Petahhhhhh's BAT Thread

[Jasoncw 11,949]

Normal 3ds max and 3ds max design are the same thing except a few of the default settings for the design version are set for architectural and product visualizers, but those settings are only a few mouse clicks to change anyway.  The default spheres in the material editor are arch & design materials instead of standard materials.  There are a handful of other differences that don't matter.  Design also includes a lighting simulator, so if you were designing a building and wanted to calculate how much light would be inside the building you could.  tbh I don't understand why they bother having two versions that are 99.999% identical, with the .001% difference being a feature that almost no one ever uses...  Seems like it would make their product lineup needlessly complicated.  But anyway if you have to choose, choose design, because even though it only takes 5 minutes to change them, the default settings are better.

 

2012 is a good version of max and I don't think there's really much reason to upgrade.  BAT4Max will need to be updated in order to work with 2014, so I would hold off on that.  Quickly looking at the differences between max 2012 and 2013 there's not much of a difference.  They release a new version every year whether or not there are substantial improvements or new features.  And aside from that, BATing is a very narrow use of 3ds max and so most changes don't affect it.

 

So go ahead and stick to 2012. 

[Huston 5,800]

Another problem with 2013 that some people seem to come across is an occurring cyan hue during renders. The issue isn't a problem in 2012 max, so it's best you stick with 2012.

[petahhhhhh 76]

Thanks! I'll go ahead and give 2012 another try then. Another question: Is there a good step-by-step tutorial for someone transitioning to 3ds Max from GMax? I know how to model and everything, but I have no idea how to set up the scene so that the units are correct, the squares are 16x16, lighting, etc.

[Jasoncw 11,949]

You press one of the bat4max preview rotation buttons which will set up the camera rigs and units, then you press the Day button to set up the lights to make it day.  Later you can press one of the night buttons to change it to night.

 

The only real difference is during exporting.  In gmax you just press the export button and you'll get a full day and night .sc4model.  With bat4max you need to first export the lods to make a blank .sc4model file in gmax, and then back in max you do the day renders and the night renders separately.

[petahhhhhh 76]

And what about the scale? Every time I try something, it seems too small or too big.

[Jasoncw 11,949]

Everything is in meters, the same as gmax. 

[petahhhhhh 76]

Thanks for all the help! Looks like I'll be making the switch for good then

[Huston 5,800]

Fiiiinallly

[Jasoncw 11,949]

Yeah I really think max is better suited for what you want to do.  With sci fi stuff you're going to be making a lot of glass and metal and those things are very hard to make decent looking in gmax.

[KonstantinII 1,106]

Are those modern art sculptures in the water, Petahhhhhh? Or futuristic crystal powered generators?

 

Yeah I really think max is better suited for what you want to do.  With sci fi stuff you're going to be making a lot of glass and metal and those things are very hard to make decent looking in gmax.

I also want to learn how to make shiny glass an metal. I really don't know how to fully use the material editor in 3ds max yet.

[Jasoncw 11,949]

All you have to do is search google for something like "metal arch & design 3ds max" and you can find tutorials about it.  And for learning the basics of the arch & design material (what the different settings are) you can just look at the documentation that's included with 3ds max.  It's very thorough, and if it doesn't tell you something it will tell you enough that you'll be able to do google searches to find out more. 

[KonstantinII 1,106]

I think you can attach the model file of sinoviet tower to your post?

[petahhhhhh 76]

Hey y'all! Been thinking about getting back into BATing once the semester is over in a few weeks. I'm leaving this thread open to suggestions for my next BAT project. I'm thinking either some SC3K buildings or maybe some semi-futuristic buildings, but anything goes. Two things though: I'm not looking to make a series of BATs, and I probably won't finish any of the unfinished BATs from earlier in the thread (I'll be using 3ds max now, so they'd have to be recreated entirely).

Give me your ideas!

[KonstantinII 1,106]

How about re-creating some of the buildings from Anno 2070?

If you want , I will find more detailed images for you.

[Huston 5,800]

Hey y'all! Been thinking about getting back into BATing once the semester is over in a few weeks. I'm leaving this thread open to suggestions for my next BAT project. I'm thinking either some SC3K buildings or maybe some semi-futuristic buildings, but anything goes. Two things though: I'm not looking to make a series of BATs, and I probably won't finish any of the unfinished BATs from earlier in the thread (I'll be using 3ds max now, so they'd have to be recreated entirely).

Give me your ideas!

 

Care to join me in remaking the SC3K(U) series?

 

I've made a start on some of the smaller Euro and Asian Tiles, but I'm thinking of heading to more ambitious territory (some of the taller towers like Super Spur and Blue-rise Plaza).

Here they are:

 

It'd be awesome for someone else to join on the SC3KU bandwagon to get some more retro conent into SC4 and modernizing them.

[Terring 6,476]

Glad to see you back
Can't wait to see your surprises coming up

[petahhhhhh 76]

 

Hey y'all! Been thinking about getting back into BATing once the semester is over in a few weeks. I'm leaving this thread open to suggestions for my next BAT project. I'm thinking either some SC3K buildings or maybe some semi-futuristic buildings, but anything goes. Two things though: I'm not looking to make a series of BATs, and I probably won't finish any of the unfinished BATs from earlier in the thread (I'll be using 3ds max now, so they'd have to be recreated entirely).

Give me your ideas!

 

Care to join me in remaking the SC3K(U) series?

 

I've made a start on some of the smaller Euro and Asian Tiles, but I'm thinking of heading to more ambitious territory (some of the taller towers like Super Spur and Blue-rise Plaza).

Here they are:

 

It'd be awesome for someone else to join on the SC3KU bandwagon to get some more retro conent into SC4 and modernizing them.

 

 

Absolutely! I really liked the Euro tile set in that game, so I'll see what I can come up with.

[Huston 5,800]

Glad to hear it! Lookin' forward to see what you come up with