Submit or monitor a Flow Retopology Job

The main interface for Flow Retopology utilizes two key dialogs, the job submitter and the job monitor.

Submit a Flow Retopology Job

You can submit multiple retopology jobs to process in the cloud while you work in 3ds Max.

Create a new retopo job

1. Select Flow Graph Engine tab > Create New Retopo Job. This will open the Flow Retopology Submitter dialog.

   

2. Click on the button next to Selected Mesh to enter selection mode. Then select a mesh in the Viewport to perform retopology on.

   

3. Edit the settings for your output in the Flow Retopology Submitter:

   Interface	Description
   Selected Mesh	Displays the mesh as named in the Outliner that is currently selected to perform retopology on.
   Current face count	Displays the face count in your selected mesh before retopology.
   Job name	Choose the name for your job. A viable and unique job name is required for retopology to proceed. This value defaults to your mesh object name.
   Choose output location	Navigate to the directory for your retopology output. A viable location on disk is required to proceed. This value defaults to your current project directory.
   Target face count	Choose the number of faces in your output. This is not a hard count, but more of a target that the algorithm will attempt to hit.Ensure this value is not set below 60 for a viable result. By default, this value is set to 10000.
   Topology Options	Topology Regularity Set the number of singularities (vertices with other than 4 connected edges) in the result. When set to 0, the result is sensitive to the surface, producing more singularities. When set to 1, fewer singularities are produced and the result may smooth over fine details. Face Uniformity Represents the overall size and shape of faces. When set to 0, results in varying sizes, with smaller faces in areas of higher curvature. When set to 1, faces are more uniform in size (irrespective of surface curvature). Anisotropy Adaptivity to the directional curvature of a surface. When set to 0, faces stretch less and square up. When set to 1, faces stretch further to adapt to the surface per curvature direction. Note: If uniformity is set to 1, Anisotropy has no effect.
   Feature Preservation Options	Smoothing Groups When on, uses the edges defined by smoothing groups and hard edges on your mesh as a constraint. Material IDs When on, uses the boundary edges of each Material IDs channels as a constraint. Specified Normals When on, enables the use of hard edges based on discontinuities in specified vertex normals between adjacent faces as a constraint. Selected Edges When on, enables the use of selected edges passed up the modifier stack as a constraint. Edges by angle When on, edges are preserved based on the specified angle tolerance. If the angle between its adjacent faces exceeds the specified angle tolerance, the edge between the faces is preserved. Use this option when your mesh contains edges that aren't visually hard (ie. on the interior of your mesh) or you don't want to explicitly define hard edges.
   Symmetry Options	Symmetry Enable to create even edge flow on both sides of your mesh. Axis position Lets you select the symmetry plane for the selected object. Choose between Object (pivot location and orientation), Bounding Box (invisible cube encompassing selected object) and World (space origin). Axis ets you select the axis and direction that symmetry is performed. For example, when +X to -X is selected, topology is cut and filled from the +X axis to the -X axis.

   Note:

   Unlike 3ds Max's Retopology Tools, Flow Retopology for 3ds Max will automatically decide to preprocess your mesh if required.

4. Run the Mesh Cleaner modifier to ensure your mesh is manifold.

5. Click Submit. Ensure you are aware of job submission details.

Monitor Flow Retopology Job Progress

Once you have jobs submitted, you can monitor their progress using the Job Monitor window.

Open the Flow Job Monitor

• Select Flow Graph Engine tab > Open Job Monitor or Open Web Monitor (requires autodesk login on web).

Click into a job to view additional details like output location, job log, retopology job details and more.