Problem creating lightmaps in 3DS Max for UDK.

LANKUS MAXIMUS

I have followed a few different tutorials. All show the same method of swapping to your second UV channel and resetting the UV's.

However, every time i swap to the second channel, I am prompted with a message asking me if i want to move or abandon changes. When I choose to abandon (as i don't wish to move my co-ordinates to the second channel), I am given a new UV layout.
I sort it and save it. Then when i move back to the first, it's not the layout i had left for the purpose of my diffuse map.

I know this is an extremely basic problem. I'm trying to work through these Noob errors so that i can get into the swing of working on my first UDK environment.

Also, I'm aware that you can generate a lightmap within UDK by using the generate unique UV's option. I just assumed that this would only be used with props that had simple map layout's?

(When i used this method for a tileable floor plane, The generated lightmap was flush within the UV window, with no padding at all, so it had a nice clean shadow running across it but showed up a fairly bad seam where it met the next tile...)


I appreciate any help that anyone can provide.

Lankus.

PogoP

HItting reset/abandon doesn't completely rest your UV changes, it just changes from one map to the other. I always found that kinda confusing. Try working in multiple modifiers, one for your diff, one for lightmap UVs, if that helps.

LANKUS MAXIMUS

Thanks for the response.

Yeah, it's quite confusing. I just created a simple barrel. Unwrapped it in Channel 1. saved my co-ordinates and move to channel 2. Clicked abandon when prompted. reset the UV layout and sorted them out accordingly. I then didn't even bother going back to channel 1. I just finished the unwrap. collapsed the stack and exported. When i opened in UDK, it had 2 channels but only channel 2 (last to be edited) was in tact, the way i had unwrapped) Channel 1 (My intended diffuse layout) was a mess...

So confusing.

So separate UVW unwrap modifiers? I See... I'll give that a try.

Thanks again for the response dude

EDIT - Liam, your a genius dude Using separate unwrap modifiers sorted it all. I never had this issue with other versions. When i was in 10 i don't think i even got a change/abandon prompt!

Anyways, thanks for the help. So simple. I think I've just been getting to frustrated with it. A fresh bit of insight was all i needed. All the best!

Teessider

Dunno if this is any interest to ya but I made a tutorial for my group project a while back on making Lightmaps for UDK:

https://vimeo.com/37906533

I need to re-shoot it as I cringe at it now but hopefully it might be of some use to ya

LANKUS MAXIMUS

That is indeed a very helpful video dude. I flicked through it to the channel changing part and i noticed that you moved instead of abandoning. Then edited the layout for the purpose of it being a lightmap.

Cheers for the shout dude. Sorted in two ways :P

Sinking

The topic of this thread is misleading, and I've already ended up here a couple of times. Sure you are making lightmap UVS, but you aren't making lightmaps! The lightmap would be the actual baked product/images, based on your geometry.

You can bake lightmaps for Unity and basically any engine in any 3D software. I'd like to see you try that for UDK. I go mental over this! After what - ten years of working and improving the same engine, EPIC doesn't manage to get simple things right. Like, who decided to put the normal axis to -y in UDK. And why was that never changed? It would be okay, if the UDK lightmapper worked, but it is the shabbiest thing I have ever seen. Buy Beast? - I wish.

If anyone actually has info on baking lightmaps for UDK, I'd gladly see it! As far as I know it is impossible without a commercial license for UE3.

Obscura

Sinking - There are many videos about this on youtube. Actually you just need to press the build lighting button to get the lightmaps baked btw.

Sinking

Obscura wrote: »

Sinking - There are many videos about this on youtube. Actually you just need to press the build lighting button to get the lightmaps baked btw.

I was refering to baking lightmaps manually, using Maya, instead of UDK. Then importing them and using them as replacement for the ugly UDK "low budget" lightmaps.

Butthair

Sinking - you can bake lightmaps and import them in just like textures and then hook them up in a material using a TexCoords with UV Channel 1 (being your lightmap uv channel). Your gunna have a lot of material instances though, unless you handle this in code.