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Hello everyone,

I just started using 3D Studio Max 9 the other day and I love it but I have a few questions about how Dark Basic Professional interacts with the models I make. I also have a few questions near the end that are basic 3d questions that I, the newbie to 3d modeling, have to ask in order to understand how this works! Thanks for your patience and please try to answer all of them so I don't have to make a new post... =]

1) When ever I make a model or a terrain in 3d Studio max and then use it in dark basic the model is always gigantic in size. About what size is scale for certain objects? About where in the ballpark are we talking about? Is modeling a 1000x1000 terrain in 3DSM9 way to big of a model in terms of scale for DB?

2) Another question I have is why does it take so long to load a simple teapot into darkbasic? I know too many polygons can be a loading issue, so I know that reducing the amount of polygons is a good thing and I have. But everytime it loads (mostly anything right now) it takes a while and it comes it looking really crappy. Antialiasing looks to be off and the model looks horrible. The models look great in 3DSM though, I don't get it. I take it there are settings in DBP to fix that?

3) When I textured the teapot in 3DSM I gave it a clear glass texture that would render very nice. I then exported the file to .3ds and loaded it into DBP expecting a fake (not rendered) mapping of the glass material to still be on the model... well, it wasn't. I kind of understand why, but on the other hand I don't. I thought that the model would export with all that intact but I guess it doesn't carry that over. I take it this is what 3D modellers call UV Mapping? Can someone explain what goes on there and why it doesn't carry over automatically? Even better would be a lesson on how to take a texture from 3DSM and apply it to a model in DBP but I can search around for a tutorial there I guess =]

4) Also, why (this probably bugs a lot of people) when I load an object in DB does it always load far away, or off the left or right. Shouldn't it load at the point of origin? (0,0,0?) Even when I go to position that object it takes weird numbers to get it oriented at the right spot (example: 15, -5, -30). Whats up with that?

I know I've asked a lot of questions here, and some of them can certianly be found out on the internet but I wanted to ask the people that actually use what I'm working with here. I know not everyone uses 3DSM but all of you use one 3d modeller or another and all of you use DB, otherwise you wouldn't be here, and most of the questions are pretty general in regard to what ever modeller you use.

Thanks

I am not sure about this, but maybe if you made a different picture for the texture, then you have to include it in the same folder as the object. Also, if that does not work, try to make it a .x file.

I'll try to make a .x file of it tonight (right now I'm at work ) but I'll have to use another program to convert it over because 3DSM doesn't export to .x. It might work, but with that conversion in the middle I doubt anything more useful than whats in a .3ds file will remain intact. Whats the difference between .x and .3ds anyway?

Thats kind of what I did yesterday night though, about the different picture that is. I was following some sloppy instructions on the web for something unrelated to what I was trying to do and it told me to "Render to Material." Does that sound familiar to anyone? Will that give me the 'glass' material texture that I rendered in 3DSM in a .jpeg file so I can apply it in DBP?

1) 1 generic 3dsmax unit = 1 dbpro unit

2) 3ds files are compressed, so it's rather long to load. You should use Panda exporter to export your model as a .x file.

3) Are you using some features like transparency or refraction ? Because special effects aren't exported.

4) I don't know . Maybe a problem with the 3ds format (dbpro doesn't load it very well)

Thanks math.

So then I just need to get a feel for how large things should be in DBP and then I can then easily make it in 3DSM.

AH! Thank you, thats what I need to know. So .x isn't compressed? Yeah I was looking at the file size yesterday thinking, "wow, thats a really small file..." I guess thats why haha.

Yes, I was. If they are not exported, how can I compensate for that? Will that UV Mapping stuff help?

Yea, I'll try it with .x and let you know if that solves it. I've had this problem before, lots of times.

I tried the .x format last night and it worked like a charm. Models loaded almost instantly. If .x is so much better than .3ds, what's the point of still using .3ds for some things?

Another question. Is there any commands besides changing the resolution that would make things look better in DBP? Like antialiasing or any of that stuff? I know there is a command to check if it's capable but that means nothing if I can't toggle it. Don't tell me it just goes off by what my computer is set on in windows... How would I make game settings change then? Write a .dll?