FBX 7.4 Binary Blender->UE4 Import bug

Development Character & Animation
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1

Currently when importing FBXanimations into UE4 from Blender we’re experiencing odd mesh deformations:

118415-capture.png
118415-capture.png878×372 260 KB

Notice the base of the fingers become squished. They are supposed to look like this:

118416-capture2.png
118416-capture2.png932×376 212 KB

Currently in blender if we choose the 6.1 ASCII format this issue goes away, but meshes are oriented incorrectly in the mesh editor (but animate correctly so it’s not a huge issue). Using 7.4 use to work in UE4 versions 4.10-12 (not exactly sure which) but newer UE4 releases forced us to look into why our animations were no longer working. Attached is a UE4 project with 2 content folders: SoldierASCII and SoldierBinary. The Binary one is using the binary FBX format and reproduces the issues, while the ascii soldier is using similar assets showcasing the import works fine.

To reproduce the issue:

  1. Open FBXImportBug project
  2. Navigate to the SoldierBinary content folder in the content browser
  3. open the Soldier_pillarTap animation sequence and observe the left hand animation being deformed.

Expected result:

  1. Navigating to the SoldierASCII content folder
  2. open the soldierAnimExporter_pillarTapASCII animation sequence and observe the correct hand animation.

UE4 Repro Project: [FBXImportBug.zip][3]

2

Hi onealexleft,

Can you send me your blend file and the fbx that was exported? Seeing the final result doesn’t give me as much info as the source content.

  • W.
3

Hi !

Attached are the blender and FBX exports. The binary folder (using the newer exporter) is the one with the issue (notice the hands in the animation inside unreal). Ascii folder imports fine (despite having an odd rotation). At the root are the blend files.

Source Files

-.

4

Hey Alex,

I decided to import the Binary FBX into Maya and it looks the same way. I don’t know if it’s an issue with the rig or with Blender’s exporter, but it’s worth reporting it to them. There isn’t much we can do on our end when it appears to be a defect with the content or the exporter.

  • W.
5

Thanks for looking into it!