new Gmax tutorial for dummies

[doncraig]

chimney height

Hi jytte,
I have started your tutorial and find that the chimney height is listed as 3".
I presume it should be 3' so no harm done
Don W
PS I right click on the up/down arrows in the x,y,z vertex boxes to zero them

 

[naikrd]

thanks jytte for your excellent tutorial. its detailed and exhaustive.
i dumped trying to figure gmax a long time back. well, now am going thru your example to try to figure it out once again.

 

[jytte]

Oops, of course the chimney is 3'. Thanks Don, I corrected the typo.

Thanks naikrd, and good luck to you.

Rattler, you think using thumbnails is easier than scrolling? That would drive me crazy. As for pdf, I would have to pay for that, so no.
About downloading: I always download pages like this without problems, and I know people have downloaded this page without problems. I don't know which browser you use, but your problem must be either in the way you tried to save, or in the way your browser it set up.

 

[naikrd]

As for pdf, I would have to pay for that, so no.

sorry,i dont want to derail the thread but just as an fyi, you can download PDFCreator from http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/ its open-source/free . you can then print to the PDFCreator to create the PDF. i printed the tutorials to a pdf using this.

 

[jytte]

Thanks naikrd, I'll definitely have a look at that!

 

[jytte]

Thanks again naikrd, PDFcreator is a very nice tool.

And now the tutorials are available as pdf.

 

[Dap]

Jytte,

Thanks for the great tutorial. I just gave it a quick review and can see I'm going to have to spend some serious time with it if I am to learn GMAX.

I'm not sure if this is the place to ask, but do you know if GMAX can import solid models created by other software and if so, what file format can it import. I am learning a new solid modeling program for my work and would like to learn just that rather than two different programs. If anyone can give me advise in this area I'd sure appreciate it.

Thanks.

 

[jytte]

Hello Dap,

I hear you! That's how I felt too, since I've been making models in Sketchup, and would dearly like not to have to make them again.

There are different opinions, and different options. In order to import into Gmax, a file needs to be 3D studio mesh (3ds). I don't know what software you need for work, but since it's "work" software (as opposed to play), it's likely to be of the expensive kind, and those usually have more export options. Even so, you are still going to have to learn a few things in Gmax, in order to use some of the options that I haven't seen elsewhere.

I can in fact import Sketchup files into Flux Studio, and then export to 3ds from that, and import into Gmax. But since the road is somewhat crooked, and certain things seem to get lost on the way, It's actually just as easy to just work in Gmax. Also texturing won't transfer(?)

I know some people swear to Blender now, instead of Gmax. But I don't know if that's any help.

I'm no expert in these programs, so I couldn't advice you really. You need to do some research on this. Try searches like "blender" "export" "gmax" in various combinations. There are a ton of threads on this subject.

With your background, none of these programs should be difficult, but yea, it does take a little time.

 

[Dap]

Jytte,

I just checked and I can export to 21 different file formats but .3ds is not one of them .

Guess I'll have to do some of that research. I have been using the wire frame version of this software for over 20 years so I am pretty good at using it. I just need to team up with someone that can take my files and make them Trainz compatable.

 

[paulzmay]

Jytte,

I just checked and I can export to 21 different file formats but .3ds is not one of them .

Guess I'll have to do some of that research. I have been using the wire frame version of this software for over 20 years so I am pretty good at using it. I just need to team up with someone that can take my files and make them Trainz compatable.

If you can export to STL using your software, Flux Studio can convert into .3ds. You'll still have to texture in GMax, but at least you can use the solid modeller for the mesh. It's worth bearing in mind, though, that this may well not give you the most poly efficient models. It may be best to export in parts, and import into GMax in sections. I've used this method for creating a couple of models in Autodesk Inventor, and it seems to work well.

Hope this helps...

Paul

 

[Dap]

Thanks Paul,

That is a big help. I now have some hope of creating some content.

I'm not sure what you mean by exporting in parts and importing in sections. Can you explain?

 

[paulzmay]

Thanks Paul,

That is a big help. I now have some hope of creating some content.

I'm not sure what you mean by exporting in parts and importing in sections. Can you explain?

Because of the way STL export works, it will (IIRC) merge all of your parts together into one mesh. This is often not the most poly efficient way of modelling. As an example, a cube is 12 polys, but 2 a small cube sat on a larger cube will be 28 polys as a merged mesh, but can be 22 in GMax. So, if you export the 2 shapes separately in your CAD package, and then re-assemble them in GMax, you can save on polys.

Hope that explains OK...

Paul

 

[bernhart_lossiemouth]

Hi dear Jytte, sorry but I am finding your website a bit of a whore. I think you have some evil kinevil javascripts in there dont you? Come on, out with the truth. We are all your friends Jytte, dont be ashamed to come out with it.

B b b bernie

 

[jytte]

Bernie, I have no idea what you are talking about.

 

[Stationbeem]

Bernie, I have no idea what you are talking about.

jytte. I would just ignore him. He is just trying to send a very informative thread off topic. If you look at his past posts you will see that he does not give any help or constructive advice. He is just a boy in a mans body. I have found your tutorials along with "vulcan" and "tafweb" very informative. And I would also like to thank you for many of the items you have given this world of trainz.

 

[jytte]

Thank You, Stationbeem.

 

[sterrett]

Thank you - I have dusted off my Gmax and Trainz Asset Creation Studio and preparing to give it another whirl! If I can just produce something simple that is the right scale for Trainz, I'll be a happy man!

 

[Bruell]

What an ordeal, I looked this tutorial up with the gmax, that's like stone age.
I use sketchup as an architectural editor tool and applying textures is very simple.
All those steps it takes to build a simple house? Are you kidding me? Not for me what a waist of time that is.

Trainz should come up with a decent sdk to import 3ds or obj files just as all the other state of the art games engines do. for crying out loud! :'(

I'll just play around and who knows, they might come up with some better compatibility in future versions.

 

[paulzmay]

GMax will happily import .3ds files so the exporter can convert them to Trainz format. The other (free) route is to use Blender and the .xml importer.

I don't think Auran have the resources to develop their own SDK when these two, plus 3D canvas and 3D StudioMax do the job quite well.

Sketchup is a poor example, as it tends to create high poly meshes, and uses many separate texture files per model. As there is no built-in library of scenery textures in Trainz, this takes a lot longer to render in-game, as several texture files would need loading for each asset.

Personally I've used Autodesk Inventor to create more complex meshes, and just textures them in GMax - there is usually a way to convert if you look hard enough...

Paul

 

[johnwhelan]

What an ordeal, I looked this tutorial up with the gmax, that's like stone age.
I use sketchup as an architectural editor tool and applying textures is very simple.
All those steps it takes to build a simple house? Are you kidding me? Not for me what a waist of time that is.

Trainz should come up with a decent sdk to import 3ds or obj files just as all the other state of the art games engines do. for crying out loud! :'(

I'll just play around and who knows, they might come up with some better compatibility in future versions.

You have to remember that Trainz has to render this lot in real time. So you need a tool that can minimise the polys. Each texture file adds an overhead of 200 poly equivalents so one texture file works best. Blender works quite well.

Cheerio John