Bodygroup misplaced when exporting from Blender to SFM [Solved]

[sn0wsh00]

I have a bodygroup that looks fine in Blender but is misplaced in SFM. You can see this problem below:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=928410325
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=928410563

I was reading this thread about someone else who was having this problem and that person apparently solved this issue by changing the bone names slightly so that they are different from mesh objects. I export in DMX, so I thought this could be a solution.

The problem is, I have no idea how to find bone and mesh object names. I mean, where in Blender do I even click? Are the orange triangles in the outliner supposed to be the mesh objects?

[Pte Jack]

On the right, the outliner above the property panel (the one with all the tabs.) It shows all the elements in your current sceen.

Now you can do this one of 2 ways. You can select the armature in the 3d viewer and put it into Edit Mode. select the bone, then in the property panel, select the tab that looks like a bone and change the name there, OR

You can expand the armature in the outliner until you find the bone you're looing for, double click it and type the new bone name. Either way, the vertex group associated to that bone will change to the new name as well (as long as the armature modifier is in place and is connected to the bone that you're changing.)

[Pipann]

Yeah, as a general rule of thumb, you shouldn't name bones the same as mesh objects. I heard it's because because source considers all objects bones unless it has geometry. So if you name two things the same name, it gets confused.

[sn0wsh00]

I think all the bone names in my model is the default ValveBiped.whatever.

Are the orange triangles in the outliner supposed to be the mesh objects you're referring to? Because those orange triangles have very different names compared to the bones, and yet, this bodygroup misplacement still happens.

Also, how would I know what bone to look for? Because the bodygroup having issues is a hair, do I change the name of ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1 under the armature (which I assume is the grey man in the outliner)?

[Pte Jack]

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=928675935

[sn0wsh00]

Well, I changed the name of ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1 to ValveBiped.Bin01_Head1 in the armature, as well as in the QC file, but the hair bodygroup is still misplaced. This is how my outliner looks like currently:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=928901517

survivor_producer_body6_model0 is the hair bodygroup/object mesh that keeps being misplaced.

[Pte Jack]

I am thinking this is more an origin point thing that a bone problem. Did you apply the location, rotaion and scale to the object before you exported it?

[sn0wsh00]

Yes I did. Scale is all 1, location is all 0 and rotation is all 0. I think you might need to show me how "mesh objects named exactly the same as the bones" looks like in the outliner

To give you more info on the bone name change, I had set the vertex group for survivor_producer_body6_model0 to ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1, hence the reason I specifically changed that bone's name. Is that the right way of doing this?

By the way, here's the download link to a previous version of the model I'm working on, if you're interested in decompiling it:
http://sn0wsh00.deviantart.com/art/Source-Filmmaker-Payday-2-Sydney-version-0-1-678287267

[Pipann]

Well, if there are no name conflicts and everything is all zeroed out, I don't know what else could be causing it. Blender isn't my strong suit. In fact, it's my enemy. lol

I did once have a similar experience with the zero-ing problem. Have you tried just doing it again and then reapplying the bodygroup function, or however it works in Blender here?

[sn0wsh00]

Originally posted by Pipann:

I did once have a similar experience with the zero-ing problem. Have you tried just doing it again and then reapplying the bodygroup function, or however it works in Blender here?

When you say "bodygroup function," you're referring to the $bodygroup stuff in the QC file, right? Or is it some specific tool or process in Blender?

Originally posted by Pipann:

Well, if there are no name conflicts and everything is all zeroed out, I don't know what else could be causing it. Blender isn't my strong suit. In fact, it's my enemy. lol

Wow, so all this time, my bone names (ie the name next to the bone symbol and is usually named ValveBiped.whatever) were indeed different from my mesh object names (ie the names next to the orange triangles and were named survivor_producer_body#_model0). Welp, back to looking at the origin point thing again. I'll probably get back to you in a couple of days when I can look at the files again.

[sn0wsh00]

I decided to re-import the dmx files I had previously exported, and I noticed in the outliner that survivor_producer_body6_model0 (the bodygroup giving me misplacement problems) was missing modifiers and vertex groups, even though I thought I had defintely added those in to the mesh object. Could that be causing the misplacement? If so, how do I make sure the vertex group and modifier are still present when I export to dmx?

[sn0wsh00]

Well, I decided to wave the white flag and export to SMD instead (RIP facial flexes, for now).

It turns out my biggest problem was that I had not been assigning the bodygroup[docs.blender.org] to the ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1 vertex group. After assigning Sydney's mohawk to that vertex group, here's how the model looks like now:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=930598053
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=930598235

[sn0wsh00]

I finally managed to export to DMX without Sydney's mohawk being misplaced! Turns out the issue was a misnamed DMX file. Face flexes here I come!

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=931731933&fileuploadsuccess=1