Ambient Occlusion map baking problem in 3ds Max 9

Japhir

hi guys,
i'm trying to bake an ambient occlusion map (for the first time) and i have everything set up properly (rendering the character works as it is supposed to) but when i click "render to texture" or press "0" (zero) nothing happens... i have no idea how come so any help would be very much appreciated.

MoP

Have you changed your monitor setup recently? Like added a 2nd monitor, or used to be using 2 monitors but now only have 1?
Sometimes in that case the window gets opened outside the visible screen which is a bitch but can be fixed by finding the appropriate line (look for RTT window position or something) in 3dsmax.ini in the main 3dsmax folder.

I can't think of any other reason why the RTT window wouldn't open...

Mark Dygert

You mean the window doesn't come up? Or "nothing happens" when you hit render?

MoP covered the first I'll tackle the second.

You have to do some set up in render to texture. Make sure to "Add" the "Ambient Occlusion (MR)" map to the "output" rollout, it will also help to specify a File Name and Type as well as the height/width of the map.
You'll also need to select the object you are rendering so it shows up in the "objects to bake" rollout. Did you set the defuse texture to "Ambient/Reflective Occlusion(base)"?

If you don't have the ambient occlusion settings as options you'll need to switch your render'er to Mental Ray.

There are a few good tutorials out there that walk you through the process, I think one of them comes standard with Max. Good luck, hope that helped!

NeoShroomish

Well he's saying that when he presses 0 that nothing shows up, so you have to assume he means the RTT options box thing.

Try resetting to the default layout.

Mark Dygert

Actually he says "nothing happens" if he had said "the RTT window doesn't come up" then we would know for sure. I would agree it sounds more likely that the window isn't showing up, but it is possible that he expects pressing 0 and clicking render to work just like pressing 9 and clicking render. If you do that (press 0 and click render) "nothing happens" because the RTT window is set to do nothing.

Besides if he can't get the box up, the info I posted might be useful for when he does =P

Japhir

thanks guys! what i meant was that "the RTT window doesn't come up" :P but the stuff vig posted will help too when i figure out how to make it turn up.
@ Mop: i did get a new monitor recently, but "render to texture" never worked before, this was the second time trying it, i once tried doing it too, but then just gave up when it didn't respond to it. thanks i'll see if i can find it

Sage

Sometimes it happens that if you have an object selected the rtt window doesn't show up, when it's happened to me I just deselect the object and try again and pops up. Freaking annoying.

Alex

Japhir

i can't find the 3dsmax.ini file... and have no idea how to change anything when i find the RTT window location so any help would be great!

Mark Dygert

Getting the Window Back on Screen
You could try moving the window back onto the screen using keyboard shortcuts.
- Toggle on the RTT window. Note if it was already up, it will have a check mark by its name in the drop down menu. make sure it was freshly launched so its the most active window in Max.
- Press ALT+SPACE followed by "M" for "Move". This will move the mouse to the center of the title bar of the RTT window (the same bar you would click if you where to move it normally, if you could see it...).
- Now click and drag the window around until it moves onto the screen.

About the 3dsmax.ini File
It should be in the 3dsMax folder. You should also be able to find it by searching your computer. If you have "show known file extensions" turned off inside of folder preferences in windows it might not find it since windows thinks its name is 3dsmax (no .ini). The icon might be blank, look like a little piece of paper or a notebook. Either way try to open the file in Notepad and look for something that says [Render to Texture], I think if you delete that section it will reset.

romi

the 3DSmax.ini file for max9 is now in C:\Documents and Settings\"your user name"\Local Settings\Application Data\Autodesk\3dsmax\9 - 32bit. good luck!

cheers,
Rom

Japhir

it doesn't work...
somehow it just doesn't open the RTT dialog... i looked through the 3dsmax.ini file but couldn't find anything hinting at "render to texture" .. so i looked up "render dialog location" or something like that and deleted it (i saved a backup) but it works the way it usually does.. maybe it depends on my computer or something...
well thanks anyway!