UE imports FBX, GLTF models

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Although I have been doing 3D visualization for many years, they are mainly developed on the web side (webgl, threejs, interested readers can also pay attention to my related columns). Recently, I am going to start with UE, and by the way, I will do some knowledge sorting. Therefore, the articles may be relatively superficial, and can be ignored for UE bosses.

The main goal is to realize the visualization of digital twins, and relevant knowledge points will be organized around this goal. Interested readers can follow my official account.

This article introduces some ways for UE to import FBX models. In fact, the official documents have been described in more detail. This article will explain some key points of concern.

There are two main ways for UE to import FBX models. Since the test mainly uses some park ground models and building models, it is mainly static meshes, and there is no skeletal animation.

Content Browser Import FBX

In the content browser, click the import button, and now the fbx model you want to import:

Or in the Content Browser, right-click and select Import Assets:

The model will be imported into the current folder. Personally, the best practice is to create a folder for each model, which is convenient for management.

After that, the import options interface will pop up:

Click the "?" button below to enter the official documentation

FBX Import Options Reference

Most parameters can be viewed by referring to the documentation, and the official documentation is relatively complete. It is recommended that you read more official documents. Here are some highlights:

• Because it is a static mesh, "skeletal mesh" should not be checked
• Some complex fbx models often include many meshes. The "Merge Meshes" option will merge multiple meshes into a single mesh. Whether or not to merge depends on the actual demand. For example, the following is to import a ground model. If it is not merged, you will see that there are many meshes actually imported.

This kind of operation is very inconvenient if the ground needs to be unified, such as dragging into the level and moving in the scene, it will be inconvenient.

The imported ground model below is the merged case:

Merged into a mesh body, related operations are more convenient, such as dragging into the level, and moving in the scene, it is more convenient. However, this model has lost its own structure, and if part of the model needs to be operated later, it cannot be realized.

• If you are not sure about the unit of fbx, please check "Convert scene units" to import the correct model scale.

Import FBX by importing into a level

Import via File menu -> Actor -> Import into Level:

Choose where to import:

Popup options:

where the tier type is:

• Blueprint Assets
• actor
• actor with components

Blueprint assets can be understood as a class, which can wrap all models (with layers) into classes, and use instances of this class directly when using them.

In this way, multiple meshes can be used as a whole, and the hierarchical relationship of the model is preserved. Personally think it is a better way.

It is best not to use Chinese for the material and mesh names of the FBX model, otherwise garbled characters may appear when importing.

import GLTF

Since webgl uses more gltf, most of the models in hand are in gltf format.
UE has plugins to import gltf. For example gltf for UE4, another famous one is Datasmith , which is an official plugin. Of course it hasn't actually been done yet. After the follow-up practice, I will write an introduction.

In fact, you can also convert the model to FBX first through tools such as blender (in this way, you can also make more adjustments to the model). This is the method I currently use.

Epilogue

This article mainly introduces two ways of how to import FBX models into UE. Sorry for the inadequacies. If you have a good experience, you are also welcome to communicate with me. Follow the official account "ITMan Biao Shu", you can add the author's WeChat to communicate, and receive more valuable articles in time.