If anybody can help me with what I imagine is a basic problem, I will be indebted to you for life!
I'm having difficulty taking MXM's from the Maxwell Web Resources gallery and getting them to function properly. I understand that textures and MXM's needed to be stored within their respective locations within the application folder yet despite pointing the software to their locations, all I get is a solid tonal value applied to a simple cube created in Sketchup Pro 8 and exported as a .3ds file to Studio.
I've tried using the MXM Checker application too but still I seem to be having the same problem.
If you do know where I'm going wrong, please assume that you are talking to a child in response!
I don't have the Sketchup plugin and as Sketchup Pro 8 for Mac doesn't seem to have an export as Maxwell option, I have to export it as 3ds and run Maxwell in 32 bit mode as requested by the software upon startup.
I don't think it has anything to do with the filetype from what I've read. I really thought MXM checker would do the trick but alas no joy so far.
you are applying your maxwell materials in 3DS max, right?
if not, that's where you should be doing it; set renderer to maxwell in 3ds, bring up materials pallette, add an mxm material, then browse for your saved .mxm---then apply material to object.
shouldn't matter where the .mxm is on your computer, as long as you don't move it once applied.
I've been applying them in Studio. The model I've created has been made in Sketchup Pro 8, exported as a 3ds file and then opened in Studio. Is there perhaps a problem with this workflow?
This is the most common Sketchup to Maxwell problem. MXM Checker has always worked for me. Alternately, open the .mxm in MXED. Relink the textures/bumps etc. to where they reside locally on your hard drive, save the material. Always place your materials somewhere safe (i.e. not in the Maxwell folder as you will copy over them if you reinstall or upgrade).
Your workflow is causing way too much work. Get the Maxwell plugin for Sketchup and save yourself a lot of time. Apply all materials in Sketchup. No need for 3DS Max. See Drongos' Guide (a little out of date, but it will kickstart you):
Assigning an MXM material can sometimes be buggy in Sketchup. Here's how to make it work flawlessly:
1) click the Sketchup material in your "Colors" panel
2) click to "Enable/Disable Maxwell Material Panel" in Maxwell toolbar
3) click the bucket on your base geometry in Sketchup (not a Group, but the raw geometry... very important).
4) play with it, you'll get it.
if you are an actual customer you have access to all the plugins for the various programs as well as the community forums. I suggest starting at the customer portal, then checking out the Resources site.
material problems aren't always a path issue (you should be receiving warnings about the paths with the ability to re-map any incorrect images), sometimes the culprit is scene scale
if you are an actual customer you have access to all the plugins for the various programs as well as the community forums. I suggest starting at the customer portal, then checking out the Resources site.
material problems aren't always a path issue (you should be receiving warnings about the paths with the ability to re-map any incorrect images), sometimes the culprit is scene scale
Thanks rehiggins, I accessed the resources site and obtained the plugin for SU. I think it might indeed be a scene scaling issue actually as I believe I have been correctly assigning texture paths. Will feed back. Thanks people!
Maxwell on the Mac is really buggy. I beta and the 1.x versions were almost useless to me and others. I switched to Vray and it's been great. There were path errors relating to the "c:" drive on my Mac with Maxwell. And it crashed incessantly. I never got a finished render out of my $500 investment in Maxwell. They wouldn't give anyone their money back either. I wouldn't deal with this company. They are dishonest and unethical.
the mac version has been improved, some of the issues in the beta and 1.x versions were incorrect paths (paths migrated over from Windows) and general OSX shortcomings (color output was off when compared to Windows amongst other things).
All in all, you will get faster performance on a Windows installation (I've tested this on a bootcamp machine). OSX may look pretty and have a good UX, but it definitely doesn't allow software to gain the most performance from the hardware available (this is an Apple thing and not necessarily a developer issue).
I haven't experienced any dishonesty or unethical practices (their license agreement is a bit restrictive though it is written out and every purchaser agrees to it whether or not they actually read it) but as far as Next Limit's PR goes--they've certainly made mistakes, most of all in not communicating properly or making promises that they just couldn't keep in the time frame they set out and not explaining themselves (letting rumors and emotions run rampant on their forums) They have drastically changed their licensing scheme (it used to require 1 license per core, now it's per machine) and they're making more of an effort with regards to testing and user interaction.
I thought Next Limit was incredibly unethical in that they didn't stand by what they did.
To have "c:" path errors stopping you from finishing what you are trying to do on your Mac is unacceptable. And the constant crashes... The 1.x was another beta release.
They should have returned people's money who asked for it.The instead blamed users for their programming shortcomings.
They didn't so I wouldn't recommend that anyone purchase their products.
Feb 11, 11 3:41 pm ·
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Maxwell Render OSX MXM Material linking problem. Help needed!
Hi all,
If anybody can help me with what I imagine is a basic problem, I will be indebted to you for life!
I'm having difficulty taking MXM's from the Maxwell Web Resources gallery and getting them to function properly. I understand that textures and MXM's needed to be stored within their respective locations within the application folder yet despite pointing the software to their locations, all I get is a solid tonal value applied to a simple cube created in Sketchup Pro 8 and exported as a .3ds file to Studio.
I've tried using the MXM Checker application too but still I seem to be having the same problem.
If you do know where I'm going wrong, please assume that you are talking to a child in response!
Many thanks.
hmmm
why do you have maxwell for sketchup, but still export to 3DS to render?
I'm guessing when you export you lose all material settings---
...maybe you meant .mxs for maxwell studio?
I don't have the Sketchup plugin and as Sketchup Pro 8 for Mac doesn't seem to have an export as Maxwell option, I have to export it as 3ds and run Maxwell in 32 bit mode as requested by the software upon startup.
I don't think it has anything to do with the filetype from what I've read. I really thought MXM checker would do the trick but alas no joy so far.
Hmmm indeed my friend!
you are applying your maxwell materials in 3DS max, right?
if not, that's where you should be doing it; set renderer to maxwell in 3ds, bring up materials pallette, add an mxm material, then browse for your saved .mxm---then apply material to object.
shouldn't matter where the .mxm is on your computer, as long as you don't move it once applied.
I've been applying them in Studio. The model I've created has been made in Sketchup Pro 8, exported as a 3ds file and then opened in Studio. Is there perhaps a problem with this workflow?
This is the most common Sketchup to Maxwell problem. MXM Checker has always worked for me. Alternately, open the .mxm in MXED. Relink the textures/bumps etc. to where they reside locally on your hard drive, save the material. Always place your materials somewhere safe (i.e. not in the Maxwell folder as you will copy over them if you reinstall or upgrade).
Your workflow is causing way too much work. Get the Maxwell plugin for Sketchup and save yourself a lot of time. Apply all materials in Sketchup. No need for 3DS Max. See Drongos' Guide (a little out of date, but it will kickstart you):
http://www.pushpullbar.com/forums/showthread.php?6234-Drongo%92s-guide-to-using-Maxwell-Sketchup
Assigning an MXM material can sometimes be buggy in Sketchup. Here's how to make it work flawlessly:
1) click the Sketchup material in your "Colors" panel
2) click to "Enable/Disable Maxwell Material Panel" in Maxwell toolbar
3) click the bucket on your base geometry in Sketchup (not a Group, but the raw geometry... very important).
4) play with it, you'll get it.
agreed; I don't ever use studio
would just get the plugin
I'm not sure how to obtain the plugin for Mac. Is it shareware at all?
Also thankyou ELGrecus for your help! Much appreciated..
maxwell is not shareware
if you are an actual customer you have access to all the plugins for the various programs as well as the community forums. I suggest starting at the customer portal, then checking out the Resources site.
material problems aren't always a path issue (you should be receiving warnings about the paths with the ability to re-map any incorrect images), sometimes the culprit is scene scale
maxwell is not shareware
if you are an actual customer you have access to all the plugins for the various programs as well as the community forums. I suggest starting at the customer portal, then checking out the Resources site.
material problems aren't always a path issue (you should be receiving warnings about the paths with the ability to re-map any incorrect images), sometimes the culprit is scene scale
Thanks rehiggins, I accessed the resources site and obtained the plugin for SU. I think it might indeed be a scene scaling issue actually as I believe I have been correctly assigning texture paths. Will feed back. Thanks people!
Maxwell on the Mac is really buggy. I beta and the 1.x versions were almost useless to me and others. I switched to Vray and it's been great. There were path errors relating to the "c:" drive on my Mac with Maxwell. And it crashed incessantly. I never got a finished render out of my $500 investment in Maxwell. They wouldn't give anyone their money back either. I wouldn't deal with this company. They are dishonest and unethical.
the mac version has been improved, some of the issues in the beta and 1.x versions were incorrect paths (paths migrated over from Windows) and general OSX shortcomings (color output was off when compared to Windows amongst other things).
All in all, you will get faster performance on a Windows installation (I've tested this on a bootcamp machine). OSX may look pretty and have a good UX, but it definitely doesn't allow software to gain the most performance from the hardware available (this is an Apple thing and not necessarily a developer issue).
I haven't experienced any dishonesty or unethical practices (their license agreement is a bit restrictive though it is written out and every purchaser agrees to it whether or not they actually read it) but as far as Next Limit's PR goes--they've certainly made mistakes, most of all in not communicating properly or making promises that they just couldn't keep in the time frame they set out and not explaining themselves (letting rumors and emotions run rampant on their forums) They have drastically changed their licensing scheme (it used to require 1 license per core, now it's per machine) and they're making more of an effort with regards to testing and user interaction.
I thought Next Limit was incredibly unethical in that they didn't stand by what they did.
To have "c:" path errors stopping you from finishing what you are trying to do on your Mac is unacceptable. And the constant crashes... The 1.x was another beta release.
They should have returned people's money who asked for it.The instead blamed users for their programming shortcomings.
They didn't so I wouldn't recommend that anyone purchase their products.
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