I have tried to export FBX from Revit Architecture 2009 for use in XNA (2.0).
I can also get the WinForms Content Loading sample to properly load and display its own supplied content (Cats.fbx, Cylinder.fbx etc). However, FBX files exported from Revit Architecture 2009 do not load. The error is: Error Code: -1 encountered when initializing FBX file loader. The file is either corrupted or it is not a valid FBX file.

I suspect that XNA does not support the FBX format used by Revit.
(Revit download link: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=9262388)

When using FBXConverter from Autodesk, it says
Call to KFbxImporer::Initialize() failed. Error: FBX file version 7.0.0 is not supported in this product.

Questions:
(1) Which FBX versions are supported by XNA? Does it support 7.0.0?
(2) Can I down-convert FBX 7.0.0 files to be used by XNA or force partial loading?

The problem may be that Revit 2009 was released just two days ago.

I just jumped on the Autodesk site, and the plugins and converters have not changed. If there is a new format out we might need to confirm the format and find out if the guys are working on intergrating it in.

We're picking up a new FBX SDK as part of Game Studio 3.0, but I don't believe Autodesk have publicly released anything that would cause a format incompatibility.

I'm not familiar with Revit, but I wonder if they could somehow be using a beta of the not-yet-released FBX SDK update?

Regardless, whenever Autodesk change the format they include an option to save in backward compatible mode. In their Max and Maya exporters they have a checkbox to select this backward compatible mode when exporting to FBX. If Revit is using a newer version of the SDK, it seems like they should be exposing a similar option.

Thanks Shawn,

When you guys do make the changes to the new format, will the old format still be supported?

Yep. Autodesk do a great job of that: newer versions of their SDK can read files from all older versions.

Thanks again, It took us a while to get the fbx exporter working for blender, didn't want to have to go through it all again.

Hi Shawn,

I asked the ADN (Autodesk) support and I was told that FBX is used internally to transfer the model to the Mentalray rendering engine. Probably the FBX exporter is somewhat of a side effect of this. The main target is compatibility with the new 3DS MAX 2009 and Motionbuilder (makes good sense from their sales viewpoint). I would also suspect that they are using a newer SDK which is not yet public.

Already looked for a backward-compatible export to 2006.11 although there is no such option under File > Export > 3dS Max (FBX) or under Settings or in Help in RAC2009. Guess that interoperability will require the XNA team to use the new SDK.

I saw on Area that there was a beta program underway, it may be worth a try.
http://area.autodesk.com/index.php/forums/viewthread/8405/

Don't worry, we work very closely with Autodesk when it comes to FBX SDK updates. I wasn't aware they were already using this new format in any public tools, though.

Once they release the new SDK to the public, you could probably use their FBX conversion tool to switch your file to the backward compatible format. Or perhaps you could import it into a recent version of Max, then re-export with the backcompat option? I don't think they've released the Max plugin for this latest SDK yet either, though.

Thanks for the advice Shawn! Will try it out.

hello there

i was trying the trial of the new 3dsmax 2009... and tested it with some models in xna.

and found out that the new format which they call 20090 or somehing like that doesnt work entirely with xna.. for example.. the textures and any material related stuff doesnt work on xna when the 200611 version works just fine..

the 3dsmax 2009 exporter has an option to export to older formats. including 200611 but i found out that even if i choose 200611 in the options dialog it still exports as the new non working format

i like fbx because is a very good format and its becoming a standard but if they will be making constant breaking changes the standarization process will be nearly impossible

have any  other noticed this ?

hope that when xna 3 comes out that new format gets more accepted by more people and companies like the older versions did..

Hi-
I'm facing similar problems with FBXs exportet from MAX 2009. Although there seems to be some difference between the 2009 and 200611 export options (if I export the model in 2009 format I don't get it imported at all, with 200611 format it imports but without textures).
So, if anyone has found a solution to getting FBX file from MAX 2009 into XNA I'd be very interested.

Hello ... everyone.

My name is Trevor Adams and I work with the FBX Technologies Group at Autodesk.  This thread was brought to my attention and I thought I'd post a few important notes that everyone here should be aware of:

1. We are in the midst of finalizing our latest FBX plug-ins planned for release within the month of May.
   • This release will be named "FBX 2009.1".
   • We will provide plug-ins for the following software packages:
     • 3ds Max 9, 2008, 2009 (64 & 32 bit)
     • Maya 8.0, 8.5, 2008 (64 & 32 bit) (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux)
     • QuickTime v.7.x (Windows & Mac OS X)
   • A new 2009.1 FBX Converter will be provided (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux)
   • A new 2009.1 FBX SDK will be provided (Windows, Linux & Mac OS X) with newly revised SDK documentation
2. The FBX plug-in that shipped with 3ds Max 2009 was version 2009.0
   • This version was solely meant to add interoperability between Revit 2009 and 3ds Max 2009
   • This new version of FBX arriving in May includes that same functionality plus many bug fixes and some new features that will be made public by the time our downloads will become available
3. Revit 2009 cannot export to any other version than "FBX 2009.0"
   • A Converter will need to be used to make Revit-exported FBX files compatible with programs other than 3ds Max 2009, by converting to the older 2006.11 version
     • This has recently been tested and verified as functioning properly
4. Currently, the 2009.0 plug-ins in 3ds Max 2009 do not properly export to the 2006.11 version (missing textures when imported into Maya, etc.)
   • This has been fixed with our new plug-ins
   • As a rule, files exported to the 2006.11 version should import into all supported programs, whether using 2006.11.2 plug-ins or our upcoming 2009 plug-ins (again, this is only true with our upcoming 2009.1 versions of the plug-ins and not the 2009.0 plug-in shipped with 3ds Max 2009)
5. Materials and photometric lights used in Revit are intended/designed to be compatible with 3ds Max 2009 only
   • When importing these files into Maya using our new 2009.1 plug-ins, you will only import what's currently compatible (you'll import geometry but no photometric light parameters or mental ray materials)
   • XNA developers will have the opportunity to remap these materials to their own shaders, if they wish
     • The FBX SDK does not contain the material library that Revit 2009 uses; only the descriptive information is there (i.e. Wall Paint material, Blue Color, etc.)
       • The reason why these materials import properly into 3ds Max 2009 is that we have remapped them to their equivalents in 3ds Max using mental ray shaders already existing in 3ds Max

I hope this helps to clarify FBX' short and long term goals.  As was mentioned in this thread, we work very closely with Microsoft to ensure that we are both providing excellent compatible tools for our user base.

By all means, reply to this post with any questions or concerns you may have; I'll check in periodically.  You can also contact us about FBX SDK- & plug-in specific questions/comments on our Area discussion forums: http://area.autodesk.com

Regards,

Trevor Adams - Autodesk FBX

 

Hi Trevor,

thanks for clearing this up. At least we now know we're not missing a stupid little detail when doing the export. :)

-kusako

Hi Trevor,

Will FBX 2009 support reading the Revit ElementID and use it to find associated geometry, or vice versa, in other FBX-enabled applications? (Even better, the whole property set).

If the ElementID can be carried over, then it can be used as an extension point for numerous integrations on FBX such as database-based. I'm actually thinking of using FBX/XNA as a standard 3D model publishing format for design collaboration applications, as the visualization and API capabilities are quite attractive vs Design Review or Acrobat 3D et al, and implementing adaptive polygon degradation a la Navisworks is quite possible with existing FBX APIs (just by stopping drawing meshes when the frame timer runs out and the camera is moving; the result is almost the same).

I guess most people are primarily excited about material definition transfer although as a developer I'm more excited about the metadata aspect :)

Hi,

Sorry it took so long to respond.  It did take me a little while to find this answer for you ... but admittedly not a month.  In any case, I hope this message reaches you at some point.

We do export the Element ID to FBX.  The FBX Node Name that we create for every element is in the format of "FamilyName Type Name [ElementId]".  This uniquely identifies any element we export.

I hope this helps!

Trevor Adams - Autodesk FBX

Does Xna 3.0 fully support FBX format 2009.1?

If Xna doesn't fully support all the FBX capabilities, how long before it does?

Namely loading and playing fbx animations, and proper handling of textures, materials, and other effects.