Just wondering since I haven't got time to play around with the script. Is partial loop n ring supported?
Yep, it's called "Span" and works with edges (rings and loops) vertexes and quads (loops). It now supports Editable Poly Objects and Edit Poly Modifiers too.
Hi Surfa, do you have administrator rights on your machine? It seems the installer wasn't able to copy files on your hard disk before trying to run the script for the first time.
Make sure to run 3ds Max as Administrator (how to) then try to install IC.Shape again. Please let me know if it works.
Since I don't have experience with Windows Vista/7 if anyone wants to help, is welcome!
Hey Surfa, I wasn't implying you were trying to do something bad on a computer you weren't allowed to install stuff on
I agree with you, you shouldn't work as Administrator, the only issue in this case is that if you don't have administrator privileges you are not allowed to write in some "protected" windows folders, in this case the user folder. So IC.Shape installer cannot make 3ds Max copy files in their destination folders. I'm glad you succeeded and hope you'll enjoy the toolset
@ CompanionCube: Thank you for bearing with the frequent bugfixes
Span could actually be implemented in loop or ring. If only 1 edge is selected, clicking loop/ring will perform full loop/ring. If there's 2 edges selected, clicking loop/ring will select those edges between the two. It's more streamlined.
Span could actually be implemented in loop or ring. If only 1 edge is selected, clicking loop/ring will perform full loop/ring. If there's 2 edges selected, clicking loop/ring will select those edges between the two. It's more streamlined.
Hi guys, the suggestion is theoretically good, but unfortunately there's an ambiguous case.
The idea is: at Vertex level and at Poly level if you select two adjacent elements then press loop or ring, the loop or ring gets selected, while if you select two suitable separate elements, by pressing loop or ring, the span gets selected. So far so good.
At Edge level there are problems: if you select two adjacent edges (by ring or loop) then you can press either a ring selection or a loop selection, same goes if selected edges are separate but lay in the same ring or loop. Now, following previously defined logic, by pressing loop or ring, I should select the span between them, but what if I simply want the standard loops or rings from two separate edges that happens to lay on the same loop or ring? Should I make the Span command accessible through a modifier key like CTRL?
This is the reason why I left the Span as a separate command. Moreover I plan to expand its functionality by allowing to select a sort of "span loop/ring".
Since I still haven't received any serious bug report on latest release I assume it is reasonably stable, otherwise, please let me know.
@ Yozora: I'll be back to you as soon as possible, I'm currently trying to match a bad deadline.
At Edge level there are problems: if you select two adjacent edges (by ring or loop) then you can press either a ring selection or a loop selection, same goes if selected edges are separate but lay in the same ring or loop. Now, following previously defined logic, by pressing loop or ring, I should select the span between them, but what if I simply want the standard loops or rings from two separate edges that happens to lay on the same loop or ring? Should I make the Span command accessible through a modifier key like CTRL?
Please allow me to explain.
The above pic:
Press loop: perform full loop on both edges
Press ring: partial ring
Full ring? Deselect one of the edge.
Same goes with loop
Press loop: Perform partial loop
Press ring: Full ring
Full loop? Deselect one of the edges.
Basically the idea is that the second edge will act as a 'limit'
I will try to record this behavior in maya and hopefully that will explain what I mean
What would be great is if span functionality was built into max, so when you select 1 edge while holding shift and then double click another edge, max will automatically do "span". Also double clicking single edges should select loop. Maybe ctrl+double click for ring... but that may get messy if you wanted to deselect rings using the same method.
I don't know if that kind of thing is possible though.
@syncviews; theres nothing to get back to, I've found a way around the problem I was having! Thanks.
@elte; I dont think you need to record anything, those pics and text describe it quite well
I understand what you mean, no need for a video, and I like it. I can add in your first example, that if you got the two edges (or more than two) not laying on the same ring and press Ring, you get two full edge rings selected, same goes for loops.
Almost sure it will be in the next release. Thanks for the good solution.
Hey sync, question: Would it be possible to link the relax and Drag-relax brush sizes together? I never use the Relax brush, just Drag with shift held, but have to go into the relax brush sometime just to change its size sense it controls the brush diameter when using it via drag.
Hey Greg, it would definitely be possible, but if I take that path (preserving the diameter while temporary switching to Relax) I'd do that for all the painting deformation instruments. I was unsure about this feature, to switch the pressure only or both brush pressure and diameter while relaxing. I think I'll change it in the next release. It would work more like ZBrush, which is better, as you said. Thanks.
What would be great is if span functionality was built into max, so when you select 1 edge while holding shift and then double click another edge, max will automatically do "span". Also double clicking single edges should select loop. Maybe ctrl+double click for ring... but that may get messy if you wanted to deselect rings using the same method.
I don't know if that kind of thing is possible though.
@syncviews; theres nothing to get back to, I've found a way around the problem I was having! Thanks.
@elte; I dont think you need to record anything, those pics and text describe it quite well
Actually those are already built in maya natively and I believe was adapted from Nex, except partial ring which is not working well and this is something I miss the most in Max. When you double click an edge, it will perform full loop. Select first loop and ctrl+shift or shift double click the second 'end' edge will do partial loop.
For edge ring, select first edge, shift+double click the NEXT adjacent will perform full edge ring or shift+double click the 'end' edge will do partial ring. I found this very useful since most of the modeling task deal with selection.
@syncViews: You can take a look at Nex which is maya modeling plugin. I guess ADSK bought it and hence was implemented in maya, same like polyboost. Here's the link: http://draster.com/nex-1.5/
Oh btw, I notice your move normal only work with 1 face, if multiple faces are selected, is it possible to move by normal at the same time?
I was just guessing because Nex development has been slow or maybe none since maya 2009. Well, enough with the speculation it's just my personal opinion and let's get back on track with IC.Shape, sorry for bringing this too far.
Hi Andrew, I'm sorry to say Frame Geo is available in 3ds Max 2008+ only. Unfortunately the script needs some commands to modify viewports that are not exposed to MaxScript in version 9.
Im wondering the same. GeoLoop locks up maxsometimes, and I drag brush still has some instances where it'll crash Max too (ex: click on Editable Poly right after entering the brush).
Just checked the IC site and noticed your working transitioning the tools to C++, so guess IC2.0 will never really leave beta and well be going right into IC3?
Hi guys, right after the latest beta release, I've been involved in a indie game development group for about one month dealing with HLSL. Unfortunately it didn't turn out too well, and from that experience I still have a toon shader for 3ds Max to refine and release. In the evening of the same day I left the team, I received a proposal for a (nurbs) modelling job for rapid prototyping, and another month has been spent on it. Two days ago I picked up my one year old C++ code and resumed the development of what should have been IC.Shape 2.0, as you can read in the brand new development diary.
Right now I cannot really tell what the future holds. The idea is to fix any major issue in current IC.Shape 2.0, and at least increase its expiry time span, or take it entirely away. So keep sending bug reports. The whole "beta" thing doesn't really matter that much. I guess I've been influenced by Google's philosophy
@ Elte: I already implemented the Span selection coupled with Ring and Loop selection as you suggested, it will be included in next release.
@ PolyHertz: GeoLoop sometimes cannot figure the right shape when the polygon is too small. In that case it keeps calculating, but you can stop the process by pressing ESC any time. I thought the crash on Drag Brush was solved as I never experienced it again, but I guess it's not. This is one of the reasons why I feel bad developing in MaxScript: in some cases when things become complicated, you just do whatever you can, then have to take what comes, obscure bugs included.
In the meantime I'll go on with the development of IC.Shape 3.0, through the SDK. I plan to release WIPs as soon as I reach a good development point. The first step will probably be the whole selection section, with the instruments already known, refined and boosted by the speed of the native programming language and other ones (hopefully some sort of incremental step selection), depending on how demanding is the task, because I'd like to publish something as soon as possible.
Working with the SDK is a real pain, you know. Twenty years of 3ds Max development by different people have left their scars on it. Back in the nineties there were different approaches to programming, much more procedural than object oriented, and the C++ Standard Library wasn't even there. I hope this "XBR" or "Excalibur" thing Autodesk is advertising, is not only a marketing strategy, but a real effort to clean up the 3ds Max core library and as a consequence the SDK.
There are some quite obscure issues I still need to figure out, which killed the project on the first attempt. Finding the solution to them will determine if I'll keep on developing IC.Shape 3 in C++ or stick with IC.Shape 2 in MaxScript.
Thank you Elte! Every new idea is more than welcome, and is all right if you keep them until the time to put them into good use will come, just be sure to remember
If everything goes as planned I'll revise all the good thread about new tools suggested in Technical Talk to see if there is room for development. (I've still got an half-baked "unchamfer"). The review of video tutorials by you fellow Polycounters, like Racer's and Xoliul's, just to mention a well known couple, will for sure provide interesting new ideas too.
Currently the dev.diary isn't really much, but I hope to start posting some code, explanations, schemes, walk-through and such, as well as some videos on the ongoing development results soon.
Just at this moment I noticed that it is free... *facepalm*
I looks to professional to be free
Maybe you should write that down in the first post, just in case there are more people like me.
@ PixelGoat: I cannot reproduce the issue. I tried loading file: seafloor.dds (found in 3ds Max maps directory) in Diffuse channel of Xoliul shader and works fine. If such texture works for you too, can you send me a copy of the failing dds map? Right now I don't have a clue about what could be causing the issue.
Racer445 reported it a while ago, but I wasn't able to track the problem. It seems it was an issue affecting PolyBoost up to version 3.0 too.
Hi guys, I'd like to track down the issue with dds file format incompatibility with IC.Shape in DirectX shader.
The problem is: when trying to load a dds map in a DirectX shaders 3ds Max fires the error: "File type not supported".
I cannot reproduce the issue in any of my system versions so I need a bit of help on this. Anyone experiencing such issue, please:
- Make sure your 3ds Max version is updated to latest Service Pack / Hotfix
- Make a DirectX Material and try to load the DiffuseBump.fx It already has a dds map in diffuse and normal channels, try to reload them. Or use the Xoilul shader and load the seafloor.dds texture in diffuse channel. Seafloor.dds ships with 3ds Max, filed under Maps/
- If such configuration works and you got problem with a dds map of yours, if you can share it, please send it to me for further investigation. Web services like DropBox are preferred, otherwise send me an email at: syncviews(at)illusioncatalyst.com
Remember to state your 3ds Max and Operative System version. Thank you.
Hi Neox, thanks for the report, unfortunately I cannot reproduce the issue in 64 bit versions either. I got reports about tests on fresh installations of both 3ds Max x86 and x64 and the issue was always present. Still at square one
I also tried it out with 3dsmax 2010 64Bit on Windows 7.I installed 3Point Shader, Textools and Xray Unwrap.
Then I installed your Plugin and tested with your methods.Either with IC.Shape open or closed.
Every dds file openend like a charm.Tried Standard dx shader,3point shader and Ben Clowards Normal Map shader.
Tried openening dds files in non-max directories(from my desktop for example).
Everything just works.One thing that bugs me is that every shader except 3point shader opens the seafloor.dds as diffuse by default.
Hi guys, a new version is available: IC.Shape beta 9. The dds issue is still under investigation, but I don't want to delay the release any further. A new one will be ready as soon as I can track and solve the problem. Please help me finding any clue by sharing your experiences and possibly a map that causes errors in your 3ds Max. Thanks.
@ SpeCter: thank you for the report. It tells me the issue is probably tied to some OS/3dsMax version combination. I'm glad to hear it is not an issue affecting every user, but at the same time it makes the error harder to find.
Hi boyluya, I need more information. What's your OS and 3ds Max version at least. The very first thing that comes to mind, if you are on Vista or 7, be sure to run 3ds Max as Administrator before installing IC.Shape, because latest release has a different directory structure for UI and if files are not copied properly IC.Shape UI doesn't open. Please let me know if it works. Thanks.
Hi, that's quite odd and the most strange part is that older IC.Shape doesn't work any more either. Does the listener (press F11 to open it) show any error when you try to open the UI? Do you have the commands in "Customize > Customize User Interface ..." under Category "IllusionCatalyst"? Do they work?
No it's not showing error messages. Yep I can see it in the "Customize > Customize User Interface ..." under Category "IllusionCatalyst," but some commands that I assigned in a hotkey don't work.
But when I tried re-installing the previous version, all commands do work except for launching the UI.
Hi, it's probably related, I just found a bug in uninstallation functions, which is strange because I didn't touch them. Anyway, I'll be up with a fixed beta asap. Thanks for your patience.
Hi guys, I just posted an updated version solving the uninstallation (and possibly installation) issues. Get IC.Shape 2.0 beta 10 from IllusionCatalyst website. Sorry for the inconvenience of a double update within two days.
Please let me know if this new release works and UI opens without problems. Thank you.
Hi, boyluya, that's a bad news. Let's try to sort out the issue. I guess the best thing to do is to perform an uninstallation of the script and install it again starting from beta 8, which worked for sure (it is not expired yet). If it works try to install the latest beta 10.
- Make sure you've got Administrator privileges on your machine.
- Close any running 3ds Max version
Detailed steps to uninstall IC.Shape (it will delete every shortcuts association too):
- open folder: <3ds Max>/Scripts/
- delete folder: "IllusionCatalyst"
- open folder: <3ds Max>/Scripts/Startup
- delete file: IC_Shape_AutoStart.ms
- open folder (Windows XP):
<drive>:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings\Application Data\Autodesk\3dsmax\<3ds Max version>\enu\UI\usermacros
- delete all files with the prefix: "IllusionCatalyst" (in DOS jargon would be "IllusionCatalyst*.mcr")
Now you deleted every trace of IC.Shape from your system.
- Launch 3ds Max
- Open Customize > Customize User Interface... There shouldn't be any trace of IllusionCatalyst Category.
- Install IC.Shape beta 8 and try to open the interface.
1st feedback: does it work?
- Try to install IC.Shape beta 10
2nd feedback: what happens? Does it work?
Since beta 10 installation process works as expected, it will take care of beta 8 uninstallation. You won't need to do it by hand.
I'm sorry for the inconvenience, thanks for the tests. If anyone else experience problems, please report them. I'll do my best to solve the issues.
Hey Sync, I finally got the beta 10 working. I did everything you said except for installing beta 8 before installing beta 10. When I tried installing beta 8 first, it wouldn't work.
Anyway, thanks a lot!! I can't live without IC honestly haha. Thanks again! :poly136:
What a relief! I'm very glad you solved the issue. Thanks for the reports and for the support. I take the occasion to say your "Driller thingy" is really nice!
If anyone is experiencing issues with new release, please let me know. I'm still trying to find the dds bug, so anyone can help me by providing a map that fails to load, for further investigation, I haven't been able to reproduce the issue yet. Thanks.
Replies
Just wondering since I haven't got time to play around with the script. Is partial loop n ring supported?
Yep, it's called "Span" and works with edges (rings and loops) vertexes and quads (loops). It now supports Editable Poly Objects and Edit Poly Modifiers too.
thanks for the regular updates
Make sure to run 3ds Max as Administrator (how to) then try to install IC.Shape again. Please let me know if it works.
Since I don't have experience with Windows Vista/7 if anyone wants to help, is welcome!
I agree with you, you shouldn't work as Administrator, the only issue in this case is that if you don't have administrator privileges you are not allowed to write in some "protected" windows folders, in this case the user folder. So IC.Shape installer cannot make 3ds Max copy files in their destination folders. I'm glad you succeeded and hope you'll enjoy the toolset
@ CompanionCube: Thank you for bearing with the frequent bugfixes
@ Spatz: Thank you for the continuous support!
Span could actually be implemented in loop or ring. If only 1 edge is selected, clicking loop/ring will perform full loop/ring. If there's 2 edges selected, clicking loop/ring will select those edges between the two. It's more streamlined.
Thats a great idea, +1 to this suggestion!
The idea is: at Vertex level and at Poly level if you select two adjacent elements then press loop or ring, the loop or ring gets selected, while if you select two suitable separate elements, by pressing loop or ring, the span gets selected. So far so good.
At Edge level there are problems: if you select two adjacent edges (by ring or loop) then you can press either a ring selection or a loop selection, same goes if selected edges are separate but lay in the same ring or loop. Now, following previously defined logic, by pressing loop or ring, I should select the span between them, but what if I simply want the standard loops or rings from two separate edges that happens to lay on the same loop or ring? Should I make the Span command accessible through a modifier key like CTRL?
This is the reason why I left the Span as a separate command. Moreover I plan to expand its functionality by allowing to select a sort of "span loop/ring".
Since I still haven't received any serious bug report on latest release I assume it is reasonably stable, otherwise, please let me know.
@ Yozora: I'll be back to you as soon as possible, I'm currently trying to match a bad deadline.
Please allow me to explain.
The above pic:
Press loop: perform full loop on both edges
Press ring: partial ring
Full ring? Deselect one of the edge.
Same goes with loop
Press loop: Perform partial loop
Press ring: Full ring
Full loop? Deselect one of the edges.
Basically the idea is that the second edge will act as a 'limit'
I will try to record this behavior in maya and hopefully that will explain what I mean
I don't know if that kind of thing is possible though.
@syncviews; theres nothing to get back to, I've found a way around the problem I was having! Thanks.
@elte; I dont think you need to record anything, those pics and text describe it quite well
Almost sure it will be in the next release. Thanks for the good solution.
Actually those are already built in maya natively and I believe was adapted from Nex, except partial ring which is not working well and this is something I miss the most in Max. When you double click an edge, it will perform full loop. Select first loop and ctrl+shift or shift double click the second 'end' edge will do partial loop.
For edge ring, select first edge, shift+double click the NEXT adjacent will perform full edge ring or shift+double click the 'end' edge will do partial ring. I found this very useful since most of the modeling task deal with selection.
@syncViews: You can take a look at Nex which is maya modeling plugin. I guess ADSK bought it and hence was implemented in maya, same like polyboost. Here's the link: http://draster.com/nex-1.5/
Oh btw, I notice your move normal only work with 1 face, if multiple faces are selected, is it possible to move by normal at the same time?
Wait, what? No, Maya has a number of Nexs features now, but definetly not all of them.
Just checked the IC site and noticed your working transitioning the tools to C++, so guess IC2.0 will never really leave beta and well be going right into IC3?
Right now I cannot really tell what the future holds. The idea is to fix any major issue in current IC.Shape 2.0, and at least increase its expiry time span, or take it entirely away. So keep sending bug reports. The whole "beta" thing doesn't really matter that much. I guess I've been influenced by Google's philosophy
@ Elte: I already implemented the Span selection coupled with Ring and Loop selection as you suggested, it will be included in next release.
@ PolyHertz: GeoLoop sometimes cannot figure the right shape when the polygon is too small. In that case it keeps calculating, but you can stop the process by pressing ESC any time. I thought the crash on Drag Brush was solved as I never experienced it again, but I guess it's not. This is one of the reasons why I feel bad developing in MaxScript: in some cases when things become complicated, you just do whatever you can, then have to take what comes, obscure bugs included.
In the meantime I'll go on with the development of IC.Shape 3.0, through the SDK. I plan to release WIPs as soon as I reach a good development point. The first step will probably be the whole selection section, with the instruments already known, refined and boosted by the speed of the native programming language and other ones (hopefully some sort of incremental step selection), depending on how demanding is the task, because I'd like to publish something as soon as possible.
Working with the SDK is a real pain, you know. Twenty years of 3ds Max development by different people have left their scars on it. Back in the nineties there were different approaches to programming, much more procedural than object oriented, and the C++ Standard Library wasn't even there. I hope this "XBR" or "Excalibur" thing Autodesk is advertising, is not only a marketing strategy, but a real effort to clean up the 3ds Max core library and as a consequence the SDK.
There are some quite obscure issues I still need to figure out, which killed the project on the first attempt. Finding the solution to them will determine if I'll keep on developing IC.Shape 3 in C++ or stick with IC.Shape 2 in MaxScript.
Thank you for your patience and support.
I still have lots of ideas and suggestions, but I'll hold it till it's time to show
ps. subscribed ur dev blog
If everything goes as planned I'll revise all the good thread about new tools suggested in Technical Talk to see if there is room for development. (I've still got an half-baked "unchamfer"). The review of video tutorials by you fellow Polycounters, like Racer's and Xoliul's, just to mention a well known couple, will for sure provide interesting new ideas too.
Currently the dev.diary isn't really much, but I hope to start posting some code, explanations, schemes, walk-through and such, as well as some videos on the ongoing development results soon.
I looks to professional to be free
Maybe you should write that down in the first post, just in case there are more people like me.
Racer445 reported it a while ago, but I wasn't able to track the problem. It seems it was an issue affecting PolyBoost up to version 3.0 too.
The problem is: when trying to load a dds map in a DirectX shaders 3ds Max fires the error: "File type not supported".
I cannot reproduce the issue in any of my system versions so I need a bit of help on this. Anyone experiencing such issue, please:
- Make sure your 3ds Max version is updated to latest Service Pack / Hotfix
- Make a DirectX Material and try to load the DiffuseBump.fx It already has a dds map in diffuse and normal channels, try to reload them. Or use the Xoilul shader and load the seafloor.dds texture in diffuse channel. Seafloor.dds ships with 3ds Max, filed under Maps/
- If such configuration works and you got problem with a dds map of yours, if you can share it, please send it to me for further investigation. Web services like DropBox are preferred, otherwise send me an email at: syncviews(at)illusioncatalyst.com
Remember to state your 3ds Max and Operative System version. Thank you.
Then I installed your Plugin and tested with your methods.Either with IC.Shape open or closed.
Every dds file openend like a charm.Tried Standard dx shader,3point shader and Ben Clowards Normal Map shader.
Tried openening dds files in non-max directories(from my desktop for example).
Everything just works.One thing that bugs me is that every shader except 3point shader opens the seafloor.dds as diffuse by default.
Hope that helps to sort out possible problems.
@ SpeCter: thank you for the report. It tells me the issue is probably tied to some OS/3dsMax version combination. I'm glad to hear it is not an issue affecting every user, but at the same time it makes the error harder to find.
edit: I tried to reinstall the previous version, and now I'm getting the same problem.
Actually, I didn't have problem before with previous versions. It only occurred when I installed the lastest version of IC.
Anyone else experiencing such issue?
But when I tried re-installing the previous version, all commands do work except for launching the UI.
Please let me know if this new release works and UI opens without problems. Thank you.
- Make sure you've got Administrator privileges on your machine.
- Close any running 3ds Max version
Detailed steps to uninstall IC.Shape (it will delete every shortcuts association too):
- open folder: <3ds Max>/Scripts/
- delete folder: "IllusionCatalyst"
- open folder: <3ds Max>/Scripts/Startup
- delete file: IC_Shape_AutoStart.ms
- open folder (Windows XP):
<drive>:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings\Application Data\Autodesk\3dsmax\<3ds Max version>\enu\UI\usermacros
- delete all files with the prefix: "IllusionCatalyst" (in DOS jargon would be "IllusionCatalyst*.mcr")
Now you deleted every trace of IC.Shape from your system.
- Launch 3ds Max
- Open Customize > Customize User Interface... There shouldn't be any trace of IllusionCatalyst Category.
- Install IC.Shape beta 8 and try to open the interface.
1st feedback: does it work?
- Try to install IC.Shape beta 10
2nd feedback: what happens? Does it work?
Since beta 10 installation process works as expected, it will take care of beta 8 uninstallation. You won't need to do it by hand.
I'm sorry for the inconvenience, thanks for the tests. If anyone else experience problems, please report them. I'll do my best to solve the issues.
Anyway, thanks a lot!! I can't live without IC honestly haha. Thanks again! :poly136:
If anyone is experiencing issues with new release, please let me know. I'm still trying to find the dds bug, so anyone can help me by providing a map that fails to load, for further investigation, I haven't been able to reproduce the issue yet. Thanks.