editing x file to achieve dynamic shine...

[Guest]

Hi there, i've intercept the x file of my 747 (7000 pages, 15Mb size) and i'm a bit disappointed. Here is an example of what i've found on it Material MULTIPARTS_60 { 0.588000; 0.588000; 0.588000; 1.000000;; 0.000000; 1.000000; 1.000000; 1.000000;; 0.000000; 0.000000; 0.000000;; TextureFileName { "MULTIPARTS6_C.bmp"; } DiffuseTextureFileName { "MULTIPARTS6_C.bmp"; }} // End Material 'MULTIPARTS_60'} // End MaterialList for 'combi_interior'MeshNormals { // Mesh normals for combi_interior201; // 201 vertex normals 0.814665; 0.001333; 0.579930;, 0.511023; -0.003120; 0.859561;, 0.650963; -0.004928; 0.759094;, My problem is that i don't know what to edit to correct the specular value. Without editing the x file, i've obtain some results in fs2k2, but i have no control on the 'limit' of the specular light. What i mean is that unlike pss dash, the specular light spreads too much and is not located . Can someone who succed in that help me, otherwise i'll be forced to import all my progects in 3dsmax. Thanks

[Guest odog]

I hope you know what your getting into! This is not an easy job. It takes alot of concentration and time to get this done on a complex model. I used notepad for the conversions. It was more stable and the replace feature worked better. I made the conversions on a 30k poly model. It looks good, but my painter claims it changed the way his DXT3 textures looked. (pixelation of shading areas) however, more testing is needed. If you do this successfully, all I ask is you post the effects on your DXT3 textures to help us troubleshoot this problem.Material MULTIPARTS_60 {0.588000; 0.588000; 0.588000; 1.000000;;0.000000;//////specular level--1.000000;//////glossiness-- 1.000000; 1.000000;;0.000000; 0.000000; 0.000000;;TextureFileName {"MULTIPARTS6_C.bmp";The 5 and 6 numbers are the targets. in the following pics they are as follows...1... no mods2... 9.990000 and 0.9000003... 99.90000 and 0.9000004... 999.0000 and 99.00000I posted some initial findings in the wrong forum last night... brain was cramping :) but this is more up to date. I applied a 999 specular level to all target materials in gmax to make them easy to find in the x file. They show up as 9.990000, then I use the replace feature to search out that number, as it is original to the spec levels...good luck, let me know about any DXT3 issues.Joe

[Guest]

Thanks for the info Joe. As my model have around 500 moving parts, it seems like it will be an extremely hard job to edit the x file. i think i'll move all my future progects in 3ds max not to experiment that. I give it a try and let you know about those dxt3 issue.

[Guest odog]

hey, The animations really have no bearing on the operation. It's how many textures you have applied. All you need to do is add the 999 specular level to all the textures your looking to modify in gmax. Then copy the 5th & 6th numbers into the "find" box and add your modified numbers to the "replace" box, then you'll see the changes being made to the x file. The conversion takes about 5 minutes on my model... Getting it started the first time is the hardest. After that its a piece of cake really.I'm wondering how come MakeMDL makes the proper conversions of the numbers from 3ds but not Gmax. I was under the impression that this was a flaw in MakeMDL putting the decimal in the wrong place...I would like to see it work from a 3ds model, with no mods to the x file.anyway, good luckjoe