[3ds max] How do I export an .fbx without it triangulating?

IngridEngelschion

I cannot figure out how to export my mesh without it triangulating. I export as an .fbx with triangualtion turned off. I've tried different versions of FBX as well. Also tried without preserving edge orientation. I import into multiple other softwares to test and it always triangulates.

Feel like I've tried everything, does anyone know a solution? I'm using the newest version of Max 2024.

I have tried all suggestions in this thread as well: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/3ds-max-modeling/prevent-fbx-export-from-triangulating/td-p/5205045

Eric Chadwick

It looks like you haven't tried all the suggestions in that thread, because "Preserve edge orientation" is still enabled. See the one reply in Spanish, and their screenshot attachment. Might solve it!

Also, what does your modifier stack look like?

iam717

oh yea, and the size of fbx's is no fun i was testing things and got a 45 gb file that nothing seemed to open so yea, we be screwed if this is the only way to retain say the naming of objects in one program to export it to another... if only obj was cool again.

i had blender beta 3.5 install and it did the fbx alright enough, USE BIN not ascii that was an issue for me...took a bit of figuring out tbh, i just always used obj, notes for the future after all work is done, then rename to final names, otherwise you might lose them all and i think that sucks big time, zbrush at least the one i am on, doesn't give a shit about files names... what is "uv master doing" anyway, when you let it do things its horrible, doesn't care for appropriate uv pixel distribution, i had to find this out the hard way...besides that it doesn't do per-subtool, per-uv on ONE uv power of 2 tile, 1024,2048,4096+ if the subtools are not all merged down, which again destroys the naming...among so many more issues... //venting.

Joao Sapiro

put an edit poly ontop of your modifier stack. Otherwise use obj. I hate using fbx precisely theres always something fucked.

poopipe

The (almost) guaranteed way to export exactly what you see in the viewport is to export an editable mesh rather than editable poly. 

you can use a turn to mesh modifier or snapshots to do that non-destructively. 

Ghogiel

techincally preserve edge orientation will still be quads(or ngons or whatever) and not collapsed to tri in the fbx, but it's only valid if you reimport it to max. Most other applications make up triangulation based on who knows what, so what they seem to do is instead of applying their arbitrary triangulation method flipping everything which ever way, it'll just triangulate it to keep what max's fbx exporter wanted the triangulation to be if edge orientation is on. Which also isn't always going to be what max had it in the scene. So there is an extra step to control even the way it triangulates for exporting in max as pointed out above.

There aren't a lot of good ways to transfer a quad mesh and not screw the triangulation between apps though if that's the goal. but if you don't care about tri it should work fine.

violet2

Can I add something to this - I've never had any luck with ever exporting an object into FBX without it triangulating. There are tonnes of info on how to do it, but ten or so years later and still no luck. 'Turn To Poly' 'Turn To Mesh', adding an 'Editable Poly' modifier, it looks like the original object has properties that I don't know about.

If you create a box primitive in Max and export that, it will retain it's quads - you can do anything to it and it will still keep it's topology. If you attach the object you are trying to export to the box, the box will then only export to tri's, which doesn't make sense as the other object should inherit the box's properties surely? I'm still spending a few hours trying to figure out a way to do this as I have someone needing an object that is QUADs and not TRIs and this is proving difficult!

Two objects in Max:

Two seperate objects (in Painter): Object one triangulated, with edit poly box quad'ed:

Box object attached to other object, box inherits objects triangle 'qualities'.

violet2

A few more screenshots of methods that have not worked for me:

A single, flat polygon that was detached from the above mesh, with 'Turn To Poly' modifier (and Limit Poly Size to 4):

And adding 'Edit Poly' to an already Editable Poly mesh:

Both resulted in triangulated in Painter/FBX viewer:

I would like to get to the bottom of what makes an object actually triangulated in Max, and how it gets there, as you can clearly export meshes with quads from Max as above.

Exporting an FBX from Max and Importing it into Blender however proves it has been exported as quads ... ?

I've tried exporting out of Blender, but there seems to be some kind of unlink between some programs as Painter still converts to triangles. As above Painter can import as quads, but now I don't understand anything.

IngridEngelschion

An update to this: Thank you so much for all your responses. After countless trials and errors, these are the export settings that work for me. I'm exporting an Editable Poly as .fbx 2020 with these settings, and it never triangulates now. If I change the FBX version, it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. If I change something else, like enabling something random like "Selection Sets" or exporting cameras, it triangulates. Very weird.
No idea why this exact combination works, but it does. If anyone tries this, let me know how it goes!

violet2

I did notice something while working in Painter today, my mesh is made up of quads and no triangles.

Apart from the interior (which are both quads in Max):

No changing of settings, modifiers, FBX version alters the state - even though this is the -first- time I've ever had quads in Painter.

Stranger still, MERGING the meshes still produces the same results:

 unless you assign the same material ID to all the mesh, then it produces this - is this down to materials i wonder ?

None of the things listed above worked for my Ingrid/

Ghogiel

Painter is weird for triangulating. It's not a max or FBX thing really.

Export the default cube from blender, maya or max and you'll probably have just one face thats triangulated. Work that one out

violet2

I think there is at least one five sided (or more) n-gon that is making Painter just triangulation the whole mesh ...

rajq123

My friends, that is the reason of developing USD file format, stop using the bullshit of FBX export, try USD from now on.

poopipe

no it isn't

USD was developed to solve a long list of problems but weird triangulation when importing into painter isn't one of them. The primary reason was to provide a framework for assembling large scenes out of lots of smaller ones in a nice neat hierarchy that can be easily queried and manipulated. 

violet2 is probably thinking along the right lines - fbx will fix geometry it doesn't like (eg. non-manifold, concave ngons etc.) on export so its entirely possible it's getting triangulated at that stage. 

you really dont want quads in painter anyway - it'll mess with your bakes. 

Klunk

what happens when you add a Turn to Poly modifier with limit polygon size checked (with max size 4) before export ?

poopipe

Tick convex faces as well