ZOO CHAT GPT – OVERVIEW

 

The Zoo Chat GPT (beta) tool for Maya allows you to access support, and seamlessly write code using natural language, right within Maya 2022 and above!

 

GIF Demo: Writing a script that auto-unwraps UVs in Maya.

 
 

ChatGPT is an advanced language model created by OpenAI . It’s designed to generate human-like text and engage in conversations by understanding and processing natural language inputs.

ChatGPT is powered by machine learning and has been trained on vast amounts of text data, allowing it to provide relevant, coherent, and contextually appropriate responses.

 
 

GETTING STARTED INFORMATION

 

To get started, you’ll need to Signup (free) and generate your OpenAI API Key .

OpenAI gives new users free tokens which expire after 3 months. See the Open AI payment information below for further pricing. Plans are available for as little as 50 cents per month (see below).

Owing to ChatGPT’s widespread popularity and its beta status, the OpenAI API might occasionally exhibit slow performance and instability, especially if you are on the free OpenAI API plan.

We suggest adding your credit card information even if you still have free credits available. While you won’t be charged, OpenAI is likely to prioritize you in the queue, resulting in faster response times.

 
 

MAYA ASSISTANT INFORMATION

 

By default the Zoo Tools Pro chat bot is set to be a Helpful Maya Assistant who is an expert in Python code. So if you start asking it questions it will immediately start to reply with Python.

You can override the assistant’s settings by simply asking the chat bot to change the code type to MEL, or by requesting it not to reply with code examples. If the chat bot refuses, be firm with it, and it will eventually comply by responding as per your instructions.

CHANGE TO MEL
– “Don’t respond in this chat with Python code, you are now an Autodesk MEL expert ok?”

SET MAYA GENERAL QUESTIONS
– “Do not reply with code in this chat. I’d like to ask general Maya Autodesk and 3d CGI questions ok?”

ChatGPT is very knowledgeable, and you can ask it broad questions about the Maya interface or topics such as animation, rigging, shading, lighting, rendering, and more.

Keep in mind that GPT may not always be 100% accurate. It’s a machine learning model, and it’s still learning.

 

You can use the Zoo ChatGPT for general Maya and 3d questions too.

 
 

Here are our current default assistant settings:

 

You are a Maya Python expert. You operate in 3D Space.
You work in a X,Y,Z coordinate system. 0.0,0.0,0.0 is the default space origin.

All answers for code will be in Python, always include the code block with the python tag
All Docstrings will be using RestructedText using the following format:

“””This is a docstring
This is the body of the docstring. It can be multiple lines long.
.. code-block:: python

This is a code block

.. note::

This is a note

:param param1: This is the first parameter.
:type param1: int
:return: This is a description of what is returned.
:rtype: string
“””

All code to be using python. It’s very important.

 

To modify the contents the assistant settings, you can open the file “chatgpt.pref” and make changes. Locate the file in the “\zoo_preferences\prefs\global” directory, and edit it using a text editor.

While editing, please be cautious as the file is stored in JSON format. If needed, you can also delete the file, and it will be regenerated with default settings.

In future releases, we plan to introduce presets that will enable you to change the default assistant type dynamically and add your own.

 
 

INSTALL INFORMATION

 

To install the required python dependencies, just click on the Zoo Chat GPT purple spiral icon in the ZooToolsPro shelf. This will open a warning window, which will ask you to install the required dependencies.

Once installed, restart Maya and the next time simply enter your API key and you’re ready to go!

 
 

WARNING REGARDING THE INSTALL

 

Warning: If you are at a studio or school OpenAI’s python dependencies can cause conflicts. Before installing please be sure to check with your IT department.

For personal use, dependencies might occasionally lead to conflicts, although such issues are expected to be rare. Refer to the list of OpenAI Python dependencies below.

The OpenAI python scripts and dependencies will be installed into the zoo_preferences/cache folder.

To access your zoo_preferences folder, you can open the folder with:
– ZooToolsPro (shelf) > Zoo Preference window > General > Zoo Preferences Folder > dots menu > Open Folder Location.

The install requires an internet connection.

The Open AI dependencies can be removed at any time (scroll down for a full list of python dependencies).

 
 

SUPPORTED MAYA VERSIONS

 

The OpenAI API is only available for Python 3 and so we can only support Maya 2022 and above.

 
 

UNINSTALL INFORMATION

 

Chat GPT and dependencies can be removed at any time without installing Zoo Tools Pro.

To uninstall ChatGPT, OpenAI API and its dependencies use the following uninstaller:

– ZooToolsPro (shelf) > Developer (purple icon) > Uninstall Chat GPT

If you have problems removing ChatGPT you can also close Maya and delete the zoo_preferences/cache folder.

Locate your zoo_preferences folder by opening:

– ZooToolsPro (shelf) > Zoo Preference window > General > Zoo Preferences Folder > dots menu > Open Folder Location

 
 

OPEN AI – PAYMENT INFORMATION

 

Zoo uses OpenAI’s API for third party plugins. All new users get free tokens that expire after 3 months.

IMPORTANT: Please note that the OpenAI API employed by Zoo Tools is not compatible with the ChatGPT Plus subscription that grants users access to GPT-4. ChatGPT Plus plans can only be used on the OpenAI website and not in third party plugins such as ours.

As of now, the OpenAI API which we are using is restricted to providing access to GPT-3.5 and other related models. OpenAI Pricing Plans are charged separately on their website and are not included in Zoo Tools Pro or a ChatGPT Plus plan.

After your credits run out, the GPT3.5 Turbo model is very affordable. For instance, GPT3.5 currently offers around 3750 words per cent, meaning that even if you were using 3 cents daily, Zoo Chat GPT would amount to approximately 90 cents per month.

For more information about pricing see the OpenAI Pricing page.

We will add GTP4 support when it’s available.

 
 

EXCEEDED YOUR QUOTA – ERROR

 

Some users have asked “I’m getting the error, “You exceeded your current “Open AI” quota”.

The free OpenAI credits appear to be limited to a 3-month period, which likely starts from the date you register on OpenAI.com, rather than from the moment you obtain your API Key.

You can check your quota with this link or here in our UI.

 

View your quota allocation and other OpenAPI information.

 
 

Once your quota period expires, you will need to buy credits from OpenAI to continue using the service.

Credits are affordable and are pay-as-you-go. With approximately 3,700 words per cent, a casual user can expect to spend around 90 cents per month.

Customers who have provided their credit card information for the API services (ChatGPT Plus is not included) may experience faster response times and minimal slowdown. This is not a limitation of Zoo Tools, but rather a constraint of the OpenAI API.

 
 

ISSUE – THE CHAT IS VERY SLOW

 

Owing to ChatGPT’s widespread popularity and its beta status, the OpenAI API might occasionally exhibit slow performance and instability, especially if you are on the free OpenAI API plan.

We suggest adding your credit card information even if you still have free credits available. While you won’t be charged, OpenAI is likely to prioritize you in the queue, resulting in faster response times.

 
 

OPEN AI PYTHON DEPENDENCIES

 

We strive to minimize conflicts in Zoo Tools Pro. Consequently, when you initially launch the Zoo Chat GPT window, you’ll be prompted to install the OpenAI dependencies with a warning message box.

Remember that OpenAI Python Dependencies can lead to conflicts in school or studio settings, particularly if your organization already has OpenAI installed.

Please check with your IT dept before installing.

– aiohttp ( 3.8.4 )
– aiosignal ( 1.3.1 )
– async_timeout ( 4.0.2 )
– attrs ( 22.2.0 )
– certifi ( 2022.12.7 )
– charset_normalizer ( 3.1.0 )
– colorama ( 0.4.6 )
– distlib ( 0.3.6 )
– frozenlist ( .3.3 )
– idna ( 3.4 )
– multidict ( 6.0.4 )
– openai ( 0.27.2 )
– requests ( 2.28.2 )
– tqdm ( 4.65.0 )
– urllib3 ( 1.26.15 )
– yarl ( 1.8.2 )