I have a question related to my C4D workflow (described here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8935).

The iPiSoft Wiki says, that if an external rig is both imported and exported using the same format, iPi Motion Capture will export not only the rig, but also the mesh of the original character (see http://wiki.ipisoft.com/User_Guide_for_ ... ustom_Rigs).

After I experimented with this, I discovered that all materials, textures and polygon selections are retained as well (at least with FBX); i.e. if the imported character had materials, textures and polygon selections, they will remain intact when iPi Motion Capture exports its motion data.

Before I decide to base my entire workflow on this discovery, I'd be curious to know if this behavior is a) intended and b) something that will exist in the future as well?

I know that the Autodesk FBX format itself is rather poorly documented (read: Autodesk won't tell us :-) ) and all we know for sure is what they tell us in the FBX SDK and its documentation. For example, I don't know for sure, which 3D features in general can be stored in an FBX file. It seems that at least the three I mentioned above can (materials, textures and polygon selections).

I guess the ultimate question is this: does iPi Motion Capture treat FBX format as a "black box", so that it saves back everything that's included in the original file, and only adds an animation track based on the motion data? Or does it somehow analyze the FBX file itself and decide what it keeps and what it throws away?

Yes, this is intended behavior. We try to preserve all models within FBX file with their materials and textures, and only add animation on top of that.

We plan to keep it that way as long as it is possible.

Thank you for a fast reply, Michael (and for moving my question to the correct area)!