Zbrush is not loading all subtools from saved file or quicksaves

mrpapabear

Hi
I was working on low poly girl model, almost finished, saved and closed as always.
When i opened my file the only thing that appeared was one subtool that wasn't even part of my project. 
As you can see from uploaded image, on lightbox miniatures there is body and hand i was working on but it's not loading when i open any of QS or original file.
You can also (barely) see that head in QS file (original file too) was low poly model, not the dynamesh head that is loading.
Even undo history is loading for all the subtools but not subtools themselves
No error message no nothing
Please help

pior

To be precise, this looks more like a problem with file saving rather than file loading.

mrpapabear

What do you mean? I was successfully saving and loading the file before. Only after last session  problem occured. Now even older quicksaves are not loading properly and they were made few sessions back, when I was saving and loading file with no problems. 
Thanks for reply

pior

You could start by comparing the file sizes before and after the problem started to occur. If you recent files are much lighter than your older ones, then it's a saving issue. If they are about the same size, then it's a loading issue.

I suppose it could also be related to whatever Zbrush does with its so-called "Zprojects" files. This type of file is an afterthought and not needed anyways, since a ZTL holds all the data you need.

mrpapabear

The size didn't change and as I said it loads undo history for all subtools so the information is there but somehow tools won't appear.
I saved only ZPR file because i was working with few different grids and spotlights and didn't want to load them every time. Guess I shouldn't be so lazy but it's first time such problem occured

beefaroni

Unsure of how heavy your scene is, but in 4r7 .zpr files can become corrupted over I believe 4gb. I know that they tried to remedy this with 4r8.

Regardless, saving as .ztl is much safer.

mrpapabear

It's only 70mb, it's low poly model. It's not like weeks of work lost but if there is no solution I'm facing another sleepless night

pior

I see. Well, lesson learned : for lowpoly stuff, there is really no reason to store your work in Zbrush. Save your lowpoly work in your traditional "hub" app (Max, Maya, Blender), and keep Zbrush exclusively for your highpoly stuff. Your project will be better organized that way, and you'll be able to establish a good master scene with proper scale early, which is always good. Don't trust Zbrush for anything other than sculpting, it's not worth the hassle.

thomasp

sounds like you saved out a ZPR? you could try toggling 'preferences -> undo history -> skip loading' and then try loading your file. it'll bypass the undo history when loading in the file in case that is the issue here.

mrpapabear

thomasp - didn't work

Well thanks anyway, yet another time zbrush found a new way to give me few more white hairs

kanga

Setup  a document file that has the right settings for you (background color, canvas size etc) save that as a project file in the right place in the startup folder. Open the document and load the tool. I find the undo system handy but dont need it to record previous sessions as it gets big fast. Saving projects is a great idea in theory, but in practice a bit buggy.

FourtyNights

@pior knows exactly what he's talking about. So, to summarize this:

1. Work ONLY on your high poly work in ZBrush.
2. Save your projects as ztools (.ztl).
3. Export your HP stuff as an .obj for retopology or baking.

That's it, you don't need to worry about anything else. And, from my personal point of view, I don't mind setting up things every time I load my ztools, it has all come down to a muscle memory already, haha. I learnt to avoid zprojects (.zpr) from the day one I started using ZBrush back in 2014, because I read that they are unstable.

mrpapabear

I just wanted to give ZModeler a shot but it shot me back I guess I took all-nighter and did it again from scratch. Thanks guys, I will surely adjust my workflow.

kanga

FourtyNights said:

@pior knows exactly what he's talking about. So, to summarize this:

...
3. Export your HP stuff as an .obj for retopology or baking.

...

Exporting a decimated copy of the HP speeds up the retopology process in an external package.

Tyler Durden

@mrpapabear SOLVED! I had the same shit a few minutes ago.
Then googled it. Found your topic. Asked a few Zbrushers if they encountered such a problem. They said - no. I refused to give up!
A thing that seemed strange to me - it is another tool than I was working for.
I tried to move a slider in the Tool tab and....voila! It kept there but wasn't visible!

So it is totally your case as well!
Sorry, it is a bit late haha. but u can keep it in mind in the future,
Hope it will save white hairs for somebody else

Tylersevedmylife

Hello, Tyler, YOU SAVED MY LIFE, I signed up for this site just to say thank you!!! 

Ruz

I have  a habit of stressing over other peoples broken meshes from the past ie 2019