Small tool to help with importing stuff from max into unity without the guess work!
Pretty easy to use, just import this model into your max scene when you are ready to export your model.
check the scale of your model with the UnityRuler.3ds model, each spike = 1 unit in unity when using the default scale inside of 3dsmax.
Its pretty accurate but its not perfect, use it as a guide to scaling your 3ds models before you export them to save time and effort when importing into Unity.
Why would you do that? Just save the file to the assets folder of the project, plop it in to the scene, if its too big or small, tweak it in your 3D package and it automatically adjusts in Unity.
Yes, seems perfectly fine from anything from a matchbox to a city. Here is how to set up in max in detail:
go to Customize->Units Setup
click metric radiobutton and choose meters from the dop down list.
click System Unit Setup button on this window.
Ensure 1 Unit = 1.0 and select meters from the drop down list.
Now in Unity, click your asset in the assets tree and navigate to the import options for that object. Set the file from 0.01 etc to 1.0.
Then all is well. You only need to do this once in 3dsmax and it will remember it from there on, so you only need to actually open unity and change stuff to 1.0.
like i said gents its a guide, i hate working at 1= 1m in max as moving the camera around ones model is dam near impossible and you cant get a good look at any detail as the cameras close plane intersects it. I am using max9, pretty sure they fixed it in 10 with that perspective gizmo, but for me working at 1=1m isnt an option. Setting the import to 1.0 doesn’t carry over when importing packages you just made so very little use in changing it to 1.0 on ever model as it ill defualt back to 0.1 when someone imports that package, just like renaming a material.
If your version of max works at 1=1m then great use that its far more accurate and alot easier lolz, but for guys like me something like this is a pretty big help. Unity isnt the only engine i work with so defaulting my max isnt a very good idea either as 39.000 = 1m works great with everything else.
And im not stupid, setting the scale was the first thing i did when i got unity, and i did it 20freaking times, might be my max or my unity but it never carried over, setting it to 1=1m and setting the import to 1.0 did nothing a 1by1by1 box in max still imported at 40 times that size. Then again that auto save import feature also doesn’t work for me on max or photoshop or gimp or maya so probably something up with my unity. Usually i just open the objects in explorer and copy and paste them to update, works fine, and i am more comfortable with it anyway as its much harder to screw things up that way.
Should probably change the title to:
If your lucky enough to own 3Dsmax10 or higher, or your unity scale actually works you probably wont need this.
Incidentally if someone has a copy of max 10 i have a bunch of lowpoly weapons i made in it i cant open in max9, all set for gaming just collecting dust, can send them over if you will re export them and send them back, made them for a free mod anyway.
Well, I can appreciate it just for the fact that I re-setup my units in a new instal a few days ago, I had missed the Untiy importing at scale 0.1 so it was back and forth frustration trying to figure out the size.
(I also forgot to uncheck the box that makes smaller grids as you zoom in, so I’d set size, try to snap to grid, zoom in and the grid would get smaller…thus lending to the confusion.)
The issue I have with Max set at 1 unit = 1 meter, is that makes a 1 meter object so small you can’t zoom in close enough in perspective, it clips out (maybe there’s a ‘clipping plane’ setting in Max I haven’t found.). And I rely on perspective view ALOT.
I’ve got it set now so it’s no biggie, but I can see this as being helpful for someone who is first getting set-up in Unity/Max.
Thats kool man, ild set mine up to 1=1 and figure out why it doesn’t work if it wasn’t for that same clipping plane issue in the perspective viewport.
I think the grid zoom settings are in view/togglebackground(might be under grid or something)/lock zoom pan, somewhere in there have done it before, but i don’t use the grid to often, more for just finalizing sizes for stuff that tiles than as a base for modeling with as there are very few objects that follow perfectly = measurements lolz, unless your making like a brick or a 2by4. Besides that’s Cads area of expertise not max.
It’s there, and it’s not hidden. But I can’t blame you, took me a while to find it too. But it’s easy.
Right click on the viewport name (this case, perspective) and click Viewport Clipping, then play with the little triangles (the one on the bottom is near clipping, the top one is far clipping). Although, honestly even at the minimum it doesn’t help much on really small objects, but works well on anything with more than 1 cm (at least on max 2009) .
I hope that helps.
Now on topic, scale works fine with me (max 2009) using the latest fbx version (that might be the trick), still this is a nice “add-on” for those who have problems with it.
Im quite confised by the import scale issues. Im modelling a large environment in max. Imported into unity and then set scale to 1, proportions did look correct based on the already in scene vehicles and their speed. later I did remove all the roadmarking geometry to a separate file in order to not generate colliders for these. when importing these into the scene, with equal import scale (1) the model did look tiny. both max files are in meters and saved directly into assets folder, if I do xref the scenes in max they do match as expected.
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for the one that needs to convert max models: download the larest 30 day trial version wich is fully functional.
Scaling has been an issue for me since I started with Unity. In my case, i set Maya to Meters and model my characters to 1.8 units. Like stated above, it is a pain to do so because, not the near plane, but my camera move distance. When I try to scroll closer for a detail tweak my camera tends to move through my model. So I started working in 180 units and just downscaling back to 1.8 when I am done.
My issue is that wnen I freeze transforms, delete history and save as a final model ready to import, saved in M and being 1.8 units in size, I have to import my models at 0.013 in order to make it fit the CharacterController… Heck, I modeled a child at 1.5 units and the tip of the shoe covered half the Island scene… i simply have 2 faith in Maya-Unity scale. For me it is simply agiven that, whatever scale or size i use I will have to scale in unity.
So recently I had an issue with a model appearing 10 times what it should be. So I go into Unity’s import settings and i scale it down to 0.1. Fine. But then I hit ‘Apply’ and the scale changes back to 1 again… i am physically unable to scale that model…! Well, “those models” to be more accurate…
Just last night, for example… I have a grid based level editor and I have a cursor that moves over the tiles so you can see what tile you are on. The model is a simple plain, created from the plane used for the editor tile so it is exactly the same size and shape, just lifted 0.006 units on the y. So I double clicked the model, Maya opened, I hit extrude, moved the face upwards 1 unit, set some UVs, cleared the history, saved as “wall”, imported into Unity… voila… 100 times the size of the source object… What the hell??? I checked the source object and that is imported at scale 1 and the model created by extruding the one face upwards is also imported at scale 1 and yet one is 100 times the size of the other…
You HAVE to model in meters? And after that you HAVE to change scale for EVERY SINGLE asset you are using from 0.01/0.1 to 1 on all axes?
Modeling in meters is ok, if you are modeling cities, not lets say 20cm40cm10cm objects or anything even remotely that small. And don’t even mention viewport clipping settings…It kinda works, but its just a partial solution for a problem that shouldn’t exist.
Every major studio works in mm (if they use Metric system that is). Every bloody 3d software works perfectly with mm, inches, meters whatever. What you bring in - you can then bring out and it will be the same size. Reading the forums around and spending hours playing with scale settings it just becoming frustrating to try and make it work. How can this still be a problem in 2013?
And after this you have to rescale EVERY object to 1.1.1? Does everyone do it?
I’ve asked it on several forums, but so far no one has explained their workflow with scale where I have stuff modelled in milimeters and exported in milimeters and it comes in Unity as correct size and has scale factors 1.1.1.
