Hello everyone.  I have been searching through this forum and elsewhere for a few days now, looking for a solution to my problem.  I have seen many similar threads, but none seem to help.

I am using XSI Mod Tool 7.5 to create a textured model, which I am trying to display in XNA.  By following tutorials, I am able to view the desired results in the DirectX 9 view of XSI just fine.  But when I export the model as an .fbx file and display it in XNA, all I see is a black object.

I believe the problem has to do with the model that I am createing/exporting, and not my XNA code.  This is because I am able to draw other textured .fbx models with the same code.  Is there something I am missing?  I'm just using the phong.fx file from the XNA samples, replacing the default ambient image with my own .png, then exporting via Crosswalk 3.3.  This has really got me stumped.

Sorry for the newb question.  Thanks for you help.

Still looking into this issue.  But I went ahead, and tried to create a simple textured model in Blender, and export the .fbx from there.  This seems to work fine, the image would render as expected in XNA.  I then took a look at the resulting ascii file, and compared it with what I was getting from XSI.  The biggest difference there was that the .fbx file from Blender had "TextureVideoClip" sections, where my images were being referenced.  Nothing like this was appearing in my .fbx file from XSI.  Now I am aware of the solution of "just using Blender", but I would prefer to stick with XSI, as I have more experience with it.  Does anyone know what I could be doing wrong with my texturing/exporting process, to cause this this to happen?  Thanks again.

The FBX support in XSI does not yet support .FX files. Though, you can use FBX with textures if you are using the normal phong shader (i.e. NOT FX files).

Thanks for the quick reply!  That explains a lot.  So if I use the built-in phong shader, it will export correctly with to FBX?  Okay, I was probably mislead (or misread) posts talking about not using mental-ray.  I'll try it out when I get home.

Alright, I went ahead and tried using the "normal" phong shader.  Struggled with it a bit more, but finally I figured it out.  I loaded the new texture image, and used it with the phong material.  I then had to switch the Image node's connection to the Phong node's Image_Layer:color to the Phong node's Illumination:ambient property.  After that, I editted the Image node to select the texture projection.  Exported through crosswalk and placed in XNA.  Seems to work fine.  Does that all sound right?  Thanks again.

That sounds about right

Thanks! Using the Default Phong did the trick for me too!

but in this tutorial http://blogs.msdn.com/dawate/archive/2008/02/05/building-a-3d-game-in-xna-from-scratch-free-video-tutorial-series-now-available.aspx he uses phong.fx file. i don't really understand why he can use that shader effect, and we can't use it.
i tried to use "normal phong", model/material/phong, is that ok?? when i render my model in xna it's like i had no texture

Agreed, the crosswalk 3.3 FBX exporter seems to lose textures and projections. Try exporting an FBX, then immediately importing that same FBX, and it magically loses its texture. The crosswalk that came with ModTool 6 worked fine! Hopefully I'm doing something wrong and it's an easy fix. Here are simple steps for a test case: 1: file-> new 2: create primitive sphere 3: go to render mode 4: modify->texture->add->image 5: in the Material: Image window that pops up, pick an image and add a spherical projection 6: switch to Textured Decal to see that the image and projection work 7: freeze operators by edit->Operator->Freeze operator stack 8: export FBX by file->crosswalk->Export FBX... 9:in the export options, check Embed Texture, and click OK Now try importing that file and note that it lacks a texture, or try applying a texture in an XNA game and note that the texture projection is not spherical.

Steven, I am having that same issue, my texture coordnates are not being exported correctly. I have been all over the net, some people are saying the same thing and others are saying it works fine. I'm still searching and testing but if you find a solution let me know.

Ezequiel698:

but in this tutorial http://blogs.msdn.com/dawate/archive/2008/02/05/building-a-3d-game-in-xna-from-scratch-free-video-tutorial-series-now-available.aspx he uses phong.fx file. i don't really understand why he can use that shader effect, and we can't use it.

I think this is the dotXSI format that is used in this tutorial. If you are using the Crosswalk dotXSI pipeline between Softimage and XNA, you have support for custom DirectX effects, SAS bindings and animations. Check out the "Shader Pipeline between XSI and XNA" tutorial from Digital Tutors.

Steven Jones:

Agreed, the crosswalk 3.3 FBX exporter seems to lose textures and projections.

THE kilroy:

I am having that same issue, my texture coordnates are not being exported correctly.

The key for exporting the UVs with FBX is to set the correct texture projection on the image node inside your material's render tree. I have posted the steps to export FBX in this thread. Tell me if this works for you.