Autodesk FBX Import Plugin

FBX import plugin allows for adding content stored in FBX format directly into Unigine engine. The plugin converts FBX assets on the fly and loads a variety of elements:

Polygonal geometry
Full elements hierarchy
Materials
Animations
Lights
Cameras

FBX plugin in Unigine engine

In the launcher for your Unigine project (*.bat or *.sh file), specify the following engine plugin:
Shell commands
```
main_x86d -extern_plugin Autodesk
```
Open Tools -> Plugins and press Core button to see the list of available editor plugins.
Choose import/autodesk.cpp to load the plugin interface.

FBX import plugin is now shown:

FBX plugin interface

After loading the plugin, you can start creating your world from FBX assets right away. To load a FBX scene into the Unigine engine:

Copy FBX assets under <UnigineSDK>/data folder. This step is recommended if you want to save the Unigine world with converted meshes and textures.
Click Load button in the FBX plugin window to load a FBX scene into the memory.
Specify the path to the *.fbx file.
If necessary, load an additional animation from another FBX file by clicking the Animation button.
Check import options (if materials, animations, etc. do not need to be loaded).
Click Add to scene button to add a loaded scene into Unigine world.
If materials are imported, specify the path to the existing Unigine material library file (*.mat).

Load assets

Load	Loads one scene from a FBX file into the memory. After it is loaded, you can click Add to scene button. For mesh geometry, the plugin performs automatic conversion to Unigine coordinate basis while preserving model orientation. Full node hierarchy is supported for exported models.
Animation	Loads an FBX animation file.
Info	Displays information on the loaded file: File name Version of the FBX file Creator for the name and version of the application in which FBX file was created Meter for the used unit of unit of measurement Up axis (up vector) used to orient the asset Front axis (forward vector) used to orient the asset Orientation for right or left-handed coordinate system Animation for names of exported animations Time for asset's animation in the format: animation start time/animation end time
Add to scene	Adds a loaded scene into the Unigine world. Loaded data is saved from memory to the disk (if a source FBX file is stored under data directory). What data is saved depends on the selected import options (such as Import materials, Import animations). Folder meshes is added with .mesh, .smesh and .sanim files. Folder textures is added with textures. If you want to add the same FBX scene as already loaded via a Load button, but with different options, simply click Add to scene* button again. You can choose to rewrite nodes, or add another scene without rewiring its previously imported variant.
Vertex cache	Performs vertex cache optimization. This option reorders an indexed triangle list to improve vertex cache utilization in run time. It can be turned off for a quicker saving; however, it should always be turned on if saving the final version.
Import joints	Imports the hierarchy of the joints (bones) for animated FBX assets. Joints are imported as a hierarchy of Dummy nodes. If this option is disabled, imported animations for a mesh still work.
Import lights	Imports light sources from a FBX scene into Unigine: Directional lights are converted into world light sources. Point lights are converted into omni light sources. Spot lights are converted into projected light sources. The following parameters of lights are automatically imported into Unigine, so there is no need to set them up twice: Light color Light radius and attenuation Light source position and orientation
Import cameras	Imports cameras from a FBX scene. They are converted into PlayerDummy (cameras without physical properties). Both types of projection are supported in Unigine: Orthographic (with Z near and far clipping planes support) Perspective (with FOV support) To view the scene through the imported camera: Click Camera icon on the Unigine editor panel, and Choose its name in the drop-down list in the top left corner.
Import materials	Creates materials for the imported scene. They include the following textures: Diffuse texture Normal map or bump map (need to be converted into RG channel for Unigine) Specular texture Light map Material parameters are also imported: Diffuse color Specular color and power Emission color If Import textures option is unchecked (by default it is enabled), source textures are used, without automatic compression and conversion. In this case, make sure that you convert a normal map into a 2-channel format (RG), since usage of RGB normal maps results in incorrect lighting of the model.
Import textures	Converts textures into Unigine-ready DDS format are saves them into the textures folder. This option requires Import materials option also to be checked.
Compress textures	Compresses textures and creates mipmaps, if necessary. This option requires Import textures option to be checked as well.
Import animations	Imports animation for animated FBX assets. Skinned animations are saved into separate *.sanim files. To control the animation for the last loaded asset, choose the animation in the Anim drop-down list and drag the slider at the bottom of the plugin window.
Verbose operations	Displays a dialog if meshes or textures need to be rewritten (when a FBX asset is added into the Unigine world for the second time or more).

Anim	Lists available animations for the currently loaded FBX asset.
Mesh	Adds a prefix to the name of created meshes. For example, with a prefix my_, a mesh MeshName will be imported as my_MeshName.
Material	Adds a prefix to the name of created materials. For example, with a prefix prefix_, an imported material will be named as prefix_MeshName.
Texture	Adds a prefix to the name of created textures. For example, with a prefix prefix_, an imported texture will be named as prefix_TextureName.

Scale	Scales the imported asset.
FPS	Sets FPS for the imported animation.
Time	Sets the frame for the imported animation. You can also set it on a time line by dragging a slider.

In This Article:

See Also

How to Load FBX Plugin

How to Import FBX Assets into Unigine

Plugin Options