Stochastic flakes plugin, take 2

[soulburn3d]

And thanks Gavin for the extra analysis!

- Neil

[vlado]

I think I like your original idea of having a node to pick better. All of my object sets have a point helper for rigging purposes, and the objects transform with the point. So even though I have to pick the node at the beginning, once I've picked the node, I can move the objects, edit their meshes, and add new ones, and the shader will just work without the need to do any extra baking procedure.

Yes, but if you move the objects relative to the helper for some reason, the texture will slide over them. If you always move them as a block, things will be fine. Is that ok? I don't mind either way, the helper picker is easier for me, just wondering

Best regards,
Vlado

[soulburn3d]

Yes, but if you move the objects relative to the helper for some reason, the texture will slide over them. If you always move them as a block, things will be fine. Is that ok?

Yes, that should be fine for my purposes. My current technique is applying 3 planar projection UVW Mapping modifiers to the set of objects, so if I move one of the objects, I do so at the vertex level at the bottom of the stack, so the maps being applied with the planar projections slide along the surface of the object anyways. And when I add an object, I usually toss my three modifiers, and then reapply brand new modifiers in the same spot to the updated collection of objects (which is a pain).

This map will in fact make my workflow far simpler because I can now move the objects using the normal move tool, and adding an object won't require remaking projections.

Once you have the node feature in there, I have a bunch of models I can test on to confirm its doing the right thing. Thanks Vlado!

- Neil

[joconnell]

Vlado - this might make things more complex but it'd also complete neil's workflow.

At the minute, there's a single map slot which is used across all three mapping directions. Would it be possible to have a map slot for each direction so that you can use either the same map in all three for your generic base layer stuff, then a totally different triplanar with individual maps for front top and side for decals and what not?

Neil - as it stands this map adds a huge amount and it'll be amazing for environment artists in no longer needing to unwrap things like mountains and so on, but for your workflow you'll still need the three uv's for all your custom dirt / drips and decals.

[soulburn3d]

Vlado, BTW, having a "World Space" mode would probably be helpful to people in some situations, so we'd have a "Local", "World" and "Node" mode, with the default being "Local" (the current default of the plugin).

Also, for the long term future, if the autodesk 3dsmax team added a hybrid mode of some sort which assigned the pattern like World but then allowed for object transformations, could that then be folded into the plugin? I could always poke the max team and see if this could be added in some future release for all their procedural plugins.

- Neil

[soulburn3d]

Neil - as it stands this map adds a huge amount and it'll be amazing for environment artists in no longer needing to unwrap things like mountains and so on, but for your workflow you'll still need the three uv's for all your custom dirt / drips and decals.

So in my own mind I have split the process into two different things, the Blended Box Map (BBM) (what Vlado is current writing) for general randomish patterns, and the Blended Cube Projection Map (BCP) for the specific patterns you mention. So yes, you'll still need a different system for the custom dirt and drips and decals.

But this is sort of necessary, since to paint specific patterns, you'll want to render out templates from camera views. So I don't feel a Blended Box Map alone can handle those situations. In the ideal world, the BCP projections will be handled not with UVs, but with camera projections, something like CameraMapGemini. I have moved away from using that plugin since its future is unstable, but I am working behind the scenes trying to get autodesk to either upgrade their own system or just buy CameraMapGemini, fix its issues, and then bundle it with max, so it can be a consistent part of the workflow. With Vlado's TriPlanar and a built in camera projection system in the max base package, then the workflow can be truly UV free.

- Neil

[Art48]

As I saw this amazingly good hidden triplanar plugin from you, vlado I asked myself: Is there a spot on the homepage like "inofficial stuff" where treasures like that are hidden? It's kinda suboptimal to dig through threads for that :P

[vlado]

As I saw this amazingly good hidden triplanar plugin from you, vlado I asked myself: Is there a spot on the homepage like "inofficial stuff" where treasures like that are hidden? It's kinda suboptimal to dig through threads for that :P

I usually put them on http://help.chaosgroup.com/vray/misc/ - I will do that with the triplanar mapping plugin too, just need to compile it for more Max versions.

Best regards,
Vlado

[joconnell]

It'd definitely be worth getting the marketing guys to pop these type of things into announcements, the monthly newsletter and up on the twitter feed - these type of things can make a massive difference to peoples workflows!

[soulburn3d]

Will the additions we discussed be in the latest version? Or will those have to wait until it gets more officially rolled into a future release of Vray?

- Neil

[vlado]

Will the additions we discussed be in the latest version? Or will those have to wait until it gets more officially rolled into a future release of Vray?

We'll see; I would love them to be there, it's just a matter of finding the resources for it.

Best regards,
Vlado

[soulburn3d]

Hopefully the ressourses can be found. I wouldn't want to use it in its current state for production, but with those additions it will revolutionize my pipeline.

- Neil

[super gnu]

i agree.. neils suggestions, plus some randomisation as i requested would cover all the bases as far as i am concerned.

[soulburn3d]

Added my UI mockup here BTW:

http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_tools/...ed_box_map.htm

- Neil

[DenkoM]

Give this guy a cookie!