Xgen custom shader errors

[a.mayaUser]

Hi guys,

if I create a new custom shader color set for rendering with a 3rd party render, and then I try to generate the map, I get this error:

// Error: XGen: Runtime error while setting up paint tool (C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2024\plug-ins\xgen\scripts\xgenm\ui\widgets\xgExpressionUI.py:982)

The preferences are fresh, this has been a problem I tried to solve all day, sometimes it works, then on new scenes it stops and it's impossible to debug and I have to restart Maya and try again, save, then it stops, but on a new scene it works... and so on.

Also, how do I delete the custom_color_set created with this procedure? It looks like an impossible thing to do (see attach)

Thanks in advance

[a.mayaUser · Accepted solution]

After hours of debugging I got rid of tons of errors, ALL OF THEM* due to the convoluted and punitive workflow (and UI) of xgen.

*just a couple of examples, like path errors using namespaces, xgen preview errors because the ".ptx is in use" etc.

For the curious, to definitely get rid of this specific error, a Maya native shader has to be assigned to the source patch/mesh before creating the custom shader parameter. If you are working with assets using Redshift or Vray shaders for example, 100% you'll get this error. Add other errors if you are importing using namespaces.

It's almost 2024 and I can believe the amount of clicks it requires to do something, like save the ptx texture every time, or update the preview but remember to click also to clean the preview before, or click to refresh the grooming tabs that inevitably stop working and glitches the interface after a couple of minutes switching between brushes. Not mentioning the Maya crash that inevitably happens scrolling the time slider.

Hard to believe that something like this is still finding space in production, so I'll just stop here, leaving my rant in this emptiness, saying that of all the stuff, xgen is the most unintuitive and frustrating piece of software I've ever used inside Maya.