[Richard]

Pavol

Just wondering mate with the touted introduction of Version 1.7 of maxwell if you can let the cat out of the bag as to what of the above requested functionalities might be included in any updated plugin?

Regards, Richard

[pelias]

There are 2 items which I can promise:

- proxy objects - you will be able to create 2 version of the component and replace the low poly one with a high poly one at the time of export (keeping instances if that is enabled). That should allow you to work in SU without having the slowdowns due to high poly count but to get full geometry in Maxwell.

- camera parameters stored for individual pages of SU model. Previously only single set of camera parameters was stored and used for all Maxwell cameras. In the new version you can assign different parameters to cameras in different pages.

Pavol

[Stinkie7000]

Very cool. Thanks.

[Richard]

There are 2 items which I can promise:

- proxy objects - you will be able to create 2 version of the component and replace the low poly one with a high poly one at the time of export (keeping instances if that is enabled). That should allow you to work in SU without having the slowdowns due to high poly count but to get full geometry in Maxwell.

- camera parameters stored for individual pages of SU model. Previously only single set of camera parameters was stored and used for all Maxwell cameras. In the new version you can assign different parameters to cameras in different pages.

Pavol

Man that is great news!!!

In your first one, does this mean the higher poly version will be externally referenced???

Thanks mate, Richard

[pelias]

In your first one, does this mean the higher poly version will be externally referenced???

Correct - low poly version (typically shown in SU workspace) will be replaced by higher-poly version at the time of export from SU to Maxwell - thus Maxwell will render higher poly version.

Pavol

[Richard]

In your first one, does this mean the higher poly version will be externally referenced???

Correct - low poly version (typically shown in SU workspace) will be replaced by higher-poly version at the time of export from SU to Maxwell - thus Maxwell will render higher poly version.

Pavol

Just another thought mate!

If I understand you correctly the higher poly model won't need to be included in the model as per the way that the Indigo plug currently works! MAN THIS IS THE BEST NEWS EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So my thought is it would be even cooler if a low poly SU component could either be replaced by a higher poly component or a MXS component!!!

I suggest this because of the problems dealing with high poly components in SU and the limited texturing toolset. I'll explain by example:

1. export a tree from Onyx in OBJ format,
2. export the dummy tree form from onyx in 3DS format,
3. import the onyx tree to Studio for texturing, make group and save as Tree.MXS,
4. import the dummy tree into SU and create component, save as Tree.SKP,
5. Populate any future scene with Tree.SKP and upon export elect to replce this dummy with the Tree.MXS.

If the dummy tree had it's component axis matching the Tree.MXS origin the Tree.MXS substitute could use this as a reference for location.

[creasia]

This thread seems to be a forum for plug in improvements.

Does anyone else have problems with exported instances disappearing in Studio? When I press render from my exported MXS I get a completely different result. (no instances)

I have a question with relation to the proxy method on render. What format would the proxys be? If they were in mxs format, then we could tweak the proxies in studio with more advanced UV mapping than we can in Sketchup!
I could use 3D Coat on these MXS files and use instances. I am currently recreating the Teracotta Army in China and if I could do this in Sketchup, I would be in heaven!

Keep up the good work Pavol.

[pelias]

At the moment only high-poly SU components are supported for proxy replacement. Support for MXS objects is in theory possible but I didn't get a chance to try that yet. I can see there is an interested in that though...

Pavol

[Richard]

At the moment only high-poly SU components are supported for proxy replacement. Support for MXS objects is in theory possible but I didn't get a chance to try that yet. I can see there is an interested in that though...

Pavol

Interest!!!! Man the day you implement that functionality I'd have your children!!! (well if I had a womb)!

No seriously as creasia suggests working with good vegetation in SU is impossible at present, first there is the mapping from 3ds import that doesn't stick then the poly issue!

If I bring a tree into SU I have to stick with just the leaf geometry (no mapping) then to get all the leaves painted the same means exploding the sub groups imported and it takes my machine an hour or more to do this and then only if I keep the leaf density to a minimum.

Cars are another thing. If you bring a 3ds car in you have to go through the whole smoothing thing of every surface which never comes out right. Alternatively you can bring obj file into MR studio and all that is taken care of!

I must say the option to suppliment high poly MXS for low poly SU is IMHO a much more suitable option straight up!

Clapping for you mate! Brilliant!!!!

[Richard]

Actually Pavol thinking about it a little more, the one thing that would need to be considered also is scaling of the MXS file to that of the SU proxy!!! This might be the biggest challange!

[creasia]

What happens if we import an instance object in studio with one of the same name? Will it replace all the instances??? Is there a replace feature like there is in Studio max?

I am having a great time with this by the way. I am building a forest with compospray in sketchup - exporting as a dwg - then using the File/Replace feature with high poly trees in Max. Very fun!

[pelias]

What happens if we import an instance object in studio with one of the same name? Will it replace all the instances??? Is there a replace feature like there is in Studio max?

I might have misunderstood what you are after here but I believe this is not possible in Maxwell Studio. If you have instances you have a regular Maxwell object (this keeps the geometry) and a list of instances (technically transformation matrices) assigned to that object. As there is no way to "replace" object by a different object in Studio other than loading a new one and deleting the old one there is no way to "move" instances from one object to another.

Pavol

[creasia]

That answers my second question. I would still like to draw on a MXS object on SU export if possible.

[macitect]

At the moment only high-poly SU components are supported for proxy replacement. Support for MXS objects is in theory possible but I didn't get a chance to try that yet. I can see there is an interested in that though...

Pavol

Add me to the "interested" list!

Certainly would answer this question that I just posted.

[Leonardo]

I seem to spend the most time in Studio placing relatively high polygon library objects and managing their instances: trees and other vegetation, primarily. I simply cannot place them in SketchUp because they would bring SU to a crawl. I've mentioned this before, but what might get me out of Studio altogether is an "autoMXS" system that would swap hi-resolution MXS models in place of low-resolution SKP components, with support for instances. Ideally I would like to be able to use the standard 2D trees while in SketchUp, but have the plug-in swap those with hi-resolution models before sending it to render.

That is why I use studio too. However all my library are already converted in mxs models...