Upgraded Motive, Actor broken in Motionbuilder

[LucyW]

Hi,

We've been using Motive 1.5 64 bit for some time. Along with an upgraded capture PC, we decided to trial the upgraded software.

I first went for 1.7.5 Final (64 bit). All was well until I exported tracking data and opened it up in MotionBuilder (2014 64 bit). The Actor in MotionBuilder had failed to locate and connect the C3D data despite the fact that they were all listed under the Actors MarkerSet, and all present in the scene. All slots within the actor pane (correct in quantity and in naming) display <Drop Object Here>. When the items are manually dropped into the correct slots, all is well. However, the actor used to be created seamlessly.

So, I tried Motive version 1.8.0 Beta 1, followed by 1.7.2 Final (in an attempt to revert back to a version in which this feature functioned as expected). However, I have the same issue in both of these packages. As such, I've reverted to 1.5 for the time being. Obviously we'd rather upgrade in order to benefit from other new features, but this is a deal breaker. I've tried all settings available in the export window. Can you suggest what might be causing it or provide a fix??


As a side note, the updated 'Edit tools' panel is very nice, but could really use a scroll function on the panel for when it's torn off and resized, if not already provided in 1.8. Also, could we please please have a 'export all with these settings' option in the export window? We always export the whole take but have to sit there re-typing the framerate as each take is exported. Just export it all, same framerate please

[steven.andrews]

Hello LucyW,

Thank you for reaching out to us regarding your questions.
I do not recall any issues with the Actor in our current Motive builds.



I just did some testing with the latest Motive1.8.0 Final. In my testing, I exported an FBX ASCII from Motive, and made sure to set the Export FBX Actor setting to True.

The FBX loads into MotionBuilder with the Actor present and setup properly. I tested this by using the Mia Characterized sample character, and setting the input to the loaded Actor. Once I have done this, the Mia rig follows the Actor that I have loaded.



Does this process sound similar to what you have tried? I do not have 1.5 compatible data to test the FBX export in your version, but it's possible that the setting are slightly different and that you now need to enable the Actor export.


Regarding the export of multiple takes, I agree that the workflow through the GUI could use some improvement. We do not know if and when a change might be implemented for this, but we do have the batch scripting language that will allow you to batch process and export Takes. Information for this can be found the the help\nmotive documentation that resides with the Motive.exe


Best regards,
Steven
--
Steven Andrews
OptiTrack | Customer Support Engineer

[LucyW]

Thanks Steven for your response. I believe if I'd not set 'Export FBX Actors' in the options, there wouldn't have even been an actor in the motionbuilder file.

I've taken screenshots to better outline the issue. The first shows the export settings from Motive, again using 1.7.5 Final. The second shows the motionbuilder file (2014). c3d data exported correctly but the actor is in a pile on the floor. Yes, 'load all elements' was selected in the options upon opening the motionbuilder file. The actor panel shows that despite the fact that motionbuilder knows which data should be connected to which body part on the actor, it's failed to connect the c3d markers.

After reverting back to Motive 1.5, the actor loads correctly again. 1.7.5, it doesn't.

[steven.andrews]

Hi LucyW,

Thank you for this information. I had not tested using a C3D.

I was able to get this process working with Motive1.8.0 Final and MotionBuilder 2014. To test, I

- Exported an FBX ASCII for take 1 out of Motive
- Exported a C3D for take 2 out of Motive, containing the same actor
- Opened the FBX for take 1 in MotionBuilder and verified the Actor was moving properly
- Used the "Motion File Import ..." option to load the C3D for take 2
- When importing the C3D I set the importer from Create to Merge

After the C3D is merged into MotionBuilder, I have two takes listed, both of which show the Actor moving as expected for that take.


Using this process, you should be able to continue with the current versions of Motive.
Is this similar to the workflow you have been testing with? If not, could you please let me know your exact step-by-step procedure so I can look into why the behavior is different between Motive versions?

Best regards,
Steven
--
Steven Andrews
OptiTrack | Customer Support Engineer

[LucyW]

Steven,

When I mention the c3d data, I mean that which is exported through the fbx export with the options shown in the attachment above. The little blue squares to which the actor has not connected.... those are named "C3D:Darren-Hip-1", "C3D:Darren-Chest-1", "C3D:Darren-Head-1" etc. Although exporting actual c3d data is part of our usual process, for the purposes of this test, it couldn't be simpler:

1. Export fbx ascii from Motive 1.7.5 with settings as shown in attachment 1 of my previous post. (we do not currently have access to 1.8)

2. Open the file in motionbuilder, ensuring appropriate settings (load everything)

Result - Attachment 2 in my previous post.

I've tried all possible settings in the Motive export option window that seemed reasonable. Still no luck. The only issue that I can think of is that the data I'm exporting was captured with motive 1.5. However, it was cleaned in 1.7.5 with no issues. As such, I would not expect this to affect the file export, but it would be helpful if you could confirm this, perhaps by testing with the version of the software that I've actually stated rather than with 1.8. I'm very reluctant to upgrade the software on our main machine until we can confirm the cause of this problem. We're at a stage in the project where downtime caused by this would be extremely problematic.

[steven.andrews]

Hi LucyW,

I confirmed that Motive 1.7.5 is also exporting correctly. I can open my FBX ASCII files in MotionBuilder without any issues, and the Actor is working as expected.

I do not know of any issues exporting from Motive 1.7.5 with data that was originally captured in Motive 1.5, so I really cannot say what your issue is here. If you continue to have problems exporting the Actor, you may want to open a ticket with us at help.naturalpoint.com so that you can provide us with one of the .tak files you have tested with. This would allow us to test your data on our end.

Another option would be for you to export an FBX Binary file, which would allow you to export the skeleton bones and to use the Character tool in MotionBuilder. This is often a method that is preferred over using the Actor.

Cheers,
Steven