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Marmoset Baking Cage Issues (With Solution)

polycounter lvl 6
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Geosmith polycounter lvl 6
Hello.

I'm currently making a transition from Painter to Marmoset for baking, though I find every tool a wonderful addition to my workflow there's only one thing that I don't really like, the cage. 
It seems to appear exactly the same as the cage created by 3ds Max's Projection modifier, and for whatever reason is problematic with some types of geometry, making the cage go in the wrong direction caused by averaged normals (smoothed cage). 

I don't think I've ever before had an issue with Painter regarding baking since it uses a simple ray distance, though there's less control it's also problem free (or at least has been for me) and I haven't yet encountered a bit of geo where modifying a cage would be vital. I've even baked the exact same mesh I'm trying to bake now in Painter with no issues, and with multiple cage issues in Marmoset.

Take this very bit of simple geo, The left, curved side is pushing the corner towards the left, making the cage intersect the lowpoly on the right. 

I thought somewhat of a solution would be simply to paint a negative offset, but that doesn't seem to be happening. It doesn't seem to go any further back than the lowpoly mesh. Even if I did paint it out, I hate the though of having possible issues caused by a cage, something that I must manually remove each time, something that I could miss.

So I'm not sure if I'm just a noobie with Marmoset but I can't find anything online regarding the same cage issues, if anyone knows of workarounds I'd appreciate it!

Replies

  • Geosmith
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    Geosmith polycounter lvl 6
    Here's the link to the same lowpoly mesh if anyone wants to preview the cage. 
    https://mega.nz/#F!QTRASBiA!t4CkaQt70I5P2nJPYqRBXw
  • EarthQuake
    Thanks for the report, I have added this to our bug system.

    To answer your question, no there is no alternative method for generating the cage. The likely cause of the problem is the extreme angle change along that vertex, beveling that edge would likely solve it for now.
  • Geosmith
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    Geosmith polycounter lvl 6
    That's a real shame. I'm surprised I can't find anything similar online, only stuff I could find is that people usually fix these cages by manually adjusting the lowpoly. I really don't like the thought of that, of adding geometry or modifying something purely for the purpose that it bakes right, and it won't be necessary after. 

    At least a manual cage import/export/modify would really make my day. But it seems there's absolutely nothing in Marmoset to counter this rather than changing the LP itself. :(
    Baking-only lowpoly meshes it is...
  • Geosmith
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    Geosmith polycounter lvl 6
    So I've come across a solution for this issue. I'm currently working on a big project, I'm halfway through bake testing all of my objects and already have a total of close to 15 objects that have this cage intersecting issue.

    1. The solution is pretty simple, create a clone of your lowpoly, use this normal backup script found here to store your normals: 
    http://polycount.com/discussion/192524/no-more-distortions-with-floaters-flattened-floaters-3ds-max

    2. Add a subdivide modifier, don't subdivide too much or it will defeat the smoothed cage/averaged normals. 

    3. Convert to editable poly, restore normals. The mesh should now have way more geometry but still have the exact same normals as previously. Use that for baking. Haven't had any issues *SO FAR*.

    All credit for the script goes to "denisT on cgtalk forums". It was shared here on polycount and has been super useful to me in many ways so far. 
  • Dawsky
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    Dawsky polycounter lvl 9
    So, this seems to be an issue still with toolbag 3.04, as i just ran into the same problem on a more complex mesh. 
    Does anyone know of a way to fix this without the need for photoshop ?
    I am using Maya with marmoset for baking, so the previous solution isnt working for me. 

  • brunogf13
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    brunogf13 polycounter lvl 2

    Hi there! Have you found a solution for this? Just having this happening to me now. Also using Maya... and using Marmoset 4.. seems like they haven't fixed this issue yet...

  • Geosmith
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    Geosmith polycounter lvl 6

    Cages in marmoset have actually been improved but yeah some situations like this still pop up. Since a single vert is being pulled in so many directions back into the model it's best to add more geo around that vert, bevelling/chamfering is your best bet.

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