Wall Worm Forums

WWMT 1.759 includes updated UI links to the new docs site.

It also includes some really cool new 3D Skybox functions in Anvil (the new name I've given to the Displacement Tool... at it is no longer just for making displacements).

I found a bug in the VMF exporter when exporting a scene with Convexity Walls. The VMF export would fail.

The 1.756 release fixes that bug.

This update makes the UVW of brushes/displacements better than previously. Still... the UVW is wrong.

Several people have been trying to help solve this... but we've hit a wall. I've gotten plenty of feedback but my experience in vectors, matrices and geometric formulas is weak. This has been making me learn more... but I'm far from cracking it.

I have asked Michael Little to help. If you don't know Michael, he's the developer of one of the coolest Max tools any of use level designers can have--Convexity. Hopefully he'll be able to help out with cracking it once and for all :) (Considering he's already built a VMF exporter... I know he can :P )

The VMF Exporter now inside the Wall Worm tools does not yet export accurate texture coordinates. That is a major issue right now... so at the moment you must still use Hammer to align the textures of your World Geometry.

What you can do to make it easier is open the exported VMF in Hammer, click the Map menu item and click the menu for Check for Problems. Then select one of the items mentioning an incorrect texture alignment and press the Fix all of Type button.

I am trying to solve this problem right now. If you happen to know any MAXScript, please feel free to share input. The problem is stated in detail here.

I loaded a newer version today with some bug fixes and a bunch of options in the VMF Exporter.

I released two updates today:

Version 1.753 released on 2-5-2012

• Fixed the Material handling function in the SMD and VMF exporters. They were supposed to support the Shell Material in the previous couple of updates. As it turned out, when I first tested the functions I used the appropriate class name Shell_Material... but then for some unknown reason changed this to just Shell ... which isn't the same thing. The exporters should now properly export the Shell Material. Sorry about that.

• Updated the VMF Exporter to pop up a dialog where you can choose to include/exclude various elements: displacements, brush geoemtry, models, Convexity point entities, Convexity brush entities and lights. By default, all are assumed, but you can uncheck any element.

Version 1.752 released on 2-5-2012

•Updated VMF Exporter to recognize the MR Sun (exports as light_environment).
•Updated VMF Exporter to format float values to 6 decimal places.
•Updated VMF Exporter to format color values to have no decimal point.
•Updated Sky Writer to Version 0.5. The rendered images now align with the cardinal directions in Source. Previously, the sky was rotated 180 degrees.
•Added Vray supprt to Sky Writer. (This is experimental--I don't have Vray but was donated the logic by Fabian Groß.) Please provide feedback.
•Updated Sky Writer to default to 1.0 for both LDR and HDR Gamma (no longer makes assumptions).

I am still trying to figure out how to export the UV in the VMF Exporter.

I have made a very large update to the Worm Toolset. Here is the changelog:

Version 1.75 released on 2-3-2012

• Added alternative WWMT SMD Exporter, which is a new MAXScript implementation not dependant on an external SMD exporter. Not as fast as the SDK exporters (Wunderboy and Cannonfodder). This new exporter allows you to export arbitrary mapping channels (see below) and will also supports the Shell Material (It will use the Baked Material in the Shell for export).

When Wunderboy SMD Exporter 1.7 is released, I will recommend you use that one as it will accomodate the same new features I've added here and will work faster. However, until it is released, you can utilize this exporter if you need the features in it.

You can always switch between the exporters in the WWMT Settings floater.

• Added UVW Channel control. You can now choose which UVW channel the SMD Exporter will use. (Only works with Wunderboy SMD Exporter 1.7+ and WWMT SMD Exporter 1.0+).

• Added Quick Hull functionality to the Collision Hull rollout. This function is dependant on you having either Convexity or a version of Max that includes MassFX and/or the nVidia PhysX plugin.

• Fixed some MAXScript exceptions that happened when picking some buttons in the Collision Hull rollout in some circumstances.

• Updated materials on SMDs. You can now use any arbitrary Material. Note that for any material other than Standard (and Standard in slots of a Multi/Sub-Object Material) and the Shell* Material, the name of the material translates to the SMD face material name. (*Note: the Shell Material acquires the face material from the Standard Material in the Baked Material of the Shell Material and is only supported in this manner with the WWMT SMD Exporter. The Wunderboy SMD Exporter 1.6 will still only use the name of the Shell Material but may change in the near future when 1.7 is released.)

• Changed the naming convention of Sequence SMD files. Previously, the file name was simply based off of the name of the Sequence in the UI. Because that could lead to files being over-written if two models in the same path used the same sequence name... the sequence file names are now updated to follow this pattern: ModelName + "_sequence_" + sequenceName + ".smd".

Example: If your model name is "myModel" and it has a sequence called "startMove" the associated sequence SMD file is now named myModel_sequence_startMove.smd .

• Updated Sky Writer to create HDR bitmaps (as EXR/DDS files that you can turn into PFM files in Photoshop). Still need to update cameras to take shots in the same cardinal directions as in Max. At the moment, North comes out as South, East as West. The image is fine but if you need the sun angle to be identical in direction, you need to be aware of this. A fix will come soon.

• Updated Select/Show/Hide Hull buttons to redraw views upon being clicked. Previously, the show/hide would not display until a button was clicked or the viewport changed in Max 2012.

• Updated the functions for applying smoothing groups to the collision hulls. Previously, the functions would only work accurately on hulls that are an editable poly--and it unnecessarily applied a Smooth modifier to other types of geometry. The current implementation will work on both Editable Poly and Editable Mesh. It will also only add smoothing if there are multiple Elements in any individual hull objects.

• Added new global setting to make new models default to $staticprop when turned on in the WWMT configuration floater.

• Added basic brush export support to VMF Exporter. No UVW mapping yet.

The VMF Exporter will currently export the following things:

◦Brush Geometry* (with Smoothing Groups, Material Name applied).
◦All WWMT models as props
◦Your Sky Writer as VMF sky
◦WW Displacements
◦Cameras
◦Convexity Point Entities
◦Convexity Brush Entities

*The brush exporter will only export items that you have assigned as Brush Geometry with the Add Brush Geometry button in the WW Displacement Tool UI or Convexity Walls/Floors.

There are several features that need to be implemented. The two main features are brush geometry UVW and lights.

• Added a Tool Brush Material Library into the WWMT package. You will find it in the WWMT download in a folder called materiallibraries. The file is "wallworm_source_tools.mat" which you can open with the Max Material Editor. Applying the material (like NoDRAW, Sky, etc) will translate into the VMF.

• Added a new submenu in the main WW menu in Max for exporters. You will need to go to the WWMT settings and click Add To Menu to get the updated menu. It includes a button to export scene as VMF and one to export all selected WWMT models to Source.

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Like usual, the documentation for this update is currently limited to the changelog. In other words, you have to play around with it to learn something if I haven't yet documented it. I do plan on updating the entire Wall Worm website soon to be easier to navigate and keep up-to-date.

A few words, though.

First, I want to point out that the new SMD Exporter is a result of wanting some new options than the current SMD Exporters have not yet offered. All of the features I've added will actually be in the next release of Wunderboy's SMD Exporter... and I have been collaborating with Wunderboy on the new version. This new addition is not my attempt to usurp anything from Wunderboy as I hold him in high regard and love collaborating with him. The change is made simply because he has had limited time and the new features were ones that I've been wanting for WWMT for a year now. When Wunderboy gets 1.7 released, my recommendation is that you'll want to use his because it is a compiled plugin that works faster than the MAXScript version I've included in WWMT.

One benefit of this addition will be the next time an update to the Max SDK breaks compatibility with plugins--it will mean that WWMT will continue to work in the interim before Wunderboy is able to compile a new version. If the current trends continue, that will probably happen in 3ds Max 2014.

Secondly, the new VMF exporter is not finished. It's almost there... but the UVW coordinates on brush faces are incorrect. At the moment, until I've fixed that, any VMFs exported with the Worm exporter will need to have the texture coordinates fixed. You can do this in Hammer by clicking Map > Check for Problems and selecting/fixing all items that say that there is a texture perpendicular to its face.

If you happen to have technical understanding of Max/MaxScript/VMFs... feel free to help me solve this dilemma. I've posted more details over on the Area Forums. Although I have a lot of experience programming, my 3d math skills are not what the kids would call epic... so solving this has proven frustrating.

If you happen to own Convexity, you will get the added benefit of being able to create point entities and brush entities inside your Max seen too and the exporter works just fine. I may add Entity Input/Output too... but honestly I'd probably need more motivational donations to take that task up anytime soon :) I'm already grumbling to myself because the next version of Max is around the corner and there is that Subscription fee no one looks forward to...

Please report any bugs you find. It's best to submit them here is the forums so that other users can see/discuss. And it is easier on me to respond to a thread once or twice than six different emails :)

Enjoy!

There is a known bug in the Wunderboy SMD Exporter 1.6 (and older) that causes it to freeze when exporting some models. When this happens, there will be an export window that is frozen in the screen that says it is writing meshes... but it never finishes and there is no way to close that window. Closing Max is the only way to close that little window.

Furthermore, the SMD file the exporter was trying to write is locked and cannot compile until Max shuts down. Even then the file is invalid.

This bug is one that Wunderboy is aware of and addressing in the upcoming update to the exporter.

You can, however, avoid this problem altogether. If you have a mesh that breaks the exporter, it most likely means that it does not have valid UVW mapping applied. For versions 1.6 and olfer, the exporter needs all geometry to have UVW mapping in channel 1. For meshes that fail that don't need specific UVW mapping, simply applying a UVW Map modifier to the mesh should solve that problem.

Wunderboy is developing a fix for this in Version 1.7.

This topic has been moved to WWMT Questions.

http://www.wallworm.net/index.php?topic=193.0

I have a Beta of Sky Writer 1.0 for anyone who wants to test it. (That is now included in the WWMT download--but still read on...)

Previously, Sky Writer has not actually exported true HDR skies because it was saving all files as TGAs... and even the 32bit TGA exporter isn't saving actual HDR bitmaps.

To get the skies into true HDR, you have to send PFM bitmaps to VTEX. Unfortunately, 3ds Max does not save PFM files. But Max will export other HDR formats... so I have built a new way for the tool to work.

Installing the Beta

• Download the latest version of Wall Worm Model Tools
• Install WWMT

Here is the Beta 0.4+ workflow:

• Create a Sky Writer Helper
• Give a sky name
• Set Various Parameters (gamma)
• If you want true HDR, check the PFM button
• Click the Render button
• After the render is done, click the Open folder
• Open the EXR* files that are saved alongside the TGA files in Photoshop
• In Photoshop... Flip the image Vertically
• In Photoshop, save the file as a PFM file
• Back in Sky Writer (in Max) click the Compile button
• After the compile is done... open the VMT for each HDR sky texture and delete the first $basetexture line if you want to have the LDR fallback that is listed in the second $basetexture line; if you do not want to use the LDR fallback, remove the second $basetexture line.
• Test the sky in a map

*OpenEXR (.EXR) files are only supported in MAXScript in 3ds Max 2011+. If you are using an older version of Max, the exporter will try to create a DDS file (another HDR Format). Unfortunately, DDS formats cannot be controlled by MAXScript... so to make the correct settings, you may need to create manual DDS presets by saving a DDS file in Max prior to rendering your sky. (The same may also be true of some OpenEXR properties--the EXR type and format cannot be controlled by MAXScript... so if the EXR files are not working as expected in your version of Max... save an EXR file to create a new default with the type as Full Float and a format of RGB--since you do not want any alpha in the sky.)

If you want to test this version, simply contact me. Please provide your feedback in using this beta.


Other notes... in the current beta, I've activated the Half-Height Sides button. That button will add a command into the VMT to scale the texture... but you will need to crop and recompile the VTF manually after Sky Writer has made the VTFs since VTEX won't allow the compilation of non-square sky textures. If you do not do that, your sides will be stretched horribly when using that option.

I'm in the middle of updating some of the features in WWMT and integrating the soon-to-be released Wunderboy SMD Exporter 1.7. At the moment, there are a few things I've done to clean up the flow and alleviate problems that some users have:

One long-time quandry users fall into is using Grouped geometry. WWMT has never handled Grouped geometry because I never got around to including support for it. For some reason, Max handles grouped geometry significantly differently than other collections... and to deal with that you have to make all kinds of extra IF THIS ELSE THAT blocks in your code to accomodate. Except for a rare donation here and there... I don't get paid for this... and I've always ignored that problem--I've documented it and simply don't use Group for models I'm exporting to Source.

But I've troubleshooted enough problems to know that people aren't seeing that in the docs. One thing I plan on doing is revamping the docs soon... but in reality I'm sure that many people will still miss that.

So I started adding Group support this week and learned that the SMD Exporter also doesn't work with Grouped geometry. I haven't heard from Wunderboy about his intention to add it or not. As he also does it all for free... I'm not sure it's going to be worth the effort.

So I've been adding a bunch of checks in the UI... so if you try to add grouped geometry it will alert a message and tell you not to use grouped geometry. Nothing will stop you from grouping after you've added geometry to a WWMT helper... and I am not going to un-optimize the export code by adding more checks. So at some point I have to take a stance on it... and expect the users to actually read the docs from start to finish when learning to use it! I cannot let myself stress about users not being able to figure things out when I have already tried to make things as straightforward as I can and documented a lot of the tools.

A couple of the big changes deal with updates Wunderboy has included in the SMD Exporter 1.7 update:

• All Material Types now supported. This means you can use things like the Shell Material--which can further speed your process when using RTT.
• Any Mapping Channel now available for exporting. Previously, only channel 1 was supported. Now there will be a channel spinner in WWMT that lets you choose what channel to use for exporting your SMD's UVW mapping. This will speed the process of getting your models into Source since you will be able to work in arbitrary mapping channels.

There will be an incomplete addition to the Displacement tool. I've been working on adding UVW controls into the Displacements... but it will be less-than-fully tested by the time that the next WWMT comes out. Hopefully within a month or two you will be able to control the displacement mapping arbitrarily. Unfortunately, I already predict a lot of support emails regarding this because people will expect to be able to use any type of UVW mapping... but Source displacements can only have Planar mapping (Unless there is something I've missed during my time scouring the VMF/Displacement documentation). Still... when I've added that support fully... it will finally make the displacement a WYSIWYG displacement editor.

The other big-ticket item on the top of my TODO list is adding an animated texture exporter. It will be nice to just animate a texture and export it straight into Source as a collection of VTFs and the associated animated VMT. It won't be in this next update, but will be coming soon.

Last, but not least, I want to give a shout-out and warm Thank You to Rick_D from the Polycount forums. He gave a very generous donation to me this last week.... which is greatly appreciated. A few more of those, and I will be able to pay for another year of Autodesk Subscription for another year :)

Pier Janssen (developer of the popular Outliner script) recently released a new MAXScript called Edge Smooth that lets you control face smoothing by the edges. Since I don't use Maya, I can't speak from experience... but this seems to be a technique brought in from the Maya world.

Although I like the Max way of using Smoothing Groups... this "new" method is pretty convenient in many circumstances. I've found it convenient enough to add it as a set of keyboard shortcuts to Smooth and Harden the edges.

If you don't have it, you should. And for you Maya users... it may make Max feel a little more comfortable for you :)

As some of you may know, Autodesk now launched a site in the last year or two for users to voice their opinions about new features in 3ds Max. I would like to ask any WWMT users to go vote for some of the features that Wunderboy and myself have suggested; these features would directly help the development of WWMT/Wunderboy tools... and/or simply add general benefit tools.

Shawn's Request: Render To Texture onto Multiple Objects at Once into one single output image (or multiple respective images if using different target maps). This would make it easier to Unwrap multiple objects at once and output into a single image without having to composite the bitmaps later in Photoshop. This is good if you want to pack the textures for multiple objects into a single image. I primarily want this for level design.

Wunderboy's Request: Allow Bones to be drawn along any axis rather than just the X axis. This will improve the quality of the SMD Importer... which is something I know that a lot of you use.

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I do know that there is a function that does my request in the RTT Assist plugin that Miauu wrote (one of my favorite 3ds Scripters)... but honestly I think this is a feature that should be readily available inside a vanilla install of Max.

So I've had this game for years but never really played it. We played it over the last week... and it's actually great fun. Here's how much fun on my second night playing in the attached screen shot. (Until I got used to the layout of that map, I think I was something like 8-35).

Of course, I'm still lost in most of the maps.

I've loaded a new video on getting materials into Source as brush materials (LightmapGeneric).

This topic has been moved to WWMT Questions.

http://www.wallworm.net/index.php?topic=179.0

I'm working on a level that is at a fossil dig site. Here is Predator X under development:

EDIT... so now you don't have to login to see:

I'm working on a sky for a map at the moment so preparing to flesh out Sky Writer... including adding functionality to a couple of the buttons that don't yet work in the UI. I'm also going to try and add LDR into the export process (right now it only does HDR).

Since I'm using Vue xStream at the moment, I'm trying to figure out the best methods for making skies in Max with Vue. When I first made Sky Writer, I was using mainly Dreamscape. I have more experience with Dreamscape and have made many successful skies... but now I'm focusing on Vue since the overall design tools in Vue are so much more robust.

Right now the Displacement Tool does not honor any uvw mapping. It's a flaw that several have asked about.

Right now I am investigating how to get UVW mapping to export properly. I have already started the process and in my local tests have gotten at least closer to doing this. THe problem has been my flemsy understanding of the technical aspects of UVW Mapping and vertices/faces.

So for those of you wanting this, be happy to know that I am studying the problem.

One of the problems is that, to my knowledge, you cannot apply per-face UVW onto a face in a Source Displacement. Each Source Displacement gets its single UVW coordinates from the underlying brush face... and all of the UVW of the displacement tris comes from the position they started from on that original brush face. If that is confusing to you, that is fine. But if it is not confusing to you and you have any understanding of MAXScript, please feel free to contact me with any input on fleshing out the UVW of displacements.

I think I have the proper tiling code ready locally. But I do not have the correct rotation and UVW Plain orientation code for complex UVW rules... as the version I'm working on assumes that all UVW orientation are aligned wth the underlying brush. But what I'm trying to do is make it so that you can arbitrarily apply a Planar UVW (or Box) to an arbitrary set of Displacements and move, rotate and scale the UVWs with the UVW gizmos and have that mapping export into Source.

This release was going to be a few days from now... but I learned that the current release broke the displacement tool's VMF Exporter (the exporter had the export code commented out). So i released this version... which also auto-generates Flexcontrollers with morphed models/VTAs.