[AtlJimK]

When the scene loads.

[Bogdan Coroi]

Please check your private messages.

[MetinSeven_com]

Since the installation of the latest Max plug-in for Maxwell my spinner precision is repeatedly set to 10 decimals in the Max preferences

We tried this on all the versions of Max we support and couldn't replicate the problem. Can you provide more details, like Max and OS versions, if the problem happens after uninstalling the plug-in etc.?

Thanks for your reply Mihnea. My system specs: Dual Xeon 2.8 GHZ with hyperthreading, 2 GB RAM, NVidia Quadro FX 1400, Win XP SP2, 3ds Max 8 (not updated since the first release).

Note: Jespi encountered the same spinner problem.

One thing I have noticed (with the earlier and existing plugins) is that I really have to crank up the levels of the HDR in order for them to provide sufficient lighting (or background image) - some times up to a factor of 12.

I discovered this too. But maybe it's due to a different value range in the Maxwell plug-in? In other words: maybe a value of 1 is not the ideal default HDR intensity in the Maxwell 3ds Max plug-in?

[jespi]

Hi Metin! I think that the problem is that we´ve not installed service pack 3 because in my laptop i don´t have this problem.

[jespi]

One thing I have noticed (with the earlier and existing plugins) is that I really have to crank up the levels of the HDR in order for them to provide sufficient lighting (or background image) - some times up to a factor of 12.

Same here

[michaelplogue]

Thanks Metin and jsepi for confirming that - I was begining to wonder if I was crazy or doing something wrong (or doing something wrong while crazy!).

I just wanted to post a couple of pics to illustrate the problem. It's not only that the levels have to be increased, but it seems that each category needs to be adjusted separetly. These first two images are of the same scene with the camera and objects rotated 180 degrees to show that it's not an issue of sun position:






Here, I've linked the reflection, refraction, and illumination to the background, which is set to a 6 intensity. If you compare these to the jpg version of my hdr file, the reflections and refractions match pretty well. however, the background, and in my eyes, the illumination needs to be pumped up several more levels to match properly. The center sphere and the flat plane have a 'perfect' mirror texture applied to it (zero roughness, a high Nd, and a 255 reflectance. The smaller sphere is a standard glass material with no roughness, and Nd of 1.33. The white stand has a 220 white material with 100 roughness.

Here is the jpg version of the hdr I created from a scene I threw together in Vue 6 - the original was 5o00x2200 dpi. (BTW, this is a really neat feature of Vue6 - I can now create my own hdr's with whatever cloud cover, lighting, or atmosphereic effects whenever I want!)



As I mentioned before, I don't know if this is normal behaviour when dealing with hdr's since I've never used them before. So, if these differences of levels are standard, I would suggest that when you use the "Use Background" option, you should leave the Intensity box unlocked so these can be adjusted manualy.

[jespi]

Thanks a lot michael !!! This is a very good test but i have a question(maybe silly question),why the center sphere and the plane have different reflections levels, i mean, why at zero degrees aren´t the reflections equals?

[MetinSeven_com]

Hi Metin! I think that the problem is that we´ve not installed service pack 3 because in my laptop i don´t have this problem.

You're probably right. Can I install the Max SP3 without problems and without having reinstall Max itself? In other words: will everything (all plug-in etc.) still work well? I have a number of plug-ins installed that would require reauthorization from the publisher and I can't wait for that. That's why I'm still waiting to install Max 9.

[jespi]

Hi Metin! I think that the problem is that we´ve not installed service pack 3 because in my laptop i don´t have this problem.

You're probably right. Can I install the Max SP3 without problems and without having reinstall Max itself? In other words: will everything (all plug-in etc.) still work well? I have a number of plug-ins installed that would require reauthorization from the publisher and I can't wait for that. That's why I'm still waiting to install Max 9.

You can install service pack 3 without having to reinstall max and normally plugins work fine, but i don´t know with maxwell plugin because i haven´´t try it.
Cheers

[michaelplogue]

Thanks a lot michael !!! This is a very good test but i have a question(maybe silly question),why the center sphere and the plane have different reflections levels, i mean, why at zero degrees aren´t the reflections equals?

That's a good question, and one that I don't really have an answer for. they both have the same material, so they should be similar. I really can't find any explaination. However, it seems to me that the reflection in the flat mirror also appears to be zoomed in like the background is. Maybe it's a projection issue.

[MetinSeven_com]

You can install service pack 3 without having to reinstall max and normally plugins work fine, but i don´t know with maxwell plugin because i haven´´t try it.
Cheers

Thanks Jespi, I'll check it out!

[jespi]

Thanks Michael for you reply.
Cheers

[Romans]

Hello NL-Team,

another one:

please make orthographic-view (front, right, top etc.) renders possible!

Very important for arch-viz too!

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE.....


Thanks in advance...

Best Regards, Roman

[michaelplogue]

More regarding HDR's: This isn't really a bug, just a suggested improvement.

I had been assuming that the center of the hdr would be North on my screen, and the left & right edges would merge at the south pole. However, it appears that the edges meet at the mathematical 0 degrees which is East, with the center of the image due West. Also, increasing the U Offset rotates the image counter-clockwise (thus using the mathematical angle system as opposed to the compass system which increases in a clockwise direction from the due north position)

Since we are dealing with geographical references in this renderer (geo location, time, day and GMT offset), the hdr system should also utilize a geographical system as well. The U Offset should go from 0 to 360 degrees, and rotate in a clockwise direction. Personally, I'd prefer to default the center of the hdr with a northward orientation, and the l/r edges merging in the south.

[trofaster]

UVW-mapping in viewport does not match UVW mapping in render - at all. Any news on this?

Ups, found out i was breaking one of the golden rules of M~R - I was using greyscale jpg's - they appeared to be working but gave some pretty weird results in render...