[JDHill]

Hello all,

I am glad to announce the release of Maxwell for Rhino 4 version 1.5.1.0. In addition to fixes for some bugs present in 1.5.0.0, the new plugin adds extra functionality:


New 'MXM Mode' Material parameter

• - Embedded Materials work exactly as previous plugins
  - Referenced Materials synchronize their state with their source MXM whenever they are read
  - allows for changing the way Materials appear in all Scenes by editing the source MXM file
  - provides redundancy - Referenced Materials are still embedded into the Scene, so their last state will still be available in case the source MXM file has been moved/deleted (in which case, they will revert to Embedded mode)
  - it is possible to temporarily defeat the operation of Referenced Materials using the new user-preference, 'Ignore Referenced MXM Mode'

User-preferences for UI elements

• - colors, font, form opacity, and Texture-interpolation may be saved to/loaded from files
  - changes may be made at run-time

Revised Color-Picker

• - save colors to a preset by dragging from the current/starting color panel to a preset button

Improved Block/Worksession support

• - when documents which reference other documents are opened, the Maxwell Material lists must be reconciled
  - if duplicate Materials are found in a referenced document, it is possible to use either the version in the referenced document, or those in the current document. The same holds for documents referenced by a referenced document (nested references) - duplicate Materials may be used from whichever level of reference you wish
  - the 'Resolve Scene Materials Conflict' dialog may be disabled by user-preference. In this case, another user-preference, 'Prefer Linked Materials', is used to decide which version to use
  - when 'Prefer Linked Materials' is set to 'Yes', the furthest-nested version of a duplicate Material will be used
  - new Materials may be applied to worksession objects
  - new Materials may be applied to by-layer blocks
  - Materials already applied to blocks/worksession objects may be modified in the importing file

Email Report

• - in the event of an error, easily send the log file and machine-configuration info directly from the plugin
  - this dialog is also shown in the event of an exception

Miscellaneous

• - Image Based Environment display in the viewport has been greatly improved
  - the plugin will now notify you if there is an update available
  - enabling Image Based Environment in the viewport now sets the sky type to Image Based
  - setting Z-Clip distances now activates Z-Clip for the selected Camera
  - all Render methods now have the choice to render either the entire Scene, or only those objects currently selected in the viewport. Both options work with cached meshes enabled
  - added 'Check File Version' user-preference. The plugin caches lots of things related to image paths, to reduce the number of file-system queries ocurring during operation. Setting this to 'Yes' should only be done in the case that you commonly edit textures being used in the Scene, while working on the Scene. Set to 'Yes', file-version is checked, and maps are re-loaded when necessary. However, only use this if necessary, especially if you store maps on a network drive
  - help updated

Here is a list of the main bugs which are fixed in this version:

1. Material preview-refresh problem

- this is a machine-specific problem ('red x')
- status: fixed

2. Cameras missing from a new document

- this should only happen when using 'No Template'
- status: fixed

3. Render failed - 'ERROR: - UVW channels ( 0 ) on object not enough for material

- this is caused by objects with no texture-coordinates
- status: fixed

4. Reflectance 0° maps get moved to Reflectance 90°

- this happens when a .3dm saved with the previous plugin is opened, and then saved
- status: fixed

5. Rotating SunView globe doesn't update date & time readouts in the Location Settings page

- this happens when a .3dm saved with the previous plugin is opened
- status: fixed

6. Attempting to load an MXI results in an 'image-read-error' image being shown instead of the MXI

- this happens when an MXI is not successfully read, and appears to be fixed by using a newer SDK
- status: fixed

7. Viewport display of Image Based environment is turned on when not requested

- may happen at random times
- status: fixed

8. Closing plugin windows using the red close ('X') button causes the Rhino window to go to the back

- not exactly sure about the true cause of this, but I am trying some other methods of showing/hiding the windows (edit: solved by forcing focus to Rhino main window - let me know of any undesirable side-effects)
- status: fixed

Please note: there are also some topics covered in the FAQ in the plugin's online-help: http://www.maxwellrender.com/manual/rhi ... aq/faq.htm