Max XRefs

Murdoc

Just shooting a small question this way to see if this is a common error or if I am completely f@#$ed.

Have a object in a .max file xrefed into another, it's been like this for awhile now, no problems.

I went to update the object in the original .max model and texture, didn't touch the center. But now in the main scene its being xrefed in the center is off on the corner of the object, yet back in the original file it's at the center.

I reset the Xforms and the pivot is at 0,0,0 where it originally was...any reason it would randomly move the center to the corner?

Eric Chadwick

Max's xref system has always been difficult to use. Many people have tried implementing it in their pipeline, only to discover major bugs down the road. I looked into it a couple years ago, was too unstable to use at the time, but likely hasn't been significantly retooled since then.

If you still want to use it, you could try searching in their Area forum for a solution.
http://area.autodesk.com/index.php/forums/

Mark Dygert

I also looked into using it in our pipeline around Max7-8 and it was garbage. We had major issues any time we would update the source files, It was normally fine if you never went back and worked on the source or saved it as a new iteration and updated all the XRefs. We ended up writing a script that would search for the newest iteration.

In the end we scrapped the idea because we experienced everything from all instances disappearing and not being able to refresh without restarting 3dsmax. To 3dsmax crashing randomly when someone would attempt to load a source file from the xref menu. Sometimes if you tried to update a Xref manually by relinking it wouldn't accept it, unless you restarted 3dsmax. Total grade-A Garbage...

I've heard rumors that it was upgraded in 2008 but I have only seen the same old bugs. In a newsletter Autodesk published not that long ago they said the Xref system was getting another overhaul in 2009, personally it would take a lot to make me rethink using it again.

Good luck and I hope you find a work around, because I don't think a solution exists with the current state of the tools the way they are right now... and I don't see them making actual changes other then to the dates on their press releases...