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View Full Version : reusing dmaps and baking shadows

tauf
09-10-2002, 07:50 PM
In Maya you are able to save depth shadow maps to disk and reuse them. If you have a camera moving around a static 3d scene that has a lot of lights casting shadows, you can basically render one frame with each lights depth shadow maps, and then reuse those maps for every single frame, thus saving a bit of time.

Is this possible in 3ds max 4.2? I've been looking around but haven't been able to find any options for this.

Also can max 4.2 bake lighting into texture maps? I'm guessing this feature would be present, since max is used so much for games; I'm just not sure where it is.

Thanks!
Fex
09-10-2002, 10:26 PM
finalrender a maxplugin has both features ; all renderman
compliant renderer support z-buffer depthmap files ( like Air,
BMRT, PRman, AQIS...)
but you need a converter like MaxMan
gaggle
09-11-2002, 04:36 PM
Originally posted by tauf
I'm guessing this feature would be present, since max is used so much for games

Surprisingly no. No baking.
Why yes, yes indeed, that does suck, but that's how it is.

There's a neato-o-riffic baking-tool implemented in MAX5 though if that's any help. MAX5 texture-baking doesn't work with 3rd party renders btw, not as far as I've been told.

As Fex says finalRender has a baking-utility, my experience with it was that it was horrendous though, but it was an old version I tried it on, and they claim to've improved that tool immensly in the latest patches. Oh and Vray plans to, or has already, implemented a texture-baking-tool thingie too.

Using your basic MAX4 package you are, afaik, more or less screwed though :shrug:
Flinch
09-11-2002, 06:03 PM
there's also a free plugin from the vray-guys available. it's called bake3d and you can get it here:

http://www.vrayrender.com/download/Bake3D_0.01.zip

--Flinch
gaggle
09-11-2002, 09:51 PM
Oh hello, can this be used for non Vray'ers too? I'm not near MAX4 at this very moment, so hm, can't test if myself. The readme doesn't seem to indicate this being a Vray only thing at least.

I mean, all things considered I'd like to have a proper texture-baking tool available for MAX4 :)
Chris
09-11-2002, 10:30 PM
I have the feeling that luminaire tools does texture baking. Its free too, check out www.maxshade.com

(while you're there, have a lookee at the maxshade renderman shader interpreter - saweet!)
tauf
09-12-2002, 07:31 PM
After looking at the various options presented, I think Luminaire Tools from Maxshade.com might have the texture baking solution I'm looking for, at least until I can upgrade my Max 4.2 to Max 5.

Thanks everyone for your input.
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