(3DS MAX) Smoothing group error
polycounter lvl 11
This problem has been plaguing me with a while and I simply can't get my head around it. The problem lies with models that I (or a coworker) may have created a number of months ago. When the assets is re-opened I get these horrible shading errors when I try to edit the mesh. I'm trying to retopologize but when I get to a certain level or if I undo something it breaks all the smoothing.
More info: This model has been skinned but now has the skin modifier removed. Not sure if other models with this problem have been skinned.
It would have been passed around the office at various times between different people and in different versions of Max.
I've tried adding it as an element to a box then deleting the box.
I thought it was vertex colours but vertex painting doesn't help.
Really stuck here as this assets badly needs to be retopologized.
First image is the problem, second image is what it should look like without the problem!
More info: This model has been skinned but now has the skin modifier removed. Not sure if other models with this problem have been skinned.
It would have been passed around the office at various times between different people and in different versions of Max.
I've tried adding it as an element to a box then deleting the box.
I thought it was vertex colours but vertex painting doesn't help.
Really stuck here as this assets badly needs to be retopologized.
First image is the problem, second image is what it should look like without the problem!
Replies
When there really are no overlapping vertices, I usually slap an Edit Poly Modifier on top of it, and give it all just one smoothing group (or Auto-Smooth it with a specific value that fits best). Usually, nothing changes then, so I add yet another Edit Poly Modifier on top. This somehow takes the normals I set up in the first Edit Poly modifier.
Sometimes it does help converting it back to an Editable Poly after this.
This worked for me all the time. I can't explain why, I think somebody else might be able to do it though.
I don't know if this does fix the issue for you, but I think it won't hurt to try! Just wanted to give it a shot as quickly as I can
Is there any way to save smoothing groups to transfer from one model to another? I actually may be able to work around this, I have a plugin that applies smoothing groups based on UV island which is the way I had my old groups set anyway.
Also, it's worth pointing out that when I re-opened this model lately all of the smoothing groups in the edit poly rollout were blank. Even though it clearly had the correct groups applied in the viewport.