I haven't the slightest idea of how to fix this, though, nor if it has something to do with the problem at all.

 

Any ideas, please?

[Risibisi]

Does that mean you are doing mashups? I think you have forgotten to make the bone weight..

Ah, okay.. sorry.. I have found your info "vertices are read" that means they are all full weighted which means all vertices of the group will move with the bone they attached to.. You need to make a new bone weight

[Taylor17387]

Do you know how to apply bone weights in 3ds max, or where to find an easy-to-follow tutorial? This program doesn't seem intuitive at all, and the tutorials I've found thus far assume that you know a lot more than I do. Is it possible to simply copy the weight values from the original to the edited mesh?

Also, I can't figure what's causing this bone weight loss. I started the project again from zero to isolate the problem. One moment the weights are correct, then I close the project, open it again, and voila, only red vertices. :huh: The orange and blue vertices (which I suppose are the ones with less weight) simply disappear. Even stranger, this seems to only affect one of the meshes in the combination.

[Risibisi]

I'm working more with Blender 2.49b and I haven't so much experience with 3ds max but when I ported hair for Mass Effect I had to use 3ds max and this tutorial helped me. It's for hair meshes but I think it's helpful for your project too. :)

http://ottemods.blogspot.de/2013/07/tutorial-porting-hairstyles-using-3ds.html

[Taylor17387]

Thanks for the link. That cleared up things like the Skin Wrap modifier. Unfortunately, copying weights with Skin Wrap gives me all kind of errors upon exporting, like missing bones (I can't understand why, because the bones are the same). Anyway, the loss of bone weight was only causing minor deformities and I could fix them manually. It seems that welding vertices is what causes this weight loss.

 

The real culprit for the abomination in the image was the "Merge with selected" option in the import menu. In 3ds Max the model looks fine as if the skeletons fitted perfectly (which they don't, when viewed separately), but in-game the mesh implodes.

[sapphim]

Just be sure, what version of 3ds max are you using, and what version of eshme's import/export script? The version uploaded to the BSN (5.48) is more up-to-date than the version uploaded to the Nexus (5.42). The Nexus version will work as far as 3ds max 2012 and the BSN version as far as 3ds max 2013 but attempting to export reweighted or heavily edited models with a more recent version of 3ds will explode the vertices very much like what appears in your screenshots.

 

It also appears that some of your normals are flipped (the black areas where the texture isn't showing right side out on the model in the viewport). You can fix that by applying the Edit Normals modifier, ctrl+A to select all, then click Reset. (The top modifier in your stack when you export should always be the Skin modifier, by the way, or you'll get more errors.)

Edited August 8, 2016 by starrarte

[Taylor17387]

I'm using 3ds Max 2010. I don't remember from which site I downloaded Eshme's script, but the documentation has the 2011 date, so I suppose it's fine for my version.

I've been able to combine two different meshes without checking the "Merge with selected" option, and the model doesn't look distorted anymore. It looks a bit deformed still because of the wrong bone weights. I think I will try this method here: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?364272-Using-the-Skin-Data-Utility-function-in-3dsMax. Since I'm combining different meshes, the best would be to combine their proper weights together. I hope it's possible, at least.

 

Thank you very much for the info on the Normals modifier. I would never have figured it out. The problem is that, thus far, I had only made meshes for The Sims 2 and that was far more simple. You could delete or weld vertices, and combine meshes as much as you wanted, and the bone assignements wouldn't change at all. Guess it's very different with DAO meshes.

[Taylor17387]

Well, so here's my (sorry) attempt at making a male/androgynous desire demon:

 

 

 

 

As can be seen, there are still some deformities, specially around the shoulders and armpits. I don't know if the cause of this is:

a) A side effect of having wielded the vertices between the two models, with the stretching of polygons that this causes.

b) Bone weights imperfectly assigned. I fixed them manually as best I could, but they're not exactly like the originals.

c) The skeleton is not in place. The most likely cause, when one compares the placement of the original mesh (above) with the modified one (below):

 

 

 

Anyone knows how could I put the skeleton in place? I don't know if it can be moved and how. Or on reverse, which would be the best way to move that part of the mesh, so it's aligned with the bone?

 

Another question: is it possible to import .mmh/.msh head models into the Toolset morph editor? I would like to edit the head in the Toolset, instead of having to edit it in 3ds Max.