Weights Stabilizer for Autodesk Maya

Weights Stabilizer is a plugin for Autodesk Maya 2025 that ensures stable and reliable skin weights across topology edits, skeleton replacements, and cross-version workflows (UE4 → UE5). It eliminates one of Maya's oldest limitations: the loss of weights when modifying meshes or transferring them between skeletons.

Key Capabilities

• Topology-Safe Skinning: Edit or retopologize skinned meshes without losing vertex weights.
• Cross-Skeleton Transfer: Transfer meshes between UE4 and UE5 skeletons while preserving original weights and adding all influences from the new skeleton into the skinCluster automatically.
• High-Speed Operations: Optimized binary format (VID3) with batched read/write reduces save/restore time by up to 8x compared to default Maya workflows.
• Safe Restore: Automatically handles Maya's Paint Skin Weights tool context, normalization, and maintainMaxInfluences flags to guarantee consistent results.
• Undo/Redo Support: All operations integrate into Maya's undo stack for safe experimentation.
• Artist-Friendly UI: Shelf button and Rigging → Skin menu integration with simple Save / Restore / Clear / Verify actions.

Technical Details

• Serialization: Binary VID2+ format with CRC validation, influence remapping, and sparse weight storage for compact files.
• Performance: Batched API calls, pre-allocated buffers, and lightweight undo state representation (binary hex in DG) ensure real-time operation even on production meshes.
• Architecture: C++ plugin (MPxCommand + MPxNode) with dependency graph callbacks for topology changes; Python UI wrapper.
• Robustness: Automatic resync when skeleton or mesh changes, safe handling of artAttrSkinContext (Paint Skin Weights tool), and clean removal of callbacks via ClearIdsCmd.
• Compatibility: Developed and tested on Maya 2025 (Windows). File format is endian-safe and cross-platform, though prebuilt binaries are Windows-only.

Demo

The demo below shows SK_Mannequin (UE4) and SKM_Manny (UE5) from Unreal Engine starter content. The video demonstrates both topology editing and skeleton replacement workflows, with weights fully preserved in each case.

Context

In Maya, modifying a skinned mesh or transferring between skeletons typically breaks weights, forcing technical artists and riggers to spend hours repainting. Weights Stabilizer introduces a robust solution: stable vertex IDs, reliable remapping, and deterministic restore under all conditions.

Developed as a personal project to remove long-standing Maya limitations, it showcases advanced C++ plugin development, dependency graph integration, and performance optimization tailored for production pipelines.