Month: January 2007

You just need a sphere/hemi-sphere and an image that looks OK when applied to a spherical environment/object:

1. Open the .max file.
2. Hit “m” to open the material editor.
3. In the first open slot, click either the “Get Material” icon, or
use the pull-downs.
4. Select “bitmap”.
5. Navigate to your sky image.
6. Select the dome.
7. In the material editor, click “Assign Material to Selection”, or
use “Assign to Selection” from the pull-downs.
8. Render.

Hi all

These days I’m working on interactive 3d walkthrough so we
requirment is to render the plan or surfaces from one side only (we r
using direct x tech. to render the scene) .So as a 3d modeler my duty
is to make sure that plane or surface should render fron the required
side only (so i used the flip command to ) and sometimes we need to
render from bothsides without using force two sided where the problem
arises ,can anyone help to sort it out

I don’t know anything about “direct x tech”, but if you are using 3ds max, you can use 2 objects back to back if you like. One thing to keep in mind is that when you create 2 objects that are supposed to represent both sides of a single object, you need to find a workable way to keep them together in the right orientation. Depending on what you are doing (still, animation, etc.) this can be done with combinations of constraints, hierarchies or even compounds.

Another approach that keeps the object count low is to use the handy-dandy “Shell” modifier. With it you can do things like specifying 0 for inner and outer shell thickness and effectively turn any object in 3ds into an object that can be seen/rendered from both “sides”. Used in excess, this increases the face count, so be sure to keep that in mind.

There is only one drawback to the method I am suggesting as compared to Mike’s. If you plan to apply a different material to each side of a plane, say, that has a shell modifier applied, you can’t do it with a “Top/Bottom” material or a “Multi/Sub-Object” material. The same material is applied to both “sides”. This is true, by the way, even if you cut up/divide the object as an editable mesh/poly.

So now you have 2 approaches to choose from, based on your needs.

Hope that helps!

OK, so it isn’t really a contest. But there is a real, practical reason
for doing it! I need a new render node!
I’m trying to find the best machine I can for $1,000. This
is actually a lot harder than it used to be ‘back in the day’, as
machine options are all over the place.
My farm is a mess. There is nothing like any other. I’m retiring the
slowest node and replacing it’s hardware-if I can do it for $1,000.
So here are the boundaries/rules for the discussion:
1. Available on the web through any number of vendors for the entire
solution. A URL is needed for each part, groups of parts, or entire
system.
2. Low-end video out (render node).
3. Windows XP-compatible 32 bit hardware. Made for a 3ds Max 8 NR/DR
node. Multiple cores and processors are encouraged!
4. 120vac, 60Hz power.
5. NIC and a minimum HDD size. All files will be accessible via the
network where I have RAID drives serving everything up.
6. 2GB RAM.
7. Stand-alone solution. That is, not a blade requiring additional
housings, chassis, racks, etc. Other than this, form actor is not a..
well, factor!
8. Each solution should be presented in a single posting, illustrating
that all parts are compatible with each other. In other words, simply
saying that a certain chipset is best is not really useful for someone
trying to put an entire box together. What is useful is a complete list
of parts, with their URLs, so that someone like me could just go buy
the stuff.
9. To this end, if someone has posted a system that is close to what
you would have posted, simply edit their post and replace the
component(s) you want changed with the ones you suggest and update the
total, as per:
10. Include the price (in USD) of each line item, as well as the total,
in each post.
11. Multiple machines are not an option, as licensing costs go up, thus
offsetting any performance gains.
12. New is best, and preferred. If refurbished, it will need to be from
a reputable vendor with an exceptional service record offering an
equivalent warranty.
Another consideration for declaring a winner (well, the one I’ll
actually buy!) is the cost of shipping. Consider that each individual
part from separate vendors could equate to up to $100-$200 in shipping.
A $1,000 solution now becomes a $1,200 one.
Therefore, a solution involving the fewest amount of vendors (or free
shipping), or more practically the solution with the lowest overall
cost, is the one that will be used.
I anticipate more than one solution, and discussion around each. This
is because fast, older hardware may be cheaper to acquire than newer,
equivalent hardware. Be sure to back up your assertions with actual
benchmarking data whenever possible.
Prize? Hmm. Honorable mention not enough? Remember, I’m the guy paying
for the system you determine is best, so what else other than money?
Name the system after you?! :) Ideas?

Q: “I have just started to learn max for my dissertation in the past 2 months
and so far everythin has been ok. But i am currently creating a deck chair. I have created all the wooden parts but i have no idea how i can create the material section.

I was wondering is there a tool in max that will allow me to create it so it would slope like they do.”

A: I’d be daft not to ask what kind of a dissertation!

But as for the tool, are you talking about the material that is strung
between the wooden support elements? If you say “materials” to a 3ds
person, they think materials as in the screen you get when you hit the
hot key “m”.
Continue reading “Noise and beach chairs in 3ds Max”