Using Daz3d Assets for Adult Game Development in Unreal

[Dark Erotic 3D]

Hey everyone, I'd like to open a discussion on how to overcome the obstacles to adult game devs when trying to use Daz3d models in Unreal. I know that a lot of people struggle with this problem. Daz3d models are difficult to work with in Unreal but that should not be a barrier to using them. Daz3d is a rich source of high-quality characters, clothing, and props. From my experience, the software creators (Daz3D and Epic) are of little help and typically don't want to support adult game devs (if you've had a different experience with this please share what you learned). Official plugins/bridges have not been an all-in-one solution for me. My hope is to be able to share what I've learned from the process as well as gather insights from other's expertise. We need generalists, 3D painters, programmers, modelers, and anyone else who can put their two-cents in. This thread is intended for people having/seeking knowledge on get Daz3d characters working well in Unreal Engine. If you've not interested in this topic, please don't clutter the thread other topics. Thanks.

 

[Dark Erotic 3D]

I wanted to get people's opinion on the best way to blend Dicktator textures in Unreal. I'm working on a character based on G8M with Dicktator. I exported and prepared the figure in Blender with the Diffeomorphic plugin. As is typical, the texture maps with G8M torso and Dicktator blend well in Daz and in Blender. In Unreal, I'm having problems. I've tried messy around with the Unreal materials editor l to see if I could replicate the shader node setup in Blender. I'm still trying to understand why I'm not getting results. I'm looking into ways to blend the textures in a painting program (Substance Painter, 3D Coat, etc.) but most workflows I've researched are not designed for models that already have pre-existing baked texture maps. I'm not well versed in 3D painting so I'm having trouble applying the endless Youtube tutorials to my specific problem of blending textures across UV maps (G8M torso & Dicktator). This problem is keeping me from finishing my game. If anyone has insights on this, it would help a lot.

 

[Dark Erotic 3D]

In order to get better results than the official Daz to Unreal plugin, my current workflow involves Daz to Blender to Unreal. Here are some of the tools I've found useful in getting Daz3D assets into Unreal projects when using this Blender pipeline. Keep in mind that aside from basic knowledge of Blender, each plugin also has it's learning curve:

• Diffeomorphic plugin: all-around excellent tool for getting Daz characters into Blender (
  You must be registered to see the links
  )
• UEFY, good for converting DAZ skeletons to UE4 skeletons (
  You must be registered to see the links
  )
• Mesh Data Transfer: Transfer and fixing of broken morphs (
  You must be registered to see the links
  )
• EXPY Kit: Conversion of animations from 3rd parties like Mixamo, Daz, Unreal, etc. (
  You must be registered to see the links
  )

Please consider donating to these plugin creators. They make our lives easier. Also, if you have any other recommendations for bridging characters from Daz to Unreal, please share.

 

[Dilly_]

I have some good news for you. Dicktator textures will work perfectly fine in UE, though you need to do some work with material shaders.

For proof of concept, here is an adult game project I'm working on that uses Dicktator (for G8.1F) as well as Pumping Pole Palette textures:

You must be registered to see the links

The process for getting it to work however is rather long, but since you already use the Daz > Diffeomorphic > UE workflow (which is what I use) it may be simpler, so I will reduce my response to what I think you will need to get it working:

1. The Daz to Unreal bridge provides a number of skin shaders. The shader for G8 is different from G8.1. You should use the G8.1 shader, which means you should use G8.1 characters. The reason for this is because Daz G8.1 characters use the new PBR shader, which includes micro detail textures, which can be converted by the bridge, as opposed to bump maps, which are useless in UE. Micro detail maps can be blended with the normal maps for pore detail. Long story short: Use G8.1 characters, not G8

2. The trick to getting Dicktator materials working is to duplicate the "BasePBRSkinMaterial" shader provided by the bridge. Dicktator textures do not use the same UV mapping as the other skin textures. So what you need to do is create a copy of the "BasePBRSkinMaterial" asset, as well as the "PBRSkinParameters" asset. Then you need to plug in a Texture Coordinate node set to index 2, which is the UV index used by Dicktator, into ALL texture samples inside the "BasePBRSkinMaterial" asset as well as the "PBRSkinParameters" asset.

3. As an example, your PBR shader should have the Texture Coordinate node plugged in like this to ALL texture samples:




This process may be difficult if you are unfamiliar with UV maps and materials in UE. If you are having trouble I could provide the material that I use, just ask here or reach out to me on Discord (Dilly#6326).

 

[Dark Erotic 3D]

Thanks for the reply Dilly! I tried to download your project concept but for some reason, I received a notification on Dropbox that your file no longer existed. Do you have another link? I'd like to see what you did.

I'm in the process of following your instructions. Tweaking the UE4 materials is a bit new to me but I was suspicious that the use of texture coordinates were a part of the process. Thanks for clarifying how they should be used.

I appreciate the advice about G8.1 over G8. I agree that there are some nice improvements in G8.1. Unfortunately, most of my Daz3d characters are G8. My background as a render artist/graphic novelist led me to accrue quite a large collection of G8 characters that I am now trying to bring to life in game. I've also acquired extended licenses for those characters that I plan on using. So, for now I'm stuck with G8 although I do have normal maps for many of the characters. That being said, I hope I can still apply some of your advice to my situation. I have just a couple questions:

1.When you are in Blender/Diffeo finishing section, after you merge geographs, do you do anything to change the UVs (Set Udim tiles etc.) or do you leave things at default?

2. I'm having a hard time grasping how the duplicated "BasePBRSkinMaterial" and "PBRSkinParameters" plug into the Dicktator material. Apparently, I need more guidance when it comes to the DazToUnreal generated materials. Sorry if that sounds a bit dense but thusfar, I've been building the UE4 materials from scratch using a texture maps and normals. I attached images of the duplicated materials with TexCoords attached. Can you have a look and see if I understood you correctly for the set up?

BTW, I took a look at your renders on DA. Nice work!

 

[Dilly_]

I received a notification on Dropbox that your file no longer existed

Yes, that link was wrong. Here's a working link:

You must be registered to see the links

You do not necessarily need to restrict yourself to only G8.1. You can get the benefit of micro detail textures with G8 characters as well, you'd just need to use the BasePBRShader included with the bridge, plug in your G8 textures, and then obtain some micro detail maps from anywhere (most G8.1 characters have them).

do you do anything to change the UVs (Set Udim tiles etc.) or do you leave things at default?

I don't mess with the UVs after merging the geograft. Or before really. I don't make changes to the UVs. A helpful tip as well is that in Unreal, when you have a mesh asset opened, you can view all the UV indices associated with that mesh by going to character > advanced > UV visualization. This will help you figure out what index to set the texture coordinate node to when trying to get Dicktator textures working for instance.


Here's a look at how my BasePBRSkin material is setup for dicktator:

You must be registered to see the links

In order for this to work, you need a dicktator texture that is blended with your character torso texture. Think of it this way: In Daz, we use a geoshell to blend the Dicktator textures with the character textures. In Unreal though we don't want to use geoshells, but instead apply the geoshell textures directly onto the Dicktator mesh. So in order to do that, we can use the mask provided by Dicktator, and then use photoshop to blend together the torso texture with the dicktator texture. You can use the Map Transfer tool in Daz to create a copy of the torso texture that matches the Dicktator UVs. Then in Photoshop, you can bring in the dicktator mask, dicktator texture, and the torso texture you created using Map Transfer. That will give you a blended texture you can apply directly to the dicktator mesh and have it match with the character skin:



Then you can plug this blended texture into the BasePBRShader, as well as the mask, like I have it setup in the above image.

It looks like you have correctly added the Texture coordinate node everywhere you need it, all you are missing is the lerp, which I show in the above image.

 

[Deleted member 1121028]

You can have micro tiles using regular Uber Shader (outside forcing PBRSkin), props to

You must be registered to see the links

(Daz shader mixer being nightmarish). Clean shader : IrayUberDetail.rar. Adjust UVs and Detail Horizontal/Vertical tiles accordingly.

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

For Unreal skin shader, there is a shader template that follow/simulate MetaHumans one :

You must be registered to see the links

To open the project with 5.02, you will have to update 'DazToUnreal' plugin folder with the one provided

You must be registered to see the links

.
It's full fledged shader with open options (tanline/lips & so on), worth a look.

 

[Dilly_]

You can have micro tiles using regular Uber Shader (outside forcing PBRSkin), props to

You must be registered to see the links

(Daz shader mixer being nightmarish). Clean shader : IrayUberDetail.rar. Adjust UVs and Detail Horizontal/Vertical tiles accordingly.

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

For Unreal skin shader, there is a shader template that follow/simulate MetaHumans one :

You must be registered to see the links

To open the project with 5.02, you will have to update 'DazToUnreal' plugin folder with the one provided

You must be registered to see the links

.
It's full fledged shader with open options (tanline/lips & so on), worth a look.

Very interesting, I had no idea about this 3rd person project. I just opened it in 5.0.2 and it appears that the skin shader is pretty drastically different from the BasePBRShader provided by the bridge. I like that it includes the option for mesh masking, among other things. Think I will try to integrate this into my project and see how the shader compares to what I was using previously. Will post results here as well so that people can see the difference

 

[Deleted member 1121028]

Very interesting, I had no idea about this 3rd person project. I just opened it in 5.0.2 and it appears that the skin shader is pretty drastically different from the BasePBRShader provided by the bridge. I like that it includes the option for mesh masking, among other things. Think I will try to integrate this into my project and see how the shader compares to what I was using previously. Will post results here as well so that people can see the difference

Been few month but eyes parts are clean too far I remember o/

 

[Dark Erotic 3D]

Yes, that link was wrong. Here's a working link:

You must be registered to see the links

You do not necessarily need to restrict yourself to only G8.1. You can get the benefit of micro detail textures with G8 characters as well, you'd just need to use the BasePBRShader included with the bridge, plug in your G8 textures, and then obtain some micro detail maps from anywhere (most G8.1 characters have them).



I don't mess with the UVs after merging the geograft. Or before really. I don't make changes to the UVs. A helpful tip as well is that in Unreal, when you have a mesh asset opened, you can view all the UV indices associated with that mesh by going to character > advanced > UV visualization. This will help you figure out what index to set the texture coordinate node to when trying to get Dicktator textures working for instance.
View attachment 1845888

Here's a look at how my BasePBRSkin material is setup for dicktator:

You must be registered to see the links

In order for this to work, you need a dicktator texture that is blended with your character torso texture. Think of it this way: In Daz, we use a geoshell to blend the Dicktator textures with the character textures. In Unreal though we don't want to use geoshells, but instead apply the geoshell textures directly onto the Dicktator mesh. So in order to do that, we can use the mask provided by Dicktator, and then use photoshop to blend together the torso texture with the dicktator texture. You can use the Map Transfer tool in Daz to create a copy of the torso texture that matches the Dicktator UVs. Then in Photoshop, you can bring in the dicktator mask, dicktator texture, and the torso texture you created using Map Transfer. That will give you a blended texture you can apply directly to the dicktator mesh and have it match with the character skin:

View attachment 1845903

Then you can plug this blended texture into the BasePBRShader, as well as the mask, like I have it setup in the above image.

It looks like you have correctly added the Texture coordinate node everywhere you need it, all you are missing is the lerp, which I show in the above image.

The character customizer demo from the dropbox file is awesome. Reminds me of Virt-a-mate and with jiggles in all the right places! I'd love to see your physics setup, I've started working on mine and will do more after I get these shaders working correctly. On that note, thanks for the added details/tips for the shaders. I'll be diving into that over the next few days. Wish me luck

 

[Dark Erotic 3D]

You can have micro tiles using regular Uber Shader (outside forcing PBRSkin), props to

You must be registered to see the links

(Daz shader mixer being nightmarish). Clean shader : IrayUberDetail.rar. Adjust UVs and Detail Horizontal/Vertical tiles accordingly.

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

For Unreal skin shader, there is a shader template that follow/simulate MetaHumans one :

You must be registered to see the links

To open the project with 5.02, you will have to update 'DazToUnreal' plugin folder with the one provided

You must be registered to see the links

.
It's full fledged shader with open options (tanline/lips & so on), worth a look.

Thanks no__name for these bombshells! I'm diving into the Daz3dThirdPersonTemplate today and taking notes. I'll also be keeping in mind the future goals Guto88 listed for the github project. Who knows, any of us might be able to help it as we new discover ways of doing things inside of our respective projects. My faith is restored. The future looks bright for high-quality adult games.

 

[Dark Erotic 3D]

Been few month but eyes parts are clean too far I remember o/

I can't get into the Daz3dThirdPerson Template. I've been trying all day and the engine keeps crashing. I must be doing something wrong but I haven't figured out what. First, I tried to open it in UE 5.0.2 by updating the updated D2U plugin you linked to. Then I tried to open the project (fresh unzipped) in 4.26.2. No go. Bummer...

 

[Dark Erotic 3D]

I'm getting the following errors. I installed Linter from the marketplace and I answered yes to each of the questions to rebuild. Any ideas?

 

[Deleted member 1121028]

I can't get into the Daz3dThirdPerson Template. I've been trying all day and the engine keeps crashing. I must be doing something wrong but I haven't figured out what. First, I tried to open it in UE 5.0.2 by updating the updated D2U plugin you linked to. Then I tried to open the project (fresh unzipped) in 4.26.2. No go. Bummer...

Something went wrong. You shouldn't have these ones :



Go into the project folder -> plugins & delete 'DazToUnreal' folder.
Be sure to download the correct version so

You must be registered to see the links

(UE 5.02 win)
Copy/paste that fresh 'DazToUnreal' folder into the project plugins folder.
Rest is not critical (say no), you should be able to open it.

 

[Dilly_]

The character customizer demo from the dropbox file is awesome. Reminds me of Virt-a-mate and with jiggles in all the right places! I'd love to see your physics setup, I've started working on mine and will do more after I get these shaders working correctly. On that note, thanks for the added details/tips for the shaders. I'll be diving into that over the next few days. Wish me luck

The good news is that the physics stuff is way easier to wrap you brain around than materials. For the stomach/glutes, I simply rigged+weightmapped them in Blender. The breasts are already rigged+weightmapped, so there's really no need to do anything there, unless you wanted to re-do the paint for a larger jiggle area for instance. But I typically don't do that, as it's just extra work for minimal reward.

You could also rig the thighs as well if you wanted jiggle there, though I've found that you can get away with using control rig or something like the

You must be registered to see the links

plugin to add a small amount of jiggle to the existing thigh bones (though going overboard will make things look weird). Note the Kawaii plugin is meant for rigged clothing, however you can use it for jiggle bones as well.

The breast, stomach, and glutes are all simulated spheres in the physics asset. Tons of tuts out there for that. The shaft is simulated using the Anim Dynamics node inside the AnimBP, and the balls are using Kawaii Physics. You can add force to the Anim Dynamics node to simulate boners, in my case I have a timeline set for 0.5 seconds that increases the force from 0 to 1000 in the Z direction.

The rest is just tweaking values until you get the results you want. Hope that helps.

 

[Dark Erotic 3D]

Something went wrong. You shouldn't have these ones :

View attachment 1847931

Go into the project folder -> plugins & delete 'DazToUnreal' folder.
Be sure to download the correct version so

You must be registered to see the links

(UE 5.02 win)
Copy/paste that fresh 'DazToUnreal' folder into the project plugins folder.
Rest is not critical (say no), you should be able to open it.

Finally got it open! I had an older version of 'DazToUnreal" buried in 'My Programs" Folder that had been installed directly to the engine files. That was the problem. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

 

[Dilly_]

Finally got it open! I had an older version of 'DazToUnreal" buried in 'My Programs" Folder that had been installed directly to the engine files. That was the problem. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

I particularly like the 3rd/1st person camera switch. That code should work the same way regardless what locomotion system you use which is pretty awesome

 

[Azz1231]

Guys, I would like to start a 3d adult game project and I was searching a tutorial on how to export from daz to ue5 a 3d character with genitals and morph. Someone can link me a tutorial or some tips?

 

[Deleted member 1121028]

Guys, I would like to start a 3d adult game project and I was searching a tutorial on how to export from daz to ue5 a 3d character with genitals and morph. Someone can link me a tutorial or some tips?

A tutorial I don't know if such thing exist, this thread has already plenty of informations. Without speaking of the rig, you want to use Blender with diffeomorphic to merge genitals (and morphs) with the main mesh and import that fbx to UE, it's kinda the gist of it.

 

[Azz1231]

I managed to import in unreal engine a G8F with genitals but with some problems:
1) How can I export the textures with it?
2) How to export the morphs that I added in blender?
I added them with "Import custom morphs" but when I export it it doesn't have any morph or texture
Thanks in advance