BAT Help - Modelling Issues

[fosterk 4]

Please use this thread as a help index regarding problems you experience with modelling in the BAT.

If you require help in the subject, make a post here, with details of the problem, and prefferably an image of the problem you are having. Hopefully, someone will reply with information on how to solve your troubles.

[Jeem 17]

This is a question regarding Gmax. Is there a way to copy stuff in one file over to another? Say for roof clutter type stuff, I want to be able to drop them into a building instead of making a new one each time. Thanks.

[GaryReggae 81]

Yes, this is quite easy to do.  Open the file you want to copy objects IN to then go to Merge on the File menu.  Navigate to and select the file you want to copy the objects FROM, you will then get a dialogue box with a list of all the objects in that file so you can select as few or as many as you wish to copy in.  This will also copy in any textures that may be applied to those objects.  It's a very useful tecnique for props, roof junk etc.

[ILL Tonkso 1,239]

just make sure you merge only the items, not its lods or camera handles otherwise it can lead to render problems (the squashed bug)

[Jeem 17]

Thanks for the help guys!

[whizard 45]

Hi. I would like to know, how can you collapse to an editable mesh. I tried to do it (like in the essential BAT tutorial), but the collapse option was greyed (blued?) out. If anyone can help, thanx

Dan

[GaryReggae 81]

Try right-clicking on the object and selecting 'Convert to...Editable Mesh.

[Jeem 17]

Can anyone offer tips and techniques on how to model a tree or plants in Gmax? Thanks.

[whizard 45]

@ garyreggae:

Thanks for the tip. When I do that, I am able to use the collapse command, but nothing changes on the door frame I am making. (See the Essential BAT Tutorial page 3) Maybe I just don't get it, or am I doing something wrong?

Dan

[GaryReggae 81]

Date: 3/31/2005 11:42:35 AM
Author: Jeem
Can anyone offer tips and techniques on how to model a tree or plants in Gmax? Thanks.

quote>

Yeah, I need to know this as well, my current projects require foliage as part of the model rather than as props. I need a low poly solution.

[timo 15]

Can someone help me out? I'm trying to use the loft tool to generate a shape from a spline and a curved path... But I have strange symetry problems with the resulting shape. Can anyone explain how I should set up the pivot, or why I'm having this problem?

(sorry no pic at the moment)

[ardecila 125]

@GaryReggae - Create some textures of leaves with alpha channels. Then, apply them to plane primitives and use the Jitter commands in the Simtropolis Tools to give the leaf-planes a random distribution around some kind of stem/trunk.

@timo - Lofts are very tricky. I would suggest going into the help system and learning how to use Loft Deformations. They let you tweak the rotation, scaling, orientation, and twist of your shape as it travels along its path. That's probably the only way to solve your problem.

[timo 15]

Thanks for your help ardecila! I figured out how to loft correctly. It's okay now!

[hummer0328 6]

How would I make a box have a 2 dimensional curve?

Edit:
Here is my problem:
Pic Link
Each column curves out in 2 different dimensions, away from the center and when splitting in 2.

[JaxCoJazz 3]

I can't weld.  Every single #&*(@^$ time I try to weld several edges together, I get No vertices within weld threshold.  And all the edges come together at the same &@#% point in space...X, Y, AND Z!  I'm getting tired of this lame excuse to not do what I want it to.  I've tried raising the weld threshold all the way up to 5.1 and it STILL WONT WORK!  Pleeeeeeeease someone help me before I get a heart attack.

 

 

 

P.S.  No pics cause I can't use the print screen key on my keyboard  (screw Microsoft Works)

[mntoes 271]

Follow my tutorial on making an arched window. Hopefully that should give you an idea as it covers welding.

  https://www.simtropolis.com/content.cfm?mode=omnibus&view=110

 

Welding is one of the things that is dificult to learn at first. Keep trying you will get the hang of it.

 

Regards

Mntoes

[ILL Tonkso 1,239]

You need to make it as one spline rather than two, try selecting segments of the editable spline and holding shift and draging, this copies that particular segmant but still within that spline, from here you can use the connect tool to connect the vertexes. This allows yo to create 3d curves. This is explained much better (with visual aid) in the omnibus tutorials.

[JaxCoJazz 3]

I forgot to mention that I'm trying to create a solid, irregular, 3-D shape using splines to map out all ten faces.  How do I do that?

To outline my method I used:

1. I created all ten faces individually--the base and roof are squares and the other eight sides are highly elongated isosceles triangles (like a stretched out octahedron with ten sides instead of eight).
2. I then selected the base and attatched all the other sides.
3. I went to Modifiers>Surface>Material and selected
4. the shape didn't fill up, so I undid that
5. I went to the edit sline part and used the vertice selection option
6. selected the unwelded vertice(s) and attempted to weld
7. vertices don't weld so I try again and again and again and again until I just say &*@#$ it and quit without saving.  I can remake the shape in a very short time, but I can't finish it
8. I came here to Simtrop to ask for help

[Phoenixjp 0]

Hi there, does anyone know how to make long Piers on BAT that dont sink to the water when you place them. Ive been trying all evening and now I give up lol.

[brtim2 11]

Date: 6/14/2005 9:09:13 AM
Author: Phoenixjp
Hi there, does anyone know how to make long Piers on BAT that dont sink to the water when you place them. Ive been trying all evening and now I give up lol.

quote>

I would suggest creating the pier as a prop with the pier supports extending below the z plane. If you make it as a prop you can have (at minimum) one tile on land and the rest of the prop extending out into the water. If you do it that way then the pier will be the height of the land you placed it on.

And, on a similar note. How do I keep massive shadows from happening?



This also happened with a water wall I was working on. This is a 5x5 tile water lot that gives the appearance of water at higher elevations. The water wall was a 1x2 prop that was on a 1x1 lot. Everytime the water walls and the water was placed these huge shadow thingies popped up. Is it because they are at the edges of the lots? If so, is there anything I can do to keep them from doing it?

edit:found out i just need to turn off the light property in the pm.

[simzebu 20]

I am currenty trying to make a townhouse that is based off of the ones that are very common near my house. the problem is, I am not sure of quite a few things.


1)How would I make a window that extends beyond the front of the building, over the sidewalk. See figure 1 of attached file

2)Would it be possible to make an area that would appear to be below the level of the ground. It would only need to be about 1m x 1m. see figure 2.

[annoyingdan 42]

@simzebu - I ended up having to have something extend (the awing in this case) the sidewalk In my Sellam Building A. It was either that or ditch the awning. It is possible, but as far as I know the only way to do it is to do some tweaking to the model and desc file in Ilives reader. First keep modelling normaly. Of course when you export it, the building won't fit on the lot. Then you create the building file in Plugin Manager. When you finnish, open it up in Ilive reader. In the Exemplar file, there is a property called occupantsize (i think that's it) Change the numbers to the size you desire (length,width,hight respectively). When you go into the lot editor the building footprint will be that size but the building won't.
    I guess you could offset render it, but you can only do that with props as far as I know.

[GaryReggae 81]

Yes, this is a useful tecnique, I am currently working on some shops with sticking-out signs, this can make the signs extend over the pavement.

[Tunafish 48]

Date: 6/13/2005 10:21:30 PM Author: JaxCoJazz

I forgot to mention that I'm trying to create a solid, irregular, 3-D shape using splines to map out all ten faces.  How do I do that?

To outline my method I used:

1. I created all ten faces individually--the base and roof are squares and the other eight sides are highly elongated isosceles triangles (like a stretched out octahedron with ten sides instead of eight).
2. I then selected the base and attatched all the other sides.
3. I went to Modifiers>Surface>Material and selected
4. the shape didn't fill up, so I undid that
5. I went to the edit sline part and used the vertice selection option
6. selected the unwelded vertice(s) and attempted to weld
7. vertices don't weld so I try again and again and again and again until I just say &*@#$ it and quit without saving.  I can remake the shape in a very short time, but I can't finish it
8. I came here to Simtrop to ask for help

quote>

 

You need to make each spline an editable spline. then select one of your splines and click the attach button. then click on all the other splines. once all of them are selected un click the attach button. then weld

[SC4BOY 21]

Well I am sure I'm doing something really dumb, but I don't c wher anyone else has had this problem.. I am sure it's answered somewhere, but I can't locate it and this seems right place to ask.

 

I've been following the essential BAT tutorial and proceding slowly but surely. However there is one problem I can't seem to solve. Some times I get the texture on the wrong side and can't seem to get it turned around! For example, the brick texture on the walls on 2 of the walls outside they look ugly black (it is brick if u can look really closely) while the outside of the other walls look normal like in the tutorial pic's.

 

If I hide the other walls I can see the correct color of the brick is on the INSIDE of the wall and no matter what I do I can't seem to fix it even if I delete and reapply the UMV map and re-apply the texture... The window is reversed too.. the sky reflection ison the INSIDE of the building.. LOL. I've even tried to re-extrude the wall the opposite direction....????? I've also tried to be careful to apply the texture on the flat surface in the front on view appropriate for the piece I'm working on.. it still seems to be wrong sometimes..

 

What controls what side of the image gets textured properly?

If one is wrong, can it be corrected? If so, how?

 

Most of the other things I've colored (ie window frames, etc) look fine..

 

Help appreciated.

 

[Odd from Sweden 129]

SC4BOY, I guess Your problem is Viewport lighting. Choose Customize -> viewport configuration, then in the dialogue box check default lighting and push the radio button 2 lights.

[SC4BOY 21]

Date: 8/4/2005 12:13:11 AM Author: ...Viewport lighting. Choose Customize -> viewport configuration, then in the dialogue box check 'default lighting' and push the radio button '2 lights'.

 

No this made no difference. Another issue is transparency. No matter how I adjust the transparency, etc the window is still opaque.. that is I can't see thru it..It daesn't seem to matter whether I apply a UMV map either.. For modeling glass, I can use a single plane or a thin extrusion, it doesn't matter.

 

 

[ramvid01 0]

When trying to make a dual fan exhaust fan, i find that i cant make the bottom of the box outline correctly. I always get a gap between the 2 planes, and cant seem to make it as a whole as he shows in the pictures. If i can ill try to show a picture, but my computer isnt liking me ebnought to do it.

[Lyhoko Leaci 770]

Date: 8/4/2005 12:58:21 AM Author: SC4BOY

Date: 8/4/2005 12:13:11 AM Author: ...Viewport lighting. Choose Customize -> viewport configuration, then in the dialogue box check 'default lighting' and push the radio button '2 lights'.

No this made no difference. Another issue is transparency. No matter how I adjust the transparency, etc the window is still opaque.. that is I can't see thru it..It daesn't seem to matter whether I apply a UMV map either.. For modeling glass, I can use a single plane or a thin extrusion, it doesn't matter.

quote>

I have never been able to get a window to be transparent if it has a texture, but if I just use an ambient color without a texture, the transparency works just fine.

[Lyhoko Leaci 770]

Ignore, double post.