How to export HD subdivition enabled model

gamenoob · Nov 2012

Hi,
I created a 3d model with 729+ million polygon.I suppose it has 4 HD subdivision.The lowest normal subdivision is not a good base mesh.So I can not use baking in zbrush.I can not now go back to normal subdivision and delete lowest either as I have already activated HD mode(:poly118: ya pretty much fucked up!:poly122::poly122:).So my thought is to export that mesh with 729+ million polygon.Then prepare base mesh.After that use xnormal to get all the details as normal map.

I exported the mesh from zbrush.But it is not that 729+m polygon model that I expected.Why? If you HD sculpt,you are then tied up with zbrush for baking??!!

imperator_dk · Nov 2012

That's a lot of polygons... like A LOT.

Bubba91873 · Nov 2012

zbrush has a 150k polygon limit for baking and uv'ing even though it handles higher meshes with ease. I never understood why thats an imposed limit when everything else is so much higher.

Bigjohn · Nov 2012

I'm not sure I understand the question exactly. But if you mean how to bake it, I would decimate the crap out of it, and then export the decimated model into xNormal.

Look into Decimation Master in zBrush.

cryrid · Nov 2012

I'm pretty sure it doesn't have a polylimit for baking. There's one for UVs and retopology, but I think that's less of a self imposed limit, and more because those things just beg for a system crash when working with heavier meshes. I don't think Decimation Master will work either, partly for the same reason (730 million polygons just strikes me as a very intimidating amount of data to try and process without crashing), and partly because HD Geo is still it's own little thing in a few different ways. Baking is even a relatively newer addition for it (but it's there).

And that will probably be your ticket out of this mess. Some detail will have to be sacrificed, but it might be worth asking if it's even worth having that number of polygons in the final sculpt. If the end result is going to be baked down to a texture, there's only a limited amount of pixels you can work with. 730 million points seems more in the realm of ten 8192x8192 textures.

I'd try baking the result to the highest resolution texture you can (4096 or 8192). Then drop to the lowest subdivision level, and use UV Master's "work on clone" button. This will give you a new polymesh that has no subdivision levels or hd geometry, but still has the same UVs. Subdivide it up (high, but no where close to 730 million) and apply the displacement map to it. Consider the result to be your new highpoly mesh, ready to be decimated or retoplogized for further work.

JohnnyRaptor · Nov 2012

HD geometry in ZBrush doesnt export out. As far as im aware, its exclusive for in ZBrush use to render displacement and normal maps.

You need to UV your basemesh, and then bake displacement or normalmap to be able to make use of your HD detail.

If your basemesh is bad, you should GoZ it out to your 3d app, fix it up, UV it, and then GoZ that back to Zbrush. This should retain all your levels and details, and allow you to bake your maps.

You should then be able to GoZ back to your 3d app and have these maps plugged in, ready to use

How to export HD subdivition enabled model

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