Has anyone tried using Twinmotion since moving to SKU 2024? I used it a few years ago, but abandoned it when no clients wanted to pay for my extra time to use it for my designs. Thought I’d give it another whirl. The interface seems to have changed significantly, and the tutorials I can find seem out of date. I can naviagte to my SKU models but not open anything. I’ve installed the plugin, but can’t see what it does, and again no tutorials up to date on what I need to do to export something useful. Any advice or signposts to recent guides?
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Ignore the plug-in, it’s not yet updated for 24 (unless you are still on 23 as your profile says, the plug-in works in 23 but I prefer a workflow without it anyway). TM can import .skp files. Start TM and navigate to import, then simply import the .skp you want to render from its location on your HD. If you need to update geometry alter the SketchUp file and save it, then update the reference from within TM, similar to how you work with Layout.
Yes the TM interface has changed a bit, I think much for the better. It’s streamlined and much easier to manage the menus and options in the new format.
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+1 on the plugin opinion.
I’ve had some problems with 23 as well, materials synchronised at a super small scale for instance, and resetting for no reason (some materials would, other wouldn’t).
Apparently there is a brand new one, 5.4.1 working with SU24 and TW24.1
Haven’t tried it yet, I’ll have to (quite soon) ahead of a training session.
But know that importing + updating works fine. I just imported a SU24 file in TW24 minutes ago, worked fine. so you can work without the datasmith.
The interface changed in 2023, on the official forum there was a video showing step by step the changes, it’s this one
Look for tutorials / articles / medias using twinmotion 2023.1 and later, they should all have the new interface, and they’re still relevant for TW24
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When I navigate to my files, TM doesn’t seem able to open any SKP documents. Do I need to export them to special file format first? When I’ve tried the plugin, it produces a folder with tons of files but they can’t be opened in TM either?
Thanks, I hadn’t found that, so will take a look.
uhh, from the interface, it looks like you didn’t download Twinmotion but Unreal Engine, the game / movie render that Twinmotion uses.
in the epic store, you go (on the left side) to Unreal page, and then on the top, you pick twinmotion. and install twinmotion. no need to install unreal engine unless you’re making a video game or some very advanced stuff
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Thanks, that makes more sense now!
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@ateliernab I was having issues today with getting TM24 to refresh a SU24 file after I made a few changes to the model in SU after selecting all my materials and lighting in TM. I couldn’t get the model to refresh is there another command I’m missing? I saved in SU and hit the refresh multiple times and it didn’t import the adjusted file after a load screen.
When I tried to re-import the file of course it didn’t have all my textures and materials I had alrady selected. Any ideas? Thank you in advance!!
ugh. Somehow I really hope that’s only your file acting up 
but I’m too pessimist to really think it is.
I’ll check this afternoon to see if the synchronisation with 24 and 23 works as it did, and if not, I’ll have to try the datasmith I guess…
I’ll come back to you.
Oh, well actually I’m using 23 TM and 24 SU maybe that’s the problem. I downloaded the newest datasmith but that wasn’t working. Will be messing with it now so will report back if I find a solve before you get back. Thank you!!
Refreshing the model is working for me in TM23 and SU24 (I haven’t loaded TM24 yet). Just to be sure, you are using this button here? And nothing happens?
Interesting. Even if I reimport the same file over again, the material substitutions I have made in TM persist relative to the material choices in SU.
If you change a material in SU then updating or reimporting into TM will overwrite the existing TM material. I think of them as 1:1 parings, TM maps over a given material or object (depending on how you have the material applicator set in TM). But the relationships remains, if you apply a material in SU that already has a corresponding TM material assigned to it it will show as the selected material in TM without re-applying.
Thanks for sending this over. It’s so stupid but I think the issue was the source file was in my google drive folder that wasn’t syncing. Once I re-did the file and saved on my actual hard drive I didn’t run into any issue with materials. I am now having issues with datasmith saying there’s no connection between the two but I can just refresh and that works.
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Hello
NO I am NOT stalking you..haha
But this morning I posed the question on Google
How do I REimport my FBX file from Sketchup to Twinmotion
with my corrected building and water ?
And your comment popped up
As you have helped me on the water and that I see you also use
TM do I dare to ask?
I wrote the FBX file last night and this morning
opened my existing model in TWINMOTION 25.1 all went well
From Lumion10 when I click (ctrl Alt) and chose any material
it is very easy to RE import a model from the same or another file name.
Is there anything like it in TM?
Can I maybe save all my vegation in a separate file
and then just import my new corrected model and merge with my saved
vegetation?
Or, do you know who I would manage to keep all my vegetation
(the are all in planters along the sidewalks)
I used a great variety of it as it’s for a game and makes it visually
interesting.
Is there a way of REimport the model without cancelling out all my vegetation
Thank you
Thank you.
Hello
I just came across your post, I am on PC window11
I am just at a somewhat similar point and have a question related to your answer
in your post
I need to “refresh” my already imported Twinmotion 25/1
with my newly corrected SKU exported fbx file.
WITHOUT affecting my trees cars and people inside but MOSTLY the trees
My PC graphics card is not the best so I put people and cars in my model
make some renders and then delete them again.
BUT I’d like to keep my wide variety of trees that are all in planters
along 4 cross sections of streets around my square center building
(a hopefully to become game)
I haven’t found an answer on how to refresh without loosing my vegetation
Can I save all my vegetation in one file ( types and position)
My model is all connected the center building the sidewalks and trees
as the model goes into the underground everywhere from under the center square till the “imaginary” facades and my corrections
affected all that underground space.
Otherwise I would import the center building only
In Lumion one pics any material and click (ctrl Alt and re-imports the entire file
from SKU (mine is 19) and all changes will apply but not affect the additional
actors like plants people cars etc.
Thank you in case you have an info who this re-import
can be done in TM 25/1
At the bottom, import menu. There if you hover on your imported file, there is an arrow symbol to update it.
Also, no need to export as fbx. Twinmotion reads skp files
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Hello
As I see you are somehow familiar with SU > TM
I have this recurring problem
How to cut out a square from my STARTING GROUND?
I have my square building 18 levels over and underground
I can’t find one video that shows how to cut out the starting ground
in TM 24 or 25
most videos are very old
and it seems not many (I haven’t found any) addresses that issuse
After I import my model the starting ground does NOT recognize my
model’s limits and cut away ground from SU
Currently the starting land crosses my entire building throughout
and makes my model difficult for animations going down into the basement
one has to fly through that starter land which is illogical
I have tried to cut the land out BEFORE or in a different area
and then move the model to that place
That’s the problem when one doesn’t know the right words to look for in the UI
or click F1 to go online for documentation "starter land " is not enough to get there
Thank you
Unfortunately I melted my rtx3090 with twinmotion so I could not try the last release but its very worth using it.
I also paid for it and now it’s free so, even if it gives me grievances I still think it’s a great engine for sketchup users.
The worse it has is no decent furniture models.
You can’t cut a square out od the starting ground. You can do the following things, besides erasing it:
- convert geometry into a starting ground. It becomes coarser than it actually is
- use an height map as starting ground
- shape it using ground tools
None of those are really perfect so I always opt for erasing it and I insert sketchup geometry as ground.
The problem is that only the actual ground can be painted and modeled with the ground tools, but that is not really a problem if you can model and texture the ground yourself.
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If the geometry you are placing your vegetation in changes, you loose your vegetation. At least that’s what used yo happen in the prior versions I used. There have been some chamges in how vegetation is scattered recently.
What you should do, in order to preserve vegetation when you update the model is one of two things:
- import the terrain independently from the rest of the model. You can do this by saving out components of the model and importing them independently inside twinmotion
- or you can place vegetation without using the scatter or paint tools. Each vehetation you place manually will stay in place until you delete it. You go to library select an object like a tree, and place it at the model by clicking on it. Of course this is doable with trees, but not so much with grass.
Thank you very much for your reply
I will go for working the terrain and pushing it deep under like a cave.
Lucky I have a spare space around my “needed clear square” so I
have space to ease off to the horizontal