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Old 9th March 2005, 10:45 PM   #1
TheRetiredSailor
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Default Name Material Groups

Hi,

I am trying AC3D to make models for use in DAZ|Studio. My first attempt using the trial version went very well. I like the program and interface. What I particularly liked was the ability to resize objects to specific demensions. Another plus for me was having the UI seem somewhat CAD like.

One question, is it possible to name the Material Groups (please forgive me if I am using the incorrect term)? I have figured out how to name an object. I have also figured out how to assign an object to a material group (represented by the colored boxes in the lower left numbered 1, 2, 3, ...). I have successfully exported the completed model as an .obj and then imported the obj into DAZ|Studio. The material groups show up as newmatl_1, newmatl_2, etc. Being able to assign names would be more meaningful (i.e. floor, wall, baseboard, etc.) when changing the material settings. In my first project I used Wings3D as an intermediate program to translate the material names from numbers to meaningful names. Obviously I would like to bypass this step if possible.

Thank you.
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Old 10th March 2005, 04:53 AM   #2
Andy
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Sorry, it's currently not possible to name materials.

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Old 10th March 2005, 05:46 PM   #3
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Hi Andy,

If you're taking a tally of folks that would like to see certain features added, I would find the ability to name materials useful as well --- for similar reasons as mentioned above.

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Old 11th March 2005, 02:30 AM   #4
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Thanks for the reply, Andy.

I do like the program, are you one of the developers?
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Old 11th March 2005, 04:20 AM   #5
Andy
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Many thanks - Yes, I am the lead developer.

Adding names to materials would require a change to the AC3D .ac file format which would affect many peoples software. This will happen sometime in the future though.

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Old 11th March 2005, 02:09 PM   #6
TheRetiredSailor
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Quote:
Adding names to materials would require a change to the AC3D .ac file format which would affect many peoples software.
I understand. Many outside of IT don't realize the cause and effect of a change here causing problems there.

There are a couple of things I am coming to terms with in AC3D, but I think I am going to buy it. Right now I am having problems with the way a wall with no depth appears and reflects light compared to a wall with a depth to it. The later seems dark and makes for funny reflections.

AC3D is far easier for me to use than other packages I've tried. I am an AutoCAD user, although that may have nothing to do with it. Guess it depends on whether CAD similarity was a design goal for AC3D.

I got the free Truespace on the cover of 3D World, the UI in that is a nighmare.

Thanks again.
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Old 14th March 2005, 05:09 PM   #7
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A wee Poser/DAZ|Studio solution:

In the interim, you can simply color the materials you need to set on an object with a unique color each (use the color/material thingy at the bottom), then get UVMapper (free for Win32, Mac OSX/Classic, and Linux under cxoffice or WINE) @ http://www.uvmapper.com.

You can segregate and name your materials there.

Yeah, I use AC3D a lot too (beats the hell out of anything else out there, and doesn't have that ungodly horrid UI that Blender does.)

/P
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Old 15th March 2005, 09:44 PM   #8
TheRetiredSailor
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Hi Penguinisto,

Are you the same one that I see on the DAZ|Studio forum? If so, nice running into you over here.

Quote:
In the interim, you can simply color the materials you need to set on an object with a unique color each (use the color/material thingy at the bottom), then get UVMapper (free for Win32, Mac OSX/Classic, and Linux under cxoffice or WINE) @ http://www.uvmapper.com.

You can segregate and name your materials there.
Good deal. I have found the colored/numbered box thingy at the bottom of AC3D. I didn't know that you could rename materials with UVMapper. I have been using the Classic version, and very glad that it is a free download again.

Currently I am using all Windows 2000 boxes, however I am taking a serious look at Mac. Unix and I have crossed paths before. The more I hear about OS X, the better I like it.

Maybe after Uncle Sam gets his hand out of my wallet for income taxes ...

Thanks for the tip.
[/quote]
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Old 15th March 2005, 09:45 PM   #9
TheRetiredSailor
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Hi Penguinisto,

Are you the same one that I see on the DAZ|Studio forum? If so, nice running into you over here.

Quote:
In the interim, you can simply color the materials you need to set on an object with a unique color each (use the color/material thingy at the bottom), then get UVMapper (free for Win32, Mac OSX/Classic, and Linux under cxoffice or WINE) @ http://www.uvmapper.com.

You can segregate and name your materials there.
Good deal. I have found the colored/numbered box thingy at the bottom of AC3D. I didn't know that you could rename materials with UVMapper. I have been using the Classic version, and very glad that it is a free download again.

Currently I am using all Windows 2000 boxes, however I am taking a serious look at Mac. Unix and I have crossed paths before. The more I hear about OS X, the better I like it.

Maybe after Uncle Sam gets his hand out of my wallet for income taxes ...

Thanks for the tip.
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Old 7th April 2005, 04:32 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheRetiredSailor
Hi Penguinisto,

Are you the same one that I see on the DAZ|Studio forum? If so, nice running into you over here.
Yup - I'm thinking of pestering someone, anyone to build a 'sweep to rail' plugin.

/P
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