Additional Notes About

gmax 1.2
This file contains the latest information regarding known issues and behavioral issues. For
information about new features, download the online help, gmax.chm.
Information regarding the Scripter (MAScript! feature is contained in a separate help
download, maxscript.chm.
Notes About Installation, and Registration
After uninstalling gmax, there ma" be files left in the \gmax folder. #efore reinstalling
gmax, please delete an" unwanted files that ma" not have been uninstalled.
#efore a user with $estricted %rivileges can run gmax under &indows, an Administrator
must launch it at least once. The first launch generates registr" information, which
completes the install.
Installing gmax 1.2 will overwrite a pre'e(isting install of gmax 1.1.
Installing gmax 1.2 will re)uire "ou to uninstall an" pre'e(isting install of version *.+. From
the &indows ,ontrol %anel, choose Add-$emove %rograms and remove gmax 1.0.
New Features
A new Material .ditor has been introduced in gmax 1.2, based on the 3ds max 4 native
Material .ditor and modified for use with gmax. The re)uirement to install Macromedia/s
Flash has been removed. In addition the new gmax Material .ditor makes it easier for
game developers to create gmax game pacs.
o Simultaneous use of the gmax Material .ditor and custom game'pack material
editors is not supported.
gmax now includes the capabilit" to save files in the plasma (.p0d! format. plasma is
1iscreet/s 01 web content creation solution and includes the abilit" to render content in a
variet" of formats including .2pg, Macromedia Flash (.swf!, and Macromedia/s Shockwave
(.w0d!.
3ew streamlined web registration. gmax 1.2 incorporates a new more fle(ible and reliable
registration mechanism. Although registration is still re)uired to run gmax, gmax users can
now register their cop" of gmax on machines without internet connections b" entering the
gmax registration code that is emailed to the address supplied b" the user.
3ew optional custom user interface color scheme
Added support for the following image formats4 Adobe %S1 $eader (.psd! and %35 Image
File (.png!
Additional Notes About Features
A!!"# $R%&!"R
6olo 6iew is currentl" not supported.
The 1ispla" 7bsolete File message option does not appl" to files that "ou drag and drop,
as opposed to those that "ou open with File 8 7pen.
Scene $ef drag and drop of files with scripts that depend on e(plicit scene'ob2ect
references can cause unpredictable results or program failure.
$%N"!
0* #ones creation behavior can be unpredictable when using Snap 7verride. &hen "ou use
S9IFT:right'click to invoke Snap 7verride, the #ones s"stem interprets this as a left'
click and places a bone in the scene.
The Macro $ecorder does not support #ones creation. 9owever, "ou can manipulate the
bones with the Macro $ecorder after creating them.
$%%'"AN!
.dges created during a #oolean operation involving compound (nested! #ooleans will be
visible. These edges should be invisible. This affects onl" viewport displa" modes that
displa" visible edges, such as &ireframe, ;it &ireframes, and .dged Faces.
(A)"RA!
%anning a ,amera view with the middle mouse button highlights the Truck ,amera
navigation button, but does not turn off this mode when "ou release the mouse.
(*A)F"R
<sing a negative value can result in fillet edges reversed in opposite directions.
(%N#R%''"R!
= 7n-7ff controller ke"s might be deleted when animating a parameter on and off.
$epeatedl" toggling a #oolean parameter on and off while Animate is on might delete
downstream 7n-7ff ke"s.
= S9IFT:cloning path'constrained ob2ects might not position copies properl". ,reating
clones of a path'constrained ob2ect using the S9IFT:Move techni)ue will not evenl"
space each clone apart from its previous sibling.
= Mirroring an ob2ect constrained b" the ;ook'At constraint flips the look'at a(is. To correct
this, use the new Mirror #ones option, which prevents the Mirror tool from inverting the
ob2ect>s scale. ?ou can also activate the Flip check bo( in the ;ook'At constraint>s
upnode Source A(is group.
Master %oint controllers are compound controllers, and depend on sub'controllers and
their structure@ therefore "ou cannot cut and paste Master %oint controllers.
(+!#%) A##RI$+#"!
Making a cop" of a material that has custom attributes also copies the custom attributes.
An" custom attribute changes then affect both materials. <sing 1elete All to delete the
,ustom Attributes rollout on the cop" should end this behavior.
The 1efault value in the Integer <I 7ptions rollout is ignored when creating a new Integer
custom attribute. The value in the Float <I 7ptions rollout is used instead. &hen creating
a new Integer custom attribute, set the default value in the Float <I 7ptions rollout first
before defining the other values in the Integer <I 7ptions.
,I!-'A.
1irect01A displa" might work incorrectl" on video cards with less than 0B M# of video
memor".
6erte( colors displa" correctl" onl" with the Software C'#uffer and 7pen5;A drivers.
The" are not full" supported b" the 1irect01 driver.

1rivers that are not full" compatible with 1irectA D do not work correctl" with gmax in
1irect01 mode.
7ccasionall", scenes containing transparent geometr" do not displa" correctl". To fi( this,
switch to Stipple transparenc" using the 6iewport ,onfiguration dialog.
&indows 3T E.+ does not support 1irect01 for gmax.
The option 1ispla" &ireframe 7b2ects <sing Triangle Strips does not work in 7pen5; or
1irect01.
Switching options in the ,onfigure 1irect01 dialog might cause problems. To correct this,
delete d3dgfx.ini from "our \gmax director".
Some video cards might displa" onl" half the lines on wireframe ob2ects. To fi( this, turn
off the toggle <se &ireframe Faces (,ustom 1river .(tension! in the ,onfigure 7pen5;
dialog, located under ,ustomiFe 8 %references 8 6iewports panel.
6iewport antialiasing is not supported under 1irect01 or 7pen5;.
$unning gmax with the Track #ar <I hidden can increase viewport performance. The
Track #ar <I can be turned off through ,ustomiFe 8 Show <I and turning off Show Track
#ar.
$unning gmax with some Matro( cards can cause the gmax.exe process to remain in the
task manager after closing gmax. Matro( 5E++-EG+ and 5G series cards are currentl"
unsupported in gmax.
1ispla" wireframe ob2ects with triangle faces doesn/t work with the <se &ire Faces
option turned on. #e sure to turn off the <se &ire Faces check bo(.
",I#A$'" )"!*
The $edraw 6iewports shortcut ke" * doesn>t work with .dit Mesh or .ditable Meshes.
To fi( this, go to the ,ustomiFe 8 ,ustomiFe <ser Interface dialog, He"board panel,
under 5roup4 .dit-.ditable Mesh, and $emove the shortcut (* b" default! assigned to
6erte( ;evel.
,hanges to the alpha value of a sub'ob2ect cannot be undone in an .ditable Mesh if "ou
t"pe the number in the Alpha field. <se the spinner instead.
",I#A$'" -%'. / -%'.)"!* %$0"(#
If an .ditable Mesh has selected face normals flipped, converting it to an .ditable %ol"
can cause problems. The conversion process attempts to divide the ob2ect into elements
to keep a legal condition. The division method might be unpredictable and will probabl"
be based on how man" vertices are shared between flipped and nonflipped faces.
<nif"ing the normals before conversion is recommended. 7r, "ou can detach the flipped
faces as elements before conversion, and the elements will be respected b" the .ditable
%ol" conversion. This will ensure a more orderl" and predictable conversion.
Interior patch edges that are not displa"ed will alwa"s appear as visible edges after a
%ol"mesh conversion.
INI FI'"!
#efore editing gmax.ini or an" other I3I file, it is advised that "ou save a cop" for backup.
IN1"R!" 2IN")A#I(!
Sometimes the mouse loses track of the end effector during Interactive IH. The cursor
might become separated from the end effector over time as "ou drag the mouse around
in the viewport. This effect is limited to the Interactive IH feature in the 9ierarch" 8 IH
panel. This is not a problem with IH ;imb solvers.
Invalid IH dependenc" loops might not trigger a warning. It is possible to create an IH
dependenc" loop that generates an undesirable solution. 3o warning is given to indicate
this occurrence@ however, the results are generall" evident immediatel" and completel"
undoable.
Setting 2oint limits on IH ;imb start 2oints might lead to non'intuitive behavior. The 2oint
limits on a start 2oint might interfere with the IH ;imb re)uirements to create an IH
solution. In this event, the resulting configuration of the chain might be une(pected. To
correct this, free up as man" degrees of rotational freedom as possible. It can also help
to ad2ust the preferred angles of the start 2oint.
The IH ;imb might flip when the goal is moved. This usuall" happens when the start 2oint
of the IH chain is parented to another ob2ect with a substantiall" different (perpendicular!
orientation. To correct this, switch the IH chain/s parent space to Start Ioint. If "ou choose
to work in the default parent space (IH 5oal!, then hierarchicall" link the IH goal ob2ect to
the same parent of the start 2oint and ad2ust the chain/s Swivel Angle until the IH solution
becomes desirable. $esetting this parameter to Fero usuall" works in most cases.
)A(R% R"(%R,"R
3ot all features are macro'recordable at this time.
)ANI-+'A#%R!
The Transform T"pe'In controls on the status bar don/t re'enable properl" after "ou/ve
been in a sub'ob2ect mode. To correct this, deselect and then reselect the ob2ect.
,hanging the properties of a manipulator while %la" is on can cause unpredictable
results.
)A#"RIA' ",I#%R / )A#"RIA' NA1I3A#%R
If te(tures are not being found on merge, use File 8 7pen instead of Merge.
It is possible for materials to be assigned the same name as sub'materials of multi'
materials. In order to maintain uni)ue material names and avoid confusion, "ou should
take care when assigning material names in scenes that contain multi'materials.
<nsupported materials and materials that use unsupported shaders can be loaded into
gmax. In some cases the <nsupported 7b2ects dialog will appear. The materials can be
viewed in the Material 3avigator with some limitations, but the" will not be able to be
loaded into the Material .ditor for an" editing operations.
Simultaneous use of the gmax Material .ditor and custom game'pack material editors is
not supported.
&hen working with multi'materials, dragging J373.J from the gmax Material 3avigator
onto the map channel of a sub'material ma" not remove the te(ture. In this case,
activate the sub'material in the gmax Material 3avigator b" double'clicking and then
repeat the drag procedure.
The gmax Material 3avigator should be closed before editing a map/s cropping with the
6iew Map button. 7therwise the cropping dialog will close after ever" edit that is made.
)A4!(RI-#
MAScript information can be found in the MAXScript Reference download.
)"!*!)%%#*
&hen using Smoothness on a mesh that has had control'level editing, Smoothness will
smooth down to the highest level that has had control'level editing applied to it, or to the
currentl" active control level, whichever is higher.
At this time, control'level editing in MeshSmooth should be considered a modeling tool
onl". 9aving an animated deformer placed before a MeshSmoothed ob2ect that has had
control'level editing can result in the MeshSmoothed ob2ect becoming distorted. It/s
recommended that deforming modifiers be placed after the MeshSmooth modifier in the
stack if "ou/re using the deformers for animation. For best results, using a deforming
modifier before the MeshSmooth modifier in the stack, "ou/ll need to limit "our control'
level edits to moving vertices in their local C a(is.
<sing MeshSmooth with values of more than *+ iterations is not supported.
.ven with MeshSmooth set to + iterations, a pol"gon conversion of the MeshSmoothed
ob2ect still occurs. This can result in viewport pla"back slowdown. For optimal pla"back,
set the MeshSmooth modifier to be 7ff in viewports.
)%,IFI"R!
<sing %ath1eform and Stretch can leave remnants in the viewport. %ress 1 to refresh the
displa".
A heli( with displa5 mes6 turned on and an FF1 modifier vanishes when using .dit
Mesh. To fi( this, first make the heli( an editable spline.
Mesh Select-%ol" Select4 %inch and #ubble soft selection spinner settings cannot
currentl" go below + using the Mesh Select-%ol" Select spinners. ?ou can use Track 6iew
to set those numbers lower.
)%#I%N -AN"'
&hen a tra2ector" of an ob2ect is derived from a spline, using the ,onvert From feature,
the %revious He", and 3e(t He" buttons on the He" Info (#asic! rollout do not work unless
Time 1ispla", in the Time ,onfiguration dialog, is set to F$AM.S4TI,HS. This is because
the ke"s are created between frames.
-ARA)"#"R &IRIN3
&iring a parameter to a value outside the constrained range of that parameter can cause
unpredictable results.
,loning an ob2ect, which has a transform parameter wire with another ob2ect, results in a
clone with an unattached parameter wire. Selecting the unattached parameter in the
%arameter &iring dialog displa"s a warning asking if the unattached parameter wire
should be disconnected. ,hoosing K?esL to disconnect ma" result in a crash.
7+A, -A#(*
%erformance is slow when creating Muad %atches with *++(*++ segments.
R"!%+R(" (%''"(#%R
The $esource ,ollector does not collect .nvironment, 1isplacement, or %ro2ector maps.
The $esource ,ollector does not collect the image files used b" IF; files, onl" the IF; file
itself.
!2IN
<sing Splines as bones for Skin within comple( animated hierarchies is not
recommended.
The Skin %aint Str. spinner range is + to *. 3egative &eight can be applied b" holding
down the A;T ke" while painting weights.
Modifiers that cause a topolog" change, and are placed above Skin in the stack, can
create instabilit" when accessing .nvelope mode. To avoid the problem, make sure Show
.nd $esult or the ,onverting Modifier is 7FF before accessing Skin .nvelope mode.
This situation would arise, for instance, when Skin is applied to a %atch ob2ect and a 1isp
Appro( (1isplacement Appro(imation! modifier is added to the top of the stack.
+!"R IN#"RFA("
The proper highlighting of <I elements (mainl" check bo(es and radio button fields! might
not appear in the ,ommand panel during ke"board tabbing when running gmax under
&indows B+++. To force the highlighting to displa" properl", undock the ,ommand panel.
Then the highlighting will displa", properl" showing where <I focus is. 7nce "ou have
tabbed while the ,ommand panel was floating, "ou can re'dock the ,ommand panel,
and highlighting will operate properl".
,<I files created in 3ds max 3.x are not forward'compatible with gmax. These files need
to be recreated for use in gmax.
,<I files should not be removed from the <I folder. If gmax looks for a ,<I file that is not
in the <I folder upon startup, the application can fail. This can be a problem if multiple
users are using the same configuration settings, but don>t have the correct ,<I files
associated with that configuration.
;arge fonts are not supported in gmax, and can produce unpredictable displa" results.
1ragging a tab label onto the viewport will create a floating toolbar cop" of the tab panel
contents.
The right'click tab label menu item ,onvert to Toolbar has been renamed ,op" to
Toolbar.
The right'click tab label menu item 1elete Tab is no longer available.
The right'click title bar menu item Move to Tab %anel is no longer available.
+1& R")%1"
Appl"ing <6& $emove to a %atch Surface surface is not supported.
4R"F
$ef Automatic <pdate has more restrictive functionalit" under &indows ND. $ef
ob2ects and scenes can be set to update automaticall" whenever a file change is
detected. <nder &indows B+++, this occurs each time the source file is saved. 1ue to
different s"stem notifications in &indows ND, the automatic update onl" occurs when the
source file is closed b" e(iting gmax or b" loading another file. Manual <pdate works as
e(pected.
&hen clicking to unbind the highlighted $ef(s! from whichever parent the"/d been
bound to, the $ef Scene does not return to its origin, t"picall" the +, +, + world origin of
the .gmax file scene it came from.
1rag and drop when running under &indows ND re)uires the ;ocal Intranet securit" level
to be set to ;ow in I.. This setting can be found in the I. 7ptions dialog, under the Tools
menu.
Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, and 3D Studio MAX are registered trademarks, and 3ds max,
combustion, gmax, gmax dev, Discreet, i-drop, and olo are trademarks of Autodesk, !nc., in
the ".S.A. and#or other countries. All other $rand names, product names, or trademarks $elong
to their respecti%e holders.&
Readme'gmax().rtf
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' .31 ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''