Cinema 4D - 150MB files - best settings to export to FBX?

Unity Engine
1

Not familiar with Cinema 4D, but I have version 12 at my disposal, and 2 large (150MB) files created in Cinema 4D (on a Mac). I do not have Cinema 4D on the PC that I use for Unity.

Being that I am not too familiar with Cinema 4D, and trial-and-error takes sooooooo long with these HUGE files… Could someone out there with experience using Cinema 4D and Unity, what settings I should use when exporting so I can create FBX files?

A screenshot of what stuff I should have checked, etc., when exporting? Any hints would really be appreciated… I’m more of a coder than a 3D modeler, so… Having trouble with this… :slight_smile:

Thanks all!

2

150MB: is it pure geometry or does that include textures as well? my first try would be not to include texture in fbx file.

What kind of problem are you having now? Do you get very big FBX files that Unity is unable to import?

3

My first attempt, just exporting as “FBX 10.2” (I think that was the option I had in exporting [Cinema 4D 12, btw]), the 130MB file turned into a 2.33GB file! :open_mouth:

I just tried again (it takes a couple hours), and it’s only about 1/5th of the way done now on my 2nd attempt: I deleted some extraneous stuff, and deselected animations. Hoping this will be MUCH smaller - not sure how much I shaved off doing that.

The model is a huge, very detailed map of a building with all the “furniture” in it - VERY large area (the 2nd file is the inner section, and it’s about 130MB, too - original C4D file)…

If I turn off the lights, skybox, deselect animation (because it doesn’t have any animations anyway)… What else can I turn off? Do the lights need to be in the model for the FBX export to keep the textures? ie: are lights necessary as part of the model, when I’ll put lights in myself inside Unity?

Pretty much every surface of every item inside the model has a texture. Most everything is a duplicate, but I’m assuming the FBX export treats every surface as a separate texture when it exports? Which would explain 130MB->2.3GB - it’s making duplicates of “instances”?

One of the other things I thought about doing, was deselecting the “create meshes” option? or something like that - can’t remember now - the Mac is “busy” at the moment… :slight_smile:

OR, is there a way to export just groups separately? Each area and section inside the larger full model was thankfully grouped by the original 3D artist - can these groups be exported separately? Not sure how to do that… Then I’d just have to bring them into Unity and re-assemble them and line them all up where they should go? Would that be a better idea anyway?

I’m sooooo much a noob at this part. Learning as I go. The code part I absolutely LOVE! And the animation control… Love it! But this massive 3D modeling and exporting, and knowing what settings to use, or what I can do with it… Brave new world for me. Time to do some GOOGLING tonight after work.

Still, any insight from Cinema4D experts out there would be soooooo appreciated.

4

If I just put the C4D files (the 130MB ones) into my assets folders (like I’d do with a normal FBX file anyway), will Unity import it (using Cinema4D), and create the actual FBX files? (I know, Unity actually just runs the exporter from Cinema4D, but you know what I’m sayin?)…?

Because ultimately, after I get these files, I’m NOT going to be using Cinema4D again, and the computer I’ll be using to develop the code on won’t have Cinema4D. So… After I open the Assets (and Unity imports the C4Ds), can I copy that Assets folder over to my normal development PC, and I won’t need Cinema 4D anymore because the files will have been converted?

Geez - I’m running in circles here - just like the little spinning logo on the mac, letting me know it’s still creating a huge-mongous FBX file for me to cry over… :slight_smile:

5

A couple of things I thought of:

  1. Using C4D files directly is a problem for you because 1) you have to have C4D installed on the Unity machine for that to work and 2) at least in my initial tests with the demo version of R12, the direct file import is not working with R12, although the FBX import appeared to work fine. Actually, it looks like all Unity does with C4D files is launch C4D itself and tell it to convert the file to FBX, so you’re not really saving any time there anyway.

  2. Make sure you are copying the FBX file over to the Unity machine before you try to import it. I’ve noticed that sometimes Unity can be very slow to import files from a network drive.