GMax texture mapping

[arno 1]

I can make my airport terminal nice in GMax now, but I want to now if someone has a trick to map the texture faster.I now select the polygons that have the texture and then change the UVW mapping, but when the object has a bit more complex shape (as terminal have) the textures are not mapped nice (so on some polygons they are more compressed then on other, while they should have the same amount of pixels per meter). I have tried the different mappings like planar, box, etc.Does anyone has a trick to get the texture nice on it, without have to do all the different polygon one by one?Arno

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[Guest jsvw2001]

Arno,This is how I do it:1. Convert to Editable Mesh and select the complete object.2. Select material in Material Editor and aplly.3. Select UVW Map and then Box.4. Click in blank space in the Modifier Stack Box and collapse. Respond with 'Yes'.5. Select polygon mode and select the polygon of interest (If you press F2, it will highlight the polygon in a colour).6. Select Unwrap UVW and then Edit.7. Collapse after working on each polygon.I hope this will help.Johan

[arno 1]

Yes, I know that trick, but when I select all the polygons I want at once the texture is sometimes stretched more on one polygon then on the other. So I am hoping to find a trick that would prevent me from having to do all the polygons one by one, as my terminal is rather big :).Arno

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[Guest]

Arno,I'm also struggling with texture mapping, my problem is texture distortion. I've long understood the importance of accuracy when placing the texture on the structure, but working with gmax has so far resulted in distortion no matter what I do. For the last two evenings I've failed to get good results on a hangar with a unique end shape, its an extrusion of a rectangle with a partial arc above. Last night I made it from scratch again EXTREMEMLY carefully assuring EVERYTHING about the model was symmetric exactly, with the idea that the texture distortion was coming from some assymetry in the model. Not so....the texture when applied using edit in unwrap uvw is still distorted. I seem to have this problem whenever the model is more complicated than a simple box. I made standard hangars by cutting an edge in the top of a simple box, grabbing those central vertices, and lifting...cool, easy way to make the standard hangar shape, and even then the textures were distored on the ends.Please understand that my distortion is slight by unacceptable. I'm able to use the edit function in uvw unwrap, and I've figured how to break vertices and apply to only selected faces....its just the results are only 90% perfect.I use the box uvw wrap gizmo. that's an area of mystery also, some say that there is a difference between a planar gizmo and a box gizmo, yet each face of a box is a plane, so I can't understand why a difference would exist.I began to wonder if I'd just go back to FSDS. Then it occured to me that maybe the models feel "stressed" and I need to "anneal" them! That sounds rediculous, but who knows...so I though maybe I should try "meshsmooth" or something to tell the mesh to relax....the incoming image should just get pasted on...no need to include "worry lines" in it.Now I read this interesting post from Johan:<>Step 4 and step 7 ... could this be the missing step to "anneal" the model? I'll certainly try it tonight.If anyone reads this and knows the real reason the distortions are occuring, I'd love to learn.Bob Bernstein

[Guest]

Hi Bob, While you are right about a face it's in the math behind howeach method projects the bitmap on to each "surface". Planar willdistort when viewed from an angle just like a movie projector would distort the image if it was at some obtuse angle to the screen. WithBox mapping etc a modeling program does some additional math that allows one via the "gizmo" to adjust the mapping in 3D so if yourobject is not at right angles to the the "projector" you move the "gizmo" by using the "select and rotate" tool on the "gizmo" untill it is. If you have any questions email me or look for me on Yahoo my I.D. is Dan Martin_41 I hope this helps you to understandwhat U.V. mapping is for.( It's not just move, select or resize the the map in relation to a face or polly but to set the projection ANGLE as well). Dan

[Guest cwright]

Arno, here's a method I use for this kind of situation. It's based on planar mapping and the Mesh Select modifier. 1. Map the texture onto one side of the building as normal, using planar mapping. 2. Add a Mesh Select modifier to the top of the stack. 3. Use the modifier to select the next section to be mapped (i.e. select polygon mode and select all the polygons in the section). 4. Add a new UVW Map modifier to the top of the stack. It will apply only to the section selected by the modifier below it in the stack. 5. Use the new UVW Map modifier to map the texture correctly onto the section. Use its transform gizmo to move and rotate the texture so that it projects correctly onto the section. 6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 for other sections of the building. You now have a separate UVW Map modifier for each selected section of the building, so the mapping can be adjusted independently of all the other sections. If a section is at an odd angle it doesn't matter because you can rotate the section's mapping by means of the UVW Map modifier's transform gizmo. Hope this helps. Best regards, Chris Wright

[arno 1]

Thanks,That is sort of the way I use now, but I was hoping for a faster way :).Arno

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[Naji 5]

Hi, Arno. 1) It depends on what your textures have. Have you tried tweaking the texture on a poly with U, V, W Tile options under UVW Mapping? This will help compress or decompress your texture on the poly. This works beautifully if the pattern can be repeated, like a texture of a wall with windows only, etc.2) I mostly design structures that don't use photorealistic textures taken from digital photos. So I use a texturing method that I've found efficient and flexible for my needs; I'll outline it briefly below without going into a detailed sequence:a. Make your structure. Convert it to editable mesh.b. Choose all polys that will take the same background texture, like all walls.c. Apply the wall texture. I use pure wall textures, that contain no windows or doors; these will be added later. d. Add an edit mesh modifier, and repeat for other polys that take different textures, like roofs or other walls.e. Now I add all the openings (eg windows and doors): using the automap feature, I make rectangles (or any other shape, simple or compound) where the openings are to come, shift them out slightly over their respective polys, and use the ShapeMerge function (under Compound Objects) to merge the openings into the structure polys. You can add as many as you want, and the beauty of this is that, unlike the Boolean function, additional ShapeMerge uses will not add extra edges and faces to your wall. f. Add another edit mesh modifier, and choose any window(s) and apply the window texture. Repeat for all different types of openings, making sure that each time you start with an edit mesh modifier. g. The beauty of this method is that you can go back and adjust the size/location of any opening if you haven't collapsed the stack. I have also found that it doesn't introduce distortions in the textures, and it lets you concentrate on your gmax modeling rather than on keeping changing your textures in PaintShop Pro or Photoshop.h. The disadvantage is that it will add some more polys to your model, since all openings are not part of the wall textures. Cheers.