The link on your portfolio site is not working for me, its giving me an error. I managed to get the .mzp downloaded but was really hoping to read through the faq and watch the videos.
Hope you can get a site up and running again soon, sorry to hear it went bust!
Thanks for pointing that out scott, I just forgot the http://.
Video's are still on youtube, I linked them up. The help is offline but since that's a whole separate page, I can just add those to my own site tonight.
I have another question. Since I can't get the normals to match in 2013 between DX9 Xoliul and the renderer, which one is "right"? Say with Unreal, does it go off of the way it looks in the Max viewport, or the way it looks in the renderer?
Also, is it possible to render the normal maps in such a way so it matches with the viewport and not the renderer?
Unreal is mostly like Max DX9 viewport without Qualified/Quality normals. That means splitting UV's and matching smoothing groups a lot, or adding lots of supporting geometry. Pretty much getting the worst case to look good
Yes, use Qualified normals, there's a switcher script included with the Shader. If that doesn't work, the 3Point modifier might.
It doesn't change the baking, it changes the display in the viewport.
Someone made a port a few years ago, it's incomplete though. I don't know where to find that anymore.
I won't work on SoftImage because I don't know the application and have very little time for it. Last time I tried it (official, legal trial version) it didn't even start on my computer, just crashed right away.
Also I will definitely not be making a UI-version for any other application than Max.
Hey guys, I love the shader and all but I am having a huge problem with seeing vertexes with this shader. I want to use it to model and everything, but I think it may just be the Direct3D driver in 3DS max 2012.
As you can see, I have vertex selection mode on in the editible poly modifier, but I can barely see the vertex markers! They are small 1 pixel markers and this makes modeling almost impossible!
That's not my shader, but your graphics drivers causing problems. My shader doesn't draw or change the vert markers. You can change the size on them in the options menu, give that a try.
I get that same problem too. What fixes it for me, and this is gonna sound random, but you select some vert and hit W to go into the move tool, then hit R to go into the scale tool, and back to W for move. Don't know why it works, but it works for me. So try it.
I get the same thing in Max as well. The solution Bigjohn mentioned tends to work. There is also a wonky bug that if you hide something in another sub-object mode (like element) then unhide, the verts will stay hidden until you unhide them in vert mode. weeeeird.
Just to provide another solution to the vert display issue: if you are working with your viewport maximized, go back to having all four windows, go out of vertex sub-object mode, and then go back to it. This has fixed it for me quite a few times.
Hey, so I'm having problems with the Xoliul shader (the latest from 09/10/2011) and normal maps baked in Max2013. I'm getting that good ol' normal map seam where you get the seam in the viewport, but it's not there when you render. I think it's that tangent basis issue. I don't recall having this issue with normal maps baked in Max 2011 and Xoliul.
Did something change in 2013? Any workaround for this (other than to bake in an older Max)?
Yup. Strange shading here in 2013 (DX9) as well.. Qualified normals are on, Gamma is off. *sigh*
I just installed max 2013. I don't understand how you set up this shader with the slate editor. Also for the viewport are you using the realistic setting or shaded?
I couldn't get the shader to work in 2012 with Nitro for viewport, had to revert to Direct3D, as the shader just stayed black. So if thats your issue, you might need to do that.
Yeah, Nitrous doesn't support custom shaders I don't think. So you have to use DX9 for Xoliul to work. And in 2013 if you use DX9 there's a discrepancy between how the normals appear in the viewport and in a render. In the past you could fix that with the Qualified Normals fix, but that doesn't seem to work anymore in 2013. Maybe it's still there, but the setting has to go in a different file? I don't know.
I am using 3DS Max 2013 with the Xoliulshader2009.fx without the interface. I have this 3D model and I have baked the normals on them already. The problem is that when I open the file it would randomly be flipped, or correct. Now, when I flip the green channel it looks even worse. So I don't think its the bake but rather the shader itself? Maybe it's not playing nice with 2013.
One time I did delete the old file from the folder, renamed it and it worked. So something screwy is going on...HALP!
So it's got something to do with 2013? Cuz now im using 2012 and its fine. Something with qualified normals?
It seems that site for xoliulshader2 is down... Is there another way to obtain it? I need another installer for new workstation, so if anyone has it I am interested
While we're at it, I'm running into another problem with the shader. At work whenever I make a material into the Xoliul material, it shoots an error at line 2362. The line reads:
filePath_Diffuse = (delegate.diffuseMap as string)
The error makes sense. It says:
-- Runtime error: Error opening bitmap: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2013\scripts\XoliulShaderUI\images\NoImage.png
It makes sense, cause at work they have this system that pushes new versions of 3dsmax automatically, and so my 3dsmax install is at C:\3dsMax2013x64
I'm guessing the shader is looking for that image in a predetermined spot.
Edit:
Stupid simley faces. It should be C : \
I'm having the exact same problem, the script is looking for the image on the drive F that i even don't have. I've tried to look into the script ms and ini files for where could that path be defined to fix it, but no luck.
Edit: fixed it, it happens because i had this max scene on another computer, and it was looking for the no-image on the same folder.
I am having a problem with the color Dif map. For some reason it will not give the entire model the color that I choose. All polys have the same id. Not really sure what to do here. Any thoughts?
Edit: I'm starting to think this is more of a model/geometry problem more than a shader problem, will run some more tests tonight if if it still screws up, ill just post a new thread with the problem.
Ok I just did a test, I applied a red layer to my AO map and put that in the diffuse slot of your shader. That worked correctly, but when I use Color Dif map, it doesn't color the entire object. I have reset the xform, ran an STL check, neither one of those worked. So I'm stumped.
It's because you have an alpha in the diffusemap, it masks the color application by alpha. It says so clearly in the help, which is included with the shader.
Does this shader work in Max 2008? I get a script window and "-Type error: set property requires BitMap, got: undefined" message each time I try to use a texture file.
There is definitly something different in 3DsMax 2013 in combination with the Xoliul 2 Shader. See this example, same file opened in both max2012 en 2013:
It's broken, every single shader out there has this problem(mine, 3point, etc). It looks like Autodesk has actually broken tangent space for Direct3D, as it doesn't even work with their own DX display of normalmaps.
I'm going to try and reach someone at Autodesk because it's well possible they're not even aware of this issue.
Slightly related: Exporting meshes from Max 13 with qualified normals still preserves tangent space (I did a - slightly panicked - comparison between '12 and '13 a while ago). Which makes the above issue more puzzling, if anything.
They've been messing with their tangents for a LOOONG time now, in Max 2012 for example, scaling a mesh with a shader applied can sometimes lead to a break of the Normal Maps, and you need to reset XForm it each time, even instances.
Also, I think the guys at Autodesk know about the current issues with shaders, but they're too busy creating a shader-toolset instead, so you might not even see a patch for this problem until near the release of Max 2014.
I've not actually noticed an issue with normal maps in 2013 yet, perhaps I need to look closer and also compare the same objects/maps in 2012. More on this tomorrow if I get a moment spare, but I'd like to think that I would have noticed by now if something was amiss.
On a not related note, I got off at the WRONG train station on my way to work this morning, so it's quite likely I may have missed many things in life.
Replies
Temp page I set up. I don't have that much time these days but I'll try to get something sorted...
Hope you can get a site up and running again soon, sorry to hear it went bust!
Video's are still on youtube, I linked them up. The help is offline but since that's a whole separate page, I can just add those to my own site tonight.
is there any download mirror up somewhere on the net i just re-installed my system and no your shader missed the backup disk drive
Big thanks!
edit: saw the last couple of post move along move along!!
thanks again for the shader
Also, is it possible to render the normal maps in such a way so it matches with the viewport and not the renderer?
It doesn't change the baking, it changes the display in the viewport.
I won't work on SoftImage because I don't know the application and have very little time for it. Last time I tried it (official, legal trial version) it didn't even start on my computer, just crashed right away.
Also I will definitely not be making a UI-version for any other application than Max.
Here is my problem: http://i.imgur.com/qjxsH.jpg
As you can see, I have vertex selection mode on in the editible poly modifier, but I can barely see the vertex markers! They are small 1 pixel markers and this makes modeling almost impossible!
Please help!
Yup. Strange shading here in 2013 (DX9) as well.. Qualified normals are on, Gamma is off. *sigh*
I am using 3DS Max 2013 with the Xoliulshader2009.fx without the interface. I have this 3D model and I have baked the normals on them already. The problem is that when I open the file it would randomly be flipped, or correct. Now, when I flip the green channel it looks even worse. So I don't think its the bake but rather the shader itself? Maybe it's not playing nice with 2013.
One time I did delete the old file from the folder, renamed it and it worked. So something screwy is going on...HALP!
So it's got something to do with 2013? Cuz now im using 2012 and its fine. Something with qualified normals?
http://www.laurenscorijn.com/xoliulshader
edit:nevermind, I'm retard.
I will let you guys know once I got the site online again.
I'm having the exact same problem, the script is looking for the image on the drive F that i even don't have. I've tried to look into the script ms and ini files for where could that path be defined to fix it, but no luck.
Edit: fixed it, it happens because i had this max scene on another computer, and it was looking for the no-image on the same folder.
Edit: I'm starting to think this is more of a model/geometry problem more than a shader problem, will run some more tests tonight if if it still screws up, ill just post a new thread with the problem.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
-B
temp download space. Robbert-Jan is working on getting the hosting set up.
Let's spam Autodesk !
PS
Was hoping for a more technical anwser ;-)
It's broken, every single shader out there has this problem(mine, 3point, etc). It looks like Autodesk has actually broken tangent space for Direct3D, as it doesn't even work with their own DX display of normalmaps.
I'm going to try and reach someone at Autodesk because it's well possible they're not even aware of this issue.
Slightly related: Exporting meshes from Max 13 with qualified normals still preserves tangent space (I did a - slightly panicked - comparison between '12 and '13 a while ago). Which makes the above issue more puzzling, if anything.
Also, I think the guys at Autodesk know about the current issues with shaders, but they're too busy creating a shader-toolset instead, so you might not even see a patch for this problem until near the release of Max 2014.
On a not related note, I got off at the WRONG train station on my way to work this morning, so it's quite likely I may have missed many things in life.