Challenge me...

[Dave_Wortley]

I've been asked by 3d magazine to write a 3dsmax piece, it's one of these generic 'How do I do [insert common problem here]' but I'm not really much of a fan of the simpler suggestions they always seem to cover, so I'm looking for someone to give me a problem/challenge to solve that I can write about in detail and to a high level.

I'm a 3dsmax, VRay, Scripting Guru so give me your best shot!

Other suggestions will probably make it on to my blog.

[DPS]

Would that include creating shaders?

A vray edges texture that uses angle threshold rather than every edge. One that can be utilized for bump mapping.

I don't think there is a solution out there.

Basically the same functionality as Neil blevins corner angle to vertex script but not using vertex painting and one that can be bump mapped.

[Dave_Wortley]

More akin to Grant's thread on Shader Creation but more with the creating the model/lighting solution at the same time. Something tricky like procedural road or something with ForestPro....

[DPS]

How about a smart way to do the ridge capping on a hip roof. It's a pain in the arse to create the two or more profiles needed and then dealing with the ends.

I could draw a diagram if it helps but the profile is like this: ^ with the angle varying depending on whether the path is at a constant elevation or descending.

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Another option: a means to cut equally spaced edges (Ideally at a specified unit and value) on selected polygons along z axis (for example) regardless of their orientation.

It would work like connecting opposite edges but without a need to preselect edges and it wouldn't matter if geo had quads of ngons.

Eg useful for wall cladding or corrugated roofs when the design is funky. So you'd model the shapes with basic polys and apply this cool script and use chamfer, extrude or whatever to get the desired result. And you'd do that in an edit poly modifier so it's fairly simple to edit.

[DPS]

...Or a UVW xform offset randomiser for elements.

So it would work like the 'material by element modifier' but would do xform offsets instead.

And I've no idea whether that's beyond the scope of maxscripting.


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of an 'Instance to Unique' modifier - that would allow you to add additional modifiers to the stack and not affect other instances

[henning]

Or: bake animated vertex colors using the Unwrap UVW modifier. And how to make that fast.

[Neilg]

...Or a UVW xform offset randomiser for elements.

So it would work like the 'material by element modifier' but would do xform offsets instead.

I have a macro that does (most of) this. It isolates, converts to edit mesh, selects all elements, explodes with 180 & opens the mass randomizer script. Once the randomize is done I use dave's script to to collapse it all back to an edit poly and apply a material by element so multitexture can shift the colors.


I'm still trying to think of something Dave

[DPS]

@Cubical gangster - any chance I could try that script?

@henning - I wonder whether the texmap preview baker script will do just that? In Soulburn scripts.

[Neilg]

Which one?

It's an edit mesh -> explode,
this - http://www.scriptspot.com/3ds-max/sc...ass-randomizer
then this - http://daveandgoliath.com/2011/05/18/collapse-geometry/

I also just realized that dave wortley isnt the same dave as in that dave & goliath, as i'd always assumed

[grantwarwick]

I'll try and think of something!

Maybe I'm not so much of a hardcore nerd any more but some of these suggestions are so boring! How will they sell the magazine!?

[DPS]

You're so humble Grant

[Dave_Wortley]

I'll try and think of something!

Maybe I'm not so much of a hardcore nerd any more but some of these suggestions are so boring! How will they sell the magazine!?

It's an existing well-known 3d magazine, I just wanted to write something a bit more interesting than normal. I'm tempted to go down the sea-foam/wave thing I was chatting to you about the other day.... Nice challenge.. always like proving there's no need to use Vue!

[Dave_Wortley]

I do look forward to seeing what kind of challenge Grant comes up with...

[DPS]

To be fair wave foam is more interesting than hip roofs. Would that be or stills or animation?

[Morne]

It's an existing well-known 3d magazine, I just wanted to write something a bit more interesting than normal. I'm tempted to go down the sea-foam/wave thing I was chatting to you about the other day.... Nice challenge.. always like proving there's no need to use Vue!

sea-foam/wave gets my vote!
(although isnt that automatically done now with Phoenix FD?)