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[Barroco Hispano 26,730]

@BartonThinks Yes, I was also excited when I did not have any graphical errors but sooner or later you will have it, it is inevitable (I got so frustrated that I did not export any BAT in two years).

Maxis vs. "My method" vs. tweaker method:

At least "my method" looks better than maxis and does not generate graphical errors. By the way, I am going to use the tweaker method for my palms (It is the only case where I am going to make an exception).

I don't think "my method" looks that bad, at least it reduces the jagged edges a bit.

 

 

[BartonThinks 3,416]

@Barroco Hispano I'll have to keep an eye out for problems, then. I should note, the comparison I did of your method vs. the standard settings in the Model Tweaker were just done with the one model and I only compared the in-game results. Basically, I plopped the lot and took a screenshot in Zoom 6 using the Model Tweaker's standard settings. Then I exited the game, adjusted the S3D files using your method, reopened the game, and took another screenshot in Zoom 6 at the same location. I then placed the two images overtop of each other in Photoshop as separate layers and toggled the top layer on/off to see if I could spot any differences.

(Update: It's possible that I messed up this test -- I'm not sure if I remembered to click "Apply" when making the S3D changes in the Reader. If I made that mistake, then I was just comparing the same model against itself.) 

I definitely get the frustration with those Alpha maps now that I've had to deal with them myself.

---

Edit: I decided to take a look at some of the VIP flora by @Girafe and @vnaoned to see what settings they use for S3D materials in the Reader. Their they use differ somewhat from the Model Tweaker settings and the settings used in your method. Note the settings for "framebuffer blending," "Src Blend," and "Dest Blend."

I'm not sure how the VIP team landed on this combination, but I'll need to give them a try and see how they work.

@Girafe, any chance you could share some insights about how you guys arrived at these settings and/or whether there are any other changes that need to be made to the S3D models after export? Also, is there any easier way of making these changes than going through the S3D files and manually adjusting each one in the Reader?

---

Edit #2: With the VIP team method, I'm no longer getting the same visual glitches when I try to plop the model or bulldoze it. There is a very minor glitch when bulldozing the lot, in which the model is not highlighted in red if there's another model behind it (as seen below). This was the only issue I noticed.

Hopefully there's a faster way to make this adjustment than going through 20 S3D files and changing them one by one.

[Barroco Hispano 26,730]

@BartonThinks Girafe uses the default maxis settings (99% of the BATs have these parameters assigned. These parameters are set by GMAX when exporting the LODs, that is, if you export the model in GMAX or 3DsMAX you will have the same parameters). You don't actually have to use the tweaker, it is used by people like you or me who want to improve the quality of our BATs a bit. 

[BartonThinks 3,416]

36 minutes ago, Barroco Hispano said:

@BartonThinks Girafe uses the default maxis settings (99% of the BATs have these parameters assigned. These parameters are set by GMAX when exporting the LODs, that is, if you export the model in GMAX or 3DsMAX you will have the same parameters). You don't actually have to use the tweaker, it is used by people like you or me who want to improve the quality of our BATs a bit. 

Lol. Okay. Well, that simplifies things. My head's definitely spinning a little bit at this point, though.

I've run a second set of tests using: A) default Maxis settings, B) Model Tweaker transparency settings, and C) the Model Tweaker transparency settings with the Alpha Function adjusted to "Greater," as per your method. I can see the difference between all three settings if I make a direct comparison in Photoshop, so I think I bungled the earlier test.

At this point, I'm leaning toward the using the default Maxis settings and modeling BATs with these settings in mind. While I can see the difference if I make a direct comparison in Photoshop, my eye is definitely not as well-trained as yours, and I think I would probably be satisfied with the default settings. (After all, I failed to recognize that the VIP settings were identical to the Maxis settings when I tested them in the game.)

My ultimate goal when modeling flora has been to get something that blends in with @Girafe's stuff. Not exactly a modest (or maybe realistic) goal for someone new to 3D modeling and stuck with Gmax, but I like to aim high. If he's using the default Maxis settings, that should be good enough for me. I've got enough of a perfectionist/obsessive-compulsive streak that I'm tempted to fiddle around with the transparency settings, but this will do for now, and I'd rather focus on improving my modeling skills.

[Girafe 1,729]

Indeed, I don't modify any S3D for my flora (I am not a UHD person) and with the number of props I released it would be a huge workload to adjust all the files. 

As far as I know Vincent never tweak them too, the only difference is that he was modeling on Gmax and me on 3dsmax.

You can get nice results doing small flora (flowers i.e.) on Gmax but it's less convenient with bigger trees

[ohdude 2,353]

17 minutes ago, Girafe said:

I am not a UHD person

@Girafe I would like you would be an SD person .

Honestly it would be fantastic that you would upload your HD tree work in SD for those who doesn't have enough powerful cpu. But i know that even making it in SD it would take a long time of work... unless there is any way to edit the work already done.... by photoshop? (too much work as well, isn't it?).

[AP 3,588]

Overlay textures in GMAX?

I am currently working on a bigger project and came to the point where I would like to add some details to the texturing. I have faced this issue quite a few times in the past and my solutions where never too satisfying. The challange is to add symbols or logos to larger objects, like these thruster symbols or draft marks:

In the past I used my texture, and created a second texture with the symbol layed over it, then detached some plygons and added the new texture to that. However some parts of the texture do normally not align and it does not look too good.

The process I use:

1. create two textures

2. Detach Polys:

3. apply new texture, the structures (details of the texture are very hard, sometimes impossible to align):

 

Now my question is: Is there a better way to do it? ( I know of the unwrap UVW but that seems not too practical for a giant ship hull...)

What I am dreaming of is using a texture with an invisble backgroung (like a PNG can have) that I apply to a box that is hovering in front of the actual object I want. When I do that however that seems not to work:

Symbol as png without bachground:

In the texture preview the texture seems to have a clear background, but when applying the background is black. Is there any setting which could help me achieve this?

If not, do you have a better method for me?

[BartonThinks 3,416]

1 hour ago, AP said:

Overlay textures in GMAX?

I am currently working on a bigger project and came to the point where I would like to add some details to the texturing. I have faced this issue quite a few times in the past and my solutions where never too satisfying. The challange is to add symbols or logos to larger objects, like these thruster symbols or draft marks:

In the past I used my texture, and created a second texture with the symbol layed over it, then detached some plygons and added the new texture to that. However some parts of the texture do normally not align and it does not look too good.

The process I use:

1. create two textures

2. Detach Polys:

3. apply new texture, the structures (details of the texture are very hard, sometimes impossible to align):

 

Now my question is: Is there a better way to do it? ( I know of the unwrap UVW but that seems not too practical for a giant ship hull...)

What I am dreaming of is using a texture with an invisble backgroung (like a PNG can have) that I apply to a box that is hovering in front of the actual object I want. When I do that however that seems not to work:

Symbol as png without bachground:

In the texture preview the texture seems to have a clear background, but when applying the background is black. Is there any setting which could help me achieve this?

If not, do you have a better method for me?

I'm not sure if there's a way to support this with PNGs, but I've been able to get transparencies to work in the following manner:

1. Create an RGB file in BMP format.
2. Create a separate alpha mask in BMP format.
3. Create a new material in Gmax.
4. Apply the RGB image to the "diffuse" map.
5. Apply the alpha mask to the "opactiy" map.

It's been a few weeks since I did this, so I might be forgetting a step, but some version of this should function the way you want it to work.

[AP 3,588]

13 minutes ago, BartonThinks said:

I'm not sure if there's a way to support this with PNGs, but I've been able to get transparencies to work in the following manner:

1. Create an RGB file in BMP format.
2. Create a separate alpha mask in BMP format.
3. Create a new material in Gmax.
4. Apply the RGB image to the "diffuse" map.
5. Apply the alpha mask to the "opactiy" map.

It's been a few weeks since I did this, so I might be forgetting a step, but some version of this should function the way you want it to work.

Sort of did the trick and sort of not:

do you mind documenting that a little more detailed and possibly providing a few screenshots of the process? This is really not an area of expertiese of mine, sorry...

[BartonThinks 3,416]

Sure thing, @AP. Here's a very basic demonstration. (Note: I've converted all of the BMP images to JPG images for posting on the forum.)

First, I made an RGB map, which is used in the "diffuse color" slot in the material editor. I saved this as a BMP file.

Next, I made the black/white alpha map, which is used in the "opacity" slot of the material editor. I saves this as a BMP file as well.

I then opened up Gmax and created a 4m by 4m plane and applied a UV Map to it.

After that, I created a new material in the material editor. I assigned the RGB map to the "diffuse color" slot and the alpha map to the "opacity" slot. I kept all of the other settings the same.

I then applied the material to the plane's UV Map.

[AP 3,588]

18 hours ago, BartonThinks said:

Sure thing, @AP. Here's a very basic demonstration. (Note: I've converted all of the BMP images to JPG images for posting on the forum.)

First, I made an RGB map, which is used in the "diffuse color" slot in the material editor. I saved this as a BMP file.

Next, I made the black/white alpha map, which is used in the "opacity" slot of the material editor. I saves this as a BMP file as well.

I then opened up Gmax and created a 4m by 4m plane and applied a UV Map to it.

After that, I created a new material in the material editor. I assigned the RGB map to the "diffuse color" slot and the alpha map to the "opacity" slot. I kept all of the other settings the same.

I then applied the material to the plane's UV Map.

Thank you SO much! I am really excited to try this! I will report back later with the result! 

EDIT: This is the result:

Exactly what I wanted! Thanks again!

[grebe48 27]

I'm looking for the High Def mod for the Gmax BAT. Anyone have the link?

[rsc204 21,817]

gMax HD scripts are attached to this post (SC4D)

[EffTheGrid 3,675]

Hi. Don't know if this is off-topic, because I model in Sketchup, but I've run into an annoying roadblock that seems like it might have a one-step solution.

I imported this model from the 3d warehouse and modified it a bunch before I realized all the faces are inside-out. So basically I'm asking: is there a way I can copy all the materials to both sides of their faces? Hope somebody here might know because I really don't want to bin this one.

[JP Schriefer 5,590]

I don't know about a simple way to just apply the textures from the backed faces on the right ones in just a few clicks, but there's definitely no need for you to throw this one away.

In the menu, click on View > Face Style > Monochrome. It will now show you all the wrong oriented faces in a blueish/grayish color and you can right click each one of them and Reverse Faces. If you have lots of them with the wrong orientation, you can also try to right click on one of the right oriented faces - the white ones - and choose Orient Faces, this option will try to apply this face orientation in all the other ones. After doing that you can now change your Face Style back to Shaded With Textures again. You'll notice they will probably be just white or with the wrong texture, and you must know that the right textures are now in the face inside the building, so you have to use the Sample Material tool to pick the texture from the inside and apply it on the outside.

[Jasoncw 11,841]

JP saves the day.

In 3ds Max there's a straightforward button for flipping normals ("the normal" being the direction that the surface is facing), but in Gmax there's a different button and I couldn't figure out how to get it to work.

[EffTheGrid 3,675]

Thanks for the suggestion, but the model uses a projected texture so the mapping gets removed. Not the result I'm looking for.

I'm following guidance from here... mixed results. 

https://forums.sketchup.com/t/matching-front-and-back-face-colors/99665/6

Trying to copy the textures front AND back... so then I can reverse the necessary faces and have them appear in the model.

But doing "MATback2front" yields this

[JP Schriefer 5,590]

I think I wasn't clear enough, I'm sorry about that. What happened to the model after you reversed the faces is what I meant could happen, now you need to go to the inner side of the model on each of those faces you reversed, get the texture there with the sample tool and apply it on the outside of the same face, one by one. Even though it's a projected texture it will work, what matters is that you do it one by one. I just tested doing this procedure on a model with a projected texture and the mapping was maintained. Apparently that code would do just that too, only much faster, too bad it didn't work.

[EffTheGrid 3,675]

Thanks JP! I basically flattened it all out, followed your steps (reversed all and copied one by one) and I have a usable product. Didn't take too long, and the projected textures reappeared just as you said. I appreciate your guidance.

[Rott 2,351]

So I need to make some base and overlay textures, can it be done with the plug in manager somehow? Making the texture should not be difficult, I just need to know how to get it into the game...

[rsc204 21,817]

None of the Maxis tools allow you to do this, the easiest solution is probably GoFSH. It can take PNG or BMP texture pairs, convert them to FSH and package them into a DAT for you.

[Rott 2,351]

Seems like it has a lot of neat features to make base/overlay textures, fortunately I have the texture ready, how would I load this into whatever it needs to be to get it into game? 

[AP 3,588]

Hi everyone,

my GMAX (SC4BatLauncher.exe) does not accept right clicks in the viewports anymore. I found an article that suggests reebooting would do the trick. Not for me though, unless the memory of a laptop is not cleared even when shutting down and starting again because it is connected to the battery at all times.

I have the same problem when I start gmax.exe and try it there.

Hope someone has an idea how to fix this!

 

https://neverwintervault.org/forums/neverwinter-nights-1/nwn1-custom-content/gmax-stopped-recognizing-right-clicks

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/dreaded-gmax-right-click-issue.442765/

[20huskies 4,693]

I didn't have this shadow problem until my experimentation with overhanging props.  Some places the shadow is shredded, others not there at all.  I can't remember where I saw this question answered before.

How do I fix?  Thanks in advance!

[rsc204 21,817]

On 22/09/2021 at 11:44 PM, Rott said:

how would I load this into whatever it needs to be to get it into game? 

So GoFSH works with BMPs or PNG files, you must convert those to FSH files (a full manual exists), make sure Reader Inlist is selected when converting the textures. Go into the FSHxDAT feature and point it to the load list and it will make a DAT including them.

On 29/09/2021 at 11:04 PM, AP said:

my GMAX (SC4BatLauncher.exe) does not accept right clicks in the viewports anymore. I found an article that suggests reebooting would do the trick.

If rebooting works, then the problem was a temporary issue, something went wrong and refreshing everything brings the system back to a normal working environment. No laptops don’t keep anything in RAM when rebooted or switched off.

Since rebooting didn’t help, something about your machine isn’t sending the correct Right Click to the application. This could be a case of OS/Driver Updates have broken compatibility with gMax. Was it working before?, when did it stop working and what changed in between?

15 minutes ago, 20huskies said:

I didn't have this shadow problem until my experimentation with overhanging props.  Some places the shadow is shredded, others not there at all.  I can't remember where I saw this question answered before.

Z-Fighting is the likely cause, two objects at the same height/position ‘compete’ for space, but SC4 has no mechanism to prioritise one over the other. Therefore they can shift as the display refreshes switch between one and another texture.

1st question is how did you make your overhanging fillers? Are they regular BATs or True 3D/S3D based? If the latter you need to raise ground props by .2m to mostly avoid the issue. However since the specific issue is shadow ‘landing’ on another model, you could set the Prop not to receive shadows, which will make the ugliness (and the shadows) go away completely. 

[20huskies 4,693]

8 minutes ago, rsc204 said:

Z-Fighting is the likely cause, two objects at the same height/position ‘compete’ for space, but SC4 has no mechanism to prioritise one over the other. Therefore they can shift as the display refreshes switch between one and another texture.

1st question is how did you make your overhanging fillers? Are they regular BATs or True 3D/S3D based? If the latter you need to raise ground props by .2m to mostly avoid the issue. However since the specific issue is shadow ‘landing’ on another model, you could set the Prop not to receive shadows, which will make the ugliness (and the shadows) go away completely.

They are regular BATs.  I wanted to keep received shadows but I guess none is better than shredded.  Thanks!

[Jasoncw 11,841]

12 hours ago, 20huskies said:

I didn't have this shadow problem until my experimentation with overhanging props.  Some places the shadow is shredded, others not there at all.  I can't remember where I saw this question answered before.

How do I fix?  Thanks in advance!

What rcs meant is that there's the "Is Ground Prop?: True/False" (or something like that) property that props have. If it's a ground prop, then shadows cast by other things will fall on them. So if you look at my Albee Amphitheater BAT, the Maxis trees cast a shadow over the BAT, and if you put it next to a building, the building will too. The downside of this setting is that the prop will no longer cast shadows (if the shadows were visible, and it was casting shadows at the same time, then the BAT would cast its own shadow on itself). The solution to this, is to BAT the ground around any vertical elements so that the shadow is in the BAT itself. For your triangle plazas you've already done this, because the raised cylinder planter/fountains are already casting shadows onto the BATed ground.

[20huskies 4,693]

17 minutes ago, Jasoncw said:

What rcs meant is that there's the "Is Ground Prop?: True/False" (or something like that) property that props have. If it's a ground prop, then shadows cast by other things will fall on them. So if you look at my Albee Amphitheater BAT, the Maxis trees cast a shadow over the BAT, and if you put it next to a building, the building will too. The downside of this setting is that the prop will no longer cast shadows (if the shadows were visible, and it was casting shadows at the same time, then the BAT would cast its own shadow on itself). The solution to this, is to BAT the ground around any vertical elements so that the shadow is in the BAT itself. For your triangle plazas you've already done this, because the raised cylinder planter/fountains are already casting shadows onto the BATed ground.

Thanks, what I meant was the shadows from adjacent buildings.  For example, those on the left are casting shadows onto the pedmall

[Jasoncw 11,841]

1 hour ago, 20huskies said:

Thanks, what I meant was the shadows from adjacent buildings.  For example, those on the left are casting shadows onto the pedmall

That's what I mean, if you turn this property on, then in your screenshot, the neighboring buildings would cast shadows onto the BAT.

This park is a BAT (the paves, the bushes, the grass, the light poles, the teapot). The neighboring buildings and the Maxis tree props are casting shadows onto it, even though it's a BAT. Another example are the planters in front of 211 West Fort Street. They're a prop that also has this property turned on, and so the building cast shadows on top of it.

[AP 3,588]

On 18.11.2021 at 10:45 AM, rsc204 said:

Since rebooting didn’t help, something about your machine isn’t sending the correct Right Click to the application. This could be a case of OS/Driver Updates have broken compatibility with gMax. Was it working before?, when did it stop working and what changed in between?

Yeah, I had issues with GMAX before where something just stopped working from one second to the other. I copied GMAX from my backup drive and it had the same error, just now the right click menu shows up for a half second or so... I rebooted again, deleted GMAX and copied it again from my backup drive and that fixed it...

computers - I will never get them.