The latest version of Zoo Tools Pro, version 2.8.1, has been released! It includes three new tools: the Constraint Toolbox, Joints to Hive Guides, and Multi Import/Reference.
The Hive FBX Export tool has received a major update, which now allows for batch exporting and supports the export of multiple animation clips and rigs.
Notably, the Hive Auto-Rigger has also received numerous updates and fixes.
Several improvements and bug fixes have been implemented to enhance the user experience, resulting in a smoother and more polished Zoo Tools Pro experience.
New Tool: Joints To Hive Guides
Convert your joint chains into Hive autorigger’s FK Components in a single click with Joints To Hive Guides.
Joint chains support branches in a single component.
One-click joints to Hive FK components. Guides retain joint orientations.
For a super fast create/align workflow, use the Joint Tool and Joints To Hive Guides together.
Joint Tool workflows to Hive make creating and orienting FK chains easy.
Enhanced Tool: Hive Export FBX
The latest update of Hive FBX Export allows batch exporting of FBX files, which is useful for converting many rigs or animation clips to game engines and other applications.
This feature simplifies saving multiple animation clips and rigs as FBX files from a single scene.
For example, exporting multiple rigs for cinematic purposes can be necessary when exporting for game engines.
Using the Hive FBX Exporter, you can load all or selected rigs into the UI for cinematic export.
You can export multiple animation clips to FBX files, including those used for game cycles.
Export animation clips from Maya’s Time Slider Bookmarks or Game Exporter.
Export cycle time ranges with Maya’s time-slider bookmarks or Game Exporter UI.
UI settings can be reused with Save To Scene or Save To Disk options.
Save UI presets to the disk or the current scene for later use.
New Tool: Constraint Toolbox
The Constraint Toolbox consolidates all Maya’s constraint and match options into a single location and includes corresponding tools such as Mark Center Pivot and Group Zero Object.
The Constraint Toolbox has helpful tooltips and options.
The Constraint Marking Menu corresponds to the UI.
Press “shift V” using the Zoo Tools Hotkeys. You can also customize and assign the menu to a preferred hotkey.
The Constraint Marking Menu ( Shift V ) matches the Constraint UI.
New Tool: Multi Import/Reference
The Multi Import/Reference tool allows you to import or reference a Maya file many times into the current scene.
Import or reference a file multiple times into the scene.
Enhanced: Joint Tool
Several improvements have been made to the Joint Tool:
You can now right-click and create joint chains from object selection with numerous options.
Right-click to create joints with various options.
Zero your joint transformations without nested groups with our new Freeze To Offset Matrix buttons (2020 and above). Note: Freeze Matrix joints are not FBX compatible.
Freeze To Offset Matrix zeroes joints without needing nested groups. 2020+
Hive Autorigger
The Hive Autorigger now interactively positions pole-vectors by placing the knee, elbow and v-chain components.
Interactive pole-vector positioning for the knee, elbow and V-Chain components.
There have also been numerous bug fixes and improvements made to Hive.
Hive Enhancements:
– Interactive placement of pole vectors is now done by positioning the knee or elbow.
– You can now adjust the pole vectors’ distance setting as needed.
– Added Plane Orient and Joints to Hive Guides tool to the Hive sidebar shelf.
Hive Bugfixes:
– Fixed Component deletion where joints were already created, but the guides were deleted, causing an AttributeError.
– Fixed C++ errors where closing Hive UI was causing problems accessing other tools.
– Annotations are no longer added to displayLayer.
– Fix control creation failing if the parent control was not created.
– Fixed Fk “link fk” annotation grey link creation issues.
– Ik/fk matching now considers distance setting from the guides.
– Fixed building rig fails to find jaw guide when parenting due to bad sorting in the definition.
– Toggle LRA right-click command fails if no guides are present but the root.
– Fix mirror currentState data not containing the behaviour value.
– Place Polevector Sensibly distance setting is now taken into account.
– Fixed rig renaming after the rig has been built fails due to missing selection sets which were deleted.
– Fixed recreating guides not syncing the current scene before rebuilding.
– Fixed bendy limb controls being incorrectly mirrored with Apply Symmetry.
– Fixed Ue5 Name Preset with reversed calf twist naming.
Zoo Tools Pro in Unreal Engine!
Although Zoo Tools Pro has no tools or features in Unreal, it can be loaded in Unreal Engine!
See our documentation here for studios. This is the very start of our UE5 support.
Zoo Tools with UE support. Note: No tools have been added.
Enhancements: Tween Machine
Tween Machine now has optional hotkey modes for appearing at the cursor and auto close when clicked off the window.
See our Tween Machine page for the hotkey code snippets.
Tween machine can be added to hotkeys for quick access.
Bug Fixes: Spline Rig
Spline Rig has had a couple of bug fixes.
Bug Fix: Dynamic scale control size is working again.
Bugfix: Splinerig works when Maya is set to inches.
Zoo Maya Shelf Icons
All icons now have rollover tooltips. Previously some were missing.
Zoo Shelf Tooltips have been added for all icons.
Enhancement: Zoo Renamer
Zoo Renamer now renames shape nodes with regular Maya shape node conventions.
Zoo Renamer now renames shape nodes with Maya’s standard convention.
Enhancement: Control Creator
Control Creator now creates controls with regular Maya shape node names.
Control Creator now names shapes with a standard Maya convention.
BugFixes: Edit Controls
Edit Controls has had a minor bug fix.
Bugfix: Delete Zoo Tracker Attributes also deletes the mstrTempBreakTrack, which was missing.
Edit Controls “Delete Zoo Tracker Attrs” has a small bug fix.
BugFixes: Motion Path Rig
Motion Path Rig has had some minor bug fixes.
Bugfix: Issue creating setups with negative axis alignment.
Bugfix: Issue while creating with non-unique names and namespaces.
Motion Path Rig now correctly handles negative axis alignments.
BugFixes: Objects Toolbox
The Objects Toolbox has had a minor bug fix.
Bugfix: Added missing right-click menus in the advanced mode.
Bugfixes: Sculpting Toolbox
The Sculpting Toolbox has had a minor bug fix.
The Invert Freeze button is named correctly once again.
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Buy Zoo Tools.
To see all tools go to the Zoo 2 Information Page.
Registered users can download and upgrade from the Zoo 2 Install Page.
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great
Damn! That’s sick
Are the “Assets” and other content able to reside on the network driver location or can it only reside on a local drive?
Hi Dale, yes, all our assets can be placed where ever you like.
On startup, you can put the zoo preference settings where you like, and then inside the UIs, you can also set custom locations.
I’ve sent some screenshots to your email.