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Alternative to 3ds Max for simple hierarchy editing

polycounter lvl 10
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bac9-flcl polycounter lvl 10
I've got quite simple issue there.

My models can consist of hundreds of groups and separate meshes (instanced details, parts separated for convenience of editing and so on). The thing is, though, that I'd like my object to consist of a single mesh when I'm ready to use it in an engine.

Unity is a particularly useful example, as it will show every single inner part of your object and even allows moving stuff inside your model independently.

I don't need to move 276th column of my building in the Unity editor. And I suspect having hundreds of separate meshes is not very good for performance. So, I collapse stuff into one mesh.

The way I do it now:
  • Importing my model, usually .fbx or .obj, into 3ds Max
  • Removing all folder entities in the hierarchy editor (which leaves me with flat hierarchy only consisting of meshes)
  • Converting everything that's left (meshes) to Edit Poly, as this modifier has flawlessly working Attach function
  • Select something, open Attach options, press Ctrl+A to select every singe mesh from the list, select "preserve material ID's" option
  • Export the resulting model, now consisting of a single mesh, into .fbx or .obj

Now I have a neat single-piece object, neat! Only problem is, I don't think it's reasonable to get 3ds Max just for that operation when I'm never using it for anything else.

Is there any alternative software that can perform the same operation with more reasonable price or even for free? :)

It's not that complicated operation. I'm not merging any actual geometry, chunks stay separate, vertex count stays the same. I'm not working with animations, skeletons, etc. Just simple, static props and buildings.

I have tried Blender (selecting everything in a scene, hitting Ctrl+J to join), but Blender seems to completely mess up material IDs, so I'm always ending up with materials randomly reassigned all over the place. I guess that's what "preserve material ID's" option in 3ds Max was about, and I'm not seeing one in Blender.

Would be great if anyone could recommend something, be it software or an explanation of what I'm doing wrong with Blender. :)
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