Maxforums - Many questions to bore you with

Many questions to bore you with

X82

I'm just starting out with 3DS max for a project. So what I know is limited at the moment. However, Im getting to grips with it fast. But I have a few burning issues.

I have a gun model, its all one mesh and has a UVW map. However, I want to animated one part of this mesh, so this is how I do it.
I will click mesh, element, and select my part. Then I will click detach. Now I can move and animate. But my UVW map is now messed up. Almost reset to defaults. I have saved my previous map (which took my 4 hours to get right) but when I load it, it does nothing. Why does the whole UVW map change when I detach, not move, an element? And is there a fix?
And why won't it let me load my old UVW?

Also, is it possible to have multiple UVW maps? So when I create a new element to go on my gun, it will appear in a seperate file to use. My UVW is getting almost full and the textures won't me as detailed if I have to keep scaling things down to fit in the gaps.

Any advice is appreciate, but remember, im a newbie. So go easy :P
Thanks again!

read 595 times
8/29/2010 2:35:42 AM (last edit: 8/29/2010 2:35:42 AM)

horizon

Are you detaching the element in an edit poly (or mesh) that is ABOVE the UVW unwrap modifier?
If so, your max is behaving strangely, it shouldn't do that.
I can imagine running into trouble if you go below the UVW though.

Simplest way to have a part have a different UVW map is just to keep it a separate object. Unwrap it as you want, apply another material to it, and you're set.
If you must have it as one object for whatever reason, look into multimaterial for applying 2 separate textures to one objects, and mapping channels for having separate UVW coordinates (press F1 and find the terms)

read 591 times
8/29/2010 2:45:43 AM (last edit: 8/29/2010 2:45:43 AM)

X82

Many thanks. I'll look into that. Although its still slightly over my head but I will get there.
Another minor thing. The model im using someone else has made most of it. I noticed that gun has some electrical wires connecting to fake motors etc. Nice touch.
In the UVW map, its a straight flat rectangle, so the wire is easier to skin. I made a 3rd wire using the line tool and making it "fat". This looked the same, but when It can to UVW mapping, it was a curved shape. How can I make it flat, or better still for future use, draw wires and able to really flatten them out?

Edit: I've just tried a theory. I have the gun as one whole object mesh. The UVW map is fine. If I click on the gun, click mesh, click element and then detach as a copy, say the trigger, move it to a new location and click on my gun and edit UVW. Its a mess. And no amount of loading the old saved UVW will restore all my hours of tweaking. So It seems I cant use any element from my original model without risk of loosing all my UVW data.

read 584 times
8/29/2010 2:57:10 AM (last edit: 8/29/2010 3:57:08 AM)

X82

Any ideas? At the moment if I remove anything from my model, my UVW is ruined and it wont let me load the old uvw map.

read 549 times
8/29/2010 6:05:29 PM (last edit: 8/29/2010 6:05:29 PM)

jbrophy

How are you moving it? By object or in a sub object selection?

Jesse Brophy
jesse_brophy@hotmail.com

Fry Monkey

read 514 times
8/31/2010 12:16:00 AM (last edit: 8/31/2010 12:16:00 AM)

X82

Currently, I have the model, which is all one object. I then select edit mesh, select component. So I can pick a barrel of the gun or whatever. If I select that barrel and delete, or create say a sphere and attach it to the mesh, the UVW map is totally altered. With no way of restoring my original map.

read 476 times
9/2/2010 3:26:28 AM (last edit: 9/2/2010 3:26:28 AM)

horizon

I just tried it with mesh to make sure it isn't that. Works fine.
I modelled and unwrapped hundreds of small objects in the last year, made tons of attaching, detaching, moving, re-attaching, collapsing...
I ran into some minor problems with random meshes, but nothing like this.

Are you COMPLETELY sure you aren't going below the unwrap modifier in the stack?
You have an object that is Editable Mesh.
You put Unwrap UVW modifier on top and do your tweaking.
Now if you want to detach or attach something, you either put edit poly modifier on top and do it there, or collapse everything and then do it.

You DO NOT go under the unwrap.
although I tried that too and it just reset the unwrap, making all the changes gone, not messing anything up (unless the initial UV was messed up).

BTW - unreletad, don't use mesh objects and mesh modifier, use poly instead. Much more options, tools etc...

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9/2/2010 3:51:30 AM (last edit: 9/2/2010 3:51:30 AM)

X82

I'll try to explain exactly what I'm doing, I confuse myself all too often :P

I have this mesh, it has an skin modifier and editable mesh modifier. I apply unwrap uvw at the top. It looks great. I drag the UV in the blue box ready to export later.
I create a new object, a sphere. Align it where I want, click on my gun, click editable mesh, click attach then click on the ball. I go back to unwrap uvw and click edit. The uv map I moved, is now back at the bottom with the unwrapped ball at the top. So if I add loads of ojbects, move them all to the blue box. Then later add another item and attach, all my moved UV's drop down to the bottom all together, on top of each other. Am I doing this the hard way?
The item must remain editable mesh as I have bones attached to it.

read 450 times
9/3/2010 1:09:45 AM (last edit: 9/3/2010 1:09:45 AM)

horizon

Yes, you're doing it wrong. You're going up and down on the stack, and going under the UVW map modifier and doing something will reset it or mess things up.
The modifiers are not just different aspects of a model, they have an order in which they are put and in which they do their thing.
I wonder how skin and bones still manage to work (if they do).

Add another edit poly on top, attach objects, add unwrap on top, fiddle with UV.
Don't go under them.
Model and unwrap your model completely first, only then go about skinning it.

read 439 times
9/3/2010 5:58:06 AM (last edit: 9/3/2010 5:58:06 AM)

X82

Thanks for the info. Maybe you can shed some light then on a similar situation.
I have 2 objects, both editable mesh. One item has a skin modifier. I want to attach the new object to this, but when I click on edit mesh to click attach, my original object moves. So If I attach the new object to my old, they both end up moving. Why is this?

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9/4/2010 5:51:49 AM (last edit: 9/4/2010 5:51:49 AM)

horizon

Probably something to do with skin.
The bones were moved after the skin was applied and set up, so if you go under the modifier, it resets to original position.

You'll have to accept the fact that you probably wont be able to do anything under the skin modifier without messing something up.
Attaching and detaching is fine with UVW because you can always add another one on top, but skin is a different story

read 409 times
9/4/2010 12:48:27 PM (last edit: 9/4/2010 12:48:27 PM)

X82

Thanks for that. Getting to grips with it all. There is one final question to ask. Rather than do what Im doing, use UVW map, map out the areas, export to photoshop, create textures etc. Can I just use textures/images inside 3ds max to apply textures to my object and then link that to my uvw map?
So I paint my items with anything I want, texture handle one color, barrel another, etc and then with the push of a button, the uvw map is done for me and most importantly, the gun uses one texture file when im done.

read 394 times
9/5/2010 6:31:53 AM (last edit: 9/5/2010 6:31:53 AM)

horizon

>>and then with the push of a button

I know about "make nice" and "make perfect" buttons in max, but "make everything I need" I never heard of.
Yes you can paint first and then match the image while unwrapping.
But you still have to actually do the work.

read 376 times
9/5/2010 4:22:26 PM (last edit: 9/5/2010 4:22:26 PM)