Blender import / export removes any ability to play animations on a model

Hi!
I’m in serious need of help. I have tried to sort this out for many days, but I can’t make it to the finish line.
I have this model from the asset store. I need to make an edit to the model, so I import it to Blender.
In Blender, I see there is no armature, the entire skeleton is represented only by empty points.
There is no armature, no bone weights, nothing.
Upon export, I can use the model just fine in the Unity editor, but the model shows this warning:

Sure enough, if you make a build of the game, the models are invisible, which has halted the progress of my project for a while now.

Here’s what I tried:

Using this script, I rebuilt the armiture manually. When I check it the model has weight maps and everything looks fine.
I export the model, but it seems to be incompatible with the animations. The model gets kind of animated, but it looks like a deflated blob, as if all the weights were 0.
And this is as far as I got.
Tried a million things, but just can’t get it to work. Anyone has any ideas?

Open questions:
How the hell does this model even work in the editor? As long as I don’t edit the files, the animations work just fine.
Where do my manually created weight-maps go?

I can see they got made, so why isn’t unity using them?
I would have just tried the same process to rebuild the animations, but the script I linked does not transfer animations from the points to the bones, so I’m stuck with what I got.

9689909–1382375–Slime.zip (22.8 KB)

It sounds like you’re facing a challenging issue with importing a model from the asset store into Blender and then exporting it for use in Unity. The fact that the model is represented only by empty points in Blender without an armature or bone weights complicates matters.
Given the complexity of the situation, it might be helpful to break down the problem into smaller steps. Have you tried reaching out to the creator of the model on the asset store for support or clarification on how it’s intended to be used?
Additionally, regarding your question about why the model works in the Unity editor despite the missing armature and bone weights, Unity might be automatically generating some default settings or configurations to make it functional within the editor, but those might not carry over correctly when you build the game.
As for your manually created weight maps, it’s puzzling why Unity isn’t utilizing them properly. It could be a matter of incorrect export settings or compatibility issues between Blender and Unity.
It seems like you’ve already explored various solutions, such as using the empties_to_bones script to rebuild the armature manually. Perhaps experimenting with different export settings or seeking advice from Blender and Unity communities could provide further insights or alternative approaches to tackle this problem. Don’t hesitate to ask for help, as sometimes fresh perspectives can lead to breakthroughs in troubleshooting issues like this.

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it a lot!
But after two days of deepdiving into this I decided it simply isn’t worth it and just made the enemy myself from scratch.
Thankfully I had picked up all the necessary tricks since back when I got the model.

I understand your frustration. It seems your model is missing an armature and weights in Blender, causing it to be invisible in Unity. Here are quick steps to fix it:

  1. Check Export Settings: Ensure armature and weights are included.
  2. Recreate Armature: Add a new armature and rig the model.
  3. Weight Paint: Assign weights for proper movement.
  4. Test in Unity: Re-export and verify settings.
  5. Community Help: Ask for support in forums.

Also, consider using tools like “Lightroom MOD APK” for enhancing visuals. Good luck!