Importing models with more than one material

[planetX]

Hi there,

I have been trying to import one of my racing tracks into Skyline but got some problems, specially with the materials. The model has 9 different textures and I'm exporting it as one object from 3dsMax. I've tried two methods: The Easy Ogre Exporter and the FBX native exporter.

The first method gives me one .mesh file and one "multimaterial" .material file. This multimaterial contains the 9 submaterials in BASIC mode. The FBX method gives me one .mesh file plus 9 separated .material files in UBER mode after the conversion.

Both methods seem to work fine, the problem is that I need to make some adjustments to the .material files but I get lost in the code. I have to use the script editor to edit the materials, as the material editor crashes most of the times when trying to move any of the sliders.

I would like to know how can I set up the materials to receive shadows, as I couldn't get them at all. Not sure if this is a limitation of the BASIC mode. I also would like to know how can I deactivate specular and reflections in the UBER mode. In the UBER mode I sometimes get shadows, but they behave a lil bit weird, as they disappear when I get close to them.

Anyway, what I'm trying to ask is if you folks know the best way to export a model which has more than one material. I'm using now 3dsMax but also can use Blender if necessary.

Thanks in advance!

[SolarPortal]

The FBX pipeline is best to use as we havent used the easy ogre exporter in quite some time. Plus for Gen2, FBX is better suited more. Skyline likes the material files to be seperate. They are easier to edit and work on and create the simplest workflow, plus you can reuse the same materials on other models which improves performance.

Another advantage to using the FBX pipeline is the prepare folder option of the asset manager, which will auto convert fbx to mesh and rename all assets so they are unique in the folder and apply all textures to the materials. If normal and specular maps are found, then they are also added automatically. Prepare is found from the Top menu on the right( drill/ruler icon.. i think) or you can get it from the right click on the folders in the dockable explorer widget.

Q) I guess this is Gen1 you are talking about as the Uber and basic modes no longer exist in Gen2.
Q) If you are in Gen1, then which mode are you in basic or advanced as selected from the scene settings panel.
Q) What specs are your PC?

If this is Gen1, then the material editor should work fine for editing your Uber materials as that is what it was created for.
One technique to ensure editing the correct thing, is too always select the material before first time on open of the editor before editing the material as if no material is selected internally, tweaking the sliders would crash on Gen1.
Gen2 does not have this problem known yet.

Gen1 had a known issue with shadows that didnt work as expected. If you look down they get sharper and looking up would make them blur more.

Is there any chance of a video showing workflow and shadows.

[planetX]

Hi, thanks for reply! Now things are more clear.

The "selecting the material before moving the sliders" trick helped a lot, thanks. I finally could get rid of the shiny surfaces. But still having problems with shadows. Here's a video showing the issue:



These look like stencil shadows... I was wondering if there's a way to get blurred shadows too.

Yes, I'm using Gen1 basically because I can't change the default skybox in Gen2... XD I just want to setup a simple scene and script some things before going too deep.

In the Scene Settings panel I have "Advanced Material" checked on.

Now you can see my specs in my signature.

Thanks!

[SolarPortal]

thats good

Skyline gen1 shadows could only go up to 80 units away before they lost too much quality.
On the directional light, change the shadow distance to 80 as it wont go any further

Gen2 can extend to 1000 with ok resolution

Edit:

Yes, I'm using Gen1 basically because I can't change the default skybox in Gen2... XD I just want to setup a simple scene and script some things before going too deep.

The skybox can be changed in Gen2, but it sometimes disappears when loading reflections on materials. Simply diengage and re-engage the skybox for it too appear again

[StarFire]

We will be fixing this too as it bugs me too lol

[planetX]

Hi, now everything works!... and those 40 units more in the shadows make the difference, thanks.

[SolarPortal]

excellent!