Tim in Hollywood

Hi, I'm working on a revision for an old 3ds max + V-Ray interior scene. There are several objects that need to be completely re-modeled. There are 50+ V-Ray lights in the scene. Most of them have include/excluded objects. When I create a new replacement object, I want to be sure that the object is included/excluded exactly the same as the old object. 1. Is there a way to know if a specific object is included/excluded by various lights (without manually checking each light)? For example, if I select an object, I get a list of lights for which the object is specifically included/excluded? 2. If not, is there a way to generate a list of lights along with a list of specifically included/excluded objects? Light Lister and V-Ray Light Lister doesn't seem to have this. Further, I could find nothing on ScriptSpot.com, either. Thanks, Tim

Another option may be to make a file with multiple frames. For example: 10 different products in the scene. Create a 10 Frames file (Time Configuration dialog box). Make each of the products visible only in one frame. Then, you can very simply move from one product to the next. Rendering an animation 0-9 would quickly give you renders of all 10 products. We do this regularly with textures on objects, using an IFL. We then change the frame to the textures we want to use. I hope this helps someone.

I recommend the Dell Precision Workstation product line. The next business day on-site repair/replacement is fantastic. Also, you get access to "real" tech support, not just someone reading from a script. That is also extremely helpful. For example, when something went wrong, I was able to call Precision support and tell them what I had done to diagnose the problem. After hearing that, they immediately said, "yes, if you have done that, it's definitely the XXXXX that isn't working. We'll get someone out there tomorrow with a replacement." No formatting your drive, no nonsense tests from someone reading from a script. You can likely get a better home-made system for price/performance, but Dell Precision Workstations are our system of choice. That said, we have upgraded the RAM and video cards in them, but they have performed very well for us. 16GB of RAM is plenty for the 3ds max files we use. For some, perhaps 16GB would be insufficient. You'll know your 3ds max scenes better than we will.

Hi all, Planning to work with a client in the next couple weeks. We'll be working on the same files (not at the same time) on a collaborative basis, so we want a more efficient way to transfer everything back/forth than FTP or e-mailed attachments. Is it possible to run the .max file directly from the Dropbox folder? Will this cause anything problems with speed when working with the file. FYI: The 3ds max files should be under 5MB. Any advice or info you can offer for this will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hi, I have ArchInteriors vol. 6. I am using 3ds max 2009 with V-Ray 1.5x. I need to render from a different camera view with a standard camera. What settings do I need to change to get scene #5 to render properly? I typically get a render that is so bright that it is nearly all white. Other times, I'll get a render that is very dark. I know that this can be done without massive difficulty, because I did it by changing a couple of checkbox settings for scene #6 from the same volume. Unfortunately, this was at least two years ago...and I can't remember how this problem was solved. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Tim

Hi, Please excuse or move this to the appropriate forum, if necessary. I know that it's a shot in the dark, but perhaps someone will find some of this interesting. In the midst of cleaning out some closet space at my parents' place, we came upon several boxes of documentation and info from some legacy 3D software. It is absolutely mint condition. If you didn't know it was from the early/mid-1990s, you would think it was absolutely brand new. Includes the pretty box, documentation, registration cards, and disks (if they are still in the box). The following are available for free (you pay the shipping): Autodesk AutoVision r2 Autodesk Animator Pro r1.3 Autodesk 3D Studio r4 Lightscape 3 Borland Quattro Pro 5.0 Autodesk AutoCAD r13 Adobe Premiere 4.0 (upgrade from 4.0) Adobe Premiere 4.2 (upgrade from 4.0) I know that more exist (especially 3ds DOS and AutoCAD), but we haven't come across them, yet. Thursday is the deadline if you are interested. Friday is when curbside recycling comes to haul away and unclaimed items. The items are near downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Pickup is OK, too. Send me a private message or reply to this post if you are interested. -Tim

Hi, I have a 3ds max scene with ten cameras. Along with my ten cameras, I have an object that should be visible only from its specific camera. For example, when rendering, I have the main scene, 10 objects, and 10 cameras. I want Camera01 to see the main scene and Object01 (not Object02-10). I want Camera02 to see the main scene and Object02 (not Object01 or Object03-10). I want Camera03 to see the main scene and Object03 (not Object01-02 or Object 04-10). etc... Is there a way to accomplish this? Thanks, Tim

Hi all, Thanks so much for your suggestions. I really appreciate it! I have already checked Google Images, but we are very particular about avoiding unlicensed images. It appears that cgtextures.com has enough options to do what we need. Thanks again! Tim

Hi, I have been asked to make a sort of "hillbilly" scene. Imagine if complete hillbillies were to construct a small building out of old, very weathered, graying wood that they found behind an old barn. The picture picture frames would be four nailed or duct-taped together boards. The walls would be built in a similar fashion. Here's a link to a Hee-Haw DVD cover. The window frame is drawn in a cartoon style. Imagine if it needed to be built to look realistic in 3D. http://www.tvshowsondvd.net/graphics/news3/HeeHaw_V7.jpg I'm looking for good weather wood textures for this project. Do any exist (either free or for $$$)? We'll be using V-Ray, but unless actual materials exist, the textures are what we are seeking. Thanks, Tim

Hi, Thank you for your efforts with this. We have found a solution to solve the original problem. - Tim

Hi all, Is there a way to change the "Map Channel" in ALL scene materials? I have to change the map channel for every material in a scene from 3 to 1. Because I have dozens of materials and dozens of files, this would be painstaking to do manually. Seems that a script for this may already exist. If it does, I have been unable to find it. Any help will be appreciated! Thanks, Tim

Hi all, Based on the recommendations some of you made, I have placed an order for a dual quad-core Xeon E55XX system. It will have 12GB RAM. It's from Dell Outlet. It comes with a Windows Vista Business and Windows XP Pro "downgrade." It does not have XP Pro 64. I want a 64 bit OS. The system will be almost exclusively used for 3ds max + V-Ray, along with some Photoshop. Is my only option for installing a 64-bit OS to simply purchase XP Pro 64 online, or is it essentially included with the 32-bit license? Thanks, Tim

Hi Macer, Thanks for the reply. Any way to learn how much of a render time improvement the dual Xeon 55XX would be relative to a 54XX system? I did some quick searches, but was unable to find anything concrete. The sticky link at the top doesn't reference these processors. Thanks, Tim

Hi, It's time to get a new system for MAX2009 and V-Ray. I've done numerous searches here, on other forums, toms hardware, and Google, but was unable to find anything that really compares the two options head-to-head for Max/V-Ray. The system will be outfitted with all components as identical as possible, running on XP Pro 32-bit. Because my scenes are not super-large (typically 5,000-20,000 polys), I probably don't need a system that can handle massive amounts of RAM, thus the lack of interest in 64-bit XP Pro. I also want maximum compatibility with other software and hardware. Disregarding price, what will be faster for V-Ray rendering (assuming similar clock speeds and NOT overclocked)? DUAL Quad Core Intel Xeon Processor E54XX - or - Intel Core i7 Processor Any help or advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Tim

Hi, I have a MAX file with several multi/sub object materials applied to various objects. I need to export it to VRML. I first go through the "Render to Texture" process. This creates the shell materials. The problem I have is when I export to VRML, the exporter is creating multi-texture objects (the baked completemap and one of the original textures). This causes massive problems because my VRML viewer will not accept anything other than single texture objects. 1. Is there a quick, efficient way to get rid of my original materials? I would prefer that the process be non-destructive. What I really want is for the only material applied to the MAX object to be the baked texture. Again, non-destructive would be best! 2. Is there an automated way to make my objects with multi/sub materials applied into separate objects based on their material IDs? Thanks for your help!