Hello there,
I’m new to Unreal, and from what I’ve seen, this seems to be a pretty common problem, but none of the topics I’ve read have resolved this for me.
Basically, I can’t figure out how to import smooth looking meshes in Unreal.
I’m doing my modeling in Maya, and they appear smooth there (even without smooth mesh activated)
In Maya, I used the “soften edge” option from “Mesh Display”, and then during the export as fbx I made sure to check “smooth mesh” and “smoothing groups”
When I imported them in Unreal, I set the Normal Import Method to “Import Normal and Tangents” (this seems to be the usual solution to this problem) (I also tried other Normal Import Methods)
I’ve tried exporting them as obj and as fbx, no difference
I’ve tried deleting mesh history, same
Seems like in the meantime, I’ve found the solution :
The problem was “Vertex Color Import Options” being set to “override”. I’ve put it in “Ignore” and the meshes seem to be rendered as intended now.
I actually tried to change that before, but on FBX files, and weirdly enough, I still end up with wonky results on FBX files with those settings. So I’m still open to some explanations, if someone has them.
For posterity, if others run into this :
Import as OBJ
Vertex Color Import Options : Override
Normal Import Method : Import Normal and Tangents
I don’t think the other options have an impact on this, or at least those are the three that I tweaked and ended up with the intended result.
I was running into a similar problem except that I bought a 3D model and tried to import it into Unreal. It was originally modeled in Maya and I got an FBX file which I imported into UE5.5.4.
The import settings look a litte bit different than in earlier versions. Instead of Import Normals and Tangents I had to deselect Recompute Normals and Recompute Tangents. I checked the options Use High Precision Tangent Basis and Use Full Precision UVs. If this is correct I am not quite sure about but it did the trick as it smoothed most of the model.
Unfortunately not every element. Which is why I searched for further hints and found your tip about setting Vertex Color Import Option to Ignore. But this didn’t make a difference.
It is a model of Swiss army knife and there is a corkscrew that didn’t smooth out. Also the rings of the chain still look chunky.
Did you find out more about the import process of FBX files? Any further suggestions what to try?
If I cannot solve the problem with import option settings, is there an option to make the elements smooth in Modeling Mode of UE?
Anyone an idea? Guess this must be a common issue since a lot of bought models are used in UE.
