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3dsmax 2012

apocalypse
polycounter lvl 18
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apocalypse polycounter lvl 18
Has anyone else experienced weird graphical errors in the viewport with 2012? So far I've found mirroring geometry causes the flipped versions normals to be inside out.

Has anyone found a fix for this?
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  • apocalypse
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    apocalypse polycounter lvl 18
    Ok, It seems to be a known bug that a lot of people are experiencing.

    To get Max back to the way it was (without all the fancy rendering), all you have to do is go to Customize> Preferences> viewports> Choose driver and select Directx instead of Nitrous then restart Max.
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  • Piflik
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    Piflik polycounter lvl 12
    Did you install HF1 or SP1?

    What Viewport Driver are you using?
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  • aajohnny
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    aajohnny polycounter lvl 13
    Piflik wrote: »
    Did you install HF1 or SP1?

    What Viewport Driver are you using?

    What he said... I installed the new SP and didn't have any problems.
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  • Mark Dygert
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    Mark Dygert mod
    Also are you using the mirror tool or are you using the symmetry modifier. The mirror tool inversely scales your mesh which actually flipped it inside out previous but wouldn't show you until you did something like reset xform or exported. The mirror tool needs to just be rewritten or removed. Besides the sysmetry modifier is much easier to work with, and seeing the changes as you make them to one side of the model is amazingly helpful.

    Down with the mirror tool! Seriously remove it from your UI and use the space for something that isn't hacked up.
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  • Will Faucher
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    Will Faucher polycounter lvl 12
    Mark Dygert wrote: »
    Also are you using the mirror tool or are you using the symmetry modifier. The mirror tool inversely scales your mesh which actually flipped it inside out previous but wouldn't show you until you did something like reset xform or exported. The mirror tool needs to just be rewritten or removed. Besides the sysmetry modifier is much easier to work with, and seeing the changes as you make them to one side of the model is amazingly helpful.

    Down with the mirror tool! Seriously remove it from your UI and use the space for something that isn't hacked up.

    Sorry, but I STRONGLY disagree with this. I use the mirror tool often. Especially when working with modular assets. The mirror tool and symmetry modifier have two completely different uses. I use the mirror when I want to completely flip a model. Mirror works well with rocks, when I want to break the tiling effect. Makes it look like a different model. Not the best example, but you get what I mean. I want my mirror tool to stay!

    It sounds like you use it to duplicate an object as an instance, flip it, then use it as a symmetry modifier workaround. I've never used it that way.
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  • Mark Dygert
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    Mark Dygert mod
    Yea I agree sometimes you need to flip your mesh and symmetry won't work but in that case, you should use the mirror modifier instead of the mirror tool. There really isn't a need to use the mirror tool and its horrible inverse scaling.

    To see the problem of the mirror tool, run it on any mesh, reset xform (the utility) and observe your mesh is now flipped inside out.

    3dsmax_MirrorTool.jpg
    Left: Mirror tool + Reset Xform + Edit Normals Modifier
    Right: Mirror modifier + Reset Xform + Edit Normals Modifier

    This isn't exactly apparent until you do something like reset Xform or export to a game engine then the problem pops up. Which makes the problem particularly insidious as it lays in wait in the background. I've also seen it cause problems with creating new geometry on the object after its been mirrored, so you really have to watch out for it.

    The flipped faces are easy enough to fix with a normals modifier but after doing all that its easier just to drop a mirror modifier on it.

    Long post short: Get rid of the mirror tool, use the modifier instead.
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  • sketch81
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    sketch81
    Thanks very much guys, this thread was very very helpful!
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