[deadalvs]

neither version dependent nor platform dependent.

since it is a mel script, it works on all maya versions. mel is maya's proprietary scripting language with which nearly all can be programmed.

hey, mel is great! try it !

* * *

i do have problems with the icon files - they are not being displayed on my mac, but that's not a great issue.

[p3tamaxwell]

Thanks will mess around with it over the weekend

[DrMerman]

Hey guys, just got back. So very tired...

Quick comments before I pass out :

* It's strange that the ShowRenderView command is causing an error, although it is probably a UI based error that'll be easy to fix.

* The snow node not baking correctly is a known limitation at present, and will be fixed in the next version. It basically requires me to go through all of the nodes and add custom commands before the bake.

* As the script is written almost entirely in MELscript, it should work on a Mac. The only thing that might cause a problem would be the batch file creation in the Anim Export. Let me know if this works or not, and I'll do my best to fix it

* I'll re-create the icons to make them work first time, and maybe simplify the installer.

I'll fix that ShowRenderView problem first thing tomorrow, and iron out a few other things for a stable v1 release. In the meantime, thanks to deadalvs for holding the fort, as it were, and if anyone has any further suggestions, feel free to let me know.

Cheers,
Dr Merman

[DrMerman]

Hey Guys.

Update on Page 1. You might have to delete the old shelf as I have changed its name to avoid an error. Let me know if that render error has disappeared, as I cannot seem to recreate it on my system

Cheers,
Dr Merman

[deadalvs]

morning...

i like updates !

1[
the icons work perfectly on the mac too.

2[
does Your maya crash when the 2048 res is selected? mine always dies. then, after a crash, maya crashes always when initializing the shelves (when the dragon maya title picture is seen while starting)
after removing the DMSS_mainDile.mel (taking out of the scripts folder) it starts again.
strange... do You remind something that could be the problem ?

3[
the actions work on a mac, though they're slow.
i did not check the anim export.

[DrMerman]

Hey deadalvs,

It sounds like the problem has something to do with the settings file. Can you do me a favour and have a look at the contents of the DMSS_settings.mel file that will be in your scripts directory, after you get the crash. It should be something like :

2048 jpg

(or png/bmp/tif, depending on your selected image format.) I can't seem to replicate the error here, but then again I'm working on Maya 7.1. It shouldn't be a major thing though, probably just a case of adding in an error check. Just to confirm, Maya crashes as soon as you select the 2048 option, or when you press OK?

Oh, and a 4096 option is in the next update

Thanks for checking the rest.

Cheers,
Dr Merman

[deadalvs]

i did check that file already earlier and it shows the correct settings.

at the moment:
1024 jpg

* * *

issues:

maya7 (32 bit):
• maya does not recognize the .xpm icons as valid files; never mind, i just used the old versions.
• no problem up to 1024. the 2048 option does not crash maya 7. what i see is that when i hit the button, the ball's material loses the link to the ramp node, thus gets red. the render does not start then.

maya 8 (64 bit):
• maya crashes when i hit the RENDR button. (the options can be saved)

* * *

i guess we need other users here for reports. it does not help much when You get no errors and i do.

[deadalvs]

so i can distinguish between two kinds of crashes.

1) if i want to render with 2048 res

2) (this is the stranger one) if i just «install» the script and hit OK for the texture prompt dialog and close maya so the shelves are saved, maya can not restart and crashes on the startup.
at this point then, the settings script does not yet exist and i MUST remove the created shelf script to be able to start maya again.

that's now the most precise description i can do...

other users ? *help*

[DrMerman]

Hey deadalvs.

Right, lets try to sort this one problem at a time. I'll start with the second one as its one that I just cannot figure out. Can you do me a favour, and copy the files into their correct locations. Then open Maya, and instead of installing normally, can you create two new buttons yourself, by middle mouse dragging the following onto a shelf:

Code: Select all

//button 1.

source "DMSS_mainFile.mel";
RenderViewWindow;
drMermansScriptSuiteMain render;


//and button 2.

source "DMSS_mainFile.mel";
DrMermansMaxwellScriptSuite;

If that solves the crashing problem, then it must be something to do with either the install script, or the icons.

Let me know,

Cheers,
Dr Merman

[deadalvs]

why am i that night-active...

* * *

i did create the two new buttons. maya crashed at 2048 res.

sadly...

* * *

could You post the command that converts a procedural texture into an image? like this i could check if my computer crashes based on this command and not the script...

good night anyway... !

d.

[DrMerman]

Hey deadalvs, can you try running the following for me...

Code: Select all

//create sphere
	polySphere -r 1 -sx 20 -sy 20 -ax 0 1 0 -tx 2 -ch 1;
//create nodes
	shadingNode -asShader lambert;
	renderCreateBarCB -as2DTexture "" fractal;
//connect nodes
	connectAttr -force fractal1.outColor lambert2.color;
//apply material to object
	assignSG lambert2 pSphere1;
//select objects
	select -r pSphere1 ;
	select -tgl lambert2 ;
//open dialogue
	hyperShadePanelMenuCommand("hyperShadePanel1", "convertToFileTextureOptionBox");

When the above script is run, the convertToFileTexture dialogue box appears. If you change the res to 2048x2048, and the file format to jpg, and hit 'Convert and Close', it should convert the fractal texture. If this works on your machine then the problem lies somewhere within the UI. Could you also post the line of script that gets executed after the convert. It should look something like the following :

Code: Select all

convertSolidTx -antiAlias 0 -bm 1 -fts 1 -sp 0 -sh 0 -alpha 0 -doubleSided 0 -componentRange 0 -resolutionX 2048 -resolutionY 2048 -fileFormat "jpg"   fractal1.outColor pSphere1;

Thanks again,
Dr Merman

[deadalvs]

on maya 8 on the mac i get this line:

convertSolidTx -antiAlias 0 -bm 1 -fts 1 -sp 0 -sh 0 -alpha 0 -doubleSided 0 -componentRange 0 -resolutionX 2048 -resolutionY 2048 -fileFormat "jpg" fractal1.outColor pSphere1;

the file is generated correctly and saved in the default project folder.

on maya 8 64 bit, maya crashes......

this would make sense so far.

* * *

now i have found out that maya just crashed when the checkbox for antialiasing was 1 (on). in Your posted quotation, the -antiAlias flag is 0 ! by default, this is on on my maya, so it crashes at 2048 res !
i tried this now on mac and on pc... both crash with the aa flag on !

yay... ! --> maybe check if in Your script at the setting of 2048, the antiAliasing flag is 1...


* * *

but on both maya 8 and maya 7 i get an error after this command:
assignSG lambert2 pSphere1;
«error: cannot find procedure "assignSG"»

i did this by hand with:
select pSphere1;
sets -e forceElement lambert2SG;

[DrMerman]

Thanks deadalvs, I'll check both of those problems out first thing tomorrow

now i have found out that maya just crashed when the checkbox for antialiasing was 1 (on). in Your posted quotation, the -antiAlias flag is 0 ! by default, this is on on my maya, so it crashes at 2048 res !
i tried this now on mac and on pc... both crash with the aa flag on !

This is interesting. Sounds like it could be a memory problem perhaps. I'll make sure the correct flag is added in.

but on both maya 8 and maya 7 i get an error after this command:
assignSG lambert2 pSphere1;
«error: cannot find procedure "assignSG"»

Another interesting one. It seems that the hypershade can be very picky sometimes I'll use an alternate command.

Apart from these small problems, is there anything else you can suggest? Is the main process working at other resolutions?

Cheers mate,
Dr Merman

[deadalvs]

well, more needed stuff... let me think...

[ ... hours later ... ]

• well, that donate button needs some update... it needs to be a little more readable... maybe animate it so everybody sees it !!!

• of course it's again to mention that a solution for unaltered procedurals would be cool, so that they are not always rewritten every time.
but i can not yet come up with a technical solution how to achieve this.

• it would also be cool to have a small pdf help file so every function is shorty described. stuff like bypass? no idea what this does...

• maybe it could be interesting to think about a feature that works with procedurals and their «baking» with maya's displacement tools. i guess this could bear a great potential (let's discuss this...!)
--> bricks wall with creases
--> moss
--> water

• also it would be cool to have a few presets like «create maxwell brick material» or «create maxwell moon material» ... with a little more complex networks

• colorful emitters ........... (maybe via .hdr)

i guess there could be a lot going on ...

see ya round... !

[DrMerman]

Hey deadalvs,

Sorry that update hasn't been posted, I've been absolutely swamped for the last few days.

Solution for unaltered procedurals - I've found a suitable method for doing this, however, as with everything else, it takes ALOT more coding. It'll probably be added at the same time as I add the custom code for individual nodes.

Help function - Good call on the PDF. I'll write one up.

Displacement - I've already been working on this a little bit. Good news is it DOES make things a bit simpler. The bad news is that you're still working with Maya's native displacement, which is a very quirky thing. I'll update on that soon.

Presets - Again, good call. As soon as a stable v1 release is nailed down, I think this will be one of the first things to be added.

Emitters - I've been looking into a way to create hdr images natively in Maya, and to be honest it's not easy. But be assured that if it can be done, it will be added as a function.

Cheers for the input mate
Dr Merman