max Material Editor

[lyca]

Hi all

 

I meet this strange thing in Max who's name is Material editor, and i have a little problem with the number of materials there, maybe some more experienced people could give me some tips.

 

I have now 24 (4x6) materials on the slots, i want now createsome more, the problem is that the scoling bars are inactive, so i can not acces to more slots than 24. i gues the solution must be a simple and stupid thing, but when you don't know, even the simplest things are complicated.

 

please help, thanks

[AFK_Matrix]

Hi,

 

Yeah there are a max of 24 slots in max. All you have to do is select an existing material and then hit the X button (delete button) and tell it to only delete the material in the Editor, not the model. If you need a material in the model back again then use the eye dropper button located below the X button.

 

I would also recommend setting up a Materials Library. Click on the Get Material Button --> then make browse to on Mat Library --> open and existing Library and then save as, call it whatever you need to. Then as you create materials use the Put to Library button (looks like a floppy disk) and it will save your material to your library. Be careful when starting though as you will have to open your library as it won't come in by defualt and you could start saving your materials to the standard library and not your own.

 

Hope that Helps.

[lyca]

Hi,

 

Yeah there are a max of 24 slots in max. All you have to do is select an existing material and then hit the X button (delete button) and tell it to only

Hope that Helps.

 

OOOOkkk, now i understand the concept, really strange this ME:-)

thnaks alot for your help

[vizfx]

Hi.

If you have complex scenes the best workflow is to use Xref objects from multiple files - XRefs allow multiple animators and modelers to work on one scene at the same time without interfering with each other's work.

Another good choice is Multi/Sub-Object material. The Multi/Sub-Object material lets you assign different materials at the sub-object level of your geometry.

Best regards.

Mihai

[Exellite]

is there a reason for a maximum of only 24 materials?, its always seemed a bit silly to me that you cant have unlimited materials in the editor, I cant imagine how many materials are used in really complex scenes but I'm sure its more than 24 and instead of deleting materials from the editor to make way for new 1s surely it would just be easier just to have more allowed materials.

[Nils Norgren]

is there a reason for a maximum of only 24 materials?, its always seemed a bit silly to me that you cant have unlimited materials in the editor, I cant imagine how many materials are used in really complex scenes but I'm sure its more than 24 and instead of deleting materials from the editor to make way for new 1s surely it would just be easier just to have more allowed materials.

 

The primary reason to limit the material editor (as I understand it) is that when the material editor is launched all the materials and their dependents (maps) need to be loaded into memory, all the procedurals need to be calculated, etc. Along with the fact that a Max file has an (theoritical) unlimited amount of materials, it is really a matter of management. I think they didn't think that anyone would need to edit more than 24 materials at once.

 

-Nils

[ipxstudios]

and....if you use multi-sub object in many of the slots you can specify over a thousand material slots (but you wouldn't want that many)

[majikstan]

I have to say I have stumbled on the same problem as well, take an interior scene that could include a window show some exterior, if its a room , maybe a lounge room, but having a desk, how many materials and masks, bumps could you have and there could be many objects, each with different materials, and surface finishes.

so you may have a bookcase, it could have detailed book spines, maybe one could be showing the front or back of, there could be ornamants scattered also among the shelves, a desk could have a computer, notepad it may hve writing on it, there could be a pen, a cup of penciles, or pens, paperclips, paper, maybe paper with some sort of scribble on it, the desk could be wooden, it may have a gloss, it could have metal fittings, a key maybe, if a draw is open there could be things hanging out, floor coverings could be carpet or old wood, slate etc, there could be trims, wall hangings, the window may have trees outside with more buildings, different textures again, there could be a pot plant or two inside, chairs could have a range of materials such as a modern office chair can have plastic, chrome, fabric, with any graphic symbols for positions on the leavers, light fittings could have more there could be cards on a string, how many objects do you have at home in sight or a cluttered workstation.

 

24 sample slots for these type of scenes could not work and if you had only 24 objects would you be able to share materials from a sub-material stack to another object or have to duplicate it for the next item if an item had many materials?

The world for real is not that simple, when your working with even adding trees, and masks and signage it can also take a few slots

 

I have read with the xref that object files could be brought in and they would retain all there settings, but would they still retain there textures when you scene you added them to did not have those textures loaded in the sample slots?

 

So in essence would it be easier to create the room then xref everything else and they would still retain there original textures? or would they write-over with only the ones in a scene or still use up one slot as a multi-material slot each? As I have not found much to answer if your textures are retained or does it need to map with new materials, taking up slot space again.

Otherwise it would be like having to go through and attach all objects to create essentually a complex object made up of groups of objects, but then you could not seperate or move other than in vertex mode.

 

What is the answer here to this, how can I create complex scenes, both interior and external, with many textures, bumps and other maps as required?

Please advise as soon as you can thanks.

Regards David

Edited March 7, 2012 by majikstan

[Scott Schroeder]

Max can have as many materials as you need, you just need to clean the material editor after you hit 24. You can use the reset slots function in the Utility menu or get the Clear Medit script from Soulburn Scripts.

 

If you have a book, you'll want to use the multi-sub to save space. You cover, pages, spine, and back can all be housed in one multi-sub.

 

To re-iterate this issue that pops up every so often, Max is NOT, I repeat NOT limited to 24 materials. You can only DISPLAY 24 materials at one time in the editor, as Nils pointed out the reasons, but your scene can consist of many more. If you need to see a material again, just use the eye dropper tool or the get selected material script from Soulburn again.

 

Though, you'll also want to use some common sense and scene optimization when making a scene. You only need one chrome material, for all your chrome. You'd never use one unique chrome material for every chrome object. Same thing for your woods, fabrics, etc that share the same color or texture. If you optimize things and use materials properly, even ultra complex scenes barely reach 75-100 plus materials.

[edgemaster]

If your trying to view more than 24 materials at a time have you tried the Slate Material Editor? You can just throw what you need in a view maybe.