NoolPreview for 3D Studio Max / TGEA
11/05/2006 (11:11 pm) by Ray Noolness Gebhardt
I haven't posted a blog for quite a while, so I thought I would write one up. I have been working on a new tool for 3D Studio Max that allows you to create shadergen textures for TGEA, and preview them quickly. The first component of the tool is a custom 3D Studio Max material plug-in that exposes every single parameter that shadergen provides. This includes all 4 stages and all the texture animation features.
In addition there is a button in the material user interface that will update the viewport preview of the material. The preview only supports a few parameters of the shadergen materials, but it's better than nothing.
I also created a custom mod of TGEA that allows you to preview your model and material. By pressing a single button your model and materials will be exported and loaded into a minimal mission in TGEA. This allows you to see what your model and material look like in engine very easily.
I am thinking about making an enhanced version of this material tool and selling it, so let me know what you think.
If you want to try out the early alpha of this tool you can download it below. It requires some changes to the DTS exporter so here are links to updated versions of the exporter for 3D Studio Max.
For 3D Studio Max 9 32-bit download:
Download Now
For 3D Studio Max 9 64-bit download:
Download Now
For 3D Studio Max 6/7/8 download:
Download Now
And finally here is a link to the NoolPreview alpha:
Download Now
To use it just copy the files into your 3d Studio Max script folder.
In addition there is a button in the material user interface that will update the viewport preview of the material. The preview only supports a few parameters of the shadergen materials, but it's better than nothing.
I also created a custom mod of TGEA that allows you to preview your model and material. By pressing a single button your model and materials will be exported and loaded into a minimal mission in TGEA. This allows you to see what your model and material look like in engine very easily.
I am thinking about making an enhanced version of this material tool and selling it, so let me know what you think.
If you want to try out the early alpha of this tool you can download it below. It requires some changes to the DTS exporter so here are links to updated versions of the exporter for 3D Studio Max.
For 3D Studio Max 9 32-bit download:
Download Now
For 3D Studio Max 9 64-bit download:
Download Now
For 3D Studio Max 6/7/8 download:
Download Now
And finally here is a link to the NoolPreview alpha:
Download Now
To use it just copy the files into your 3d Studio Max script folder.
About the author
I have worked on various programming projects for numerous companies. I also do a bit of music production. To get a bit more information on the game oriented projects I have worked on, [url=http://www.noolness.com]visit my website.[/url] view profile »
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#2
11/05/2006 (11:27 pm)
Good idea, do it. 
#3
11/05/2006 (11:31 pm)
agree with Chris!
#4
11/06/2006 (12:42 am)
It's a pretty cool tool! What price are you thinking? I'm curious how many people around here use Max instead of Milkshape...
#5
11/06/2006 (1:40 am)
You're doing great work for this community, I hope everyone realizes that. 
#7
11/06/2006 (3:01 am)
Looks good, I'd buy it.
#8
Ray, this is looking very useful, if you were willing to put more time and TLC into this, I'd buy it.
11/06/2006 (3:12 am)
Jeff, I don't think milkshape would factor into potential paying customers. I don't want to hijack this thread, I just want to make the point that this could potentially be a great tool for serious development teams. That's more a matter of wether or not the Engine gains favor with that demigraphic.Ray, this is looking very useful, if you were willing to put more time and TLC into this, I'd buy it.
#9
11/06/2006 (5:35 am)
The demographic I was questioning was more the ratio of people that have access to the $620 3d app to people that opted for the $100 game engine, but heck I'd consider buying it too
#10
11/06/2006 (6:56 am)
Ah yes!!!! Super 
#12
11/06/2006 (8:32 am)
Woo! damn good!! :)
#13
11/06/2006 (9:35 am)
Awesome!!
#14
11/06/2006 (10:00 am)
Fantastic! I would definitely purchase such a product! 
#15
11/06/2006 (1:52 pm)
Excellent. I would buy this in a heartbeat.
#16
11/06/2006 (1:54 pm)
This is freaking awesome. Definitely keep us posted.
#17
Also, if you plan on setting up a mailing list for this anytime in the future please let me know.
11/06/2006 (3:15 pm)
Ray you are the man! While I haven't gotten the preview to work (I'm sure I need to just mess with it some more), the rest seems stellar! This is a killer app dude, shnaz it up, iron out the bugs, and consider it bought (well, by me at least!).Also, if you plan on setting up a mailing list for this anytime in the future please let me know.
#18
11/06/2006 (3:23 pm)
It's sweet, if not the most valuable asset for TGEA. Definitely worth money.
#19
11/06/2006 (4:22 pm)
The preview only works if you have a DTS object setup and ready to export. I want to add a feature where it just uses a default object for quick material previews, but I haven't gotten to that yet.
#20
11/06/2006 (4:45 pm)
@Justin: Actually come to think about it, your issue could be due to not using the recompiled exporters in this Blog. I had to make some minor changes so that the DTS exporter would handle my new maxscript material plugin.
Torque Owner Matthew Harris