3D Studio Max BAT Version 2 Released !!

[couchpotato 8]

If you use BAT, won't you immediately be facing the same limitations that exist now.

Remember that CycleDog imput his creations directly from 3ds Max into SC4. That would really be great so we skip the no lattice, no bump maps, no reflective maps, no ray tracing, etc.

[GouRou 2]

I cant know if it will work perfectly mind you, but the way I see it, if I make the same lighting/cam rig in 3dsmax as in gmax, and use a maxscript to render it the same, and then export just the model to gmax, and render it, a tool can be written to take the renders from 3dsmax, dice them, and overwrite the ones in the dat that the bat produced, effectively the bat will simply do the mapping and such for us with crummy low quality, draft renders, then we'll overwrite with high quality 3dsmax renders.

[GouRou 2]

update, cam rig is done, and now I understand the lighting rig, we're getting there

[g-funk 1]

would be great if it would work, so i don#t have to use that crappy gmax for modeling (just ruined my project, can't load file after saving it under another name )

[DarkMatter 21]

I can probably write the tool needed to update the .SCM file the BAT generates. Shouldn't be hard. I can probably also help with maxscript stuff. Just don't lay too much on me too fast...I don't have much free time as it is right now.

[CycleDogg 130]

I've been messing around with Maxis' maxscripts the past couple of days and have actually made some progress toward understanding how the scripts all work together.  I've got the scripts (with some alterations) loading into 3ds max.  I've got the LOD shell creation routines working, the manipulation of the cameras and lights working, and am starting to work on some rendering routines.  All in all, the maxscript portion of all of this shouldn't be too difficult.  Gourou's idea is very doable in my opinion.  With Darkmatter's help, it could probably work out pretty slick.  Hopefully I can help.https://community.simtropolis.com/assets/emoticons/1.gif>

[DarkMatter 21]

Hey cycledogg...good to see you around. You need to check out the BAT Squadd nominations thread, dood. You've been nominated.

 

Anyway, quick question. In your travels through the maxscripts, have you seen the code that does the slicing and dicing of the mesh? Or is that handled by compiled code in one of the .dll's?

[CycleDogg 130]

(Hmm, that's weird, my post didn't show up).

Yes the slicing and dicing of the meshes is done in the maxscripts.  (In the buildingmill script, I think, but i'll check that).  The slicing and dicing of the rendered images is done in the .dll's, but the calculations for slicing the images are done in the maxscripts.  So it should be very easy to come up with a routine to slice the images once they are rendered.

[DarkMatter 21]

Actually, I meant the slicing and dicing of the mesh, not the images. Its slicing the mesh that is the hard part. I've learned a lot about 3D matrix math lately, and I think I could figure it out, but if Maxis gave us the code to do it in a maxscript, I'd rather use that. Reason I'm asking is, if we can figure out the slicing and dicing, we might be able to write our own BAT for 3DS Max, rather than having to do the intermediary step with gMax.

[CycleDogg 130]

Yes, the function is called fnMakeSlabs and it's about 1/6 of the way into the BuildingMill script.

[GouRou 2]

your right dm, if they tossed the code into a maxscript, we could just apply it in a program, or even write a plugin for 3dsmax, same as maxis did. cycledogg, your a lot farther along than I am, I've had computer troubles the past few days and havent even reinstalled gmax or 3dsmax yet, let alone any of my programming tools, so you are way beyond me. If you could email me and explain what you've found, I would love to see.

[ak-ak-adak 0]

What about a plugin for 3D Viz (design render format or .drf) files?

[CycleDogg 130]

Just a progress update: I've got 3dsmax to render the 20 views of a small building correctly, and to save the views with appropriate type_group_instance.bmp filenames.  No night views yet, or image slicing, but the image slicing and naming of the slices should be easy. (That is the next task.)

[g-funk 1]

cool, plz keep the work up, i don't want to use that gmax that corrupts my files

[CycleDogg 130]

Yep, still working on it.  I've got the slicing and dicing working, and am working on the alpha and night lighting now (this part is quite complicated, but I'm starting to figure it out.https://community.simtropolis.com/assets/emoticons/1.gif>)

[tereus 0]

cycledogg & gourou,

 

Thanks for doing this. I'm using 3dsmax for my models now but it will sure be wonderful to skip the step of importing into gmax and re-texturing  https://community.simtropolis.com/assets/emoticons/2.gif>

[berserk666_v4 6]

I really hope you two can pull this off. Would make converting my sc3ku buildings so much easier than the current route. I miss my bump maps and reflections. Guess i will have to open up poser and make a statue of you two if you do

[GouRou 2]

this has mostly turned into cycledogg's project for the moment, if he has any understanding of maxscript, he's farther than me. I put off this project too long apparently, but I am glad to see it working. cycledogg, glad your still plodding away on this, cant wait to see how it turns out. I am also currently doing exclusive 3dsmax stuff. I hope to astonish quite a few people out there, but we shall have to wait and see.

[CycleDogg 130]

Looks like there's quite a lot of interest in this.

I've got it saving the alpha maps now along with the regular textures.  I guess the nighttime renderings are next.  I was planning on a adding a few features for the night renderings that aren't in the official BAT, but we'll have to see how that goes.

I tried to add a building base darkener (to darken the bases of the buildings slightly during the rendering) but it woudn't work with the ortho cameras, so I had to scrap that idea.

[Birdin 10]

Seems to me that the best way to do a base darkener as you say would be to make some of the lights in the lighting rig projectors that shine more brightly on the top of the building than the bottom. 

[CycleDogg 130]

Good point.  Never thought of projection lights.  You'd want horizontally aimed lights for that I would guess.  I think all the lights in Maxis' lighting rig aim downward at least a little bit, so the existing lights wouldn't really work, since the darkening effect would cut diagonally across the building.  But horizontal projector lights could be added to the rig if someone wanted to rework the lighting scheme a bit.
I was trying to do it using volume fog, but that won't work with the orthographic cameras.  (Volume lighting won't either.)

[GouRou 2]

add a single shadow light pointing straight up, have it a VERY large area, but a very short falloff, just a few meters, tweaking it should give you the trick you want. I'm not entirely sure if that will work, but it's an idea

[g-funk 1]

so, is this small project death? is it possible to do the rendering in 3dmax?

plz guys, i don't want to use gmax, destroyed once a house i've been working at

[CycleDogg 130]

It's not dead at all. After a looooong break, I'm back to working on it this rainy weekend. I have it working except for the night lighting. (I made some props with it yesterday.) It works like this: You make your model and LODs in max. Export the LODs to .3ds format. Open up BAT/gmax, import the LODs and render. (It only takes a couple of seconds since there is nothing for the BAT to render.) Then go back to 3dsmax, enter the BAT-generated Group No. and Instance No. into a couple of text boxes, and render. Then leave 3dsmax and run a .bat file, which processes all the renderings into maxis' .fsh format). Then in ilive's reader, open the gmax/BAT-generated .SC4Model, delete all of the .fsh files, and import the new .fsh files.
It may sound complicated but it only takes two or three minutes to do these extra steps.

Right now I'm working on the night lighting. I hope to get some kind of rudimentary night lighting working in the next couple of weeks. If I can't, I'll probably just clean up and upload what I've got done now. (It works fine for non-night-lit stuff.)
(By the way, I'm running this in version 4.2. I have no idea if it will work for other versions, other computer set-ups, etc.)

[RalphaelNinja 244]

Date:5/31/2004 10:19:23 AM
Author:CycleDogg

It's not dead at all.  After a looooong break, I'm back to working on it this rainy weekend.  I have it working except for the night lighting.  (I made some props with it yesterday.)  It works like this: You make your model and LODs in max.  Export the LODs to .3ds format.  Open up BAT/gmax, import the LODs and render.  (It only takes a couple of seconds since there is nothing for the BAT to render.)  Then go back to 3dsmax, enter the BAT-generated Group No. and Instance No. into a couple of text boxes, and render.  Then leave 3dsmax and run a .bat file, which processes all the renderings into maxis' .fsh format).  Then in ilive's reader, open the gmax/BAT-generated .SC4Model, delete all of the .fsh files, and import the new .fsh files.
It may sound complicated but it only takes two or three minutes to do these extra steps.

Right now I'm working on the night lighting.  I hope to get some kind of rudimentary night lighting working in the next couple of weeks.  If I can't, I'll probably just clean up and upload what I've got done now.  (It works fine for non-night-lit stuff.)
(By the way, I'm running this in version 4.2.  I have no idea if it will work for other versions, other computer set-ups, etc.)

quote>

Good work CycleDogg..... much thanks..... This might revive my bat interest (especially with light exclusion) ....

Ralphael 

[CycleDogg 130]

Just to update: still working on this and making some progress on nightlighting.  I am aiming for night lighting options to include night windows and nitelites similar to the gmax version.  In addition, there will be an option to swap out materials from a -night material library for the night renders.
Some limitations: No night preview.  No thumbnails.  Non-standard materials (such as multimaterials) will not work with nitelites or -night material library rendering.  (But should be OK otherwise).  Materials must be assigned at the object level (not at the face, element, or vertex levels) if they are to be used with nitelites or -night material libraries.
RN: Thanks.  Not sure what you mean by light exclusion.  I don't think anything will interfere with light exclusion for nitelites, though.

[CycleDogg 130]

Getting close to finishing this thing up (thank god).  Here's my little test building, daytime and nighttime.  The nitelites seem to be working now, and the -night material library option is working (it is how the windows were done).

 

 

Haven't got the nightwindows working yet.  That's pretty much the last major thing left to do. 

[RalphaelNinja 244]

Light exclude and include allows us to select the objects in which the light applies. Thus instead of placing a light source in-between a window and the curtains (to get the curtains to light but not the window from the front), we can place the light source at a short distance from the window and simply exclude the windows from the light source (so no reflection occurs). Another light source (a much gentler shading) can then exclude the curtains, applying only to the window can create a gentler light reflection on the windows.

Don't worry too much about it as I am sure we can find a workaround once you have the general method worked out.

looking forward to this....

Ralphael

[CycleDogg 130]

For the lighting rig, I basically recreated Maxis' gmax lighting rig in 3dsmax.  So the difficulty/ease of excluding things from the daytime lighting rig should be the same as BAT.  (The lighting rig is an xref).  I wouldn't want to tackle it myself, but I'm sure it could be made more light-exclusion friendly.  For other lights (user lights or nitelites) I don't think anything will interfere with light exclusion.

[CycleDogg 130]

More progress: nightwindows are now working.

I've got it antialiasing the night windows (more or less) so it should be possible to create some slightly better nightwindows than with the BAT (which doesn't antialias the windows from what I've seen.)  Also I included a random turn-off-the-nightwindows thingy. 

There are some semi-buglike bits of weirdness people may encounter in the night lighting, which I'm not going to fix right now.  For example, the nightwindows won't show up as being lit (at night) if they are behind a couple of transparent objects.  Nitelites shining on night material library windows are likely to cause strangeness at the edges of the window, if the window is turned off by the randomizer.

Just some testing and cleaning up left to do.