3dsmax Rendering Support Topic

MrChief · Post by **MrChief** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 9:16 pm

Any advice for this?
I always liked your constructive critisism, i'm looking forward to making something worth.. showcasing.

[/url]

Veegie[Temp] · Post by **Veegie[Temp]** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 9:21 pm

Oh, Halo 1.
I'd suggest following what I previously mentioned about the visor reflection mask.

And make your own bump map, don't just use the diffuse.
Also, detach the lights from the body mesh, and apply a new material to them, a material that JUST uses the white armor texture for a diffuse map, and uses the white armor texture under the self illumination channel, and the opacity channel, and apply it to the detached light mesh.

Tip: When selecting the lights, go into element selection(far right) and click on a polygon on the main armor, then do a Select > Invert Selection.

Doom · Post by **Doom** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 10:46 pm

Veegie wrote:Oh, Halo 1.
I'd suggest following what I previously mentioned about the visor reflection mask.

And make your own bump map, don't just use the diffuse.
Also, detach the lights from the body mesh, and apply a new material to them, a material that JUST uses the white armor texture for a diffuse map, and uses the white armor texture under the self illumination channel, and the opacity channel, and apply it to the detached light mesh.

Tip: When selecting the lights, go into element selection(far right) and click on a polygon on the main armor, then do a Select > Invert Selection.

Hmm Veegie, you said make your own bumpmaps. How could me or anyone go about doing that?

Thanks

-Doom

Veegie[Temp] · Post by **Veegie[Temp]** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 11:02 pm

Just don't use the diffuse.

Kirk · Post by **Kirk** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 12:12 am

Doom wrote:
Veegie wrote:Oh, Halo 1.
I'd suggest following what I previously mentioned about the visor reflection mask.

And make your own bump map, don't just use the diffuse.
Also, detach the lights from the body mesh, and apply a new material to them, a material that JUST uses the white armor texture for a diffuse map, and uses the white armor texture under the self illumination channel, and the opacity channel, and apply it to the detached light mesh.

Tip: When selecting the lights, go into element selection(far right) and click on a polygon on the main armor, then do a Select > Invert Selection.
Hmm Veegie, you said make your own bumpmaps. How could me or anyone go about doing that?

Thanks

-Doom

While this may not be how other people do it, a way to do it is to open the MC texture in PS over a white background, and set the opacity for that layer at something around 50%. Then, using some tool, place lines in around places in the texture that appears to be indented. It takes practice, and after awhile you'll become more skilled in it, making more complex bumpmaps which could have other things such as gradients, etc (Yes, there can be opaque bumpmaps: They'll basically be a different bump level without having to adjust it, a good way to have 2 bumps on the same object using only one texture file... if you're lazy. There are probably better ways inside max, i've never used it to be honest).

Doom · Post by **Doom** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 12:35 am

Kirk wrote: While this may not be how other people do it, a way to do it is to open the MC texture in PS over a white background, and set the opacity for that layer at something around 50%. Then, using some tool, place lines in around places in the texture that appears to be indented. It takes practice, and after awhile you'll become more skilled in it, making more complex bumpmaps which could have other things such as gradients, etc (Yes, there can be opaque bumpmaps: They'll basically be a different bump level without having to adjust it, a good way to have 2 bumps on the same object using only one texture file... if you're lazy. There are probably better ways inside max, i've never used it to be honest).

Ok thanks Kirk I will try that.

Thanks

-Doom

ScottyGEE · Post by **ScottyGEE** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 1:21 am

Sorry to interrupt this thread, but I would really like to see an opaque bumpmap. Any chance of an example?

Kirk · Post by **Kirk** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 7:19 am

I might have used the wrong wording there. Would non-opaque be a better? I think I thought opaque meant transparent at the time. Dictionary says "not able to be seen through; not transparent"

Meh.

Aequitas · Post by **Aequitas** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 7:48 am

* Aequitas remembers 5th grade science class

Transparent -> Translucent -> Opaque

trepdimeflou · Post by **trepdimeflou** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 11:47 am

So everyone else has been using transparent bump maps? Doesnt seem to me like they would do anything....

Kirk · Post by **Kirk** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 12:40 pm

Well, if this is what I think you are talking about:

Would use this bump for the thigh:

trepdimeflou · Post by **trepdimeflou** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 1:18 pm

yea, but how is that transparent? looks opaque to me ._.

Kirk · Post by **Kirk** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 3:30 pm

Ah. I was talking about the individual portions over the white background. There is no difference I think, if you just use a transparent background or a white one. I'm not sure of this though, never done a transparent background before.

MrChief · Post by **MrChief** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:46 pm

I'm noticing those detail maps in some renders, are those bump maps or... are they something seperate?

trepdimeflou · Post by **trepdimeflou** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 5:36 pm

detail maps can be several things, depending on where the detail is trying to be added.

MrChief · Post by **MrChief** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:39 pm

I want to add the detail to the armor, and have a seperate one to the material inbetween the joints, etc. Does that require two materials? And if so, how do you add the detail maps?

Chief Cow · Post by **Chief Cow** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 8:23 pm

Ok, I'm having BIG problems when I try to use GI (mental ray render) and glass_physics_phen material (mental ray too). Whenever I have GI activated and I look through a glass window for example, it "blurs" everything behind it like so:

I have Final Gather enabled, but not very high due to the fact that its a !#@! to calculate at high settings. I modeled the lv as basically one object too (minus the glass) so there arent any bsp errors. Anyway, to my question...do you guys know of any other way i can get rid of that "bluriness" without killing my pc??????

Also I was planing to use it as a scene base for a halo render so thats why i posted here...

ds8 · Post by **ds8** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 8:53 pm

WOW is that real? Looks real.

GametagAeonFlux · Post by **GametagAeonFlux** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 8:54 pm

Well...umm...glass distorts stuff in real life dude.

Opening 3ds Max now...I'll edit this post if I can help you any.

EDIT: Try messing with the Index of Refraction Values.

Chief Cow · Post by **Chief Cow** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 1:02 pm

GametagAeonFlux wrote:Well...umm...glass distorts stuff in real life dude.

Opening 3ds Max now...I'll edit this post if I can help you any.

EDIT: Try messing with the Index of Refraction Values.

I dont really want to change the refraction values due to the fact that i want it to still look like normal glass.
Im thinking now that since GI use photons to calculate all this then maybe Finaly Gather (cleans up photon "bolbs") doesnt calculate past geoemtry, thinking that you shouldnt see it anyway

Any ideas?