[SannaF]

Hi,

I've recently started using MR with ArchiCAD, and I'm having some issues with materials that I can't figure out.

I've placed all MXM files including textures in a network folder on our server, with different subfolders for maxwell defalut materials, arroway, downloaded etc. I've set the main folder as the default path. Is this a good way to do it if you have a shared material library and want to add to it over time?

1. When I add a material it looks ok in the preview and the paths to the texture files are correct. It renders correctly in FIRE, but in the preview window I only get the texture decal.
2. How do I apply the settings of one material on to another material? ie I load the object from AC and then I want to completely change the materials to MR materials, without actually selecing the objects and making any changes there. I've been trying to do this as I had some issues with references to MXM files in the ArchiCAD plugin.
3. Instead of doing the above I've been dragdropping materials from the material browser to the materials list, then selecting objects by clicking another material and choosing 'select assigned objects', then choosing the newly added material and choosing 'apply to selection'. This works, but in some cases not all the objects change materials. I've checked and removed some triangle groups but this didn't seem to matter.
4. Sometimes the material previews won't save, and old or no previews appear. Is there something that needs to be done in order to save them?

ETA: Re #1 I realized I had display UVs on, so turning that off removed the UV decal, but I still can't get the textures to display.

[Marton Day8]

Dear SannaF,

In your other forum post we have answered some of the material issues you had.

Are these questions still valid? Please let me know which points are still not clear.

Márton

[SannaF]

Hi,

Yes, the questions are still valid, even though they apply to Maxwell Studio and not the plugin.

Some clarifications:

1. I managed to turn off the UV decal, but half of the time only the imported AC textures display (This was before I learnt about how exporting the MXM from AC worked). The other half of the time all textures, including MXM textures applied in Studio, display. When the former happens, all objects turn grey when I apply a new material in Studio. Perhaps a bug/graphics card issue?

2. To clarify: Is there a quick and easy way to overwrite a particular material with a MXM material? In my workflow I usually just name materials when modelling and then move on to defining them, and if I have saved ones from previous projects I prefer just to overwrite rather than to select by material and then change. I realize that the answer to this question might be no, there is no quick and easy way.

3. To clarify: When selecting objects/triangles exported from AC by materials in order to apply a different material, not all of them are selected, thus making the lack of the #2 workflow a little frustrating for me. Is this perhaps a weird AC objects thing? I'm having a scene full of simplified trees and the leaves (sphere-shaped volumes) won't select.

4. This still happens.

Sanna

[Marton Day8]

Hello SannaF,

1. Could you attach some photos? I don't understand your situation.

2. You can do it like this: in Studio go to the material properties (layer list) -> right click -> Remove all (this removes all current layers) -> right click again -> Embed MXM... -> choose the material mxm file you would like to use to overwrite the current material

3. Sorry, it is not clear - maybe some photos?

4. Maybe you clicked on the "Refresh preview" button, and you tried to save it before the refresh has been finished. When you click on "Refresh preview" the green button changes to a red one. The red button means the preview is still refreshing. You can click on the red button again to stop refreshing or wait until it stops automatically. (In the Preview Options dialog you can set the time for the refresh.)


Márton

[SannaF]

1. I will attach some photos on Thursday, when I'm back in the office working on this.
2. This works great!
3. See 1.
4. Works, and I'll change the preview settings.

Thank you!

[SannaF]

Here are some photos, I hope this makes it clearer.

Question 1:
So, textures displays like this, with colours for AC materials and just grey for MXM materials:


Rendered in FIRE, the view looks like this, so the materials do render:


Question 3:
When exporting from AC to Studio triangle groups are sometimes created. And then I have problems (not always, but most of the time) to select the triangles by material and change the material. And most of the time I have a lot of each object (in this scene, symbolic trees), so electing each group manually is time consuming.