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View Full Version : Replacement for finalFlares and Chameleon?

DejitaruJin
04-17-2007, 12:23 AM
I'm about to delve pretty heavily into MAXScripting. With my prior programming knowledge, it shouldn't take long to grasp. But there are two plugins I'd like to replace with my own versions, preferably enhancing their features. The first is finalFlares, which I use for glow effects and that kind of star effect that you see around lights. The second is Digimation's Chameleon, which can change materials even mid-polygon. Is it possible to acheive those effects in MAXScript alone, or should I seek an outside solution?
erilaz
04-17-2007, 07:01 AM
It may be possible to hash some elements of what you're looking for with Maxscript, but I think you'd be far better off using the max SDK, especially since you're already a programmer.
DejitaruJin
04-17-2007, 09:04 AM
Well, it's more that a have a solid understanding of programming principals than actually being a programmer. I can do a fair amount with console C++, but I gave up on that path when I got to Windows programming due to the sheer amount of code required to do nothing much. How is the SDK interfaced, anyways? Can I use Visual Basic?

And what about Lightning, MAXScript alone can replicate that, right? Placing vertices in accordance with mathematical procedures?
erilaz
04-18-2007, 06:38 AM
Well, it's more that a have a solid understanding of programming principals than actually being a programmer. I can do a fair amount with console C++, but I gave up on that path when I got to Windows programming due to the sheer amount of code required to do nothing much. How is the SDK interfaced, anyways? Can I use Visual Basic?

And what about Lightning, MAXScript alone can replicate that, right? Placing vertices in accordance with mathematical procedures?

The SDK is a C++ environment and as far as I can gather, it is specifically targeted towards Microsoft Visual Studio.

Lightning can and has been scripted in maxscript. In fact it was the topic of a scripting challenge here a while back:
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=257572
DejitaruJin
04-19-2007, 03:52 AM
Curses. I really hate doing any kind of interactive programming with C++, and from what I've heard the MAX SDK is still just as much a royal pain to make GUI's with. However, I've heard something about writing functions in C++ and interfacing them via MAXScript, and that sounds easy - I just wish that approach was better documented.

That link to the lightning helps immensely, thank you! I especially like the idea of lighting and procedural textures. Most of the techniques used seem simple enough for me to replicate, so that'll give me a goal to work towards.
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