[victor]

Yes, the mission of the plugin is to export the 3D scene to Maxwell. This is how all the Maxwell plugins work.

[victor]

The plugin should allow to set materials, we are waiting for the documentation, you can try to find it. Anyway in the release there will be a material editor in the GUI so you will be able to set it there.

[rendek]

Is there a way to set up light sources in Archicad for Maxwell to use with this version of the plug-in?

[pfranc]

I cannot set the rendering time in minutes, because the setting considers the time in seconds.

[rendek]

I agree, this may be a BIG problem. How will we able to set bump maps??? This was partly what I was really looking forward to, since both ArchiCAD and Artlantis (even Artlantis R) are only faking the effects of bump mapping from the original bitmap.

Maxwell would need to be an internal engine just like LightWorks with its own material settings!! Without that there's not much support at all, since we might as well just save a 3ds file from ArchiCAD.

Any thoughts???????????????????????

[giza]

can we have some screen shots of this plugin plz .

[rendek]

I'm glad too buffos....I just don't see the big difference between using the ArchiCAD plugin and saving and converting a 3ds file. All that would be useful - for example setting the lights in ArchiCad and such - does not exist. How would you multiply light sources? Will the GUI able to handle such tasks easily?

Have you used ArtLantis buffos? The procedure - as it seems - will be somewhat similar and there ARE problems with that procedure (exporting a file from AC and importing it in another software for light and material setup...we loose all the prime drafting capabilities hence making the light setup extremely disappointing for example)

Any NextLimit toughts?

[Pietro Spampatti]

can we have some screen shots of this plugin plz .

look here:

http://www.archiradar.it/modules.php?na ... =1&thold=0

P.

[Pietro Spampatti]

Ok, I'm making yoga exercise to stay calm.. virtual pc is really slow and I hate work on windoz.

The Firsts thing I see:

1. the slider for the time set the seconds and not the minutes of render: I have setted 600 on ArchiCAD and on maxwell the max time is 10 minutes. The max time is 16 min and 40 sec.
2. the add-on export all the material like plastics and not like diffuse, the material with trasparence is exported like dielectrics
3. maxwell catch the resolution from the 3d window of ArchiCAD: there is no way to set the resolution in the output tab.
4. internal sun apparently don't work. Plese confirm to me this point: if it work it is the first way to set sun direction
5. the sky illumination without sun don't work.
6. if I make a zoom and I don't save the new view the add-on exportthe original view without zoom.. some time if i seve a zoom maxwell don't catch it but use the first view
7. the addon don't write the mxi file
8. the addon write a directory with inside the bmp of the material but maxwell don't catch it: the material in the render of maxwell don't have texture
9. the archicad lamp and the new lightwork sky isn't exported like emitter

...

and more thing, but for now I have finished all my patience with windoz.

PETER

[Nicolas Rivera]

Hi Pietro end others, i really can not stand virtual pc, but glad that mac chose inter for the future.

I'm very happy to have the archicad pluging and i now can wait really happy until Octuber to see lots of improvements.

Mac or pc guy i dont care, what really has to matter all of us maxwelluser's is SPEED!!!! i can not use Maxwell in my daily work, this is like having a boat and living on the desert. If speed is not improved, i will provably have no bussines with maxwell, for me it is a beautifull and wonderfull toy for now, nothing more nothing less. Clients will settle with a realictic image produced in Artlantis in a matter of minutes, but will defenetly go away if they have to wait 48 hours for a photo realictic noiseless image.

Ok, changing to the material in archicad, how do i set the UV and bumps inside Archicad????

I think i have never ever made a render with the Archicad render engine, i dont even find appealing the new lightworks engine.

Pietro, i wnat to buy a new iMac, will it be that much of a deference from my actual 800mhz iMac flat panel??? Right now i difficult for me to consider a dual G5, so i like the new imac, what is your advice???

Thanks to all.

[rendek]

I think once we will be able to set up the scenes (and maybe preview the shadows with the Lightworks or even with the Internal engine?) we could let Maxwell do a batch rendering throughout the night. That's what I'm currently doing with Artlantis R (which is by the way much slower than Artlantis 4.5 because of radiosity but it does not really bother me)

This is why it would be important to set up the lights (emitters) and materials within ArchiCAD. Converting ArchiCAD lights would be nice but it would be extremely important to add somehow the ability to set exact, life-like parameters (like in Watts). Still there is the issue of bump mapping and more sophisticated material settings. Even after reading the postings, it's not clear to me what the GUI will be capable of at all. Will we be able to set up lights and materials with it before rendering at all?

Any insights about the loss of editing functions after we "leave" AC?

[Pietro Spampatti]

I think than the right way for a productive use is make the model in ArchiCAD with the real model of the lights then export the file to Maxwell 1.0 with material editor and i hope camera editor... texturing in archicad is boring and slow and without a good bump control.

I think than the very question is: Can I export a model from archicad make the texturing in maxwell and if it is necessary go back in ArchiCAD and make changes without loosing the work of testuring?

For the architecture world, where the changes of the model is ordinary, this is the very question, not the bumb, and this is the motive than I use artlantis for quick render and cinema with the archicad link for important rendering... the 3ds export is good only for the people than make only render in his work, not for the architects who make projects

PETER

Nicolas: I work fine with the iMac... it isnt a render macine but with AC I never see the difference from the G5 dual than I have in office.... The 17" on board is greath, like all the mac monitor. AC work only with CPU and RAM... you must install 1 Gb of RAM. The Video Card is good and the audio on board greath. Bluetooth and airport work fine with my mobile and with my wirless router. The cd when stay a long time in the cdrom is hot. Buy it, it a good macine.

[rendek]

It is actually possible to set quite a lot of material parameters in LightWorks mode like bump mapping and others...It might be boring, but it's accurate. Would it be possible for the plug-in to pick up those settings?

For the lights...could you create general light sources (library parts) that would properly translate to Maxwell emitters? or...could you program a Maxwell specific material editor within ArchiCAD (just like LightWorks has one) and that way you could assign light emission to materials. That would be the best because then we could all set up the Maxwell specific materials and their parameters.

We would also need extended parameters for the camera objects! DOF and others.

With the above...we would not have to go back and forth from AC to M

Would this be a possible path?

[giza]

thanks for screenshots Pietro,

so did anybody render anything can we see some results a rendered image

[Nicolas Rivera]

Thanks Peter for the answer. Retirado, hi and yes if we had the artlantis link to maxwell will be great, but speed and the ability to have a reference file to update changes in the model is a must have.

Yes, texturing in archicad is a pain, and for a program of such advanced tecnologies, texturing if unaceptable.

Maxwell realy needs simple and efective parameters for texturing, if it comes complicated, then the simpleness of setting up a scene goes down the drain.

The GUI of maxell for me, is going to be an evolution of the GUI in real flow, but hope it is easier.