3DS Max to ZBrush: "The mesh contains non-standard polygons"

[Anonymous]

Hi, Ive been trying to import my .obj from 3DS Max into ZBrush but the model that I worked on has holes in it and I receive a pop-up that says "The mesh contains non-standard polygons. Would you like to split these polygons to sets of symmetric triangles? or to a combination of Quads and Triangles?"

The Max file is a mesh that looks clean and it appears to have no holes. What do I need to do in Max to make sure that it will load successful next time in ZBrush?

[10DSpace]

@Anonymous 

I will hazard a guess even without seeing the mesh that you have duplicate vertices in it which would not necessarily be readily apparent. To fix, select all the vertices and weld with a low threshold value (like the default of 0.1 your display units are inches or generic units).  The threshold value does depend on the size of your mesh, so you may have to tweak the value.   Look at the before and after number of vertices and you should see a reduction in verts without any distortion of the mesh if you ahve the weld threshold set correctly.  Zoom in and inspect the mesh all over to verify this.   This is most likely cause I think, but if it doesn't work post a screenshot of your mesh.

[Anonymous]

This is a screenshot of the model

this is a screenshot of the model in zbrush

[10DSpace · Accepted solution]

@Anonymous 

I see the holes in the tail with geometry that is all messed up in your Zbrush screenshot.  Did you try to weld the vertices of the Tail in Max before export as I suggested above?   If the mesh in Max has unwelded vertices then there will be gaps (holes) in the mesh when you subdivide in Zbrush.  Also, in Zbrush there is a WeldPoints button in Geometry>Modify Topology>WeldPoints which will weld vertices (only works on a mesh without subdivisions in Zbrush, so you have to do it when you first import it).

[Anonymous]

I ended up trying all of these solutions you mentioned in both ZBrush and 3DS Max (the weld options in both applications) None worked in the end; although, the solution I discovered for filling the holes in the end took place in the export selected dialogue box that pops up upon after clicking FILE>Export Selected in 3DS Max. Instead of choosing Quads, I chose triangulation too, which ended up filling the holes in ZBrush when ZBrush asks you if you want both triangles and quads. Triangulation is by no means a pleasant thing, especially when doing work in an application like ZBrush. But, at least those holes at the bottom part of the worm were filled upon after selecting "Quads&triangles" when importing the .obj.

It gave me a clear answer that the topology was just no good and I learned my lesson that by just doing simple base meshes without any sophisticated modifications, you avoid the risks of getting holes between these two applications. Thanks anyway for your help and I've included what you've recommended me doing in my notes.