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Home Jeff's Blog Getting Started Video Tutorial
Getting Started Video Tutorial PDF Print E-mail
Written by Jeff Patton   
Wednesday, 13 August 2008 09:36

Here is a quick video to help all those who requested help on getting started. If video does not play on your system you may use the download ling below the media player to obatain the video.

Download Here

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Indranil Ray wrote on August 18, 2008
 
Title: ...
Great tutorial. Everything is clear now. Thanks Jeff.
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Ethan Janssens wrote on August 19, 2008
 
Title: .mat files
Jeff: I don't want to be a party pooper, but I've got some news on the .mat files you might be interested in:

.mat files contain (mi) files, which contain "textures" in their slots

the .mat files aren't case-sensitive, they just contain info, BUT that info, being the maps in the (mi) files, ARE case-sensitive, they have a certain "adress" on your computer. for example, I have a A&D whith a diffuse map, located in C:/documents and settings/boomerang/desktop/new folder

I zip the .mat and the textures and upload it, like you said.

When someone else downloads it and extracts these files, they get a .mat file with texture maps. And the .mat file has (mi) files which are black (dead links) becauce those maps STILL refer to the adress on MY computer.

This can even be reproduced on one and the same computer: get a texture, bungle it in a A&D, create a .mat

the mat file can be dragged anywhere, np, but if you rename the folder which the texture-map is in, or simply move the texture to another map on the computer, the (mi) file with that texture is as good as dead, and you would have to go into the texture slot and relink the map manually! I don't see everyone doing this to be honest..

If I'm missing something plz let me know because I'm trying to get Max to smartlink the texture-maps in my (mi) files, it's not like when starting up max you "external files missing" error.. the material editor will just give you black materials
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ethan janssens wrote on August 21, 2008
 
Title: .mat file
I state that .mat files cannot be transferred between computers because the texture-maps in the (mi) shaders in the .mat file, are case-sesitive, and do NOT have smartlink available. Care to counterstate?
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Jeff Patton wrote on August 21, 2008
 
Title: ...
People can always use the bitmap/photometric paths utility to quickly repath things like that, or manually reassign them of course.

Honestly though, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do about that as I have zero control over everyone's local file structure or how/where they store their bitmaps. I also have no control over how 3ds Max handles things like this.

I suppose a script could be written to automate the running of the path editor utility...unfortunately, I'm not a "scripter".

I think the only thing I can personally do is provide users with information on how to use the path editor utility to fix things like those borked paths.

If any script writers out there are reading this and want to donate a script to automate the repathing of bitmaps, that would be grrrrreattt. smilies/grin.gif
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ethan_janssens wrote on August 22, 2008
 
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woops srry didn't realise my first post would come through as well, had some problems with that one.

No but I just wanted to be sure that the map files in (mi) files in .mat files, indeed do not have smartlink.

It's pretty strange why as to max doesn't have this.. I guess .mat files are for on one and the same computer... for now.
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