When iClone 7 came out, my copy of 3DXchange 6 Pipeline had substantially diminished use. It was not a good surprise.
Now, I often think about how handy 3DXchange 7 Pipeline would be. I'm a bit concerned though about what will become of it when iClone 8 comes out.

It seems there are 3 possibilities:
1. 3DXchange 7 Pipeline will lose considerable functionality when iClone 8 comes out.
2. 3DXchange 7 Pipeline will lose little or no functionality when iClone 8 comes out.
3. It cannot be known, we'll have to wait and see.

Can anyone take a shot at this? It's a chunk o' change, after all.
Thanks.


"Less clicks good, more clicks bad."

We have discussions about this before, with some stating that it can't be gotten rid of soon enough for various reasons.

However, there are things that can only be done in 3DXchange and that is functionality that should be maintained. It would be a sad day if we could no longer create subprops, for example, to add animatable wheels to a car.

To stay relevant though, 3DXchange or at least its functionality, should be updated:

• It needs to be 64-bit so that large items can be imported (this can now already be done through iClone)
• It needs updated support Sketchup, which is still a useful tool; this also requires 64-bit.
• It needs to support PBR and other modern shaders
• The import routines should be improved so that FBX and OBJ come in with all textures as required for PBR. Right now that is not the case (with FBX behaving worse than OBJ), which makes importing 3rd party content a pain.
• Probably more depending on the specific application

It would be good indeed to hear from others how 3DXchange is relevant for them. There's still suckers that like to make movies with iClone...

RL has not been forthcoming at all about 3DXchange plans so for now we are stuck with your option 3.

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There are a number of things to consider, but what I always tell folks is to let their needs drive their purchases.  Yes, you can wait until the future happens, but if you take that approach you will ALWAYS be waiting.  If you need functionality now, buy it now (who knows - you might not live long enough for 8 to be released).

What I like most about 3DX Pipeline NOW is the ability to drag and drop FBX files into iClone.  They just work -- no matter the size (so no need for 64bit 3DX).  They come in with all the rigging (no ability to re-rerig, though).  If the FBX has mesh animation it ALSO comes in (so you can import from Anima).  My Python script brings in ALL the textures from Daz FBX exports, so there's that.  In short, I couldn't live without 3DX Pipeline and if I didn't have it I'd buy it even if 8 was coming out this fall (which I doubt very much it is).

But ask yourself - do YOU need it?  What do you need to do you can't do now?  If you need something, don't wait for the future, buy it and do it now.  The future is NOT guaranteed.  

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Alienware Aurora R12, Win 10, i9-119000KF, 3.5GHz CPU, 128GB RAM, RTX 3090 (24GB), Samsung 960 Pro 4TB M-2 SSD, TB+ Disk space
Mike "ex-genius" Kelley

I need mostly to retargeting motions from MMD sources. It is very useful to convert it to ICLlone motions. So for that reason alone it is important to me.

Gentlemen, thank you for your replies.

Animagic, my guess would have been choice 3, but I thought asking was better than guessing. Yes, I have movies on the brain. I spied you on the Replica forum this week.

Thank you Master Kelly, I have learned much from your video blurbs. Need can be a very strong word. Let's say I want it like all get-out.
There are times when I would like to go back and forth freely between DAZ and iClone, to utilize the strengths of both of them. I've come far enough in my self-tutoring now that I think I can finally get my money's worth out of 3DX. I'm ready to buy no matter, but I dearly hope to see some "forward compatibility." At the moment it costs twice what I paid for 3DX6.

I don't always know what I'll do next, whether to import or export, but I very much feature having a free hand at it.




"Less clicks good, more clicks bad."

You can convert motions with older versions with no issues. The motion conversion was introduced in 3DX5, and the files will be compatible with newer iClone. Batch conversion is also possible. You can convert FBX or BVH motions to iMotions.


Also, if you only need to import, Pro is all you need. Pipeline in a product name denoted export capability.

Mike, can your script be generalized to bring in textures from other FBX sources in as well? That would be most useful.

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The short answer is no.

FBX files, in general, only contain the diffuse textures (some opacity are also there but not all).  The only way I can get ALL the textures is by reading the Daz duf file directly.  So it works fine for Daz products.  No way to do it for anything else, though.

FBX is really for the most part a piss poor export format.  I guess there are far better ones but not universally supported.  When that comes to pass, of course, no need for any third party efforts.

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Alienware Aurora R12, Win 10, i9-119000KF, 3.5GHz CPU, 128GB RAM, RTX 3090 (24GB), Samsung 960 Pro 4TB M-2 SSD, TB+ Disk space
Mike "ex-genius" Kelley

You would think that something basic like that would have been solved long ago.

I know there is something like gLTF and what Omniverse uses (USD) but those are not import formats for iClone.

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Yes. That's what I do. And even without a new 3DXchange the older one should still work :-)

Greets!