So now, in the version 4.19 we don’t have the Simplygon integration anymore, we cannot use the Auto mesh reduction feature to generate LODs on animated meshes, this feature was available on UE 4.18 and working perfectly well,
I’ve tried to reduce an animated mesh manually (3ds max, Polygon Cruncher, Simplygon) outside of unreal engine and the results are not equal to what unreal engine 4.18 offer in the Simplygon integration
is there any workaround? we will have this feature again in the new updates?
Next time Epic team shouldn’t replace something with an alternative that doesn’t work at all.
Thanks.
Trello, I hope this helps…
Simpligon I think is now owned by another company (microsoft I believe) so legal issues you know… And even better you might not have to give more % off your commercial game sell with UE proxy LOD system like you had to with Simpligon…
I can plus one this issue. I feel like removing an entire system without slowly phasing it out, instead of immediately deprecating the built in tool, was a really poor choice. It has really affected our development time, which was an unnecessary change to have had happen.
Yeah, ok it’s a legal issue(most likely, because simpligon is now owned by Microsoft), you cant just have their technology in the engine if Epic doesnt have permission. However, is not hard to still use the technology if you desperately need it. fbx assets are all engine compatible, you can always use the version of the engine that had it, create the LODs, and then export it to fbx and re import it to the newer version. Also, you can use the uasset and just copy paste to the newer/updated-project. It’s just a 4 minute or less inconvinience that’s better than nothing or at least while they release the new tool for the engine. Most of the team Ive been working with also use something called InstaLOD (they have a built in pluging for ue4) which in my opinion far simpler and better than simpligon or doing them with Zbrush.
I just did some reading up on InstaLOD for 4.19 and that also is not an option apparently. My whole point here is they have completely removed a feature that was supported in the last engine version, and did not replace it with a viable option. Even if it was 4 minutes per asset in another engine verison, which to be honest will take longer than that to get accurate and correct LOD’s, multiply that 4 minutes by thousands of assets and you can quickly see how this can be pretty detrimental to any project trying to stay on schedule for a deadline.
I will probably go the route of creating the LOD’s in 4.18.3, and then exporting them out and back into our custom source build. I have heard that Simplygon as a standalone application can be a nightmare and the LOD’s created there can look quite different when imported into the editor. I want to eliminate any doubt of the end result by keeping it within the engine.
In any case, I appreciate your response and insight into this issue. 4.19 has been one of the worst engine releases I have used to date. I am really hoping they dial back the new experimental features that are constantly being released, and focus on engine stability.
That’s what I’m doing, Im using 4.18 for editing the LODs.
Also for me, UE 4.19 was the worst engine version ever, It’s just not the LOD Tool, I have a huge low performance impact on the editor viewport, it’s a shame, a real shame for Epic.
If it is one of the worst, why use it? You dont have to use the latest version of the editor unless there is a core feature or code asset you need. Seriously, why bother to update the code now?
Also, they didnt just left out the devs with nothing. Enabling the Proxy Geometry Tool | Unreal Engine Documentation
It’s still on experimental, this type of tools take time to develop(it’s not a /10,000 lines of code type of tool), be grateful that they will develop one for free and not charge you monthly fees or another additional % off like simpligon will(depends on your revenue (read their EULA).
Our team wouldn’t update unless it was highly beneficial to do so.
There is a reason there is a 10 page forum thread with some of the more prominent community members discussing the degrading engine performance as a whole in 4.19. We care about the engine and want to see it do well, which is why many of us are concerned with the its stability at the moment.