Prepare Alias models

These steps are only required for models imported from Autodesk® Alias™ (previously known as AliasSTUDIO or StudioTools).

Note on Alias versions

AliasSTUDIO Version 13 (and later) provides a SaveLayers add-in that lets you automatically export separate files for each layer. With multiple files, you can use distinct tessellation settings for each file (for example, use finer tessellation for small parts and coarser tessellation for large surfaces).

This add-in is not available for earlier versions of Alias software. In these versions, you must explicitly save each layer as a separate file if you want to use different tessellation settings.

Prepare Alias models

Before importing an Alias model, follow these steps to make sure that the model will display correctly in Autodesk® Showcase™.

Showcase supports the following Alias features:

• Baked ambient occlusion
• Bookmarks (converted to shots)
• Materials

In Alias:

1. Back up your Alias project.
2. Make sure all layers are visible.
3. Remove all layers and objects that you will not want to view in Autodesk Showcase.

   (This will speed up the workflow and the speed of interaction.)

4. Group relevant geometry into layers if you have not already (for example, put dashboard components into a layer, the car body into a layer, the tires into a layer, and so on).

   This will make it easier for you to set up alternatives and assign materials to the model.

5. Create geometry for any symmetry in layers.

   Showcase supports importing symmetrical and mirrored geometry, and lets you duplicate and mirror geometry in a scene.

6. Create geometry for any instances.
7. Remove construction history (to make sure your changes are kept):

   Select Delete > Delete constr history .

On rare occasions, an Autodesk Alias .wire file may produce inconsistent results when it is imported into Showcase. For example, there may be lost transformations, wrong material assignments, or duplicated objects. If this happens, re-open the file in Alias and group all objects under a single node before saving the file and first importing it into Showcase.

If you need to update the model often...

The Autodesk Showcase software allows you to show and reverse normals (Edit > Show Normals, Edit > Reverse Normals ), but you may want to fix normals permanently in Alias if you plan on updating the model often.

In Alias:

1. Select from the palette Object Edit > Normal tools > Unify Normals .

   Align the normals facing toward the camera (outward) by selecting groups of attached surfaces.

Create stitched and shelled surfaces

An autostitch script can used when creating APF files to shell (stitch) together all contiguous surfaces in the same layer sharing the same material. You can create a custom script to do this; consult the Showcase Customization Help for more information. Select Help > Customization Help, then go to the section Showcase Customization Help > Python Scripts and Add-ins > Custom Import Scripts.

Save individual layer *.wire files

Save the components assigned to each layer as one individual .wire file.

(By creating several files for a model, you will be able to import particular parts of the model into Autodesk Showcase, keep track of your layers, and get better feedback while loading files.)

In Alias:

1. Select all components assigned to a layer.
2. Select File > Export > Active As (*.wire).
3. Give the file a name you will be able to recognize.
4. Click Save.

You may find it useful to try the saveLayers add-in from the Alias add-in manager; once loaded, saveLayers is accessed from the Alias Layers menu.