Bake multiple objects to one map

[Morbid Angel]

In maya there is an option for mental ray to bake multiple selected objects into one texture map. Is there no such thing in max?

[YoyoBoy]

Didn't they introduce that in Max 2010?

[Morbid Angel]

well im in max 2010 and did not see this option

[beestee]

There are a few commercial options available:

http://flatiron.3d-plugin.com/

http://www.rendertotexture.com/

There is a current thread here about some issues with flatiron and VRay for some advanced features, but if memory serves it is being addressed.

[Resolution01]

You just select the multiple objects and add a Unwrap Uvw and then you work as usual. All the objects then will use the same map.

[Neilg]

There is a current thread here about some issues with flatiron and VRay for some advanced features, but if memory serves it is being addressed.

I'm pretty sure this is fixed for the new sp4a. Not had chance to check though.

Flatiron is excellent, had a play with it a while ago and we'll definatly be using it when we get a job that needs it.

[raymarcher]

flatiron is far far more superior

[Morbid Angel]

You just select the multiple objects and add a Unwrap Uvw and then you work as usual. All the objects then will use the same map.

this wasn't my question. If you do what you said it still does not bake all objects into one map. It makes 1 map per 1 object.

[duke2]

Seconding flatiron. Does exactly what you want.

[beestee]

You can also combine everything you want grouped into one map by attaching it all with the edit poly modifier, then use the RTT tools in max to do the rest. This is a somewhat destructive workflow though, so you would need to maintain a second backup file for modification that does not have everything attached if you choose to try this.

I have done it this way, and it is pretty straightforward, but it can be a major pain when you go back to editing the model if the model is complex.

I would typically do the grouping by scene relative object size so that you can get good resolution where it counts...something that is not quite as troublesome if using one of the commercial options.

[percydaman]

You can also combine everything you want grouped into one map by attaching it all with the edit poly modifier, then use the RTT tools in max to do the rest. This is a somewhat destructive workflow though, so you would need to maintain a second backup file for modification that does not have everything attached if you choose to try this.

I have done it this way, and it is pretty straightforward, but it can be a major pain when you go back to editing the model if the model is complex.

I would typically do the grouping by scene relative object size so that you can get good resolution where it counts...something that is not quite as troublesome if using one of the commercial options.

I was thinking the same thing regarding the attaching. Hardly a nice workflow though. I can't think of any other way around the issue.

[Igor]

flatiron 1.5

I'm pretty sure this is fixed for the new sp4a. Not had chance to check though.
Flatiron is excellent, had a play with it a while ago and we'll definatly be using it when we get a job that needs it.

Hi all!
thanks for being faster then me, you answered already all questions

In the new FlatIron 1.5 coming out this week, you have 4a support, rendering the complete VRay scene in one single pass. No other application on the market is able of doing this at the moment (it was a brutal, time consuming hack into Max code, thank you very much, Vlado, for a fast, great feedback and adding tx-baking to Vray4a!!), so you can save +1000% time by creating any scene bake...
It also comes out with UVW optimisation for architecure models, making hard surfacing now unwrapping in better way, and support for own scene groups.
As we created Flatiron, it was mainly designed for requests of game studios, and the unwrapping was tuned for the RT games and organic forms... i was totally stupid to ignore other arts - the most requests we have today are for Vray, industry desing and architecture, so we are in hurry to optimise it and we focusing fully on this aspects.

thanks (i will post here the news as soon as i get the press release for Flatiron 1.5)

best regards

[duke2]

Hi all!
thanks for being faster then me, you answered already all questions

In the new FlatIron 1.5 coming out this week, you have 4a support, rendering the complete VRay scene in one single pass. No other application on the market is able of doing this at the moment (it was a brutal, time consuming hack into Max code, thank you very much, Vlado, for a fast, great feedback and adding tx-baking to Vray4a!!), so you can save +1000% time by creating any scene bake...
It also comes out with UVW optimisation for architecure models, making hard surfacing now unwrapping in better way, and support for own scene groups.
As we created Flatiron, it was mainly designed for requests of game studios, and the unwrapping was tuned for the RT games and organic forms... i was totally stupid to ignore other arts - the most requests we have today are for Vray, industry desing and architecture, so we are in hurry to optimise it and we focusing fully on this aspects.

thanks (i will post here the news as soon as i get the press release for Flatiron 1.5)

best regards

This is an excellent attitude to take too - Sometimes tools are used in unexpected ways by unexpected professions :P

[Igor]

FlatIron 1.5 released (Vray4a single pass support!)

This is an excellent attitude to take too - Sometimes tools are used in unexpected ways by unexpected professions :P

Thanks Duke,

as promissed, here is the release 1.5 with single pass rendering for VRay4a and many new improvments like angle based unwrapping for hard surfacing and selection groups
(again special thanks to Vlado for support!)

best regards

Press Release: Flatiron version 1.50 released – including new unwrap options and faster scene baking
http://flatiron.3d-plugin.com

The rapid development of visualisation and rendering engines requires new techniqes for the creation of interior and exterior scene solutions. Today 3d-io announces the immediate availability of the most anticipated scene baking plug-in for Autodesk 3ds MAX. With a focus on supporting all major 3ds Max renderers and enhancing the unwrapping and packing of UV maps for 3d scenes in a simple yet powerful way, Flatiron 1.50 brings benefits to all customers working in game development, architecture or CG visualisation.

Highlights of Flatiron 1.50

Single pass rendering

Flatiron now provides the option to bake all objects at once into the texture map. This speeds up the whole baking process significantly because it avoids repeated reinitialization of the renderer and combines all objects on the fly instead of using a separate merge pass afterwards. The speed improvement is especially significant when baking a lot of small objects.

The bake method of previous Flatiron versions is still available as an option.

Multi-map mode

Flatiron now supports unwrapping and baking into multiple texture maps. Instead of using Flatiron individually with different selections the user can now assign selection sets and then let Flatiron handle multiple groups of objects at once.

The multi map mode can also be used in combination with automatic distribution. Instead of manually assigning objects into groups, users can just take all the objects and have them automatically distributed among a selected number of textures.

Changes and new features in Flatiron 1.50

* Single Pass Rendering for multiple objects. Flatiron can now bake a whole set of objects in a single render operation instead of rendering them all separately. This reduces render times significantly and improves compatibility with render output formats. See below for details about supported renderers.
* Surface angle based seam assignments. This improves the unwrap results of hard surface meshes.
* Flatiron can now automatically distribute the objects over multiple texture maps to allow for greater fine tuning of output sizes.
* Support for selection sets added. Group your objects into sets and Flatiron can create separate texture maps for each sets.
* MAXScript support for all the new features
* A few minor user interface improvements
* Various minor fixes

The single pass render mode is fully supported for 3ds Max Scanline Renderer, Mental Ray, finalRender and V-Ray (version 1.50 SP4a and up). Brazil and older versions of V-Ray support a compatibility mode that also allows to bake multiple objects at once but this mode ignores object specific settings (i.e. ‘don’t cast shadows’).

About 3d-io

3d-io games & video production GmbH is specialized company for high-end software development, modeling, animation, rendering, CG effects and 3D industrial design. 3d-io GmbH, headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany, has an established strong presence in game development, design & video production, digital content creation as well as in graphics and animation. We are dedicated to provide easy-to-use software products accompanied by dedicated support team, experienced programmers and top notch 3D artists.

Contact: http://www.3d-io.com, http://www.3d-plugin.com

[beestee]

Those are some really great additions, stuff that puts flatiron towards the top of my shopping list.