this is wonderful thanks for making these little helpers

i have a question ...when zbrush updates next time will they still working?

Thanks guys!

Originally Posted by Spatz

this is wonderful thanks for making these little helpers

i have a question ...when zbrush updates next time will they still working?

Thanks Spatz. They "should" be fine. The update from 4 to all the new versions didn't break anything. Most of the scripts reference interface paths so if they move buttons around all hell is going to break loose!

I had some comments that the written description for the Quick Load scripts were confusing. I made a video demo of how they work to hopefully make it clearer

QuickLoad Demo - YouTube

Is it possible to do the same but with zpr ?
I like your script but I tend to work on scene files not tool anymore.

There is an option for Zprojects (zpr) but only one. It's the "Load Stored ZPR" and the "Open" button right next to it.

It works differently than the Tool storing however. You have to open the project first with the special "Open" button within the plugin. It's automatically stored and you can load it again anytime with the "Load Stored ZPR" button.

It's shown in the video near the end and/or their is a written description on the previous page.

Erf, ok sorry. And thank you

Thx, just downloaded it. Gonna try it out!

I've got an idea that would be very handy for some more advanced masking (kinda).
Lets say that you sculpting a damaged concrete surface, chipping away layers. To have a mask of what you just chipped away would be great, but it's a hustle to get that mask. What you can do is to use different colors on you brush when you sculpting and that way get a perfect mask in the polypaint. But the annoying thing is that you have a lot of annoying colors all over making it hard to see what you'r doing.

So, I thought that it could be a cool feature for your script to be able to paint with polypaint without seeing the actual paint. Like a hidden mask kinda thing. Just a toggle that hides it but doesn't turn it of more or less.

Cool! Thanks for the idea!

I will look into it but off the top of my head I am not sure that is possible. It isn't exactly what you are looking for but you can always turn "View Mask" off to hide the mask.

I got a couple cool updates to share. Firstly, I tried to make the UI a little more readable by making some pseudo-sections. I also have started including a "READ ME" file that includes all the descriptions for the scripts. This way you will always have them locally if you need them.

**IMPORTANT!**
If you have used this plugin in the past, please remove the old content first by deleting the "NicksToolsdata" folder.

If you want to keep the Quick Load project settings, you can copy the file "storedpath.zvr" into the new "NicksToolsdata" folder. If Zbrush fails to start you should just delete this file.

- Material Cycle: This script was inspired by our very own Hazardous. Check out the link to see an better example than my GIF. He and many other artists swap their matcaps frequently during sculpting. I wanted to try and make this process faster and easier.

To use this script pick your desired material and then select a number to assign it to. Click "Set Mat" and the material will be assigned to that number. Whenever you scroll to that number or use the "<<Mat/Mat>>" buttons the material will be assigned to the mesh. Continue doing this for your other favorite materials. You can overwrite a material using the same process or clear it out altogether using the button. Note however that if a number is "blank" you will have to press the "<<Mat/Mat>>" again to move on to the next mat so I don't recommend leaving "blank" spots between numbers. The materials will stay assigned between ZB sessions as well.

For optimum use, you should assign the "<<Mat/Mat>>" buttons to hotkeys. I use the Left and Right Arrows. This script can also speed up your startup. Immediately after ZB loads I just tap the left arrow key and my sculpting gray blinn material is assigned and I am ready to rock!

Also note that the materials HAVE to be loaded first before they be cycled to. So ether use the materials in your Zstartup folder or load them before hand.

- Batch Rename: This one has been requested ALOT. Rightfully so! This script is mostly self-explanatory. You can set a prefix/suffix as well as any padding before the serial. You can also adjust the starting number of the serial with the slider. The "Underscore" button toggles if underscores will be placed before/after the prefix/suffix. (Ordinarily ZB will change all your underscores to hyphens.) Pressing "Rename" will rename only the visible subtools.

This script has to temporarily save the Subtool to rename it. This can make the script somewhat slow with multiple very dense meshes. I have renamed multiple 8-million polygon meshes with this with no problem. HOWEVER....PLEASE save your Tool before using this. You never know.

Download!

Thanks again to Marcus on the ZBC forums for constantly answering my nagging questions!

nice update, thank you
Your link to download seems to be broken

very nice update ... why is this not part of zbrush ?

are you talking with the guys from pixologic about implementing this stuff ...or are they talking to you?

Nice work again, the quick material switch is nice. I have my favorite materials bound to shift + numpad numbers for quick use, but I'll switch over to this 2 button method instead now I think, thanks!

Dang it! Why does it always add "polycount.com" in front of my links?! So annoying!

The link is fixed.

Thank you shogunato for letting me know.

Spatz : Haha I know right? I wish they were talking to me! Some of these things seem so crazy that they are not apart of the software. If I can do it then I know they can do it probably better and faster

Bal : Thanks man. I am glad to hear that. I hope you like it. Shift + Numpad is a good idea tho. I hadn't thought of that before.

Nice additions! I'll be using both of these daily, I'm sure, especially the batch renamer.

Funny - I was actually just thinking about harassing you about a new feature yesterday morning. I work mostly in ZPRs and tend to save out incremental versions manually (mimicking Maya's incremental save feature) until I'm done with the asset. I'd love a button that would automagically save my current ZPR file (as defined in your Load ZPR slot) without me having to open the Save As dialog, and at the same time save a numerically incremented copy with two or three digits of padding (ie "realFileName_001", "realFileName_002", etc).

Thanks!

Cool idea. I should be able to make that pretty quick.

I have implemented a Quick/Iterate Save feature as requested by Justin DeVore.

Sorry. No Gif for this. Should be pretty self-explanatory. You guys are smart fellows.

To start the "Iterate Save", first chose or create a file with the "Set Save" button. In most cases you will be choosing the file you already have open however you can create a new name for the iterations if you wish. Then whenever "Iterate Save" is pressed a copy of your current tool will be saved. This can be hotkeyed.

If "S" button is enabled the original file will be overwritten too (on by default). This works for both Ztools and Zprojects.

Download!

thanks a lot bro, your stuff saves me a couple of minutes

Thanks for putting so much effort into this Nyx!

Lot's of time savers, the grow mask is just... great.

OMG! Seriously, who the fuck are you? Santa Clause of the ZB world?

Awesome mate! Much love

LOL, Ace-Angel. Good job, Nyx. This addition has been immensely helpful.

Thanks to Ace-Angel for pointing me to this thread!



I must be doing something wrong because it keeps asking me to pick a file whenever I want to save the iteration. I'll do that, sculpt some more then hit my hot key I made for saving and it again asks to pick a file.....

Woo Ace-Angel is my hero!

Hmmm... is a Save/Open Windows dialog popping up or a note inside Zbrush that says "Please set a file first."?

Originally Posted by Chaserm2

Thanks to Ace-Angel for pointing me to this thread!


I must be doing something wrong because it keeps asking me to pick a file whenever I want to save the iteration. I'll do that, sculpt some more then hit my hot key I made for saving and it again asks to pick a file.....

Yeah it says to set file. I'm doing just that, hitting the iteration button and all is well. I made a hot key for the iteration button but I get that set file message. Pretty much the hot key isn't working to save iterations

thank you so much

Originally Posted by Chaserm2

Yeah it says to set file. I'm doing just that, hitting the iteration button and all is well. I made a hot key for the iteration button but I get that set file message. Pretty much the hot key isn't working to save iterations

There are a couple situations where it could be popping up this message.

If the "projectPath.zvr" is not loading correctly from "NicksToolsdata." This could be caused by not having a "NicksToolsdata" folder in your Zplugs folder or by having some wacky permissions on your Program Files folders.

If this isn't the case, I will PM you a different compile and we can try that.