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Shimmers Maya Questions

polycounter lvl 18
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_Shimmer polycounter lvl 18
Hidhiho, since I am forced to work with Maya, and most of the team is totally lovin it and have no idea how easy you can work in max with the given tools, I need some info and dirt hacks and tricks and all to make my workflow quicker and have some of my tools from max translated to maya.


So first, Box/Cube mapping/projection?

Where is it? That cant be true that you have to use plain planar projection?!
If it is not in Maya, is there a script, plugin, workaround?

Thats so far, more questions to come.

Replies

  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    http://www.highend3d.com/maya/downloads/mel_scripts/texturing/3552.html

    That is probably what you want.

    Next time check the plugin sites before asking a question, I found that in literally 2 minutes just by going to highend3d.com and browsing the plugins and MEL scripts.

    I know it's easy to just ask "is there a script for this", but that means someone else has to put effort in because you're too lazy to go and look for yourself.
  • _Shimmer
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    _Shimmer polycounter lvl 18
    I have this script already but it does not do what I want since the chunks resulting dont have the same density (so the x axis walls have more width and so on).

    MoP, I am not THAT stupid. sometimes at least...;)
  • Jeff Parrott
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    Jeff Parrott polycounter lvl 19
    I still remember when Sinister showed me the box mapping in Max. Afterwards I went home and punched Maya for not having that. Let me know if you dig up a script that does it correctly. Because I haven't found one. I usually automap things and then move and sew.
  • malcolm
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    malcolm polycount sponsor
    Shimmer, here are some suggestions that may help you.

    1. Quit your job and apply for a job which uses max so we no longer have to listen to you cry about your lack of maya skills.

    2. Polygon UVs Automatic Mapping, could be what you're looking for?

    3. This tool is fucking useless and I have not once used it in my 7 years of production work in Maya, not once!

    4. If you want to learn how to uv map for real use planar projections, cut the boarder edges you like and then map uv boarder followed by relax uv's and or unfold uv's. You can also make a nifty button which maps the uv boarder and relaxes uv's in one click, no mel scriping skills required.

    5. As far as I know Max didn't even get relax uv's until like version 6 or something? What the fuck, are you joking?
  • rooster
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    rooster mod
    when I used max I pretty much never used box mapping, its not the same as auto map though, and hell yeah it is useless.

    from what I've seen maxs' late-implemented relax now works better than mayas.
  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    hehe some people are being very harsh in this thread, myself included! tongue.gif

    however Shimmer, I think malcolm is right, I don't know why you'd want to use box mapping, doesn't it make more sense to just make UV cuts on a solid mesh and map edge border/relax? That's the fastest way I found when I was using Maya. It works really well.
  • Rhinokey
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    Rhinokey polycounter lvl 18
    he was asking question on help locating a specific tool,, not for advice on alternitive work flows.. sugesting alts would be cool and all, but not when you are an ass about doing it. malcom this forum if for people to ask with help with software.. thats what ITS FOR. wish i could help you shimmer,, its been 3 years since i've used maya, and i've swore never to touch it again.
  • Daz
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    Daz polycounter lvl 18
    lol, a software war. How quaint and unexpected!
  • malcolm
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    malcolm polycount sponsor
    Rhinokey, you are the ass trying to lay the smackdown on me. I answered his question and suggested a better workflow to speed up his progress. I was rude in the reply because shimmer regularly starts all his threads with "I hate maya, why can't I use max." If you want to get a professional reply to your question, ask the question in a professional manner instead of starting with I hate this 3d program cry cry cry.
  • Rhinokey
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    Rhinokey polycounter lvl 18
    malcolm you are a poo poo head
  • Valandar
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    Valandar polycounter lvl 18
  • adam
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    adam polycounter lvl 19
    malcolm's wearing his wolf shirt today!

    ehehehe
  • Zergxes
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    Zergxes polycounter lvl 18
    Have you tried using cylindrical mapping in conjunction with planar mapping? On occasions spherical mapping with planar mapping for the poles has worked for me. I dunno.
  • SouL
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    SouL polycounter lvl 18
    Hahahah RhinoFAG.
  • _Shimmer
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    _Shimmer polycounter lvl 18
    malcolm, reread my thread, then answer. I (now, however) never said I hate it, but I just wanted to give a clue why I am asking, cause I have basicly a 15 man team around me to ask...But they dont know max -> therefore dont even no box mapping -> cant answer my question -> I cant use my max workflow.

    However, I maybe need to clarify. Thats MY fault and I am sorry:

    I need it for level purposes. An Area with 2 floors, a lot of rooms, shitload of tris. The only solution so far is planar mapping which is quite shitty in terms of a fast workflow, _especially_ within a high detail geometry level.

    guys.... all I wanna do is make boxmapping love , and not fight wars...
  • Daz
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    Daz polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    guys.... all I wanna do is make boxmapping love , and not fight wars...

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Hah well, If you look back at the tone of your initial question (which was seeking help from maya users) is it *really* that suprising?! People chiming into the thread with nothing to contribute but 'maya suxorZ u nOObs' isn't really going to improve matters either.

    So lets cut out the childish bullshit and try and help each other out, m'k?

    As far as I remember what you mean by box mapping in Max, you mean it just sort of auto unwraps a cube like this, right? Or no? PolygonUV's>Automatic mapping>open dialog box:

    boxuv.jpg

    Am I missing something?

    The thing is though, why would you want to unwrap it like this anyway? It doesn't really make much sense since the cube map unwrap layout has tons of wasted space obviously.
    Besides, you can simply assign auto box mapped UV's to a cube on actual *creation* of a cube. Check the options in the create cube dialog box. Personally I would usually use auto mapping with the layout set to 'overlap' so that the UV's are normalised. Or are you talking about auto mapping much more complicated objects?
  • _Shimmer
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    _Shimmer polycounter lvl 18
    Daz, yeah the geometry is pretty much high detail polywise and the whole thing is more complicated.

    So, to make it a bit simple: what I need is like having Uvs from, lets say a cube with a size of 1x1x2 gridpoints. Now, I want to toss over a box map, but every side (also the 2 gp sized side) has the same density. Thats the basic principle.

    The problem with the automatic unwrapper is that he will unwrap everything in diffrent densities. So I have 2 floors with 2 walls each. lets say the wall on the 2nd floor has some carvings. Of course the walls are not directly conncted (but combined) to each other cause the floor is inbetween. The Automapper will now map the 2 walls in diffrent density, which is not what I want.

    Idea:

    I was thinking today, if I cant use a boxmapping method I could use some sort of workaround but I have no clue if it is possible:

    Can I select some objects and then alter the selection to an axis? So, I have a room, which I select and then I just want to select the x axis (based on a normal direction degree algorythm) walls and map them. That would work too.


    The whole idea is to have a base to work from, all walls, doors, floors mapped on same density in first glance.


    And, last but not least. Dont be so biased about me Daz... I never ever stated it ONCE in this thread that I hate Maya and now i want to war. Maybe I should have inserted random LOLs and emoicons or something. People getting blind in love as it seems...;)
  • SouL
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    SouL polycounter lvl 18
    I FUCKING HATE MAX SHUT UP YOU LOLOLOROFLCOPTER.

    Why not ask around the office?

    It's a bit difficult to picture exactly what it is you're looking for. Any chance of pulling up Max and doing a quick example?
  • Prs-Phil
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    Prs-Phil polycounter lvl 18
    YAY, I must admit I hate Shimmer's moaning about Maya to.

    Esspecially because I´m the sort of person that doesn't accept that other people try to transfer things they have allready learned to something new and trigger very aggressivly at marginal bullshit because I identify myself generally with tools and programs.
    Also I like to put myself into a postion of power by judgeing everything, esspecially opinions and concepts, wich ultimatly boosts my selfconfidence and strokes my ego.
    And I´m just very unhappy and angry

    BUT I still feel I can help to show what this unfriendly, unshaved and unwashed "unmensch" of shimmer means

    steph_maxaya.jpg
  • Jeff Parrott
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    Jeff Parrott polycounter lvl 19
    For what you are doing Shimmer I end up planar mapping and selecting faces in the ortho views. Sometimes I'll select all the faces and deselect the ones in the other directions and then extract them with keep faces together on. So you end up with all the X, Y, and Z faces as their own object. I'll planar map each object with the dimensions set. Then just combine and remerge the verts. That's about the fastest way I've found.
  • Daz
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    Daz polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    Dont be so biased about me Daz... I never ever stated it ONCE in this thread that I hate Maya and now i want to war. Maybe I should have inserted random LOLs and emoicons or something. People getting blind in love as it seems...;)

    [/ QUOTE ]

    So that's what I get for trying to help out?! I wasn't 'biased', and I never said you 'said anything'. I was talking about your tone. It had a distinct flavour of 'Im stuck with this shit'. Now, personally I don't give a rats arse what you think of Maya. I was simply saying that by starting out with that tone, youre gonna make it harder on yourself to get help, thats all!
  • arshlevon
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    arshlevon polycounter lvl 18
    man, this thread is redonkulous. i can feel your pain with maya shimmer. having done several tests with it earlier this year i felt empty spots in my workflow that were unable to be filled. after using maya for a few monthes i found lots of really cool things in maya and the simple truth is that there are some things max does better, and some things maya does better. i had to kind of adhear to the old chinese proverb. "If you come to me with a cup that is already full, how can you expect me to give you something to drink? "
    i find its really hard learn new software if you are approaching it with head full of stuff you like to do in another package. its really the only way to truly dig into a new package is dont come into it with any preconceived notions of what it should be.

    and on a side note, why is it such a bad thing for people to not like the current pipe implemented in their workplace? i know tons of people at my work who absolutly hate max and love maya(they all came from EA), but it dosent really offend me or make me not want to help them with max, i just understand its not their cup of tea and maybe i can shed a little light on the subject and help them out. not tell them they are tools or are dumb for not liking the same software as me.even after they say max is dumb it dosent do this, or max crashes and maya dosent, it dosent bother me, and i dont see why in the world it would piss anyone off.
  • SouL
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    SouL polycounter lvl 18
    That wasn't very helpful at all arsh.
    That had NOTHING to do with mapping boxes. Sheesh!
    Get with the program, noob!
  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    "If you come to me with a cup that is already full, how can you expect me to give you something to drink?"

    Arshlevon brings enlightenment to this thread. Everyone should listen to what he says, since it's locked now.

    Shimmer, since it sounds like you have more Maya questions, make a new thread and ask for help politely, without mentioning how much you hate working with Maya. I think everything will stay a lot more civilised that way.

    If anyone has any questions or concerns, PM me.
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