Maya to Max, Few Questions

salman_fas

Hi,

I have mainly used Maya in past and wanted to learn a bit of 3ds Max. I have a few questions if someone would be kind to answer.

1. Is there any way to delete an edge on a flat surface without the face being deleted.

2. Is "cut" tool similar to split polygon tool? if so how do turn on edge snapping and making multiple snapping points on an edge.

3. Is it possible to edit UV maps of 2 or more meshes at the same time?

Funky Bunnies

1. using backspace will do this - holding control+backspace will delete any extra verts for you (like delete vert/component in maya)

2. In a lot of ways, the cut tool isn't as advanced as the split poly tool. For snapping, though, you can hit s to turn on 3d snapping and check out the different options by right clicking on the icon. For the most part you might prefer the Connect tool, though

3. It depends what version you're using. I think it was version 2008 that first started letting you apply an unwrapUVW modifier to multiple meshes, and that'll let you mess with UV's on those multiple objects.

salman_fas

Thanks,

I tried that but Backspace is not having any effect at all.

Where exactly is Connect tool located and what does it do(max8 ).

So far I am finding Max to be really weird and clumsy compared to Maya(no offense to Max users).

fade1

maybe you work in editable mesh mode.
you have to have an editable poly or edit poly modifier applied. for edit mesh those things don't work...
and by the way: max has a good help. i think lots can be answered there...

salman_fas

That's exactly what I was doing(editable Mesh). Thanks for pointing that out

Mark Dygert

Ahh yep, try to use edit poly instead of edit mesh whenever possible. Edit mesh is a hold over for legacy code and the default for many modifiers and functions.

1) There are a few ways to get rid of edges:
- Click on an edge and hit ring, hit collapse. Works great for getting rid of rings. But destroys the edges. If you have preserve UV's on it won't make a mess. Nice for optimizing, where if you ctrl-backspace, it will.

- Click on an edge and hit remove (same function as backspace). Doing this allows you to "create" (redefine) a new visible edge in the same space using "create" while in edge mode lets you draw/define visible edges over non-visible edges.It forces the invisible edges to fall in line.

For example if you had a a tri dividing a quad the wrong way you could remove the edge and create it going the other way and it would stay like that.

You can also edit the hidden edges using "edit tri" it will turn on hidden edges and clicking on them while in this mode will flip them AND they stay that way. Very handy for working in quads and keeping your tris flowing the way you want them.

Total edge control, its one of the things I miss most about max when I use maya.

2) Instead of using cut, use "connect" Click an edge, hit ring, and hit connect. It will insert an edge down the center of that ring. For more options click the box next to it. It will allow you to insert a few edges and gives you a way to spread them across the surface.

You can also flatten things using the "make planar" buttons. "Align view" and "Grid align". Works on selections and whole objects.

3) Since your on 3dsmax8 you'll have to "attach" all the meshes together if you want to edit their UV's together. Then break them apart after your done. Total pain in the ass, and its why they changed it in newer versions.

- Or you can arrange the pieces for one object, render out a template from the UVW editor window Tools Render Template (it might not be there in 3dsmax8 so you'll need a script called
Textporter: http://www.cuneytozdas.com/software/3dsmax/#Texporter
(this is the script that they added into newer versions)
Apply that template to your mesh and in the UVW Editor window change the upper right drop down from checker, to your template. (BTW if you set it back to checker it displays it on the mesh, handy for getting a sense of scale) It will only allow you to see where you laid out the first but you can't edit them.

http://www.polyboost.com/
Also check out polyboost for some more amazing features

salman_fas

Thanks Vig,,, Very helpful info.