Customizing 3ds Max user interface! - Clean up the command pane under Poly

[capcaunu]

Hi guys, It's been more than five years since I've been using 3ds Max and I still have no clue as how to really customize the user interface in that program. Right now I'm so disappointed with it's performance and resource-hungry design that I only use it as a platform for the v-ray render engine. God forbid I'd ever need to model anything in 3ds max again. Right now I'm using Modo for my modleing/texturing and it's a real pleasure, as opposed to the nightmare that Max became.

 

Anyway, back to the real problem:

 

Even if I just render in max, I still have to go through a routine that involves actually using it a bit, and I want to clean up the layout as much as possible, and specifically under the command panel (right side), under Poly, I want to take out the following rollouts: Paint deformation, Subdivision displacement, Subdivision surface Polygon: Vertex colors. Does anybody actually know how to achieve that? Is that even possible? I'm very irritated right now, because after 3 hours of searching online I couldn't find any relevant information. This is stupid beyond all stupidity. Why isn't it intuitive? Two months after I started using Modo I could easily customize anything I wanted about it, but with Max it seems impossible.

 

I needed to vent

[capcaunu]

My point exactly. Nobody knows.

[David Arbogast]

The Command Panel, to my knowledge, isn't very customizable, but it's also not the best place to work from (imo) when editing polys; that's what the whole graphite modeling ribbon toolset is for. Unlike the Command Panel, the Graphite Tools ribbon is completely customizable.

 

If you find Modo to be a pleasure to work with (and 3ds Max to be a nightmare), why bother with Max at all? If you want to pursue more 3ds Max questions, you might also consider posting on Autodesk's Area 3ds Max forum (if you haven't already).

[capcaunu]

You do have a point, the modelling ribbon is probably a smarter way to go. I used it on and off because it used up a lot of vertical space and my monitor is wide, not high...that's the biggest issue. Maybe they'll make the ribbon dockable to the sides, but I don't think I'll be upgrading to the next version of max anyway. Like I said, I only need it as a support for v-ray...but I'm beginning to wonder if that is a good enough reason to stick to it.

[David Arbogast]

The ribbon will stack vertically too. Right click on the ribbon, select "Ribbon Configuration" and then "Switch to Vertical Ribbon". Also Ctl X is the hotkey to toggle off the Command Panel, which is nice when you want to free up some screen real-estate.

 

With 3ds Max 2010, Autodesk began a massive UI overhaul. They realize that the Max UI isn't the best and they're trying to fix it, but that puts them in an incredibly awkward position. Every single change they make (like adding the ribbon) makes many of the huge user base squawk in anger because they have to learn how to use the program in a different way. So, out of necessity, Autodesk is rolling out the changes it very slowly over several releases. They have/had a multit-phase plan for this, and according to their plan, even with 3ds Max 2012 they're still just getting started.

 

I've not had the pleasure of working in Modo, but from appearances alone the UI looks like a thing of beauty. The best tool to use is the tool that the user is the most comfortable using. All in all, I'm very happy with Max and it's been a great fit for me, but I freely admit to thinking a lot about Modo; it just has a great looking interface!

Edited December 14, 2011 by David Arbogast

[Scott Schroeder]

You can minimize the poly sub-menu's and/or move the one's you use the least to the bottom of the stack and move the ones you use the most to the top. Or, set hotkeys to what you need to avoid the modifier panel all together. Or customize your quad and load in the most used poly commands. Or create a custom menu. Or create a custom side bar.

 

Just take a breath and actually start to learn the Max interface. Once you stop hyperventilating, you'll see it's not so bad.

[capcaunu]

Hi David,

 

That was very useful. Somehow I just overlooked the "Switch to Vertical Ribbon" button. And thinking that I went and actually customized different areas of the ribbon more than a dozen times...and I never saw the button next to it. Well...I never looked for it until today

 

I use expert mode from time to time too, but I'm not too crazy about it because every other second I need to grab something from the command panel.

 

Anyway...I know that my complaints may seem unfounded to artists who have only used Max before...but let me tell you, when you get your hands on a 450 Mb piece of software that starts lightning fast, works in the most absolutely logical and intuitive manner, lets you model it into the tool that you really need and lets you turn off/hide everything that stands in the way of your flow, doesn't crash out of the blue every couple of hours, and actually makes you say "wow, this is cool...this tool makes sense to work like this!"...trust me...you'll be having a hard time swallowing max's rough corners and you WILL get irritated when you see that a 3 GB piece of software that's been around since the age of dinosaurs AND costs a small fortune is still lacking some basic - common sense features. (I'm a littke harsh, but just a little).

 

After having some experience (over two years) with Modo and around six years with MAX, I can confidently say that doing something in Modo is just a little harder than imagining it, while working in Max is like trying to spray paint it with an axe. You'll get there eventually, but it's not the easiest path, nor is it the most logical path, nor the most intuitive...it's just the one that most people are most used to because max was the first 3D software they used.

 

Now...I'm not being a silly fan boy...I know max is the far mightier application and EVENTUALLY you'll be able to finish bigger projects, do more complex tasks on it than on Modo...no question about it...but why, God, why must they make it so cumbersome?

 

PS Do get a trial of Modo. It'll be like writing left handed and backwards for a while...but after you start getting used to it..it'll be like second nature and you'll become as frustrated as I am whenever you'll be using max again. What a wonderful prospect, eh )

[David Arbogast]

Nice post Cristian...nothing to disagree about there. Your complaints about the Max UI are well-founded and I know from their public statements that 3ds Max team at Autodesk agree; the proof of it being in their plan to completely overhaul the UI and put Max on a diet. But, I'm also happy they're doing it very slowly/incrementally. For isntance, when they brought out the Slate Material Editor a couple releases ago, I felt like I had to learn the program all over again; it wasn't a great feeling. Now I think the Slate Material Editors is absolutely fantastic and never use the old "Compact Material Editor". Now imagine if Autodesk changed the whole UI in one release. It would really screw up production for a very angry user base. So, progress is necessarily slow and painful.

 

Modo, looks like a very nice modeling package and I just might give it a try; I appreciate your review and assessment of it. I have no problem at all with having a big toolbox.