The "How To" topics present some simple programming tasks as extended MAXScript examples. All of them are based on actual real-world cases, include detailed explanations and tips and tricks from the scripting practice. In addition, most of the scripts are not longer than 30 lines so they are perfectly suited for beginners.
The main objective of these tutorials is to teach the MAXScript user some possible approaches for developing scripted solutions to practical problems - from the original idea through a concept expressed in a natural language (English) down to the actual MAXScript code and ideas for potential future enhancements.
The "How To" tutorials provide
A list of related topics the user might want to read before trying the actual tutorial;
The complete uncommented code – the user can cut & paste it and use immediately;
The same code with detailed explanations;
Links to definitions of the used functions and methods;
Some info about the usage of the script in the practice;
Things to try – ideas for improvements that the user could try alone.
Developing a simple script for checking all Transformation locks.
Creating a very simple script removing all materials from the scene.
Developing a simple renaming utility to change the names of selected objects
Example of accessing and selecting Polygons in an EditablePoly object.
Shows how to use MAXScript callbacks to automate material assignment.
Shows how to use the intersectRay function to find surface points on objects.
Shows the basic of writing object data to an external text file.
Shows the basic of writing mesh geometry data to an external text file.
Shows the basic of reading object data from an external text file.
Enhances the mesh geometry output script with support of smoothing groups, material ids and edge visibility.
Enhances the input script developed in Part One to support the new data added by the preceding tutorial.
Implements a simple viewport preview and automatic RAMplayer loading
A small experiment creating objects based on the Z-Depth of the camera.
A simple example of a scripted RenderEffect plug-in.
Shows how to create a custom mesh object.
An example of a scripted geometry plug-in.
An example of a scripted texture map plug-in in the famous polka-dot dog look.
Shows an approach to access system data that is not directly exposed to MAXScript.
Shows an approach to sort the objects in the TrackView.
Example of modifying a slineShape by moving knots and bezier vectors.
Example of drawing a spline with the mouse in the ground plane.
Example of dynamic UI creation, time and change callbacks usage to create a floater with controls linked interactively to a Morpher modifier.
An example of changing object properties at render time using callback scripts.
An example of a scripted vertex realtime renderer.
An example of moving scene objects using Particle Flow particles.
An example of applying a Force to particles based on their mass.
The first step of the tool creation - The basic tool with a single point brush without strokes support.
The second iteration of the tool adds continuous stroke drawing.
The third iteration of the tool adds control over the size and color of the brush.
The fourth iteration of the tool adds circular brush shape support and an Airbrush option with variable strength.
The fifth iteration of the tool adds a brush with smooth falloff
The sixth iteration of the tool adds bitmap file loading and saving. Finally, you can store your work of art to disk and continue on painting later in a new session...
The seventh iteration of the tool adds an eraser option to the right mouse button and a Commit Changes menu option to permanently bake the changes to the image.
The eight iteration of the tool adds UV texture coordinates unwrapping and realtime updates of the bitmap as diffusemap on a selected object.
The ninth iteration of the tool adds 3D Painting on a selected object in the viewport.
This tutorial will demonstrate how to set up an ActiveX Control in a MAXScript rollout to display details about selected scene objects
This second tutorial will demonstrate how to customize the ListView ActiveX Control defined in Part One and update the display automatically when the selection set changes
This tutorial will demonstrate how to set up an ActiveX Control in a MAXScript rollout to display the hierarchy of the 3ds Max scene nodes.
The second tutorial will demonstrate how to customize the TreeView ActiveX Control defined in Part One by adding icons, colors and checkboxes to display and control the hidden state of scene nodes.
This tutorial demonstrates how to use a DotNet class to put the last rendered image into the Windows Clipboard.
This tutorial demonstrates how to use a DotNet Timer object to call a MAXScript function at given intervals without the need for a rollout.
This tutorial demonstrates how to use a DotNet Timer object to call a MAXScript function at given intervals without the need for a rollout.
This tutorial demonstrates how to use a DotNet form to display a file from disk and then print it as multiple pages to the printer.
This tutorial demonstrates how to define and register MAXScript functions with the XView Checker interface introduced in 3ds Max 2010 to perform a Face Area test on geometry objects.
This tutorial expands on the previous example by adding multiple checker modes and custom text and display override functions.
This tutorial continues the development of the Face Area Geometry Checker by implementing sticky settings via an INI file.
This tutorial finishes the development of the Face Area Geometry Checker by implementing a MacroScript to place in the Viewport Menus.
This tutorial demonstrates how to use the Vector_Map TextureMap introduced in 3ds Max 2014 to render polygons of scene geometry objects.
The second part of this tutorial expands on the previous example by adding depth sorting to avoid incorrectly overlapping polygons.
The third part of the tutorial implements material color and lighting support using Facets Shading with Blinn Specular Highlights.