Maya "Send to unreal"

goekbenjamin · Jan 2019

In Maya i have to define where to export the fbx first with:
File - Send to unreal - set unreal project

Here i am not sure what folder exactly i should choose so unreal detects changes on meshes automatically.

I can select the rootfolder but its no help because it creates an "import" folder which is not visible in unreal editor
i cant select "...\unreal_project_root\Content\Assets\Meshes" it says "Please select a valid unreal project"

What is the right way?
Thanks in advance

pior · Jan 2019

I'd say ... you can safely ignore any such "send to" feature. These things are likely not going to be maintained in the long run anyways.

In other words : put your trust in Epic, not in Autodesk. Just export your FBX to any location you want, and UE4 will allow you to reimport it at any time, automatically or manually.

goekbenjamin · Jan 2019

Thanks for your answer!
but why is the option available than anyway? does it have any dis/advantages over the normal export?!
I saw that the orientation was fixed automatically when using approach above.

How should one handle the orientation when exporting manually?
--
i actually found it in the xport options when exporting fbx, it is under advanced - units - axis conversation (pretty good burried ^^)

again thanks alot, the manual way is fine for me, because unreal does check updated meshes

AlexG_WoLD · Jan 2019

I know in MayaLT, Send to Unreal advantage is that it removes the export polygon limit.

But after trying both, I agree with Pior. File > Export Selection, then having a dedicated folder for all FBX exports is what I use.

goekbenjamin · Jan 2019

thanks alot, yes thats what i too do now

much better

sprunghunt · Jan 2019

Another difference is that send to unreal remembers a different file path - which is why they make you choose the project. So if you're exporting to different projects, unity and unreal, you don't have to keep browsing to the folder where you're exporting FBX files.

Mark Dygert · Jan 2019

Yea, "send to" at best will usually crash something, or never make it.

Personally I rather use scripts that fit my particular workflow. It doesn't take much to create them and once you do, they're great.

You can...

Batch export a bunch of models from one scene or multiple.
Have it move a model to the scene origin, export and put it back
Have your script smartly understand your scene and export different objects in different ways (like animations or props)
Have it make sure your frame rate is set right
Have a UI that lets you cut up your timeline into separate animations
Have it fire off specific things like renaming materials or grabbing a specific selection set
Error checking the file and mesh
Triangulate the model and then revert it back to quads
Have it save, export and then reset the scene and import the FBX so you can check it for errors
Have it fire off a script that adds new models to library, take pics and catalogs everything
Have it save your scene then load specific files after you export, like a template file that you're using to construct set pieces.

Tons of stuff that make your life way better than the send to button could ever do.

goekbenjamin · Jan 2019

thats sounds indeed a 1000x times better

thanks alot.
The idea with move to orign export and move back thing sounds pretty dope! How is that possible via script? Sounds somewhat complicated!

Maya "Send to unreal"

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