Creating Daz Studio assets that will work in Unity

ghastlycomic

Well, I haven't had Unity installed since I got this new laptop but lately I've been feeling the urge to try my hand at game creation especially since there are visual scripting tools like Plygame and Fungus that will let me create a Hack and Slash or a Visual Novel without having to learn how to code. I just don't like coding like I did in the old days when I had my Commodore 64 and really don't have the time to learn C## or some other language and learn creating the art assets for a game too.

What I'd like to know is what I should be doing to create assets using Daz Studio that will work best in Unity.

Do I have to triangulate the mesh before exporting it as an FBX or does Unity take care of that itself at the render stage?

Should I use General weightmapping or Triax?

Is there any naming protocol for bones that I need to make my assets work with Unity or can I just use the bone naming protocol that Daz Assets use?

Is there a way I can use aniblocks I create for Daz Studio as animation assets in Unity?

Basically I'd like to be able to create a bunch of assets that will work as assets in Daz Studio and as assets in Unity. Is this actually a possibility or is it an either/or situation? Are there any good tutorials for creating Daz Studio assets that will work well in Unity?

Lindsey

DAZ3D has a sister site, Morph3d.com,  offering Unity assets. 

Sort the asset store by price low to high and you'll see the Male and Female figures and a bunch of outfits for Free.

ghastlycomic

I wouldn't be interested in using other people's assets but making my own assets that would hopefully work in both Daz and Unity.

ghastlycomic

Oh, and does anyone have a script or other system that will let you render an animation but as a sprite sheet instead of separate image frames? That would be something handy.

Uthgard

Agreed. That would be a time saver.

ghastlycomic

I've been playing with Fungus today. Builting a simple turn based combat system. I made animated sprites out of renders of my Lolo Hai chibi figure. CHIBI FIGHT!

Snuggins

I own morph3d stuff but prefer using the models I created in Daz & Blender and their animations more than the morph3d stuff which isnt as flexible. Getting Genesis into Unity used to be a drag, but Genesis 8 into Unity 2017.1 anyway, which I tried the other day, was almost flawless using the daz exporter and dragging the fbx into the Unity assets folder. The cornea needs to be set to transparent but other than that, everything seems to work with the standard shader close enough.

Of course I could never sell a 3d game with G8 in it, the license cost is too high to include the 3d mesh character in the binary, there are lots of threads about that. But a sprite sheet or other renders, fine. And the animations come through as well, and work with Mecanim, Unity's rig. Didnt try that with G8 the other day, but with my G1/V5 it works. 

For sprites I have been using a GIMP script on a set of renders, but you prob have a better tool. Mine is janky but I am used to its quirks.

Hope I actually answered something. I do tend to go on and on, sorry!

michaeltoo

Hi guys, for those who might be interested, for the next 8hrs the -  Unity 5.x Shaders and Effects Cookbook is free on packtpub books, but you have to register.

https://www.packtpub.com/packt/offers/free-learning

Daywalker Designs

ghastlycomic said:

I wouldn't be interested in using other people's assets but making my own assets that would hopefully work in both Daz and Unity.

As long as they are properly rigged in DAZ Studio, simply exporting them as FBX (2012) is fine, according to the online documentaion for Unity.

FSMCDesigns

I would love to see a pie chart or some stats to show what people use DAZ/DS assets for in Unity. I figure the majority use them (hopefully with licenses, but I am doubtful)) in wannabe game development. Then you have animations, then renders. Any other uses?

ghastlycomic

daywalker03 said:

ghastlycomic said:

I wouldn't be interested in using other people's assets but making my own assets that would hopefully work in both Daz and Unity.

As long as they are properly rigged in DAZ Studio, simply exporting them as FBX (2012) is fine, according to the online documentaion for Unity.

 

Well that's good to know. So is it best to use triax or general weight maps?

Daywalker Designs

ghastlycomic said:

daywalker03 said:

ghastlycomic said:

I wouldn't be interested in using other people's assets but making my own assets that would hopefully work in both Daz and Unity.

As long as they are properly rigged in DAZ Studio, simply exporting them as FBX (2012) is fine, according to the online documentaion for Unity.

 

Well that's good to know. So is it best to use triax or general weight maps?

General weight mapping is probably the best option, as it's pretty much the standard in gaming these days.

ghastlycomic

That's good to know... ... also a lot easier to create.

mikek

FSMCDesigns said:

I figure the majority use them (hopefully with licenses, but I am doubtful)) in wannabe game development.

Daz figures with hair and clothes are usually rather easy to spot when used in games. The license is also in the range of what indie developers can afford so it doesn't make much sense not to get the license. I for my part would be happy if more of the non daz originals artists would offer indie licenses in the store.