Everything related to Maxwell Render and General Stuff that doesn't fit in other categories
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By Forum Moderator
#399471
Hello,

We are interested in having a good connection between Maxwell and Blender.

We see two options:
-a free version created from the existing plugins or a new free (and more simple) exporter to mxs.
-a paid brand new plugin made by us.

Is anyone interested in maybe continuing any of the existing plugins (by carbon2: https://blenderartists.org/t/maxwell-re ... one/637347 or nildar: https://blenderartists.org/t/exporter-a ... der/519002) or creating a new Maxwell exporter? We would like to offer our help and support in anything needed.

The second option would be harder and would take more time, but it could revert into better support of the new features and more frequent updates. If there's a demand for it, we might follow that path.

What do you think?
Fernando
User avatar
By CDRDA
#399473
I for one would be very interested in having a dedicated tool for Blender. I have been trying to use it more and more lately, so some sort of Maxwell integration would be most welcome. I remember trying bMaxwell a number of years ago. Unfortunately I can program about as well as my 5 year old kid, so will not be able to help in that regard... unless the plugin can be written with Scratch? ;o)

Personally, I'm not sure if I could justify spending hundreds of Sterling/Dollars/Euros on another plugin, although I would certainly be willing to pay something for a decent integration.
User avatar
By Mark Bell
#399474
Fernando wrote "We see two options:
1. -a free version created from the existing plugins or a new free (and more simple) exporter to mxs.
2. -a paid brand new plugin made by us."

Option 1 looks the better way to go so it doesn't tie up too much of your resources but still provides us with a way to use Blender (assume 2.8 onwards). Until Maxwell's in-built animation abilities are enhanced, we would use Blender to set this up. Ideally, being able to do more directly inside Studio to MR would suit best as it reduces the need and time exporting and setting up in another software. Either way, including a link to Blender is a good step forward for those that use it....thanks in advance.
By LadleSky10
#399484
Yes, yes, yes. Please, please, please. You have my vote on either of those options! This is one of those times that I wish I were a programmer!

I've used both plugins listed and it would be great if someone could update/support either of them --although, if I recall, the one that worked by incorporating the Maxwell SDK had the best performance. Neither however had complete support (e.g. proper particles support).

The problem with the user supported plugin option is what we find occurring now: a lack of features support and/or spotty updates and/or total abandonment by the user. Blender changes often so it's a high maintenance plugin for sure.

An official Next Limit plugin would be great too! I think there's a justification for it from a cost standpoint (Blender is free so a user would only have to purchase the Maxwell renderer; that's a huge savings). I'd buy an official Next Limit plugin for Blender. But, maybe it should be priced on the lower end.

Perhaps another option might be to simply add it/embed it into Maxwell Studio's list of supported "file types" and gradually increase supported features over time? (But, perhaps Blender doesn't allow this.)

Anyway, I think either option is a fantastic idea --I've been patiently waiting for a solid (i.e. supporting as much of Blender as possible) connection between Blender and Maxwell.

Thanks for listening!!
By LadleSky10
#399485
Actually, now that I think about it: an official Maxwell Render plugin for Blender at a lower price point would be a great opportunity to capture new users --Blender for free and a great renderer like Maxwell at a competitive price.

(As you can see, I'm excited about this and ready to move on it; unfortunately, waiting on a user to come forward doesn't look promising/hasn't happened so far. But, maybe word will get out over at the Blender forums and a Blender programmer could help move it along.)

Let's get this done!
User avatar
By seghier
#399487
i think the two options are good
free exporter for freelancer users and paid version for professional users or studios
Blender now is very powerful but developing the exist plugins is not possible specially nildar's one because he didn't share the original files and he disappeared !
and Blender is totally changed
User avatar
By CDRDA
#400060
It has been a while and I was wondering if there had been any decision for made for some sort of Blender integration, or if development had begun at all?

I am a long time SketchUp user and what with it going to Subscription only, I am very keen to look into other software to create my arch viz models, so Blender is a natural choice given the recent and forthcoming updates in the works.

I can't afford to change DCC software and rendering engine at the same time, as the time factor to get up and running alone would be impractical, plus I am really happy with Maxwell Render and really want to keep using it.

I have been using UE4 more and more recently for movie walk-throughs and something like the new Blender to Unreal link would be ideal in the first instance, i.e. a link between Blender and Studio whereby the model can be updated in Blender with changes reflected in Studio without losing any information/materials already applied in Studio. This would avoid the need to heavily integrate everything into Blender, with the downside that a Studio license would be required. A dedicated plugin is ultimately the best solution of course, but I presume more time-consuming to produce? As both programs have Python integrated, perhaps it would not be so difficult.

I have previously mentioned that I could not afford to spend much money on another plugin, however the situation has changed since March. I would be willing to invest in a fully fledged Blender plugin, much in line with the cost of other plugins.
User avatar
By CDRDA
#400069
luis.hijarrubia wrote:
Mon Aug 31, 2020 9:15 am
Using asset reference on studio, it keeps track of external changes on model without loosing material assignation on scene.
Thanks for that, I didn't know. I will have to dust off the cobwebs from my v4 Studio and check that out.

Regarding a paid plugin, or user developed version, was there ever anything further decided about this, or did anyone step forward? Are we likely to see a dedicated plugin within the next 12 months for example?
By Jens Thommesen
#400224
An addon for Blender would be amazing. It would introduce more people to this great render engine, and also work as an alternative to other expensive 3d modelling programs.
By Harvey Fong
#400286
I use Houdini and have been going through the python parts of blendmaxwell and b-maxwell to understand how much can be done with pyMaxwell. Both these plugins are very extensive so this is a big undertaking.

I'm interested in forking blendmaxwell and updating the non-blender specific portions into a library to work with pymaxwell5 and then creating code for Houdini to use this library. This way all the unloved 3d apps like Modo, Blender and Houdini can use a common library and then all you need to someone in each camp to write the app specific stuff.

I recently wrote a python script to generate a .mxs with a single 4 point MaxwellHair but the included python scripts in Maxwell Studio are very simple short scripts so I had to dive into blendmaxwell to understand how to use createFloatArray('HAIR_POINTS, list(data['HAIR_POINTS']) .I would rather have actual NextLimit Documentation explain why I have to pass a list of dictionaries which doesn't seem intuitive let alone pythonic.

So in summary I would like to contribute a common python library and a Houdini integration but I am slowed by not having enough developer documentation.
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