Well how would you do it if you have to send off your maxfile to your client knowing that someone else will use it. Is there a way to convert the unwrapped modell into triangles or something like that with out destroying the look. How are you guys dealing with this sort of a problem. Oh and yes it is written down in the contract 
Thx
ralf
i collapse it all to one big mesh, then mix up the material ID’S. And if you want to really confuse people, then a quick weld op with really small tolerance just to destroy elements.
i just tell my clients that my scenes would be useless to them then use a vray proxy on everything and send them the scene without the proxies (i really hate that bullshit when a client asks for the scene for “backup” purposes. yeah right, they just want to find a cheaper person to make changes to the model
We do hate it alot more!
But this is a complex problem!
and we are bind by contract… grrrr
thanks for your tips!
I usually strip out the materials and lights too. Supplying the model in 3ds format is a good workaround too - they get the model but it is hard to adjust.
strip out materials?
i mean it has to render as it should look!
I disagree, I don’t think it “has to render” as the original..
All the lighting, and materials and post production are your own. You should only give away a collapsed 3d model, as others have said.
that’s a shame. You are essentially dealing in your intellectual property and have a right to protect it - by handing your scene over to the client you will also be aiding (potentially, and this is the cynic in me) a rival company. You should maybe look into ammending your contracts to include a clause where all models remain your property - after all, the client is usually only paying for stills/animation?
well, I guess it depends, what exactly does the contract say about it?
we will adjust prices… we worked 4 years for that agency, and now it is the first time the"Main" client demands the files.
argh damn it… i feel so used
Well, if it has to render exactly the same then they’ll have to get a copy of vray, you can’t totally supply the scene if you’re using commercial plugins or fonts etc.
i agree with removing all textures and lights. They want the model? fine, they can have the model. Since when does textures and lights consitute a ‘model’?
im also curious what the contract says. my clients can demand my models till they are blue in the face. its me who makes the contracts with them, not them with me, and my contracts say nothing about them getting the models so its my perogative and i usually say no
I don’t know about your situation, but we use a lot of purchased textures and models. This give us a big escape route since we legally cannot give these to the client. We will gladly give them the basic scene geometry with a neutral gray material.
Its similar to requesting a graphic design company send you a photoshop file. There are trade secrets and techniques in the file. We always flatten the effects but leave the layers and text intact so they can fiddle with some things. We’ve come to the conclusion that if they want to be like this, we don’t want them as a customer anyway and send them on their merry way.
Good luck!
In our contract, we say that the final artwork is the image that we provide them, and that we cannot give them the tools that we use to produce that artwork (tools includes software and authoring files).
And, if they’re really insistent, we point out that we used many library elements and we don’t own the copyright on those elements and couldn’t legally give it to them anyways.
There’s only one reason why they would want your files, and that’s so they could take it to someone else to continue work.
We have stated that any files that the clients would get would be flattened files for reproduction only as far as PSD go. But with max files and dwgs. We have stated in the contract, unless otherwise notified that the client will only receive upon request dwf files and 3ds files only. I mean…Otherwise you would have to send them all the proxies…bitmaps…and everything…What if the client has max…Does he have all the plugins…Vray?? RPC? Etc… I wouldn’t want to be the guy who has to FIX stuff from another file…We have all done that…Bad layering…Meshes…Mapping..etc… So we just nipped it and said…Sorry…This is what you get…Again…unless the client SPECIFICALLY requested it in the beginning
and what Dynedain said… 
If you are in a situation where the client contractualy expects a file you need to give it to them, I usually don’t give my stuff out but just last week I found myself offering a finished file so I could compete for a job. And I didn’t get the job.
There are a lot of negatives about handing out your work. And what I fear is that assuming they use your file I imagine that it would look like crap rendered in autocad by Billy the cad monkey (sorry Fran) who really wants to learn 3d. But then my name is still attached to it. So this becomes somehow my project even when I am not doing it. And like Eric said someone will then have an opinion on your work and chances are it won’t be what they want. So then you name becomes attached with having to “fix” stuff to match their system. The file will create a life of its own your name will still be on it but you will have no control of it.
And no you cannot send out a file that contains information/files you purchased. So models and textures should be excluded. But you also need to make sure they know this otherwise they may think that they are getting the whole cow by paying for a gallon of milk.
One potential client told me that not only do they want the illustration but they use the model for cad construction drawings. I felt funny about that because I can model to the fraction of an inch but I often don’t. I may apply a bevel to an edge that I think needs one and it might change the dimension a little. Ultimatly you need to know what your work will be used for. And you may end up modeling differently if the end product is a 3d print than if it is a printed image.
if somone asked me (and the did) they will get the following :
1. striped materials model since the textures are yours and you can’t legally give them away.
2.convert to poly , attach everything.
3. assign material modifier so all will be the same mat id.
4. select all elements (sub object) , press tesselate (face) 3-5 times
4. export to 3ds.
and you are set.
To be honest i dont really see any “abuse” there depending on what the contract says. Why are the Materials his ? If he signed a cotnract that includes the final scenes then this is not the fault of the client is it? We are also sometimes doing full buyout models that include the complete setup to create finished renderings. If that’s part of the contract and you dont want that, then dont sign it. Easy as that if you ask me. If it ISNT part of the contract…then dont give it out.
Regards,
Thorsten