SKM import/export test

You guys are doing some very impressive work.

 

sorry to be a drag cuchu, but could you post a shot of your axe UVs before exporting to skm, and then actually import it back into 3ds and show that too?

just want to see if theres any differences in my version of max...

 

also, cool axe

though you might want to play around with subtle gradients on the metal area - the existing weapons do this a bit and it seems to help with cutting down on the matte-look

 

The screnie has the pr-export UV map on top, and post export on the bottom.

Yeah I usualy use gradiation on the blades of my weapons to help express the taper towards the edge. Didn't on this one just because of the tracery overtop. There is actualy some gradient on the section for the cutting edge, but I may have made it a little too subtle.

Cuchulainn.

 

ok, well when i import your file into max i lose -all- the uv edges, so its about time i hunt down the latest version of max ~_~_~_~_~

out of curiosity it seems that the skm plugin automatically triangulates the square polys; id assume from this that skm only supports triangles? that would make sense considering they're less system intensive.

perhaps this could be causing issues...

 

Would certainly make sense, but I don't think it should be an issue. While the the default UV map in max always groups 2 triangles into a polygon(for me), the actual mesh is made entirely of triangles. (I just didn't have "show hidden edges" checked in that screnie) That may actualy explain why you seem to be having even more trouble than me. Have you tried building a mesh out of tris instead of polys?

Still not sure a newer version of Max will help you, I loose all edge data on import of that model too. I just selected all the faces so you could see the positioning. Now that we know about the SKM limitation though, isn't edge data irrelevant? I meant as long as the vertices remain in the correct relative positions, and there is a seperate XYZ vertice for each UVW vertice, it shouldn't make a difference.

Cuchulainn.

 

Just a little update. It seems the plugin can handle importing/exporting edge data, it just can't handle new edges created in Max. I tried importing a Troika model altering the UV map slightly, exporting, then importing again, and it still had edge data. I've never had a model I built export with edge data though.

@VP: I've been having issues again with the last couple of models. It seems the only thing that will work fairly reliably is to map each piece with a planar map, before joining the model. Obviously that's pretty limiting especially for what your working on, but it does usualy work. Another technique I've been trying on models that just won't export, is to try exporting each mapped piece to a seperate temp file. If they export OK that way you can join all the imported pieces without them loosing UVW data.

Cuchulainn.

 

Hey VP try resetting transforms as the last step before export. I've been doing that to get around the "Shadow of Death" problem that had me completely flumoxed for about 6 monthes. I've exported 5 or 6 models that way now, and none of the UVW maps have been screwed up, worth a try anyway.

Cuchulainn.