Wall Worm Forums

Version 3.41 released on 12-1-2017

   * Displacements: Fixed bug where you could not create a sculpt mesh from selected displacements.
   
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Version 3.4 released on 12-1-2017

   * Settings: Added new function to create a local gameinfo file and set all asset export paths to folders within the 3ds Max project folder.
   
   * Entities: Fixed bug opening entity manager when no entities are in the scene.
   
   * Entities: Fixed bug opening entity property editor for props that don't use outputs.

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Version 3.38 released on 11-23-2017

This release was pushed a little before I wanted because two users reported Max startup issues with the previous live release... so I figured I'd better get this pushed as it was reported to address their issues. Please report any issues you may find. Overall you should find that many things in Max run much more quickly. However, this update breaks compatibility with some older WW scenes created before WW 3.0. So if you have an old scene that won't export, contact me and I will help you get it updated.

   * Hull Helper: Fixed MAXScript error when running Process Hulls on an object with no faces.
   
   * Entities: Fixed bug after placing some entities that do not have any known parameters.
   
   * Entities: Updated the Entity Manager to allow more robust searching/filtering of entities.
   
   * Entities: Added new Edit Entity macroscript. Will open a new floater with the entity parameters along with a new Output editor. Still a WiP.
   
   * Entities: Fixed bug parsing FGD in WW Pro when a Color parameter did not have a default value. Required FGD Reparse.
   
   * System: Updated the WallWormHelperOps to track more of the objects for the various tools. This helps reduce lookup times where the entire scene was being queried. This update has been encorporated into several lookup functions, but more will be added in the future.
   
   * Scripts: Added a new script to convert old scenes created before WW 3.0 into a more current state. Script is located at /WallWormUtilities/update_utils/convert_legacy_scene.ms . No UI to run this yet. Must run manually.
   
   * Displacements: Removed the embedding of a startup script in files for the displacement topology listener. Now handled via WallWormHelperOps which is run automatically with Max when WW is installed.
   
   * Sky Writer: Added new option to tell a Sky Writer node to export as a env_cubemap in a VMF.
   
   * VMF Exporter: Optimized export of Forest objects as entities.
   
   * VMF Exporter: Updated VMF exporter to intelligently generate nodeId of info_node entities that are assigned to Forest or PropLine nodes.
   
   * VMF Exporter: Fixed PAK function being broken.
   
   * System: Fixed Max crashing the first time launched after updating WW.
   
   * Settings: Added new settings to explicitly set these compilers: studiomdl.exe, vtex.exe, vbsp.exe, vvis.exe, vrad.exe, mksheet.exe, vbspzip.exe (or Goldsource equivalents).
   
   * Materials/Textures: Updated the VMT/VTF Exporters to automatically apply the WW Source Shader Custom Attribute to materials before loading export UIs. This means that in most cases you no longer need to use the Give Obj Mats+Tex buttons.

Version 3.372 released on 11-10-2017

   * Displacements: Fixed bug where Commit Sculpt Mesh was not committing Channel 10 (4way blend channel). 4way blend channel commits were broken in the 3.37 release.
   
   * Materials: Fixed Give Obj Mats+Tex WW Materials function not sending the custom attributes to the submaterials of the Composite Material.
   
   * Materials: Added R/G/B labels to the 4way DX shader so it's clear which color controls which texture. Unfortunately, it isn't in the order of RGB for basetexture2-4 and this was causing confusion. The labels should help.

Commits to sculpt meshes are not transferring 4way blends. I discovered this today. It was broken when I added support for UV updates in sculpts. I will have a fix either tonight or tomorrow.

This bug is now fixed in 3.372.

Version 3.37 released on 10-29-2017

   * Displacements: Added support for Sculpt Meshes to commit UV changes. Note that only UVW Xform or UVW Map with Planar/Box should be used. UVW Xform is safest. Requires user to explicitly turn on the Commit UV option in the Sculpt Mesh. Will not run if the displacement has been quadrified.
   
   * Displacements: Added three new settings in the sculpt mesh custom attribute: Commit UVs, Commit Multiblends, Commit Multiblend Colors. By default only Commit Multiblends is on. Determines if the commit function will calculate and update displacements for those channels.
   
   * Displacements: Fixed bug with the Commit Sculpt Mesh function when no vertex alpha channel is present
   
   * MDL: Updated the Collapse for Skinning function to prompt for generation of a WWMT Helper if the MDL node isn't connected to a WWMT Helper.

As there has been a ridiculous amount of spam activity on the forum, I've disabled profile signatures and profile web addresses. Sorry for those whom this affects negatively. I just am getting tired of deleting and banning 10 accounts every day.

Version 3.34 released on 10-27-2017

   * Convert Scene to Model: Added option for boolean mode. Can now choose between ProBoolean, Boolean2 and Boolean3 (Boolean3 only available in Max 2018+).
   
   * Convert Scene to Model: Fixed MAXScript error a that could happen when a boolean created a mesh with no geometry.
   
   * System: Fixed the XRef data collection throwing an error when loading some XRef Scenes.
   
   * VMF Exporter: Fixed MAXScript error when there is a Physical camera in the scene.

Version 3.32 released on 10-21-2017

   * SMD Exporter: Fixed bug where the Full Material Name was broken after WW 3.25.

This broke the Convert Scene to Prop function, causing missing textures on exported models.

Version 3.3 released on 10-17-2017

   * Licensing: Updated WW Pro licensing to accommodate manual activation.

The store has also been updated with a new view of licenses and an ability to download a license file that can be used to manually install the license file. This should help those who were on systems that don't allow Max to communicate with the internet.

Version 3.25 released on 10-12-2017

   * Materials: Added a few envmap parameters to the Material Custom Attribute.
   
   * Materials: Added some parameters new to CSGO in the last couple of years.
   
   * Materials: Cleaned up much of the UI in the Material Custom Attribute.
   
   * Materials: Fixed a bug when pressing the export/write functions in a Material Custom Attribute and some Wall Worm Functions were not previously loaded.
   
   * Materials: Added section comments to VMT files.
   
   * Settings: Added new setting to Skip Comments in VMTs (WW Pro only).
   
   * Settings: Added new setting to force SMD to include file extension of textures on face.
   
   * SMD Exporter: Added support for added texture file extensions on SMD face entries. Previously, only worked with ".BMP" files and engine set to Goldsource.

Version 3.245 released on 10-9-2017

   * Textures: Added new setting into the WW Pro VTF Exporter options to force 1.0 gamma for bitmaps that should use 1.0 (masks, etc).
   
   * Textures: Fixed incorrect gamma when rendering normal maps with WW Pro VTF UI.
   
   * Textures: Updated the WW Pro functions to add the WW Pro Texture attributes from a material to set mask slots to use the new Gamma 1.0 setting.
   
   * Materials: Updated the Material settings to allow setting Phong on any shader (not just VertexLitGeneric).

See docs of the latest Nudge Tools in Wall Worm.

Version 3.24 released on 10-3-2017

   * Nudge Tools: Added button to display object bounding box.
   
   * Nudge Tools: Added menu to set current grid spacing of home grid or selected grids.
   
   * Nudge Tools: Added tooltips to all UI elements that did not have any.
   
   * Nudge Tools: Added new settings for Nudge Amount Method: Use Home Grid and Auto.
   
   * Nudge Tools: Added new settings for Snap Spacing Method: Use Home Grid and Auto.
   
   * Nudge Tools: Added support for Auto Snap Verts on objects that have modifiers (provided that Show End Results is off).

   * Nudge Tools: Updated global struct for the nudging to set most methods and properties to private.
   
   * Grid Ops: Added new Grid Ops. This adds new settings to Grid Objects.
   

Version 3.238 released on 10-2-2017

   * WWMT: Updated WWMT to give options when using the Generate LODs function. Now if there are already LODs, the user is prompted whether to skip LODs that already exist. If the user does not skip, the user is then prompted whether to delete the original LODs from the scene.
   
   * WWMT: Fixed a MAXScript error when selecting a WWMT LOD Distance Helper when the radius sphere tied to it was previously deleted.
   
   * MDL: Added a new macro to update all selected MDL nodes from their MDL files. Macro found in Wall Worm > Wall Worm Utilities > Reload MDL Nodes.
   
   * MDL: Updated the function for reloading a MDL to also update the material.
   
   * Extras: Added some new settings and functions in the Nudge tools floater.

Version 3.237 released on 9-29-2017

   * Displacements: Brought back the Quadrify function in a sculpt mesh. Only use the button in the sculpt mesh modify tab to quadrify and NEVER use the native one inside Max! (Triangulate is not yet supported, so it's a one-way ticket.)
   
   * System: Updated several core functions to take advantages of new functions exposed in 3ds Max 2018.2. Several places in WW that gets face/vertex information is now sped up significantly in Max 2018.2+. In a test to commit a sculpt mesh made of 2000 power 3 displacements, the commit function was dropped from 10 minutes to 5 minutes.
   
   * VMF Exporter: Fixed bug where VMF Exporter would export props used in a Forest or PropLine node but should not have exported because the Point Entities option was turned off in the exporter.
   
   * VMF Exporter: Optimized some functions to work faster. Best perfomance enhancements are in 3ds Max 2018.2+.
   
   * Displacements: Updated Commit Function to work far faster with WW Pro (all versions of Max that are supported by WW Pro). In test scenes a commit of 2000 power 3 displacements in 3ds Max 2018.2 went from 5 minutes to 37 seconds.
   
   * Materials: Added texture1_uvscale to the Lightmapped_4wayblend shader.
   
   * Materials: Fixed bug importing VMT with an entry for $texture1_uvscale.
   
   * Extras: Rennovated the Nudge Tools in Wall Worm > Wall Worm Extras > Nudge UI. Added Auto-Grid Snapping.

New Free modifier from Wall Worm: Deviate Faces. The modifier is very similar to a noise modifier but can force verts in same face to deviate similarly. Will add a few more features in next update.

I have been slow to move away from Max 2016 in part because it's the version we use at Black Mesa, but also because it was a game changer for me in many ways. 2016 was simply an awesome Max release. 2017 had many problems for me, and it was the first release of Max that I tested and then abandoned because of driver incompatibility with Nvidia cards (those problems are now gone... but a new version of Max is out).

So this brings me to 3ds Max 2018.

Although it continues with the icon changes of 2017 that I do not like, there are numerous things about 2018 that I really love. There are new motion paths, spline tools, enhancements to modifiers like PathDeform, Normalize Spline, Unwrap UVW and more. And noteworthy for WW is that some new MAXScript functions have been added that speed up accessing mesh data. This means that exporting files will be faster as well as committing complex sculpt meshes, etc. So this is a big one. I've already started the process of supporting these new features for those who have Max 2018.2+.

There are still some annoying things in 2018. Of course, I do not like the new icons/theme. But that could be cranky-old-man syndrome. Other annoying things are that some nested windows won't automatically adapt to viewport changes (like closing the Graphite Toolbar or Mini Curve Editor leaves an empty gap between where the window was and the viewports). Another annoying thing is that the Command Panel often gets stuck at a larger-than-necessary width. It's hard to say what causes that, but I find it highly annoying.

Despite those annoyances, I'm eager to use 2018 more regularly. I feel very good about this iteration of Max.

Version 3.234 released on 9-6-2017

   * Anvil: Added three new buttons to create Grids in the Anvil Tags tab: Create Grid Above Selection, Create Grid Below Selection and Create Grid Above and Below Selection. Will create grids aligned to the world grid and centered in X/Y at closest current world grid spacing intersection.
   
   * MacroScripts: Added three macroscripts for grids. Create Grid Above Selection, Create Grid Below Selection and Create Grid Above and Below Selection.
   
   * Settings: Added new button to import settings from a previous installation of Max. This allows you to load the presets you already have saved in older Max versions, or to load from a shared presets file.
   
   * MacroScripts: Updated macros that have an Alternate Documentation function using SHIFT to work with keyboard shortcuts. Now it is safe to assign a function to use SHIFT in a keyboard shortcut.

Version 3.232 released on 9-2-2017

   * Settings: Added new global setting in the models tab: Use Hitbox Rotations. When on, hitbox rotations are written into QC. When off, hitbox rotations are skipped. For CSGO this should be on. For Black Mesa it should be off.
   
   * WWMT: Updated the QC exporter to use the new global setting for Use Hitbox Rotations to determine whether rotations should be used in hitbox lines.