Script: HCG Asset Browser BETA

[HermidaCG]

Hello,

 

I released HCG Asset browser script and come here to share with you. This script help with 3d libraries.

 

Here some features:

 

* Display thumbnails of your models (an image with the same name of the max file needed )

* Generate thumbnails system (only vray e default scanline yet)

* Example models to show how to arrange your own libraries

* Merge as vrayproxy: convert the model and save .vrmesh

* Replace mode: the model will replace the selected objects, good to replace autocad blocks

* Paint mode over surfaces good to vegetations and other models

 

Hope hcg asset browser will be usefull for you. Any suggestion are welcome.

 

more information: find the hcg asset browser on scriptspot (can't post a link with my account)

download link: visit the website in my profile

 

Thanks,

 

Chico Hermida.

[Koper]

here is the link

- http://scriptspot.com/3ds-max/hcg-asset-browser

 

 

 

 

Cool, will check it out over the weekend

 

Does it have the capabilities to drag the objects from the browser into the viewport?

[Dave Buchhofer]

Looks good Francisco, I've done a similar tool here (although mostly python, with some mxs in the mix) and its been wonderfully helpful.

 

building useful thumbnails is as much a pain in the arse as making the script was though

[HermidaCG]

Koper:

 

Not yet, i need to update my interface to new one, using .net, so i will can implementate the new functions that i'm already write.

 

But in the actual interface you need to click a thumbnail and on a surface (ex: floor) soo this will place copys of the merged model over the surface. In the future release i will do auto link to surface, auto put the merged models in a layer with the same name of the category of the object, and other things to help in the artist workflow.

 

Dave:

 

Thank you for your comment, i read the topic in cgtalk that you are discussing about a asset browser script, your script looks very good, i'm trying to do a dotnet version to start with a complex interface development. This is my first "big" script so i'm needing to learn a loot of things to do all the work.

Edited May 20, 2009 by HermidaCG

[Dave Buchhofer]

I understand, thats pretty much the same reason i did it, it was a good opportunity to learn!

 

I ended up ditching the maxscript version after a while, it worked, but was annoying me! mostly due to speed when trying to parse through a large directory tree, though i did manage to speed things up with cached information

 

you should take a look at some of LoneRobot's stuff if you are planning to work towards the .net route, he's already got a few tools and .net assemblies that'll make life a LOT easier. although they may add another level of complexity.

[Trick]

I have been working with this thing for 10 minutes under Max2008 32bit and already love it.

BUT: it also made it impossible to work with Max a few times within these 10 minutes. Viewports go blank and whatever i do, they stay blank. It is inconsistent, but it happens every time when I right click on an icon in the asset library window.

 

Really hope this thing will be rock solid, because when you use this, it will be used a lot and really needs to be rock solid !!!

[danb4026]

Is this script similar to what 3D PhotoBrowser by MooTools does, except free?

[Trick]

I have 3D PhotoBrowser, but it does not support selfmade thumbnails/images for 3D (Max) files. The fact that you can make your own more representative images and drag these into your scene, resulting in loading the attached mesh, is what I like about a good asset manager !!! Besides Photobrowser is way too large to be workable!!

[danb4026]

is there anything that explains how to use it?

[HermidaCG]

Dave: Thanks i will look the LoneRobot's stuff, and i want to enter in this level of complexity hehe, i going to try a . net interface because i don't understand nothing about python, do you think that python is better to do this interface?

 

Trick: Thank tou for trying my script, i understand what's happening with you, and i will fix this bug the next update. This primary bugs will be resolved when more people like you start to try the script and report bugs.

 

Danb4026: There is no manual to explain how it works, i will release a video of a user in this week, that will explain how it works, while i'm building a full website with instructions. This is a very initial beta release, lot of things to do .

[Rick Eloy]

Hi, Chico! Great idea! I'm gonna try it, you bet!

[Dave Buchhofer]

do you think that python is better to do this interface?

 

Really you just need something to visually display some thumbnails and to pass in a filename to a maxscript, everything else is handled in the maxscript.

 

I liked the python version better than maxscript, but its probably about even with .net in terms of speed.

 

the advantage for me was that there is a TON of open source scripts out there to browse through for learning. I started with the Thumbnail control by Andrea Gavana which gave me a pretty robust thumbnail viewer, combined with a 'lazy' TreeControl from wxPython along with some COM trickery thanks to Adam from Volition.

 

It was fairly easy, took maybe two weekends worth of screwing around from not knowing jack all about python to having something that works here. and then a little more time to add in support for things like Maxfiles in the directory tree that don't have thumbnails, material libraries, relinking the bitmaps on loaded geometry etc. I'd be open to some sharing/trading if you want to compare notes on some things

 

The COM stuff makes it possibly a pain in the ass to make adaptable enough for easy giving away to the rest of the world, its not difficult to set up, but it requires some slight customization based on which version of max you are running

Edited June 4, 2009 by Dave Buchhofer

[KIT]

I really need to get into this Python thing. All the cool kids are doing it...