Help ThatDon with Max 9

ThatDon

So new company, new software.

How do I setup a hotkey that acts like Maya's "G" hotkey, where it reactivates your last used tool?

ThatDon

1 more thing is there way to get a manual placed insert edge loop instead of the auto 50% stuff max does?

Ruz

yeah for the edge loop insert go to the 'connect' rollout in edit poly and the box to the right of it has optiions for moving the edge loop around, changing the number of loops etc.

not sure if there is a G key equivalent in max

ThatDon

Sweet, Thanks Ruz. now if I could only get my G Key going

Bal

There's an equivalent to the G of maya in max, but it's not quite as powerful as it only works on poly tools I think, you can find it in Edit Poly, called repeat last operation, and by default it's assigned to ; if I remember correctly (may be my config here).

ThatDon

Next request, to get maya's "Crtl+Spacebar" which basically toggles pro mode or just hides the most of the UI.

and Alt+B would be nice too which toggles your background color from black, grey, light grey

Eric Chadwick

Ctrl+X = pro mode

ThatDon

Ahh yes, you guys rock!

MoP

You could write a script to toggle background colour quite easily.

DInusty

ohh look at don don learn

Mark Dygert

While your binding keys, you might want to take a sec to bind spacebar to "maximize viewport toggle" otherwise you might be frustrated to holy hell and back when things mysteriously lock.

Vailias

lol I just went through so much of this too don. (yay for first rig built in max)

also I'd recommend unassigning z o and the viewport toggle keys. P F L T . reassigning P to "select and link" ala maya's parent option. Not an instant operation either mind you, but it lets you select an object and drag to its new parent.
Z = hide manipulator/gizmo.. threw me quite a bit when that disappeared and I didn't know what key I had hit.

O toggles adaptive degradation. So you could leave it there, but if you move your view and suddenly everything is just bounding boxed, thats why.

ThatDon

Hey thanks for all the help so far guys, I'm sure I will have more questions as they come up but till then CHEERS!

Vailias

Forgot this: http://www.paulneale.com/tutorials/MaxMaya/maxMaya.htm

While its more geared toward technical artists/riggers the crossover of tools breakdown is really nice. Could come in handy for you too.

renderhjs

in poly modifier when doing operations like extruding and other stuff as soon as you hit right click you get your last transform tool back like move,rotate or scale- maybe it gets somewhat close to your 'g'- key.

MoP

Nah, what Bal said is closer to what he wants out of the "repeat last" key, renderhjs.

ThatDon

Ok new request, Is there any program out there that's the equivalent of draster's "nex" program for max?

The 2 main tools I'm after is quad draw and shrink wrap. Both revolve around you being able to setup a "reference mesh"

Eric Chadwick

Check out Illusion Catalyst (free) or PolyBoost (pay)

http://www.illusioncatalyst.com/index.html
http://www.polyboost.com/

ThatDon

Thanks, we actually have polyboost here, but i'm not sure where to find the features i'm after :S

kary

The Polydraw features is what you're after. Take a look on his site for a video sample, but if you place one poly (in your low poly mesh) with the build tool, you then switch to the border tool to do the rest.

Set up the reference mesh at the top of the Polydraw tool.

MoP

Max + Polyboost is about 1000x better than Maya can manage, even with NEX. NEX gets close, but Polyboost is where it's at.

ThatDon

new one, The Compass from Maya, is there a plug in out there or a script that can match this awesomeness? I have grown very dependent upon this handy little tool to switch between my ortho views and perspective on the fly.

I know in Maya 2008 they broke this feature and someone made a cool little script that allowed you to assign a hotkey that would basically switch back and forth between ortho views and your perspective view based upon the view angle in perspective mode. If there is something even like that for Max that would be awesome.

MoP

Again, that sounds like something you could write a script for... I don't know of one myself, but then I've never looked
Check out www.scriptspot.com for maxscripts, it's like the highend3d of max stuff.

For fast viewport switching I just use the "v" key toggle, so if you hit V then P you'll get perspective view, if you hit V then F you'll get front view, V L is left, V R is right etc...

ThatDon

thanks for the tip mop, but I would much rather prefer it to be all on 1 hotkey and based upon the view port angle. If I come up with anything I will be sure to share and of course if anyone already knows of a solution for what I'm wanting please do share.

renderhjs

perhaps the 'u' key for user view (wich is orthographic),- and p back for perspective.

In max 2009 you now have the very same Maya alike perspective cube tool to easier switch between the most common views.

ThatDon

What' i'm after is the standard front/top/side/back sorta orth's so grabbing verts that are mirrored is simple.

No luck so far searching for a script.

Japhir

why don't you just remember the hotkey's
You can also make them custom.
I've got: p=perspective, f=front, b=bottom, l=left, t=top and then the custom ones: shift+b=back, shift+l=right. who needs a compass

ThatDon

because I find it silly to have to remember 5 hotkeys when I know it's possible do everything I want with 1 hotkey and it's far more powerful and efficient.

Japhir

Yeah your right about that . I looked it up, it's called a viewcube now and is available for max 2009.

ThatDon

Is there a way to turn off interactive creation of primitives? IE. I want to create a box, instead of drawing it out it just simply pops up.

Eric Chadwick

Try using the macro recorder to make a quickie script. Opens up a lot of possibilities.

renderhjs

ThatDon wrote: »

Is there a way to turn off interactive creation of primitives? IE. I want to create a box, instead of drawing it out it just simply pops up.

using keyboard entry (a rollout in the creation panel) and the click on 'create' or with maxscript e.g:

Box lengthsegs:1 widthsegs:1 heightsegs:1 length:50 width:50 height:50 mapcoords:on pos:[0,0,0] isSelected:on

ThatDon

Thanks guys.

ThatDon

Is there a option in max like there is in maya where overlapped UVs in the UV editor are a different color. example red = 100% unique UV space ||| purple = overlapped UVS

kary

I'm not sure how to do that exactly, but: In face mode, goto the select menu, select overlapped faces. That will select the overlapping faces, I don't know how you get a permenant colour change on them though.

MoP

No, I don't know how to do that either. That's one of the Maya UV editing features I really like - it's a great way of presenting UVs.

MattW

ThatDon wrote: »

1 more thing is there way to get a manual placed insert edge loop instead of the auto 50% stuff max does?

If you don't feel like using the connect dialogue or what something more precise, right under Repeat Last in Edit Poly is a option for constraint. You can set that to Edge or Face, insert your loop and then set it to Edge and move it where you want it.