Supported Scene Elements and Attributes for FBX

 
 
 

| Geometry | Lights | Cameras | Transformations | Deformations | Animation | Constraints | Physics | Shading | File Referencing | Update Mechanism | Skeleton Conversions

The following tables list the features supported when importing into and exporting from Softimage using the FBX format.

Geometry

Element

FBX Import vs. FBX Export

Comments

Polygon Meshes

Yes

 

Triangles

Yes

 

Polygons

Yes

 

Nulls

Yes

 

UVs

Yes

Multiple UV coordinate sets are fully supported. UVs do not need to be used by a texture.

Vertex Color

Yes

 

Normals

Yes

User normals are imported as user normals, except in two cases:

  • If there is shape animation, and no hard edges or smoothing groups, then user normals are converted to hard edges.
  • If there are both shape animation and hard edges or smoothing groups, then user normals are discarded.

Normal Maps

Yes

 

Implicit geometry

No

Convert before exporting.

Splines

No

 

NURBS

Yes

In Softimage, NurbSurfaceMesh (surface meshes) can be used to define a collection of NurbSurfaces (surfaces). Only the last surface defined in a surface mesh is exported.

Lights

Element

FBX Import vs. FBX Export

Comments

Point

Yes

 

Infinite

Yes

 

Spot

Yes

 

Box

Yes

Converted to Spot in MotionBuilder.

Neon

Yes

Converted to Point in MotionBuilder.

Sun

Yes

Converted to Infinite in MotionBuilder.

Light Common Shading

Yes

 

Cameras

Element

FBX Import vs. FBX Export

Comments

Cameras

Yes

 

Extra Camera Data

Yes

Camera Position, Interest/Rotation, Roll, Vertical FOV, Near/Far Plane (except Near/Far Plane animation).

Transformations

Element

FBX Import vs. FBX Export

Comments

SRT Node Transforms

Yes

 

Limits and Rotation Order

Yes

On export, limits are queried for every exported object (through the KinematicState) and set to the corresponding Node in the FBX file. On import, limits are applied even on merge-back, and overwrite anything that was previously set.

Neutral Poses

Export

On export, nodes with neutral poses and local animation get a new parent null named object_NeutralPose to hold the neutral pose transformation. On import, the extra null parents remain.

Deformations

Element

FBX Import vs. FBX Export

Comments

Envelopes

Yes

 

Shapes

Yes

During mergeback, if the number of shape clips found for the model is less than the number of shape FCurves, a message is logged and the clips are left unchanged.

If the number of clips is more than the number of shape FCurves, the first nbShapes clips are affected (even if it may not be with the correct data).

During Export, cluster shapes work only if the cluster contains all the points of the mesh. If it does not, a message is displayed in the status bar.

Create shape keys using the Deform >Shape > Store Shape Key command on the Animate toolbar.

When you create shapes, you should create them in "Local Relative Mode" and disable the "Normalize" state for the Mixer Properties. To do this: right-click anywhere in the track area of the animation mixer.

Bones/effectors

Yes

See Skeleton Conversions.

Animation

Element

FBX Import vs. FBX Export

Comments

Fcurves (constant)

Yes

 

Fcurves (linear)

Yes

 

Fcurves (spline)

Yes

 

Fcurves (Hermite)

Yes

 

Fcurves (per key interpolation)

No

 

Constraints

Element

FBX Import vs. FBX Export

Comments

Constraints

Yes

 

IK

Yes

See Skeleton Conversions.

Physics

Element

FBX Import vs. FBX Export

Comments

Rigid Body Dynamics

No

 

Shading

Element

FBX Import vs. FBX Export

Comments

Common Shading

Yes

Meshes export all materials assigned to polygon clusters.

On export, ICE-based materials, including Materials, MaterialID, and attributes used as texture projections, are converted to cluster-based materials with explicit UVs.

NURBS export only the global material.

CgFx materials are supported.

File Referencing

Element

FBX Import vs. FBX Export

Comments

Model Files

No

 

Images/Textures

Yes

Single layered textures with associated material. (Only one image can be defined in a material channel.)

Only one texture can be assigned with NURBS and its SwapUV flag is set.

On import, the texture file is connected to the diffuse properties of the shader.

Shaders

No

 

Update Mechanism

Element

FBX Import vs. FBX Export

Comments

Update

Yes

Exclusive Merge and Merge of animation and scene elements supported with the FBX importer's Load Options.

Skeleton Conversions

An important aspect of the Softimage FBX plug-in is that you can transfer the animation recorded in the FBX file back to the corresponding elements in the Softimage scene using the Import FBX Options Dialog Box and Import FBX Options Dialog Box import options.

The elements from the FBX file are matched to the elements in the Softimage scene regardless of the activated options. However, the state set for these options affects the way the data is processed.

When converting skeletons, the Keep XSI Effectors and Import Skeleton Elements as Nulls options can be used when merging-back scene data.

When the Import FBX Options Dialog Box option is enabled, all effectors and bones are converted to nulls and the FCurves are not processed. Instead, the FCurves are transferred as is to the Softimage elements, without further checks or data validation. When the Import skeleton elements as nulls option is disabled, then the Keep XSI effectors option is read and any skeletons are converted according to its state.

NoteThe Keep XSI effectors option must always be the same value on import as it was when the scene was exported to FBX.

If the Import FBX Options Dialog Box option is disabled, the animation on the effectors is recomputed because the plug-in assumes that the effector is no longer the child of the last bone of the chain, as it is in the FBX file.

At the same time, to prevent the IK solver from solving, the Softimage FBX plug-in verifies that there are no Translation FCurves on any bones and/or effectors. If Translation FCurves on bones or effectors are found, a message is displayed and the translation animation is cleared.

If the Keep XSI effectors option is enabled, the Softimage FBX plug-in still checks for Translation FCurves on bones and/or effectors. If Translation FCurves are present, they are not affected, nor is any warning issued. However, in this case, the IK solver may compute a different solution, and the resulting animation may not correspond with the FBX version.

Default XSI Skeletons

The default XSI skeleton is not immediately compatible with MotionBuilder because MotionBuilder does not support effectors that are parented to the root of a chain.

In order to get a compatible skeleton that can be used in MotionBuilder, the skeleton's effectors must be moved to the expected location: as the child of the last joint of a chain. This operation is performed automatically unless the Export FBX Options Dialog Box option is activated on export.

The above procedure can be performed even when the effector is somewhere else in the hierarchy. However, the basic import process ( Import FBX Options Dialog Box) will not be able to rebuild the original hierarchy.

If you are planning to keyframe a Softimage "Skeleton - Man/Woman - Complete/Basic" model in MotionBuilder after exporting with the Keep XSI effectors option active, you will have to use MotionBuilder constraints to animate the skeleton effectors.

Type Conversions

Due to type limitations in the FBX file format, the following type conversions are applied:

Export (Softimage to FBX)

 

siEmpty

Ignored

siDispatch

Ignored

siString

Ignored

siFloat

REAL

siDouble

REAL

siBool

BOOL

siByte

Ignored

siUByte

Ignored

siUInt2

Ignored

siUInt4

Ignored

SiInt

Ignored

siInt2

Ignored

siInt4

Ignored

During export, the Softimage FBX plug-in tries to derive the UI range to use it for the minimum and maximum values.

If the minimum and maximum ranges in the .fbx property has any undefined (or identical) values, the Softimage FBX plug-in overwrites them using an arbitrary value of 400. In case of COLOR or VECTOR imports, these relationships are lost since 4 or 3 individual siDouble properties are created.

Import (FBX to Softimage)

 

REALsi

Double

BOOL

siBool

INTEGER

silnt 4

COLOR 4

siDouble

VECTOR 3

siDouble

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