@occultmonk it certainly looks like you've tested a lot of workflows. Unfortunately, there's nothing out of the box. There are some scripts on scriptspot that might make your life easier. http://www.scriptspot.com/3ds-max/scripts/selectionsetmaterial-0 http://www.scriptspot.com/3ds-max/scripts/swapmaterials…
musashidan Thanks for the detailed answer! I also thought that Multi sub material would be best. I will check out the scripts. poopipe Thanks, I know that workflow (more or less) but now I am more certain it is probably the best direction to take.
Is this for rendering inside 3ds Max? Or is it going to exported to a game engine? I'd suggest using an Excel spreadsheet for keeping track of which items get which materials, and coding up a Maxscript to assign them. http://www.scriptspot.com/search/apachesolr_search/material assign…