♥ PosetteForever ♥

I was trying to edit a complex OBJ+MTL scene file in my ($$) turboCAD 2016 x64. <br /> <br /> Most of the other programs I'd tried either have an intractable UI or, legacy x32, simply 'fall over' due complexity. <br /> <br /> I'd hoped to extract many fun props & widgets, split the complex set into 'scenes' that would not choke Poser. <br /> <br /> Well, TC loaded the complex OBJ mesh okay, but did not read the MTL. Given there were dozens of textures referenced, this was a bit of a blow. Could I find any option to read an MTL ? No... <br /> <br /> I played with a much simpler file, an aquarium. Again, the OBJ loaded, the MTL did not. I managed to disentangle the parts, tried to export them. OBJ appeared, sorta okay, though bloated, but NO MTL. <br /> <br /> I put a query on the official TC forum. After a while, several members kindly responded. OBJ+MTL is not a common format in TC community, but they checked and confirmed my findings. <br /> <br /> TC can neither read nor write an MTL for OBJs. <br /> <br /> Seems MTL 'system' of materials and textures is completely different to TC's two types. They are both compatible with eg 3DS, with baked-in colours, which are what I used for P4, FP3D and that era's TC. Now, there's still no MTL support for OBJ. <br /> <br /> No way, can't be done. Apple vs Android, chalk vs cheese, TSB;NFC... <br /> <br /> And, given the lack of external texture calls, it means latest TC versions' FBX support is likely to be similarly flawed. <br /> <br /> Which means there is <b><i><u>NO</u></i></b> texture-calling format in common between TC and Poser_11... <br /> <br /> Upside, I'm no longer tempted to upgrade my TC _2016 to '2020 or forthcoming '2021 before I've seen what's available in PPro_12. <br /> <br /> Down-side, I feel a bit betrayed...

That's pain.

Though I'm new to the topic, I did wonder about it because I wanted to do the same thing, split a complex object into smaller parts... but I was concerned about, "How do I split the texture up as well, so that the 3D portion I split off will have the correct piece of texture with it?" <br /> <br /> I don't know how to do this, but plan on learning. <br /> <br /> If I do discover how to do this, I hope ViaCAD will be able to succeed with it because I like the videos I saw on YouTube of the application.

Hi ! <br /> <br /> IMHO, you must discover *exactly* what ViaCAD calls 'support' for OBJ textures. If I/O includes MTL, then you've hope. The lack of adequate info on-line, just advertising spiel, is unfortunate but far too common. <br /> <br /> Second step is to figure if individual parts will retain their textures when the model is 'sliced & diced'. <br /> <br /> If complex model is textured by 'wrapping' one detailed mega-texture, like draping vast Google Earth piccy over terrain, that is a BIG problem. IMHO, you will need to run split-out components through a UV UnWrap tool, copy/scale/paste texture sections onto their now-simpler UV map. I'm told it gets easier with practice... <br /> <br /> Some CAD packages bundle such a tool, and there are various free unwrappers. <br /> <br /> If each part already makes its own call to its eg 'blahblah016.jpg', and this is not lost, then things get a lot easier... <br /> -- <br /> <br /> I've just been informed by 'Andy' of AC3D Support that their OBJ import/export really, really does support MTL. Given my wariness expressed above, I'll need to invoke trial download, and dig deep...

Thank you kindly! <br /> <br /> I appreciate the information! <br /> <br /> Perhaps I'll try the free options first, like FreeCAD & BRL-CAD, & see what I can accomplish with those after some YouTube tutorials. <br /> <br /> I have a 32-bit version of AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008 but not a working 32-bit PC on which to use it at this time (as it doesn't run on Windows 10 64-bit).