XoliulShader 2

[Dismembered]

Thanks Xoliul that was it. I never put an alpha there, intentionally, so I guess that is what was throwing me off. I had just finished up my bakes so I hadn't messed with the texture in PS yet.

[Xoliul]

Yeah it will have just picked the baked alpha that got saved along in the TGA.

[CharlesW]

Hey guys. I'm having a serious problem with the xolioulshader2. Every-time I try to install it an error meesage comes up saying. Error: Could not install. Does anyone know how to fix this problem? Thanks.

[Sevv]

Try running Max as administrator and running the script rather than drag and drop into the viewport.

[CharlesW]

Thanks Sevv. Worked like a charm.

[gibson543]

http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/6904/25471700.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/841/25471700.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

really annoying error I've been getting and it's not letting me use this epic looking shader :( any ideas?

[Xoliul]

Run as admin, gibson, like the 100 others that asked this before ;)

[MightyPea]

I'm glad that there's now a large body of water between us, as I wouldn't want to be on the same continent when Laurens finally snaps.

[Xoliul]

Hah I'd hope I don't sound like that! It's just a bit discouraging at times to see people completely ignore the help file that took me a full week to write.. But I added a little image to the opening post that hopefully remedies this a bit ;)

[Nysuatro]

I just point people who email me to this thread. :(

[gibson543]

:/ ah sorry xoliul thanks for the help though

[Ace-Angel]

Seriously, why wouldn't anyone run Max in Admins mode? It solves alot of issues, especially hotkey and UI wise.

[gibson543]

uh people like me that weren't aware it solved a lot of issues....

[Xoliul]

It's when you leave that silly Windows UAC thing on. It drives me nuts so I completely turn it off, but I think a lot of people don't bother with that.

[Joshua Stubbles]

Is there a reason there's so much application "hang" when choosing the material from the "standard" list? It locks up max for like 15-20 seconds (both at work and at home). I've noticed this does not happen with other advanced shaders, such as 3PS'

[Xoliul]

Only the first time, you mean ?
If so, this is from the help:




The shader will take a while to load the first time, this is due to advanced shadow functions being compiled by 3DS Max. Don't panic, it can take up to 15 seconds.




3Point doesn't have it because they don't support soft or area shadows.

[dustinbrown]

I've run into an issue a few times where I'll double click the Xoliul shader node to access it, and the material will completely reset itself back to default settings and get rid of all of my maps.

- max 2012 x64 sp2
- xoliul shader 2
- using slate material editor
- drop a xoliul material on the slate and set it up with the maps and settings you want
- double click away from it to another material
- double click back on the xoliul material to access it again
- material resets itself

Doesn't happen every time, probably only happens 5% of the time.

[Xoliul]

I've noticed it does that with RTT sometimes. Were you using that dialog by any chance ?

[Xoliul]

Hey all, can I ask anyone using my shader/interested in imprving realtime rendering in general, to go and vote on my suggestion to Autodesk?

Better support and integration for DirectX shaders (http://3dsmaxfeedback.autodesk.com/forums/80695-publicgeneralfeaturerequests/suggestions/2410135-better-support-and-integration-for-directx-shaders?ref=title)

I hope when enough people vote, they'll take it seriously..

Also here's an other suggestion of mine I hope they'll take into account:

Improve Qualified Normals (http://3dsmaxfeedback.autodesk.com/forums/80695-publicgeneralfeaturerequests/suggestions/2410146-improve-qualified-normals-functionality)

[Saman]

Thanks, Xoliul, for a great shader. It even looks better without any lighting setup.
I have one suggestion though; It would be good if I could see what texture file a certain material is currently using. Right now it's a thumbnail of the texture but if there are several similar ones then it's pretty hard to determine which file it's using without seeing the file name. Do you think you could add the files the shader is currently using somewhere?

[Xoliul]

You mean like a global overview of all referenced textures, by all shader instances? It shouldn't be too hard to create that, I'm not sure where you would view these or invoke the UI element for it though.
If you wanna see the filename btw, it's in the tooltip of the refresh button.

[Saman]

You mean like a global overview of all referenced textures, by all shader instances? It shouldn't be too hard to create that, I'm not sure where you would view these or invoke the UI element for it though.
If you wanna see the filename btw, it's in the tooltip of the refresh button.

Ah, cool. Didn't know that, thanks!

[Ravenok]

Hey there Xoliul,

I was wondering. Suppose I wanted to render a short film using Xoliul Shader 2.0, would that be possible?
we're talking environment, camera movements, full animation, detailed models, etc.
I can guess that the shader is designed for model presentation, at least by what's been done with it so far (that I've seen). But being able to render a 2-3 minute short with it could allow me to achieve a very nice look for our film.

I'm not the biggest technical wiz when it comes to this sort of thing, so I figured I'd better ask.

Crossing my fingers now. :)

[Xoliul]

Grabbing an animation is not difficult, you can use Leslie's grabviewport script to do it hoghres, or 3Point Viewthief.
The big difficulty will be the environments. Depends on what you want, I think an interior is not so hard, but a big outdoor forest... I wouldn't try. You'll also get problems with shadows due to the environment sizes (low res shadowmaps), so the shots should be in confined spaces as much as possible.

[Ravenok]

Alright, the film's 95% interior, so I guess it's worth a test. thanks :)

[Ace-Angel]

The performance will suffer, and in some cases, your Normal orientation will flip if you scale or do anything else to the pieces.

My last portfolio was done with RT-Shaders in Max. I was averaging 1FPS, with 3 second lags, and had to keep on resetting XForm.

Plus, you won't be able to get decent or any shadows in some cases.

All this was with Max 2012, I suggest trying Max 2011, but honestly, RT shaders are better off for environment pieces in actual game engines.

[Lonewolf]

hey was wondering how to make the alpha channel opacity work

i'v placed the opacity map in the diffuse and it doesnt work for some reason

im using the older version of the shader btw

so what else do i need to do to make it work

[Xoliul]

Lonewolf,

Make sure you check the box to use opacity
use a 32bpc TGA file.
Don't use "Color Diffuse"
Set viewport transparency quality to "None"
Try to avoid difficult alpha sorting issues with planes intersecting.
If you have an ATI card, you might be out of luck..
If all else fails, you could stil try starting with a blank scene, and importing your geometry without any shaders, then setting everything up again.

[Lonewolf]

thanx man
i worked when i change the file to TGA

haha

im on ATI btw

:)

[dustinbrown]

I've noticed it does that with RTT sometimes. Were you using that dialog by any chance ?

It's highly likely, I've been using RTT quite a lot lately. I'll try and remember to shut RTT down before I access an instance of Xoliul in the slate. Thanks man.

[PolyHertz]

nevermind, problem solved.

[fearian]

Did a quick search through this thread and didn't see it mentioned:

Is there any reason why shading selected faces red would stop working on meshes with a Xoliul material applied? Essentially when I select a face, the edges turn red, but may flicker back to white, and the face does not colour at all. It's becoming a real pain to work around.

My driver is listed as Direct3D 9.0, GeForce GTX 560, Thanks for any help!

[Xoliul]

I think it's because of Ambient Occlusion. Nothing I can help, but just turn off SSAO. You really shouldn't be modeling with that on anyway.

[Saman]

I think I've encountered a bug. Sometimes when I open a certain Xoliul shader material it uses a texture map for the glow automatically. I'm not sure if I've done anything to cause that but it happens on a shader with skin material and lighting. Other times it just resets everything and removes all of the texture maps I'm using.

[Xoliul]

Is this when using RTT? It really just doesn't play nice with that.

[fearian]

I think it's because of Ambient Occlusion. Nothing I can help, but just turn off SSAO. You really shouldn't be modeling with that on anyway.

I'm not using AO or realistic lighting in the viewport. Also, it only seems to affect certain meshes and not others, but I have no idea what the difference is.

[Xoliul]

Hmm ok, I can't reproduce that then. I tried it here and it really was down to the SSAO, for both mine and 3Point shader.
I should advice you not to model too much with the shader though, I just have two sets of materials and switch between them if I want to model or display.

[POFFINGTON]

Ran into some problems initially when installing but i got it working now.
Thought i'd write down what i did to fix my problem to help the next guy out.

So my problem was what some other people are getting, Error: Could not install.
Like Dismembered wrote the solution to this may be to run Max in administrator mode.
To accomplish this hold down CTRL and SHIFT and then click the 3dsmax exe.

Once i had it opened up in administrator mode i ran into another problem which was that i couldn't drag drop the mzp file into the viewport the way it is shown in the install guide.

You can solve this problem by unzipping the mzp file, make a new folder then go to run script on the MAX script (top left) and then run the mzpinstall.ms file from the folder you just created.

Once you run it the installer should pop up and you should be able to install it correctly.

Hopefully this can be of help to someone :)
Again thanks to Laurens and Robbert for this shader system, i'll gladly donate and help you guys continue developing awesome shaders.

You RULE! This helped me 100%

[dempolys]

About to get a new PC, but I want to continue using this shader.

Ati or Nvidia? Or does it not matter?

[Xoliul]

Nvidia for the love of god, lol ! anything above GTX 280 should run this spiffingly; I have a 570 for example.

[Dismembered]

So I don't know if this is just me, but the shader keeps pulling my old maps out of thin air. I have tried re-installing, and I read a few pages back about extracting the fx file and replacing it in the Max directory. All of these are only temporary fixes, and the issue keeps coming up. Sorry if I read over something and missed my answer, as I have read through this 12 page post a couple of times, but is there a fix for this?

Max 2012
Win 7

[lloyd]

transparency doesn't work with soft shadows, is this a max issue? and is there away to make hard shadows not really pixelated?

[Saman]

I have animated some of my materials by mistake and I would like to remove all of the keys. When I remove keyframes by entering the 'controller bezier float' windows that pop up but some keyframes are still there(according to the material itself the settings are the same throughout the animation even though I can see that the material is changing).
I tried searching for this in the faq and the help, didn't find anything. I apologize in advance if I've missed it.

[Xoliul]

Wow uhm, I have to be honest and say I have no idea. I've never bothered animating shaders yet: if I do any realtime animation it would be through the UV's.
It's probably easiest to just create a preset from your material, clear it/create a new one and then reload the presets.

[dustinbrown]

I have animated some of my materials by mistake and I would like to remove all of the keys. When I remove keyframes by entering the 'controller bezier float' windows that pop up but some keyframes are still there(according to the material itself the settings are the same throughout the animation even though I can see that the material is changing).
I tried searching for this in the faq and the help, didn't find anything. I apologize in advance if I've missed it.

Yeah that's bizzar. I just tried it and got the same result. Put some animation on the Shaded Hue, went into the Dope Sheet and deleted the keys, and it still animates.

[Xoliul]

A Max bug in that case, it probably doesn't clear keys for scripted plugins or scripted material plugins or something.

[Saman]

Wow uhm, I have to be honest and say I have no idea. I've never bothered animating shaders yet: if I do any realtime animation it would be through the UV's.
It's probably easiest to just create a preset from your material, clear it/create a new one and then reload the presets.

That's a great workaround. Thanks guys!

[igi]

Hello people..I have a problem as depicted below..I'm highly suspect that it's a noob question but I'm %100 sure about there's something really wrong.My textures don't show up right(including baked Normal Maps).What does cause that?Gamma correction?I've played with the values but didn't get any correct result.Gamma 1.0 is still wrong as gamma 2.2
The picture taken with gamma 2.2.If there's another problem pls let me know,thanks.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9028455/gammaprob.jpg

[Shuriken UK]

Woah, this is free? You generous ingenious mofos! I just went through a couple of the videos and it was really impressive!

Whos that futuristic Chinese looking character with the purple suit on? It looks amazing, the most eye-catching model on the page, second to that red speedway race car. Is it ripped from a game or was it some1's original hard work?

[SpeCter]

Hello people..I have a problem as depicted below..I'm highly suspect that it's a noob question but I'm %100 sure about there's something really wrong.My textures don't show up right(including baked Normal Maps).What does cause that?Gamma correction?I've played with the values but didn't get any correct result.Gamma 1.0 is still wrong as gamma 2.2
The picture taken with gamma 2.2.If there's another problem pls let me know,thanks.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9028455/gammaprob.jpg

Did you try to disable Gamma/Lut altogether or did you just fiddle with the settings?
If you only changed the settings, try to disable it.

[igi]

@ SpeCter

Gamma/LUT correction already disabled.Conversely I've enabled it and fiddle with setting then I noticed that 3dsmax is gamma corrects the source images from photoshop.I set all values to 1.0 and 2.2 for the xoliul and it works out perfect!

Thanks for the help,appreciated :thumbup:

[Xoliul]

Worth keeping mind my shader does not alter any texturemaps. If they come in wrong, it's because Max feeds the wrong thing.

[Lonewolf]

http://lonewolf3d.com/images/M4/GhostM4_Call_of_duty.jpg

hey btw i used your old shader here, if u wanna use it in your site, youre welcome

thanx alot for the help :)

[Saman]

Woah, this is free? You generous ingenious mofos! I just went through a couple of the videos and it was really impressive!

Whos that futuristic Chinese looking character with the purple suit on? It looks amazing, the most eye-catching model on the page, second to that red speedway race car. Is it ripped from a game or was it some1's original hard work?

It's Hazardous' entry for last year's brawl contest. http://www.kalescentstudios.com/troyfolio/Main.htm

[ikonane]

Probable answered before, but I have read the FAQ and searched the thread and the net but I cant find the answer. Why is it doing this in some of my scenes but not other?
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/k0nane/1911_Problem_1.jpg

The scene worked before but not anymore. And I always run as administrator.

[Ace-Angel]

It looks like Max isn't recognizing the File Format, did you install any new plugin and/or remove anything from Max?

What about other formats or textures?

[ikonane]

I will try other sizes and formats, but the ones I use now are .tga (32 bit, uncompressed) and quite huge 4096x4096.

No new plugins or such installed to Max.

[ikonane]

Sorry for double posts but it worked when I simply re-sized the images to 2048x2048. But now the textures get totally black, but no errors. How come?

[C86G]

I get the same error quite often with tif format. Just cancel it and load it again manually. Should work then.

----------------------------------------------------

Since I don´t get any help in the Grabviewport thread and I feel there is great support for the Xolul Shader, I need to ask here again for help.

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1514543&postcount=67

Basically I just want a cleaner shot of a model using Xoliul´s shader. I thought it could work to take a bigger shot and scale it down (just in case the AA would not work).

[miksewell2008]

Hi i downloaded the xoliul shader and for the life of me i just cant get it to install :-(! I scrolled through the threads to find if anyone else had the same issue but i cant seem to see any solutions (most probly cos it 1 in the morning and my brain is screaming sleep!)

I have downloaded the file and saved in my documents, i unzipped the folder and moved the mzpInstall (inside the folder) into 3dmax. When i do this three things pop up.1. maxscript 2.Rollout error 3.MSPM installer v.1.0

The maxscript rollout reads
MAXSCRIPT Rollout Handler Exception
--Run time error dotNet run time Exception: Project image.bmp

And the installer that is clearly missing the image above
MSPM Installer v.1.0
i click on install and this message pops up
Error could not locate files in temp folder
I try to do it manually in the menu but does not work i have also tried to in admin but again same thing could someone please point me out where i am going wrong! :poly127:

HELP!!!! thank you for you time

[Xoliul]

You shouldn't unzip the folder man, just use the zip file itself. You probably used some browser that renames the mzp file to .zip automatically, just rename the extension (to .mzp) and try again.

C86G: Max 2009 is probably too old.

Ikonane: your hardware can't handle textures that huge. Upgrade to a better graphics card.

[Wonkey]

I'm sorry if I missed the fix for this...

http://i.imgur.com/BmdZQ.jpg
I get this error when I clone meshes or when I add a light, even if I am not using the shader. I got the issue this time while I was rendering to texture-normal map.

Max 2011 Win7

The error is more of an annoyance than a breaker, as it locks up max for a couple minutes.

[Xoliul]

That looks like a genuine bug. You seem to be the first person to ever get this though. I know that the RTT dialog does a few nasty things, clearing callbacks and destroying some of our code, I will have to look into this.
For now, I guess your only option would be to either upgrade Max and see if it's better in 2012, or remove the shader and work with the legacy pure FX files.

[Wonkey]

Been needing an escuse to load the new version on Max, Sorry I found a way to break your beautiful shader.

[Popeye9]

Xoliul I get that same error when i have used Rtt in a scene. It freezes up max and I have to restart to clear it. All is fine untill I use Rtt again. This occurs even when not using the shader in the scene. I had to uninstall so it would quit throwing that error.

Just to let you know this was the same error i reported on page 4 a while back ago. :)

[danjohncox]

Many of the folks I work with get that same error and so do my students who i introduce the shader to. We use max 2012 so it still happens :(

[Christian Hjerpe]

Xoliul I get the same error with RTT but only when Im not using Direct 3D so its probably something with the Nitrous thingy. Usually works just to wait a little bit then close the error messages.

[pseudoBug]

Hey, whenever I open the rtt window, it hangs for about 15-20 seconds when the shader is installed.

Uninstalled(well, sorta since uninstall throws an error) because of this. Any way to fix that?

Took me a while to figure out it was the xoliul shader.
-Using 2012.

[Ace-Angel]

By any chance, are you guys talking about Baking the shader down to texture level for low poly assets or something?

[pseudoBug]

By any chance, are you guys talking about Baking the shader down to texture level for low poly assets or something?

Not sure who all you're talking to, but on the chance that you're referring to me, the answer would be no.

The shader causes the rtt window to hang when you open the dialog. I checked an old install of max2009 with what I think is the old xoliul shader, and it does the same thing. Empty scene, fresh startup.

[newton]

thanks for this!

[Wonkey]

By any chance, are you guys talking about Baking the shader down to texture level for low poly assets or something?

I don't think so... I am baking high poly models for normals. I (shift) pull out the low poly when I release to say if it is a copy, instance, or referance, The error pops up, even if I don't have the shader currently in the scene.

[Xoliul]

Hey guys, working on fixing this, but I'm hitting some problems atm. I know what's causing it (the system that reports newly created lights to the shader). Coming up with an alternate solution should be possible though, so hold tight.

[ikonane]

I still frequent crashes. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt. It works about 30-40% of the time.

I usually get the bitmap missing error or "Unknown property: "bClip" is undefined"(and two more errors, Gamma e.t.c) and script crash.

To use more than one XoliulShader material in a scene is totally impossible. I can only run 3Ds Max(2011) as Administrator.

Sometimes when I "enable" and "disable" the images in the material editor a couple of times it works or crashes.

[JamieRIOT]

Hi,
I have 3ds Max 2012 on Windows 7. When i load up the shader and try to add an image to the diffuse slot by clicking on the grey 'empty' swatch, I get this error come up and I don't know how to get around it. I have read through the FAQ, but with no success:
[Clickable Thumbnail]
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/Jamie_Raab/th_XoliulShader.png (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/Jamie_Raab/XoliulShader.png)

[Xoliul]

Yes you have to be adminstrator to run it. I just find it a bit surprising that people run with such limited right on their computer....

What you can also do:
-Make the 3DS Max directory writeable, turn off the read-only thing (this fixes all problems for everyone at work here)
-Even better get rid of that ridiculous Windows User Acount Control (UAC) by just turning it off and resolving all problems. (this fixes all problems for me and others at home)

[ikonane]

^ Thanks that sounds like it should work. But it does not stay disabled (writable). Any idea?

And I cant find how to disable UAC in XP.

Pic of the problem:
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/k0nane/ReadOnly_1.jpg

[Xoliul]

I have no idea how this works with XP, I haven't used that OS for years and I have no way to test.
Are you limited in rights on your account? Can you run Max as admin ?

[Ace-Angel]

Are you Admin in the first place? XP was different, it required you to be a full admin, as opposed to the newer Windows which make you an "Admin'" user and the System itself is the full Admin. XP didn't have the second option.

So you might wanna hit up google to look for your solution.

[C86G]

C86G: Max 2009 is probably too old.
graphics card.

Yep, you were right. Works fine in Max 2010. Thnaks for your help.
Love you ^^

[melviso]

From the website,the FAQ says:


Will there be a Maya/XSI version of 2.0?
If you mean a version with custom UI, then for now the answer is no. Maya uses a different scripting language, and translating it would mean redoing everything for Maya. The old, core FX files are still available though.

Does this mean there will be a version for Maya in the near future,possibly before July this year? or there is a 2.0 version available for Maya but without a custom UI?Don't know why 3dmax always gets all the cool stuff.

[Xoliul]

Isn't your question already answered by that FAQ entry?

-No, there won't be a maya version.
-Because it's just too much work, everything needs to be redone + Maya shader support is shoddy compared to max (which is already shoddy!). I really don't want to go there in terms of effort.
-Yes, there are still core FX files available that should work with Maya, just no UI.

[melviso]

The reply in the FAQ said:If u mean a version with custom UI,for now,the answer is no.


SoI thought probably a version for Maya will be in the works sometime later.Thanks for clearing that up.

[Xoliul]

I see. You have to understand, I'd really rather spend my time (which has become limited since working at Splash) on improving the Max version (like going for 2.5) than do a Maya version which by definition will be more limited than max (no shadows for example).

[melviso]

I know making these plugins aren't easy to make and I respect and admire the time and intellect u guys put into making our workflows better and faster.I will be looking into learning 3dmax.It seems more user friendly for freelancers rather than Maya that is designed for studio/companies with a lot of customised scripting.

[Xoliul]

You can use Max for just viewing shaders as well. All you need to learn is the navigation and the material system + some basic mesh selecting. Should take you only a few hours.

[ikonane]

I have installed Windows 7 and turned off UAC but I can still not turn off the read-only function. I am doing it the same way as the xp picture above but it does not stay off. Am I doing it wrong?

EDIT:
I installed this thing:
www.blogsdna.com/2173/add-take-ownership-option-in-right-click-context-menu-of-windows-7.htm

And took ownership of the Autodesk folder, but I still get the "Error reading Targa file" and "wanted bitmap got undefined".

I always run 3Ds Max as Administrator.

[Xoliul]

if UAC is off it should normally not be an issue anymore, for me that's all it takes to solve problems.
Error reading Targa file sounds like something else though.

[zOffTy]

Hi Xoliul!
when a max files with xoliul shader is open on another workstation with a different max folder instal I got this...
http://i.imgur.com/tiZ6O.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/r6YD9.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/JPiha.jpg

So I have to CopyPasta the Xoliul folder where the script is looking for, and it works.. :)

Thanks!

Pas très pratique! :D

[Xoliul]

When you open a maxfile from one pc to another? It sounds like it's missing a special case when the saved thumbnail being referenced is in a different folder. I will look at it. There's a bunch of these annoying errors that I have to fix :/

[C86G]

I´m looking for the video where you, Mister Xoliul, set up a crawler machine model thingy with lights and texture tweaks etc.
I just can´t find it : /


edit: found it : )

edit 2:

I need help : /
I want that nice ground plane with the fading alpha that Xoliul showed in the vid i searched (and found).
I know it should be as simple as creating an alpha in Photoshop, saving it as... dunno, TGA and using this in Max with the Xoliul Shader, activating the alpha box and set the max option to "none". But I just can´t get it right.

Help plz : (

[Xoliul]

That one's kinda old though. The HotRod v2 sneakpeek thing is newer, but it doesn't have voice-over I think.

[C86G]

Yep, I know the HotRod one and I really love all of your Videos!
I needed the crawler vid because I want the alpha plane you used there. Still can´t figure out what I do wrong.

[Xoliul]

It's extremely dependent on viewport settings. You need to set transparency quality to None, and you can't use SSAO.

[C86G]

I dis that.
I guess I´m too stupid to get the alpha channel right.

[asher911]

del:thumbup:

[C86G]

Any idea why my ground plane with (correct ^^) alpha does not display properly? I get this bad border that should disappear when setting the transparency quality to "none".
None does not help : /

[artstream]

Having an issue loading my normal map using this shader. The output from the RTT dialog in 3DS Max 2012 worked fine, but when I composited my normals in photoshop and saved it out as a .tga, it loads weird. I've tried .jpg and .png files as well.

Here's how the normal map (flattened) looks in PS:
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i159/seanieboi4lif/NormalMap_PS.png

When loading through the shader dialog, it looks like this:
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i159/seanieboi4lif/NormalMap_XShader.png

[igi]

@artstream

I had same problem either.My solution is adjust the gamma/LUT settings.3dsmax's itself gamma corrects the image and this causes wrong results.In the gamme/LUT settings set the default gamma correction value to 1.0 instead of 2.2 or simply disable it.That would get rid of that wrong appearance.

[artstream]

@ igi,

Thanks for the suggestion, but my gamma/lut correction is already off.

[igi]

@ igi,

Thanks for the suggestion, but my gamma/lut correction is already off.

Alright,then just enable it and set gamma correction value to 1.This would work.

[artstream]

That worked! Thanks igi, really appreciate it!

[SPYFF]

Now i install Xoliul Shader 2 under 3ds Max 2013 trial, but not work correctly :(

Upd: my brain not work correcly :) XS2 works fine!

[C86G]

Just a quick question:

How come materials look different in Max 09 and Max 10?
I set up a scene in 09 and when I open it in 10, my objetcs are waaaaay brighter etc.
Does it load additional lights or... i don´t know : (

[Lamont]

I am having an install issue with the 2012 64bit Student/Free version.

Run 3DS Max normal and it doesn't install (says it can't install). Run 3DS Max as Admin, try to drag and drop and I get the interdiction sign. Then if I go to scripts>Run it will say it installed successfully, then it will not be in the materials panel after I restart Max.

Is it the version of 3DS Max I am running?

[Lamont]

Take that back. It is working!! Now I can go to bed.

[Del]

I love this damn shader so much... You did good Xoliul, you did good.

http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/clintnod.gif

[DiGiTAL ZOMBiE]

Thanks a million! :D

[Nysuatro]

Thanks everybody. The kind words are highly appreciated.

[Pangahas]

I get the error could not locate files in Temporary folder when installing on 3dsmax 2011 win7 64 bit.

[Lamont]

Ok, here is an update to my issue:

UAC had to be 100% off for it to install. 3DS Max would not allow ANYTHING to be drag and dropped onto it(scripts/files/textures). It also didn't allow screenshots to be taken with Gadwin PrintScreen (Max could not be the focused app).

Even with Admin privs over the folder, it still did that till UAC was killed.

[Xoliul]

Yeah UAC is absolutely terrible. Last time I tried, I couldn't even test things with UAC on: you can't even save maxscript files if it is enabled! Coupled with the fact that you have to a full reboot to toggle UAC, it's pretty annoying to even try and code with it on...

[Kapoff]

Hi,
Is it possible to bake the previeuw of the shader into a complete map for a psp mesh? *shrug* (was trying with a RTT but it renders a standard gray material)

I know that the shader isn't really made to be rebdered out but it would be awesome to get all there details and stuff in a simple diffuse map.

[Xoliul]

That's just completely impossible, sorry. You have to realize that 70% or more of the stuff that makes the shader look good is view-based (changes with camera angle), meaning you just can't bake it down to a texture...

[yoonoo]

thank you

[Kapoff]

That's just completely impossible, sorry. You have to realize that 70% or more of the stuff that makes the shader look good is view-based (changes with camera angle), meaning you just can't bake it down to a texture...

Thanks for the quick answer. And yes, I know that a big part depends on the camera angle (like cubemaps, fresnel and stuff) I guess I gonna have to play with the mr materials...
But however if at any time you decide to make the basic maps information (like the diffuse/spec/normal) viewable in the renderer for this kind of purpause it would be great for me! Redoing all the set up for every material is painful sometimes.

Anyway, thanks a lot for the shader, it's a masterpiece! :D

[Xoliul]

Thing is you really shouldn't need the renderer anymore? There are good scripts that capture high-res anti aliased images without much hassle. It's been years since I've used Mental Ray or Vray for displaying any game art.
On top of that, portfolio-wise I actually think displaying finished pieces with a shader/realtime app is better than doing renderings. MR/Vray rendering has little relevance for a job in the game industry...

[Nysuatro]

Word brotha :D

[Pangahas]

Apparently the problem was that the download for some strange reasons was made into a zip file, so just renamed it and it works fine now.:)

[Xoliul]

IE tends to do that, opera as well I think. It checks the actual filetype and renames accordingly. Nothing I can do about that unfortunately.

[Darkleopard]

THe things ive seen with this shader. I wish it was for maya aswell :(

[poopipe]

Yeah UAC is absolutely terrible. Last time I tried, I couldn't even test things with UAC on: you can't even save maxscript files if it is enabled! Coupled with the fact that you have to a full reboot to toggle UAC, it's pretty annoying to even try and code with it on...

If you run max as administrator you can save to system folders. downside is that you lose drag and drop when apps run as admin

[Xoliul]

Yeah I know, there just isn't any other decent solution (where everything still works) other than turning UAC off completely, forever.

[Hazardous]

Hey man, ran into a bit of a problem here not quite sure what to do.. any insight would be a huge help!

Whenever I save out a TGA from photoshop, max2012 crashes. It only happens if I've got xoliul 2.0 applied. BTW ive tried bmp, tiff, png and tga nothing seems to make any difference as far as thats concerned.

I have my Miku model using 3 xoliul shaders, one for hair, one for skin, one for clothes.

Map size is 2048, and im using diffuse, spec and normal with a 512 ramp in the gradient slot which i intend to shrink down once i get everything sorted the way I want.

Ive tried uninstalling and reinstalling the shader ( manually and automatically ) and also starting with a fresh obj, and remaking the materials to apply. Still the same result. Instant crash when I save out a tga.

Never had this problem before, but it is the first time im using 2.0 on this new machine with windows 7 64bit and max 2012.

[Xoliul]

Uhm, that sounds more like a Max core thing than my shader, though I'm not sure. Might have to do with the Thumbnails.
Does it do this for the non UI version ?

[codyaq2]

Hazardous have you tried running max in admin mode?

[bcottage]

Xoliul (http://www.polycount.com/forum/member.php?u=22648):

Just downloaded your shader. My god dude..i love you

[Hazardous]

I tried quite a few things to determine what the cause was, basically started to rebuild a fresh the scene with new shaders and everything so far is fine, adding one map at a time. Frustrating when this happens, because I couldnt find out what the issue was, though maybe the file was corrupted.

It was the same crash, with or without the UI.

codyaq2: Yup, running max in admin mode.

[Xoliul]

So it's fine now? If it does the same thing with the non-UI version, then it's some weird max-bug..

[bipolar]

So I've been working in 2013 and noticed that my normals dont display correctly, just using default settings. My normal map also looks bright blue in the xoliul shader slot. Help Hank ?!?!?!?

http://i.imgur.com/q2V1Q.jpg

[Xoliul]

It's gamma correction. Turn gamma/LUT off, and make sure it's set to 1.0 instead of 2.2 when you turn it off.

[bcottage]

Hey guys, recently i have been using the xoliul shader. I reopened the same file this morning and the shader looks really dark on my model?? any reason why this has happened?

[cdavidson]

anywhere to re download the presets?

i somehow managed to delete the team fortress 2 one lol

[Bigjohn]

Hey, so I'm having problems with the Xoliul shader (the latest from 09/10/2011) and normal maps baked in Max2013. I'm getting that good ol' normal map seam where you get the seam in the viewport, but it's not there when you render. I think it's that tangent basis issue. I don't recall having this issue with normal maps baked in Max 2011 and Xoliul.

Did something change in 2013? Any workaround for this (other than to bake in an older Max)?

Edit:
Looks like I can get it to look right using Nitrous (without Xoliul of course), so I guess their tangent-basis fix is only for that mode. DirectX mode has the errors with Xoliul or a standard mat with hardware preview on.

[Xoliul]

bcottage: maybe missing file/incorrect setting/gamma ?
cdavidson: you'll have to redownloadf the installer, and open that with winrar (it's just a renamed rar file).

BigJohn: you could try the Qualified normals. 3 Point's modifier sometimes also works with my shader (don't ask me how lol, it's just random).


On another note: I have to cancel the website hosting. They're asking me a $122 to renew while I paid 40 for my first year, and I can't afford that. Perfectly normal according to JustHost.
I'm not sure what I'll do, but probably temporarily move back the site to my personal space (different, cheaper host). Then try and get the domain back or something. It sucks that One.com (my other host) doesn't allow multiple domains...

[Ace-Angel]

Why not take it to a nice, revamped, site-ish Blog, and upload the files on a Free-Host/Uploader like MediaFire and just direct link it? Unless I'm missing something about the X2 site, it looks like your can recreate for free on other places, or is there a reason you want to keep it user-host based?

[Bigjohn]

BigJohn: you could try the Qualified normals. 3 Point's modifier sometimes also works with my shader (don't ask me how lol, it's just random).

Qualified normals don't seem to do anything. And I can't get the 3point stuff installed on 2013, it gives an error during installation. The latest they have is for 2012.

I'm curious though, are you seeing the behavior I'm describing in 2013 as well? Or is it just me?

[perna]

Bigjohn: Sorry yes, some delays on 2013 support rolling out, you'll find out why soon.

Xoliul: That sounds pretty much like a scam. Shouldn't you be able to transfer the domain to another host?

[Ace-Angel]

Nope Big, Max 2013 did some really 'nice' things behind the scenes, so there is a chance you might need to revamp your shader in some cases for it.

HOEEEEEEE! ThunderMax!

[gibson543]

alright, I have no idea what's going on here. At first, my texture was showing up way to dark, so I changed the gamma settings to get it back to its normal brightness, but these wierd artifacts show up in the diffuse texture only. Any ideas?

http://i50.tinypic.com/15iaj4p.jpg

[Bigjohn]

What do you mean by "nice things"?

[almighty_gir]

bcottage: maybe missing file/incorrect setting/gamma ?
cdavidson: you'll have to redownloadf the installer, and open that with winrar (it's just a renamed rar file).

BigJohn: you could try the Qualified normals. 3 Point's modifier sometimes also works with my shader (don't ask me how lol, it's just random).


On another note: I have to cancel the website hosting. They're asking me a $122 to renew while I paid 40 for my first year, and I can't afford that. Perfectly normal according to JustHost.
I'm not sure what I'll do, but probably temporarily move back the site to my personal space (different, cheaper host). Then try and get the domain back or something. It sucks that One.com (my other host) doesn't allow multiple domains...

sounds like a scam...

i'm using http://unlimitedwebhosting.co.uk/ for my site, it's amazingly cheap, completely unlimited bandwith + space, and to renew my domain all i have to do is just keep my monthly payment going, they renew it automatically for ~£10 at the end of the year.

[Xoliul]

Yeah i don't mind switching, but I have no clue on how to transfer the domain name ?

[perna]

Xoliul: I've done this before for my personal site. First find a new host, then read their preferred process (from the sound of it, your current registrar probably won't be helpful in that department anyway).

This is what bluehost advices: https://my.bluehost.com/cgi/help/45

[Xoliul]

Thanks perna, I'll give that a try.
I really don't like doing all this hosting crap: it's so annoying to try and find a good one.

[Bigjohn]

I've been using Bluehost as well for years. They're really open about things, and they'll work with you if you have any special needs for your site. So +1 from me for Bluehost.

[bcottage]

hey guys, any idea why my model has backface cull when i apply the xoliul shader?

[Revel]

Just wondering is there any way to get ao map slot in differently using UV channel 2 instead of multiply to the diffuse in photoshop? example case would be modelling a large building which utilise UV tiling for concrete/ wood/etc texture to get the best possible texture resolution rather then make each UV island not overlap in order to get the ao right?

I understand it wouldn't be a problem for a character model, since most part is unique and got no problem multiplying ao to the diffuse texture.

[stickadtroja]

hello everyone!

first off, big thanks Xoliul for making the awesome shader! Its very cool with the support for shadows and all! Going to make my art look so much better!

Have on problem though, with the opacity. Im making an eye for my character and I want it to look all realistic like, so I have one sphere with one side bent inwards (should act like the iris) and then a completely transparent bowl on top of that ( to act like the cornea) that should catch a specular highlight but nothing else. ive done this before and it makes the eyes looks so much more alive than just a regular sphere.

but for some reason I get this dark artifact on the transparent corna.
its only in some scenes, cuz i made this once before on another character in another scene and it worked fine. so then I imported my malfunctioning eye into that scene and now it works! so weird. heres a pic

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/67237969/opacity.jpg

I checked, and doubled checked the settings in the xoliulshader tab but it is the same in both scenes.

any help would be much appriciated!



also if I make a new scene, and import the eye there, it still lookes like in scene B....

[Xoliul]

hey guys, any idea why my model has backface cull when i apply the xoliul shader?

You can change the technique to not do that. it's just the default.

Just wondering is there any way to get ao map slot in differently using UV channel 2 instead of multiply to the diffuse in photoshop? example case would be modelling a large building which utilise UV tiling for concrete/ wood/etc texture to get the best possible texture resolution rather then make each UV island not overlap in order to get the ao right?

I understand it wouldn't be a problem for a character model, since most part is unique and got no problem multiplying ao to the diffuse texture.

I had to cut that, I'm sorry... You can use a legacy version if you really want that, but generally i advise against doing full scenes with my shader. UDK or Cryengine are just much better for it...

Stickadtroja:
Wow that's kinda puzzling.. I've had scenes that go "bad" where some mystery setting is screwed, but a new one fixes that every time. Can you just triple check the global scene settings, mostly the "transparency quality" ? Setting it to "none" is mostly better.

[stickadtroja]

I tried what you said about the transparancy settings and it worked! Im so happy now! Thank you so much!

To clearify, if anyone have the same problem as me, go to transparancy setting in viewport configuration and set it to none.

Im so relived cuz I wouldnt know where to start fixing a bug like that. Out of pure relief my next 3d character will have at least a thousand eyes.

Again thanks so much for the help and letting people use your kickass shader!


Btw do you want some kind of credit or mentioning if I use your shader to display portfolio pieces?

[Xoliul]

Good to hear!
It's always nice if you mention me, though that's not required really :)

[Bigjohn]

While we're at it, I'm running into another problem with the shader. At work whenever I make a material into the Xoliul material, it shoots an error at line 2362. The line reads:
filePath_Diffuse = (delegate.diffuseMap as string)

The error makes sense. It says:
-- Runtime error: Error opening bitmap: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2013\scripts\XoliulShaderUI\images\NoImage.png

It makes sense, cause at work they have this system that pushes new versions of 3dsmax automatically, and so my 3dsmax install is at C:\3dsMax2013x64

I'm guessing the shader is looking for that image in a predetermined spot.

Edit:
Stupid simley faces. It should be C : \

[J0NNYquid]

Anyone else having trouble accessing the website? Looks like it's down.

[ohnickmoy]

Yeah does anyone have the install files available?

[jag heter jan]

...

Link went the way of the dodo after seven days.

[ohnickmoy]

thanks !

[Xoliul]

http://www.laurenscorijn.com/xoliulshader

Temp page I set up. I don't have that much time these days but I'll try to get something sorted...

[J0NNYquid]

Thanks jagheterjan, sorry to hear about your hosting issues Xoliul, hope it all gets sorted out!

[ScottP]

The link on your portfolio site is not working for me, its giving me an error. I managed to get the .mzp downloaded but was really hoping to read through the faq and watch the videos.

Hope you can get a site up and running again soon, sorry to hear it went bust!

[Xoliul]

Thanks for pointing that out scott, I just forgot the http://.
Video's are still on youtube, I linked them up. The help is offline but since that's a whole separate page, I can just add those to my own site tonight.

[downarmy]

Hey Xoliul big fan of your craft!

is there any download mirror up somewhere on the net i just re-installed my system and no your shader missed the backup disk drive

Big thanks!

edit: saw the last couple of post move along move along!!

thanks again for the shader

[Bigjohn]

I have another question. Since I can't get the normals to match in 2013 between DX9 Xoliul and the renderer, which one is "right"? Say with Unreal, does it go off of the way it looks in the Max viewport, or the way it looks in the renderer?

Also, is it possible to render the normal maps in such a way so it matches with the viewport and not the renderer?

[Xoliul]

Unreal is mostly like Max DX9 viewport without Qualified/Quality normals. That means splitting UV's and matching smoothing groups a lot, or adding lots of supporting geometry. Pretty much getting the worst case to look good :)

[Bigjohn]

Ahh I see. So then do you know if it's possible to bake normals some how to match the DX9 viewport instead of the renderer?

[Xoliul]

Yes, use Qualified normals, there's a switcher script included with the Shader. If that doesn't work, the 3Point modifier might.
It doesn't change the baking, it changes the display in the viewport.

[Lephenix]

Hello Xoliul, i there a working version for softimage? if not will you make one? That would be nice, thanks in advance.

[Xoliul]

Someone made a port a few years ago, it's incomplete though. I don't know where to find that anymore.
I won't work on SoftImage because I don't know the application and have very little time for it. Last time I tried it (official, legal trial version) it didn't even start on my computer, just crashed right away.
Also I will definitely not be making a UI-version for any other application than Max.

[Lephenix]

Ok, thanks you for your reply :).

[FractaL]

Hey guys, I love the shader and all but I am having a huge problem with seeing vertexes with this shader. I want to use it to model and everything, but I think it may just be the Direct3D driver in 3DS max 2012.

Here is my problem: http://i.imgur.com/qjxsH.jpg

As you can see, I have vertex selection mode on in the editible poly modifier, but I can barely see the vertex markers! They are small 1 pixel markers and this makes modeling almost impossible!

Please help!

[Xoliul]

That's not my shader, but your graphics drivers causing problems. My shader doesn't draw or change the vert markers. You can change the size on them in the options menu, give that a try.

[Bigjohn]

I get that same problem too. What fixes it for me, and this is gonna sound random, but you select some vert and hit W to go into the move tool, then hit R to go into the scale tool, and back to W for move. Don't know why it works, but it works for me. So try it.

[z0ltan]

I get the same thing in Max as well. The solution Bigjohn mentioned tends to work. There is also a wonky bug that if you hide something in another sub-object mode (like element) then unhide, the verts will stay hidden until you unhide them in vert mode. weeeeird.

[artstream]

Just to provide another solution to the vert display issue: if you are working with your viewport maximized, go back to having all four windows, go out of vertex sub-object mode, and then go back to it. This has fixed it for me quite a few times.

[cptSwing]

Hey, so I'm having problems with the Xoliul shader (the latest from 09/10/2011) and normal maps baked in Max2013. I'm getting that good ol' normal map seam where you get the seam in the viewport, but it's not there when you render. I think it's that tangent basis issue. I don't recall having this issue with normal maps baked in Max 2011 and Xoliul.

Did something change in 2013? Any workaround for this (other than to bake in an older Max)?


Yup. Strange shading here in 2013 (DX9) as well.. Qualified normals are on, Gamma is off. *sigh*

[BradMyers82]

Does the mask for the reflection have no effect on the the cube map?

[womball]

I just installed max 2013. I don't understand how you set up this shader with the slate editor. Also for the viewport are you using the realistic setting or shaded?

[McGreed]

I couldn't get the shader to work in 2012 with Nitro for viewport, had to revert to Direct3D, as the shader just stayed black. So if thats your issue, you might need to do that.

[Bigjohn]

Yeah, Nitrous doesn't support custom shaders I don't think. So you have to use DX9 for Xoliul to work. And in 2013 if you use DX9 there's a discrepancy between how the normals appear in the viewport and in a render. In the past you could fix that with the Qualified Normals fix, but that doesn't seem to work anymore in 2013. Maybe it's still there, but the setting has to go in a different file? I don't know.

[garriola83]

Hi, I'm Gene and I have a problem.

I am using 3DS Max 2013 with the Xoliulshader2009.fx without the interface. I have this 3D model and I have baked the normals on them already. The problem is that when I open the file it would randomly be flipped, or correct. Now, when I flip the green channel it looks even worse. So I don't think its the bake but rather the shader itself? Maybe it's not playing nice with 2013.


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7747435968_474a32ce84_c.jpg

One time I did delete the old file from the folder, renamed it and it worked. So something screwy is going on...HALP!

So it's got something to do with 2013? Cuz now im using 2012 and its fine. Something with qualified normals?

[Jamie!]

After a reinstall I forgot to save this and now the site has been down for a few days. Is there anywhere else to download it?

[McGreed]

Just look up the page, Xoliul's site is down, but he placed it here:
http://www.laurenscorijn.com/xoliulshader

[Jamie!]

Perfect, Thanks!

[Ikosan]

are those links relevant to the Maya shader as well? I can only find the 3ds Max one:(

[uncle]

It seems that site for xoliulshader2 is down... Is there another way to obtain it? I need another installer for new workstation, so if anyone has it I am interested :)

edit:nevermind, I'm retard.

[Nysuatro]

I am trying to arrange a new host, but I have been so busy with my current project :(
I will let you guys know once I got the site online again.

[JostVice]

While we're at it, I'm running into another problem with the shader. At work whenever I make a material into the Xoliul material, it shoots an error at line 2362. The line reads:
filePath_Diffuse = (delegate.diffuseMap as string)

The error makes sense. It says:
-- Runtime error: Error opening bitmap: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2013\scripts\XoliulShaderUI\images\NoImage.png

It makes sense, cause at work they have this system that pushes new versions of 3dsmax automatically, and so my 3dsmax install is at C:\3dsMax2013x64

I'm guessing the shader is looking for that image in a predetermined spot.

Edit:
Stupid simley faces. It should be C : \

I'm having the exact same problem, the script is looking for the image on the drive F that i even don't have. I've tried to look into the script ms and ini files for where could that path be defined to fix it, but no luck.

Edit: fixed it, it happens because i had this max scene on another computer, and it was looking for the no-image on the same folder.

[Billabong]

I am having a problem with the color Dif map. For some reason it will not give the entire model the color that I choose. All polys have the same id. Not really sure what to do here. Any thoughts?

Edit: I'm starting to think this is more of a model/geometry problem more than a shader problem, will run some more tests tonight if if it still screws up, ill just post a new thread with the problem.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa298/Billabon654/color.jpg

[Billabong]

Ok I just did a test, I applied a red layer to my AO map and put that in the diffuse slot of your shader. That worked correctly, but when I use Color Dif map, it doesn't color the entire object. I have reset the xform, ran an STL check, neither one of those worked. So I'm stumped.

-B

[Xoliul]

It's because you have an alpha in the diffusemap, it masks the color application by alpha. It says so clearly in the help, which is included with the shader.

[Billabong]

my apologies Laurens

[Xoliul]

Don't worry, that's alright, the FAQ is offline so you couldn't have read that. And most people seem to miss the included help file anyway.

[danRod]

does anyone have the download or a file they can set up for download, the website to download is down:(

[Xoliul]

http://www.laurenscorijn.com/xoliulshader

temp download space. Robbert-Jan is working on getting the hosting set up.

[danRod]

Sweet this is version 2 I take it?

[Xoliul]

Yes, I don't think I even have the old versions up somewhere.

[danRod]

dude this is so awesome! Thanks for your hard work and releasing this to peeps! Do you have a donation link anywhere for yourself? :)

[gnoop]

Does this shader work in Max 2008? I get a script window and "-Type error: set property requires BitMap, got: undefined" message each time I try to use a texture file.

[Xoliul]

No sorry, max 2009 onwards only.

[r-a-n-d-o-m]

There is definitly something different in 3DsMax 2013 in combination with the Xoliul 2 Shader. See this example, same file opened in both max2012 en 2013:


http://www.r-a-n-d-o-m.com/images/Xoliul2_Problem.jpg

[Ace-Angel]

Max 2013 is broken.

[cptSwing]

Yeah, it's a pain in the ass.

[r-a-n-d-o-m]

And we're going to just leave it at that?
Let's spam Autodesk !


PS
Was hoping for a more technical anwser ;-)

[Xoliul]

Ok, so I tested Max 2013.

It's broken, every single shader out there has this problem(mine, 3point, etc). It looks like Autodesk has actually broken tangent space for Direct3D, as it doesn't even work with their own DX display of normalmaps.

I'm going to try and reach someone at Autodesk because it's well possible they're not even aware of this issue.

[cptSwing]

Autodesk amuse me. In an angry way.

Slightly related: Exporting meshes from Max 13 with qualified normals still preserves tangent space (I did a - slightly panicked - comparison between '12 and '13 a while ago). Which makes the above issue more puzzling, if anything.

[Ace-Angel]

They've been messing with their tangents for a LOOONG time now, in Max 2012 for example, scaling a mesh with a shader applied can sometimes lead to a break of the Normal Maps, and you need to reset XForm it each time, even instances.

Also, I think the guys at Autodesk know about the current issues with shaders, but they're too busy creating a shader-toolset instead, so you might not even see a patch for this problem until near the release of Max 2014.

[GeeDave]

I've not actually noticed an issue with normal maps in 2013 yet, perhaps I need to look closer and also compare the same objects/maps in 2012. More on this tomorrow if I get a moment spare, but I'd like to think that I would have noticed by now if something was amiss.

On a not related note, I got off at the WRONG train station on my way to work this morning, so it's quite likely I may have missed many things in life.

[Ace-Angel]

Nothing changed with the Normal Maps, the shaders and how they 'worked' with the viewport have been fielded with, hence breaking with the Normal Maps and such with them.

[S_ource]

About the highlight thing, i think its disabled in the wievport as standard in 3dsmax 2013. You can enable it in some menu.

[r-a-n-d-o-m]

"You can enable it in some menu."

Could you be more specific? I checked:
- Viewport configuration > Lighting and Shadows tab
- Customize > Preferences > Viewport
- Right-clicking on [+][Perspective][Smooth+Highlight]

No result: I don't think it is a setting, it is the way 2013 is displaying the normal map: wrong.

[Mark Dygert]

Ok, so I tested Max 2013.

It's broken, every single shader out there has this problem(mine, 3point, etc). It looks like Autodesk has actually broken tangent space for Direct3D, as it doesn't even work with their own DX display of normalmaps.

I'm going to try and reach someone at Autodesk because it's well possible they're not even aware of this issue.
You probably know this already but they switched on gamma correction by default and it "corrects" normal maps which causes all kinds of problems. So first make sure you turn off Gamma/LUT (Main Menu > Rendering > Gamma/LUT > Uncheck enable).

It sounds like they have fubar'ed something else but enabling Gamma/LUT without excluding important materials like Normal Map was just one thing in a long list of bone headed moves they made in 2013 that also has to be worked around.

Also a few people have managed to get them to display properly after toggling Gamma/LUT on and off but its very hit and miss and more likely a bug...
http://area.autodesk.com/forum/autodesk-3ds-max/autodesk-3ds-max--3ds-max-design-2012/normal-tangets-seams-and-gammalut/

[GeeDave]

Nothing changed with the Normal Maps, the shaders and how they 'worked' with the viewport have been fielded with, hence breaking with the Normal Maps and such with them.

Sure, yeah I meant that I hadn't noticed anything different when viewing normal maps with the Xoliul shader in Max 2013. I even debated adding the use of the shader into my original post but didn't as I thought it would be self evident given the topic and discussion of everything else.

[cptSwing]

There's a post on autodesk's area as well: http://area.autodesk.com/forum/autodesk-3ds-max/autodesk-3ds-max--3ds-max-design-2013/3dsmax-2013--big-issue-on-normal-maps/ by a colleague of Xoliul's..

Edit: Haha, which is actually you, r-a-n-d-o-m. I am an idiot ;-)

[r-a-n-d-o-m]

Like I said I'm spamming Autodesk. Each time 3DsMax is crashing I'm actually filling in the Error Report window and complaining about this normal map issue.

[joeriv]

Someone willing to test this wall of text and see if it is possible to get it working all the time, or working at all?

-> Tested on a plane that was split in half, then made an angle almost 90 degrees, SM split and UV split between the two quads



Okay, so I heard from some people that laurens had said to not only disable gamma/lut, but also put it to 1.0.
(if laurens said this or not, I am not sure, just in case he did, and this fixes it, it's his find)

But that has always been the case for me.

So what I found after some testing:
Set that as said above.

if that doesn't fix it:

-Open a file, load a mesh/make a new one, doesn't matter just a model with a normal map where it is obvious if it's working or not.

-Open xoliul shader, load the normal map, it's probably still gonna have a seam.
-Put Gamma/lut ON but keep it to 1.0
-Load a "new" xoliulshader in a new slot, and load your normal map in again.

(and maybe play with the flip green channel a couple of times, since I always have to do this this might be needed)

If that doesn't fix it yet, close the file (reset max, and if that doesn't work close and reopen max)

Re open the file, and see if it is fixed, if not load a new xoliulshader in a new slot.

Basicly with Gamma/lut set to 1.0 toggle it on/off a couple off times + (maybe play with flip green a couple of times).


In this way I can actually get it working all the time (in the few times I tested it, and if I am correct), altough it takes like a minute more of clicking.

Interesting note: I always ended up with Gamma/lut ON, but set to 1.0


EDIT:

Once it's working, don't load a new xoliulshader, that breaks it again, and you will have to go trough the whole toggle it on/off, restart max thing.

[Xoliul]

Hey guys, rather than go through this pain, I tried to fix it and think I did so.
new shader version up here: http://www.laurenscorijn.com/xoliulshader

technical info:

Autodesk is no longer properly passing Tangents and Binormals to shaders. They're just passing garbage data (not proper per-pixel/vertex data). So i made a special Max 2013 version that calculates the tangents in-shader. No idea how that matches up with baked tangents, but at least it's something :)

[S_ource]

"You can enable it in some menu."

Could you be more specific? I checked:
- Viewport configuration > Lighting and Shadows tab
- Customize > Preferences > Viewport
- Right-clicking on [+][Perspective][Smooth+Highlight]

No result: I don't think it is a setting, it is the way 2013 is displaying the normal map: wrong.

You can disable and enable highlights in Viewport configuration > Lighting and Shadows tab but it depends witch driver you use to i think.

[r-a-n-d-o-m]

Aha it is working again....frustrations slowly fading away...

thx Xoliul

[cptSwing]

It definitely looks better than before.. some of the seams I had disappeared, some are still there and shading is still funny in spots, so again - Autodesk, why? Why would you just change it around for no appreciatable gain?

Either way, thanks a lot Xoliul!

[S_ource]

Xoliul do you think its any chanse they will fix 3dsmax so you can use directx properly?

[Xoliul]

I sent some mails to Autodesk, someone internal put a bug in. That's the best I can do, we'll see where they take it from there on.

[Gazu]

All talking about Max, but whats with Maya?
Max has the 3PointShader, Maya has nothing, just a subscription dx extension which doenst work for students :(

XouliulShader 2.0 for Maya 2012/2013?

[doc rob]

You could also send a PM to Frank Delise, since he saw fit to show up on the boards :)

[Ace-Angel]

All talking about Max, but whats with Maya?
Max has the 3PointShader, Maya has nothing, just a subscription dx extension which doenst work for students :(

XouliulShader 2.0 for Maya 2012/2013?
If you take a look back, many people who are making the shaders for Max already know the language needed for the UI, they're not going to spend extra time (especially on pet projects on which they don't really make money) in making a shader UI for another software.

However, Maya does have plenty of shader, I think the BRDF shader was originally Maya, you also have the X1 shader, and a few others like Leo (Chronic) and Kost (Kodde) also make Maya shaders.

Seriously, just use google.

[Gazu]

I googled X1 and Leo Chronic Shader but cant find anything.
Can i implent normal, spec and diffuse in them?

[cptSwing]

I think he means Xoliul version 1

[Gazu]

Oh...maybe ^^

[elonir]

Hello everyone!
Can someone explain me how to create animated material with XoliulShader? For example a boosters fires which Xoliul created for his GZ81 scene. Any link, tutorial will be very useful and greatly appreciated! Thanks.

[Ace-Angel]

That was done in UDK IIRC, you cannot animate materials in X2 right off the bat (since they don't support vertex distortion, flipbooks, etc).

You could maybe blend several version of shader using one of the blending modes in Max? Each one using a different texture? But that would take far too long and would not be worth it.

[elonir]

Thank you very much for help! I need an advice with my issue, I have environment scene which contains torches and I want animated fire for them. How can I accomplish this task in 3ds max (I have a sequence of textures for my fire)? Example picture of my scene:

[Ace-Angel]

Not sure how you would do it, this is the closest thing I found: http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99518

[Scruples]

*Just read the entire thread, looking for solution*
When I disable SSAO my frames drop drastically(20fps becomes 10fps)
,With other scenes performance drops like it should (it's just a model 500k, a ground plane and 2 reference planes, deleting them doesn't help)

Max 2012x64 and a GTX480 with some newish drivers 306.23 on win 7

Another thing, I thought ssao wasn't supposed to work at all with this shader?, it displays fine for me as long as I have transparency set to anything other than none.

[elonir]

Thanks a lot Ace-Angel for helping me with fire!:) I'm still trying to improve my scene, so now I'm want create fog effect for it. Can someone give me a hint how can I do this for render scene in viewport with Xoliul's shader? So this is possible?

[Xoliul]

Scruples: erm, that beats me. There's always tons of strange things going on behind the scenes with Max and drivers, I really can't help much there. Autodesk doesn't care too much, as they're mainly focusing on Nitrous it seems.

SSAO isn't tied directly to the shader, it's a post effect. I never claimed it doesn't work, but you have noticed as well that it needs a setting on the shader prefers off.

Elonir: I really suggest you switch to UDK, my shader is meant for a few separate props, if you want to do a big scene with effects and all you won't get very far unless you're able to write shaders yourself..

[chanti]

can any one tell me where i can download xoliulshader 2 ???
when i tried to download xoliulshader in main website, " .mzp " file
is not there .

if u find this file plz post the link

[joeriv]

http://www.laurenscorijn.com/xoliulshader

[chanti]

thank u bro thank q very veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy much bro i got it

[elonir]

Xoliul: Thanks for an advice, but UDK - it's not a good solution in my case! Because for me, character model is main figure of my environment, all other stuff it's only a background. My goal is to render my character! After your advice I've tried to work with UDK and for some reason I have terrible results with mesh seams, lighting or normal maps issue maybe, I'm searching over Internet for some time and haven't found solution for my issue. So thank you very, very much for your amazing shader!:)

[kungfoolai]

Since i didnt get a reply on my thread i thought i will try here..

Im trying to get alpha map hair working using the Xoliul Shader in 3ds max.

When I import my mesh and turn alpha on in the settings it gives me something weird.

http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/xx289/akiratang/alphaonsoftshadowsandnoclipping.jpg

This was with soft shadows in the perferences on, but then i then changed it to hard shadows and it gave me this result as seen below.

http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/xx289/akiratang/alphaonhardshadowsandnoclipping.jpg

Its close but as you can see, you can see the actual geometry of the hair like you can see the planes which is most notable at the top they are reflecting. Its not 100% transparent, maybe like 80%

Just wondering has xoliul always been like that, or is it a bug. Seems like when i use hardware shading it doesnt like it and i tried using the clipping feature as well in xoilul but doesnt help either. Im using max 2011 btw

Better pic of what im talking about,
http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/xx289/akiratang/1-17.jpg

[Joshua Stubbles]

I've tried to work with UDK and for some reason I have terrible results with mesh seams, lighting or normal maps issue maybe, I'm searching over Internet for some time and haven't found solution for my issue. So thank you very, very much for your amazing shader!:)

Can you post screenshots of the issues? Most new people have think they have issues with normal maps in UDK but it's usually just a flipped green channel in their normal map.

[kodde]

I googled X1 and Leo Chronic Shader but cant find anything.
Can i implent normal, spec and diffuse in them?

Here's a list with links to most most of the mentioned shaders and a few more.
http://wiki.polycount.com/CategoryShaders

[Xoliul]

KungFoo Lai, hair is just something that will never work great unless Autodesk improves things. Did you read the help section about it ? (the shader comes with a CHM help file)

[juraiknight]

Hey there, I've been using Xoliul shader for a little while now and I have to say it's a handy tool, especially when you're shooting for something specific like a TF2 feel to your asset. I have a question though. The shader itself has been working fantastic, but as of recent, I've had a problem with applying a Xoliul material to my object. It seems that, whenever I apply the material and I move about the viewport, the shadows and highlights flicker. Now at first I thought maybe I had another lights conflicting with one another, but there were no lights created. I also tried maybe messing with the viewport lighting settings, but it did not fix it. I do remember having a GPU driver update recently, and I only noticed this problem after that. Any idea what this might be caused by?

[AlexCatMasterSupreme]

I can never get this to work in 2013, it says it installs, but even after restart it won't show up in my shader list. Then I try to uninstall it and max crashes. So after that I go and try uninstalling it, well when I do that, I can't install it without the "cannot install" error.
So I manually install. Still won't show up:/

[almighty_gir]

are you running max as admin? or have UAC disabled?

[Xoliul]

Have you read the previous posts on manually installing ? All it takes to show up in the list, is having the xoliulshader_startup.ms in scripts/startup.

Juraiknight: this is just a Max driver thing. It depends on your graphics card, drivers, etc. I provide one small piece in the whole viewport display, but most of it is outside of my control.

[AlexCatMasterSupreme]

Have you read the previous posts on manually installing ? All it takes to show up in the list, is having the xoliulshader_startup.ms in scripts/startup.

Juraiknight: this is just a Max driver thing. It depends on your graphics card, drivers, etc. I provide one small piece in the whole viewport display, but most of it is outside of my control.

Yes, I've manually installed it many times, it makes no difference.

[Xoliul]

I've never heard of this happening before with a manual install. If it happens it's mostly because admin rights prevented the install from completing correctly.

You can try to simply do Run Script on the XoliulShader.ms main script. That should add it to the list. If it doesnt, open the max script listener, see if it gives you an error.

[kurt_hectic]

Ok, that's the good place to say THANK YOU.

I'm using your shader almost every day ;)

Please think about it (maybe you are planning some updates ) not only as a shader for 1 model rendered for portfolio but also as a shader for work, shader witch shows\reveals bugs on maps and gives similar results to the engine. Kind of 'model viewer' inside 3ds max.

Thanks again!

[AlexCatMasterSupreme]

I've never heard of this happening before with a manual install. If it happens it's mostly because admin rights prevented the install from completing correctly.

You can try to simply do Run Script on the XoliulShader.ms main script. That should add it to the list. If it doesnt, open the max script listener, see if it gives you an error.

It added it to the list but as soon as I drag it into my slate it does this.
http://i.imgur.com/wRj3Q.png
http://i.imgur.com/gEOFw.png
and after I close the errors I get this issue when I apply it.

http://i.imgur.com/XtMD4.png