VUE with 3dsMax compatibility

#1

hi friends. I am very new to VUE Xstream. Can anyone please tell me the procedure that how can i use vue with 3dsmax. I mean i want to use it within 3ds max. Is it possible? or i have to import everything from vue to 3dsmax and then render it with new light settings? Also can i use atmospheres created in vue with max? Plz help.

#2

install the drivers, then go to the utilities panel and manually add a button for the drivers – that will give your options buttons. from what i can tell it imports your lights as a skylight and mental ray affects all your max objects. i’ve been playing with these settings for months now trying to get everything perfect… quite a work in progress…

so many boring renderings…

#3

hi, thanks for the help MasterSplinter, i’ve done it. Now what i have is a button in utility panel of my 3ds max and is giving options of new scene, load scene etc. But, the problem is, when i load a scene, its showing just camera, a light and a plane (i cant select it though). Its not what i did in vue. there is no terrain or water etc. Also when i render it with Vue File renderer, it does not show anything?? Please help and tell me the proper pipeline. I’ll be very greatfull.
thanks a lot.

#4

The Vue File Renderer has nothing to do with Vue - you need to set Mentalray as your renderer.

#5

Sorry,

i`ve posted in the wrong thread.
It was late a night.^^

OmWiener

#6

okay great. its done. BUT … is there any solution that i use VUE within max JUST LIKE max? i mean now i’ve loaded a vue scene in max, its rendering exactly like vue but there is no terrain or any object showing in viewport? just a plane with camera and sunlight.
will appreciate your help
thanks

#7

Max has to be in OpenGL graphics mode.

#8

Hi folks, new here - thought i’d throw in my 2¢

There is no way to make xStream function ‘just like’ Max - that’s not how the plugin works.
xStream simply connects the rendering engines. You cannot edit your Vue scene within Max. What you see in Max (if you set to OpenGL per kevnich00’s suggestion) is merely an OpenGL representation of the Vue scene - except the vueSunlight - it’s a Direct light with Raytraced shadows (so no xStream soft shadowing on Max elements)

If you have created a scene in Vue that you want to connect thru Max you will probably have some scaling issues, but clicking the Load button on the xStream utilities panel in Max will allow you to browse for your scene.
When you installed xStream it should have asked what render engine you want it connected with…hopefully you chose Mental Ray.

-Gob

#9

Hey Adam,
Are you able to see the Vue file in Max? I was able to do so in the last few release, but since I’ve updated to Max2009 and the latest Vue release only the ground plane and Vue camera show in the Max viewport, which makes it kind of a show stopper. Everything renders okay, it’s just difficult to work with.
If you can see them, could you share your display settings?
TIA

#10

thanks guys for the help and suggestions. Okay, now what about the shaders. Does it support 3dsMaX shaders as well? i mean if i apply glass on windows of a building and other materials like wood, reflection, chrome etc, will it support these in VUE?
Thanks

#11

Kevin - everything I said was based on my current workflow ('08) - now that I just installed '09 I can’t see the Vue scene with the same version of xStream - 292711. I don’t even see the ground plane, just the grid in Max - you might want to make sure that’s not what you’re seeing - just hit ‘g’ and it should disappear. I can select the Vue scene by clicking on it in the active viewport in Max, but there is no OpenGL proxy visible.

Unfortunately I have yet to achieve a level of real consistency with the display, even in earlier Max releases. Some of my connected scenes show up in Max, some don’t. I’ll mess with my OpenGL settings in Max09 and let you know if I come up with anything useful.

Junaid - there is no bi-directional support for anything other than the VueSun and Camera. Any objects that are in Max will not show up in Vue when you either open the Interface thru the Utilities panel or open the scene in stand-alone mode. You will need to export the objects that you want to see in Vue, hide them from the render, and basically use them as proxy objects - they ‘should’ import to the exact same coordinate space as they were in Max, provided you have your units set the same in both apps and you have any scaling issues worked out.

I’ve found that importing .3ds files can cause the Vue file size to go thru the roof - .obj might give better results. Also try the Max to Vue exporter from e-on. You won’t see Mental Ray shader support in Vue, so no fancy shaders will follow the exported geometry. You can assign Vue’s materials to imported geometry with some damn fine results. Try replacing some of you Max shaders with the Vue materials and see how it looks.

-Adam

#12

Thanks for the info. Yes, it is the Vue ground plane…see attached. There seems to be a difference on whether you use a procedural terrain or just a plain one; the plain ones seem to show up more often than not and the procedural ones never do.

#13

screenshot…

#14

thanks for such a usefull help Gobstopper . I’ll check the possibilities within max and will discuss.
cheers

#15

kevnich00 - I set my display in Max to OpenGL (default settings) on my laptop - it’s got Nvidia Quaddro video, viewport performance is a little slow but I can see my Vue scene. But as you said, no procedural terrain support. I created both a cube & an Oak tree and they both displayed properly in Max.

Is your video card on the list of supported cards from e-on?

-Adam

#16

The video card is on the list and passes the system check in Vue.
Any other ideas would be welcome…

#17

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