Instancing 3ds max to Unity

Unity Engine
1

So, I have this architectural scene in 3ds max that relies a lot on repeated instances of single objects such as pillars and arches. When I put this into unity by using the .max file, the instances are lost and each instance is treated as a single mesh, even though they are virtually the same as many of the other meshes. This is increasing the file size quite a bit. Is there a way to get instances in max to be treated as instances in Unity, or perhaps a way to replace an object in my scene with an instance of another? The only other option would be to delete these objects and try to recreate the scene in the unity editor that I already have in max. That would be a bit of a pain because my scene is very precise and I would have to manually set the transforms of each object to avoid overlap or gaps(I’m not aware of any snapping tools in the editor).

Thanks,
John

2

if you re export out your max file all the models should automatically change no? finalize ur scene in max then bring it back into unity, as far as I know max instance information doesn’t carry over, just mesh

3

They’re there. Hold down CTRL and translate/rotate. Change the snap settings via the tool bar.

4

Josh, Unity 3.2 can import instances from FBX. You have to use FBX 2011 (or even FBX 2011.3.1) plugin when exporting your max file to FBX. There is a checkbox “preserve instances” (or something like that) in FBX exporter dialog.

If you just drop max file in Unity project - it won’t import instances.

My recommendation: avoid using 3dsMax-refences - FBX plugins do not export them correctly. Use either Clones or Instances only.

5

Thanks! That’s exactly what I was looking for.