Troubleshooting

Missing textures
If your imported model is missing textures, please ensure the textures are at the location defined in the model format.
If you use .DAE, MAKE SURE YOU CHECK "Include UV Textures" and "Include Material Textures" in the export settings.
If you use .FBX, the texture files should be where you exported the FBX at (in most cases).

Make sure that you export your model and any textures all into the same folder, you should have your .DAE and all of your texture files in the same folder upon exporting. Load your .DAE from that same folder. If you're still experiencing missing textures, make sure that you are using Principled BSDF and using only image textures such as TGA, PNG, and JPG. If you have a flat color, you need to make a small image (1x1 px works) and make that your image texture.

My model looks fine in Blender but on import all the bones are streched out! Help!
A very common issue you may experience with your workshop model is having your models vertices strewn across the place haphazardly.
If you are using Blender, make sure the mesh's "Transform" is applied. Select the mesh in Blender in object mode, press CTRL+A, and apply "Location, Rotation, and Scale".
If that doesn't work, try exporting with "triangulate" on. If you have too many n-gons, Unreal will end up triangulating it for you which could possibly break the model.

Unable to Find Root Armature
If you get this error upon importing, make sure that you're using the Tower Unite armature! If not, the Tower Unite Blender Add-on will allow you to import it. If you are using the armature, make sure that your bones don't have weird names and make sure that your armature is called "Armature" and not something like "Armature.001".

No Model Upon Import
If your model does not appear on import or you occasionally see a pink version of the default female playermodel, make sure you're using the Tower Unite armature! That armature is specifically required to import and create custom workshop playermodels.

Too Many Vertices
There is an upper limit of 30K vertices for your model, getting near it is not bad, but you cannot go past it. As a side note, sometimes the amount of vertices between the workshop editor and blender can vary. For example, having sharp edges doubles the amounts of vertices for that edge, so keep that in mind! You can read more about the limits on the Rules & Limits page.

Reducing Vertext Count (tutorial by Spoom)
It's almost certain that the vertex count displayed in Blender will be lower than the vertex count displayed in Tower Unite, and there are several reasons for this. The easiest way to reduce these is to 'Decimate' your meshes, but this targets and discards the finer details of your model. Here are some methods you can try to reduce vertex count before resorting to this:

  • Smooth Shading - Object Mode > Right click your mesh object > Shade Smooth
    • Try this first of all, because it is often responsible for more than tripling the vertex count in TU.
    • TU, running on UE4, only does 'smooth' shading and will automatically add extra vertices for every 'flat' face to mimic the effect.
  • Remove Duplicate UV Maps - These are listed under the 'Object Data Properties' tab, displayed as a green triangle with three dots in Blender 2.8+
    • Any UV map after the first, which should be named 'UVMap', will add each of its vertices to the vertex count even though it is unused.
  • Merge By Distance - Edit Mode > Press A to select all > Press M > Choose 'By Distance'
    • This will eliminate any duplicate vertices in a single mesh, but is not guaranteed to preserve 100% detail. Impact is minimal either way.
    • Keep the 'Merge Distance' in the popup at the default '0.0001 m' (or similar) value, as larger values will reduce detail similar to Decimate would, except worse.
  • Other things which increase the vertex count:
    • UV map seams, even if only using one UV map, will increase the vertex count for every edge vertex. Try to minimise these where possible for best results.
    • 'Hard' edges, usually displayed as bright, cyan lines, are duplicated for the same reason as listed in 'Smooth Shading'.
    • Hidden geometry (such as the interiors of closed mouths and the skin beneath clothes) are never seen and should be removed where applicable.

Failed to create model object. Most likely not a compatible format
If you try to import a model that is not DAE, FBX, OBJ, or SMD, you may run into this error. Please see what are the accepted formats on our Rules & Limits page.

My model's right arm folds into itself!
If you are using Blender, when you use the auto rig tool, the vertex names will no longer match. Make sure you set the vertex names to the Tower Unite rig's names.

Failed Workshop Upload Troubleshooting (tutorial by Spoom)
If your model is failing to upload to the Steam Workshop, check these common causes:

  • Nothing: Sometimes this just happens. It's worth trying again once or twice before investigating further.
  • Filesize: Ensure your item is less than 30MB in size, else Steam will simply create a zero-byte item.
  • Preview Image: This may be pushing the item over the 30MB limit. Preview images need be no larger than 200x200 pixels - larger images can be uploaded afterwards¹.
  • Title / Description: Large bodies of text in the title or description field may prevent the upload. Keep it short or empty and you can update it freely afterwards¹.
  • Maintenance / Downtime: Sometimes the Steam Workshop is taken offline and will be unable to accept uploads. If this is the case, try again in 15 minutes or so.
  • Bans: If you have recently had an item removed from the Workshop, you may be limited by a temporary Workshop ban, even if it wasn't a Tower Unite item,
¹ You can do this directly from the Steam Workshop page from your item, once it has correctly uploaded.

Failed to get material name
Please ensure your materials have unique names before importing.

Failed to compile player model
When this error occurs, check the compiler log in the editor for more information. Note: By default, player models that fail to import as player models will import as items instead.

Failed to compile model
When this error occurs, check the compiler log in the editor for more information.

Additional Help!
Our community can help you out via our Discord: https://discord.gg/pixeltail