Smoothing Groups - Easiest thing in the world?

Murdoc

Hey,

So it's been a long time since i'e had to create any art, especially for UDK. I'm using Max 2010 and exporting FBX (I've also tried ASE).

I think I'm going batty because I'm trying to import the most simple mesh in the world and getting all sorts of problems.

It's basically a flat plane, with same chamfers and a bit extruded in. This shouldn't be rocket science, but I assume the big flat faces should be one smoothing group and not show the underling geo, just be one big flat panel, but no matter what I do or options I choose it ends up wonky.

What the heck am I doing wrong?

Vailias

My experience with UDK is to make your objects one smoothing group,and one smoothing group only. Then bake your normals etc. The end object looks right. If you must have separate groups, break the separate bits to their own elements so they don't ever try to share verts.

Edit: Also make sure that planar face is actually planar

Murdoc

Yeah, I wasn't planning on baking normals for this but using tileable textures. I think there is a really simple something I'm missing here, because this should be the most basic thing in the world.

Thanks for the input though.

AlecMoody

are the bent in edges of the bevel on the same smoothing group as the flat section? Also, are you exporting normals and what do your unreal import settings look like?

Norman3D

Your first UV channel, how does it look?

Graylord

What AlecMoody asked basically. Are the sides of the indentation it's own smoothing group?

Blubberblase

make sure your front facing polys have only one smoothing group that is not the same as the inner parts

Spoon

Vailias, this is not correct!
You get very bad light baking this way. The lowpoly should have proper smoothing groups set up. This also eliminates gradients in the normal map, which in turn also makes the normal map better in itself, and more easy to re-use. and compression is better.
Basically, the entire world becomes a better place, if smoothings are setup properly.

If you are using Max, you can try to select all the faces, and click "Planar" in Ribbon. I'm guessing you are getting this error eitherb ecause your faces are not entirely flat, or, as others have mentioned, that you have a bevel in the same smoothing grp.

Butthair

To add to the consensus be sure your smoothing groups are set properly, do not use one group especially if there is no unique normal map for the object. Furthermore, be sure it has proper UVs, if you just modeled it and didn't address the UVs the you will get those sorts of odd artifacts, especially if they are ASE. Usually I see this if UVs overlap over or on top of each other so try a planar map to the UVs then relax them a bit to be sure this isn't the cause.