BAT4Max v.5

[SimFox 802]

No_ it all happens when you run setup in MAX. It simply copying files into GMAX defaul location (C:\GMAX\) May I ask why do you think that your GMAX update didn't go through?

Mighty:

Yes it is but some of the functionality may not work since that version of MAX doesn't have all the features required (for instance glare, or exclusion of ground plane from Final Gather calculations). Yet you still can use it and export your models. So far this basic functionality had been preserved across all versions of 3ds Max from Ver7 till the newest.

[Lilith 5]

BAT

However, I could not solve, and already I'm back to version 4.5.

If I make a suggestion, put the folders in zip file for the manual procedure too.

Thanks.

 

[Orange_o_desespoir 18]

Thank you very much for this new version, it is very nice to continue to improve it soft.

[kellydale2003 2,276]

THIS IS MAGNIFICIENT SIMFOX!!!

Excellent work, I'm sure to find more high quality BATs on STEX from now on! 

"Feed a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man how to fish, you feed him for life."

You are teaching us how to fish, thanks SimFox!

[Girafe 1,729]

Seems that with 3dsmax 2011 x 64 bugs appear during render previews

[SimFox 802]

Bugs?

[Girafe 1,729]

Operations with Pro(booleans) occur textures problem whic don't appear in 3dsmax 2010.

Pro boolean operation:

Without any operation:

[GMT 389]

when I try to run the script I get a prompt at a certain point, which tells me that night windows are incompatible with my version of 3dsmax (which is 2011 64bit) and therefore are disabled.

is this as serious a problem as it sounds concerning nighttime renders? (haven't tried anything yet, I am just reinstalling everything at the moment, after a serious dll problem that forced me to reset my system)

EDIT: it also don't seem to find the necessary cameras for an sc4-type render... even when I click on reset lights & cameras nothing happens. each change to the point of view (in preview render menu) says "couldn't find camera ..."

Ironically, in 32bit mode I don't get such a message... shouldn't it make no difference concerning lights&cams when using 32/64 bit 3dsmax?

EDIT2: nevermind. didn't do nothing but yet it works now... wierd...

[Girafe 1,729]

Ok, i find the solution.

For people who are working under 3dsmax 2011, Raytrace acceleration is set to BSP2 however this option causes lot of artifacts (a fix has been released by autodesk however it works not good) above all you manipulate Pro (booleans) tool inside an object.

So you need to set just before rendering, the raytrace acceleration to BSP in the panel indirect illumination => renderer => renderer algorythmics => BSP

[bixel 1,223]

This new version works really well, I had many difficulties with the earlier version but now I can feel confident about my exports. Well done, I finally get to join the BAT4Max team properly.

[SimFox 802]

Hallelujah to that!

[thingfishs 416]

Hi,

I've got a problem with v5 that I haven't been able to resolve. I did re-read the instructions and I couldn't see my error, but I may have missed it.

Regardless, when I try and do a regular gmax style, day & night render, I get the following:

The render cuts out part way through and what is rendered is completely black.

Any help appreciated.

[SimFox 802]

your scene has no lighting to fix it click on appropriate button in Let There Be Light roll-out.

[superhands 7]

hi simfox.

i'm amazed at the features bat4max v.5 offers and i hope you'll help me iron out this minor installation problem....

Welcome to MAXScript.

>> MAXScript FileIn Exception: -- Runtime error: Copy error on file: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2011\scripts\startUp\CPTB2Startup.ms <<

>> MAXScript FileIn Exception: -- Runtime error: Copy error on file: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2011\scripts\startUp\CPTB2Startup.ms <<

>> MAXScript FileIn Exception: -- Runtime error: Copy error on file: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2011\scripts\startUp\CPTB2Startup.ms <<

>> MA>> MAXScript FileIn Exception: -- Runtime error: Copy error on file: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2011\scripts\startUp\CPTB2Startup.ms <<

XScript FileIn Exception: -- Runtime error: Copy error on file: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2011\scripts\startUp\CPTB2Startup.ms <<

32bits 3ds max "11.

on windows vista service pack1

thanks in advance,

dave //superhands

[SimFox 802]

most probably UAC (User Account Control) issue. Check out installation instructions as well as google how to disable UAC on your version of Windows.

[superhands 7]

Yeap, that fixed the symptom, every things running like a magic fairy! haha stupid me.

thanks,

dave.

[SimFox 802]

welcome to the club!

[thingfishs 416]

Hi,

I've got a problem with v5 that I haven't been able to resolve. I did re-read the instructions and I couldn't see my error, but I may have missed it.

Regardless, when I try and do a regular gmax style, day & night render, I get the following:

The render cuts out part way through and what is rendered is completely black.

Any help appreciated.

your scene has no lighting to fix it click on appropriate button in Let There Be Light roll-out.

No, that's not the problem. I have clicked the day button (as I always do, and always have no problems - except when I attempt a night render).

In other words, this same scene will render perfectly well with the sole difference being the removal of the nitelite prefix from the relevant objects...

[Jasoncw 11,840]

the sole difference being the removal of the nitelite prefix from the relevant objects...

The nitelite prefix was causing the trouble. In BAT4Max you don't use the nitelite prefix, you create two different scenes (or manually switch between the night and day version within one scene), and you render from there.

[DCMetro34 576]

most probably UAC (User Account Control) issue. Check out installation instructions as well as google how to disable UAC on your version of Windows.

I changed my UAC down to "Never Notify", restarted MAX, and tried again, but no dice.

Do I need to restart my computer or something? I am on Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit.

Thanks!

DC

[SimFox 802]

You need to follow instructions for disabling UAC. Google them; I don't have them on hand and neither do I remember them by heart.

[DCMetro34 576]

You need to follow instructions for disabling UAC. Google them; I don't have them on hand and neither do I remember them by heart.

Oh....my bad, I just needed to restart my computer... .

[thingfishs 416]

the sole difference being the removal of the nitelite prefix from the relevant objects...

The nitelite prefix was causing the trouble. In BAT4Max you don't use the nitelite prefix, you create two different scenes (or manually switch between the night and day version within one scene), and you render from there.

OK, thanks Jason. Is there not a way to do a (albeit inferior), regular gmax style single day/night render. The sheer number of buildings I need to be rendering for Sim Medieval makes extra steps in the process undesirable (plus most of the buildings have no nightlighting of course).

[Jasoncw 11,840]

To be honest I don't know if that's still possible. So you'll have to render the day and then when it's done you'll have to render night. I also don't know if you can avoid doing TruNite or DarkNite nitelites, but the night renders are much faster than the day renders (especially if there are no lights) that it doesn't matter much. You have a large number of small buildings so you're going to have to sit at your computer whether the night is another step or not.

There's a tutorial in my blog about nitelites, and with that way you can turn the nitelites on and off by checking or unchecking the self illumination checkbox.

For other lights, you can make a new layer (there are layers in 3ds Max, go to Help>Autodesk 3ds Max Help and search for layers and it will tell you about them), which you can put all of your lights on. You can put all of your nitelites stuff on a new layer, which you can hide and unhide for doing day and night renders.

Another way of doing the windows is modeling another plane infront (or I suppose behind) your glass, and putting the self illuminated material on that. Then you can put this plane on your nitelites layer for easy toggling.

If you don't want to have to think about fitting an actual bitmap to windows like in the tutorial, you can put a noise map into the filter, which, if your windows are small enough, will be enough variation to look make the lit up windows look like something. Experiment with the noise size, the intensity of the self illumination, and the color of the self illumination. Or you could make a really generic night window texture in photoshop, that's tileable, and then you can just quickly re-use that whenever you need it, without having to think about fitting it to anything.

[thingfishs 416]

Thanks a lot for all that info Jason, it's much appreciated.

[Girafe 1,729]

I tested BAT4MAX 5 under 3dsMax 2012.

All is fine concerning the previews etc however when I export and check the file with reader, there are errors everywhere.

Someone already test it?

[Jasoncw 11,840]

You might be the first to try it on 2012.

If anything works it should be the preview renders, since that's just rendering from a camera. Hopefully it will be easy to update BAT4Max so that it works with 2012.

2012 can "save as" files to be opened in 2011 and 2010 so maybe it would be possible to do all the work in 2012 and then just export it from an earlier version of max.

[Aaron Graham 4,417]

Good to know you have 3ds MAx 12, I would love to test it out, but I do not have to time for playing around right now. You could also look in the all the Max scripts in the gamepacks folder to see how they work, but this may take some time, but that's if you want to make your own BAT 4 MAx.

  Edited May 4, 2011 by Aaron Graham  

[Cockatoo 2,256]

I was thinking about getting the student 2012 version at some point. I seem to get the even-year versions and skip the odd. It's a big download though, I might just wait for a new BAT4Max.

It's great to hear that they'll finally be giving Max at least SOME backwards compatibility. IMO that was one of the programs biggest downfalls in the past. With so many versions available and each new version saving files in a way that the previous version can't open, even having a version just a few years out of date could become a real haste.

Apart from this, are there any other big improvements on 2010/2011 that we should know about?

Good to know you have 3ds MAx 12

It's actually 3ds Max 2012, which I'm guessing will be version 14.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

ok, so I have 2012 now, but I also have Windows 7 now, so I'm not sure if my problem is from Windows 7 or 2012. I'm new to windows 7 and I might still be having problems figuring out the UAC stuff. I'm thinking it's me and UAC stuff, since Giraffe managed to complete the export even though it didn't turn out right in the Reader.

All of my preview stuff is working just fine, so I can still BAT. Worst comes to worst I'll just have to do the final export in 2010.

I'm getting -- No ""flush"" function for undefined <<

--CP close bat file and empty out temporary libraries

flush gstreamBATCP

close gstreamBATCP

gc() -- do a garbage collect

delete $TB2_* -- delete any dangling temp meshes that might have been created before

This is the area in question, with "flush gstreamBATCP" line 2551 being the problem line in CPBuildingMill.ms

Looking through the scripts I only have speculation about what that actually is.