FBX or Twinmotion for ArchiCAD 25

[Rex Maximilian]

When will we see an export option to FBX or Twinmotion for ArchiCAD 25? At the very least, FBX (generic) should be included on the day a new version ships as it has become an industry standard for 3D import into rendering packages.

[Aaron Bourgoin · Accepted solution]

Epic have just provided the final versions of the twinmotion/datasmith connections.

https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/datasmith/plugins

versions for 23, 24 and 25

[Rex Maximilian]

Aaron wrote:
Epic have just provided the final versions of the twinmotion/datasmith connections.

https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/datasmith/plugins

versions for 23, 24 and 25

I saw that. Will try it out. However, nothing beats saving out to FBX as we could do in earlier ArchiCAD versions. I hope the datasmith plugin still allows it. Thx!

[Rex Maximilian]

It appears saving as FBX is out, which is a bummer because it is a universal format for 3D model interchange. But, you can save as a .udatasmith solo file and import into Twinmotion using conventional importation methods.

There's been previous discussions on the TM FB forum as to why FBX (or traditional export/import) is advantageous over direct link methods.

[rjwilden]

I found the direct link very unreliable, multiple crashes. FBX export very much better. Has the direct link in 25 become more stable. Will not upgrade to 25 until there is certainty with this, as TM cloud is my preferred method of presentation.

[Martin Jules]

We also need the latest update displayed on the following web page: https://graphisoft.com/downloads/addons/datasmith-exporter

[Barry Kelly]

rjwilden wrote:
Has the direct link in 25 become more stable.

Apparently there is no 'Direct Link' with 25.
You have to use the Datasmith add-on.
The one for 25 was in preview until just a few days ago.
The release version can be found here as Aaron posted earlier.

https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/datasmith/plugins

Barry.

[Laszlo Nagy]

The Release Notes page states that the Datasmith Exporter does provide a direct link to both the Unreal Engine and Twinmotion. Or do I misunderstand something?:

Unreal Engine 4.27 brings with it a new Datasmith Exporter for Archicad, the popular architectural CAD software by Graphisoft. The plugin provides support for the Datasmith Direct Link workflow, allowing Archicad users to synchronize their application with Unreal Engine and Twinmotion; as well as the ability to export data in the .udatasmith file format.

https://docs.unrealengine.com/4.27/en-US/WhatsNew/Builds/ReleaseNotes/4_27/#datasmithexporterpluginf...

[Barry Kelly]

When I say 'Direct Link', I mean the 'Direct Link' add-on.
That is not available for 25 as far as I know.

The Datasmith workflow is a little different I think - although I have not tried it yet.
The old 'Direct Link' would actually start Twinmotion and load the Archicad model.
And the Twinmotion Model could be syncronised directly from Archicad.

I don't think the Datasmith add-on works quite the same.

Barry.

[Laszlo Nagy]

Then maybe it is this one:

https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/twinmotion/plugins?lang=en

There is also a video about how to use the Direct Link. The video shows Revit, but it is probably the same workflow with Archicad: