Does anybody know whether it’s possible to increase the number of materials that can be applied to a composite material to something greater than nine (eg. 50 or 100)? How would I go about doing this?

If not, how would I go about applying large numbers of materials to an object (such as graffiti on a concrete wall or floor)?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Dan

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Seems like 10 is a hard limit in the Composite Material type - I doubt it’s changeable.

Try the Composite Map type as opposed to the Composite Material. Pick an unused material in the material editor, go to the diffuse map, select Composite from the list. It allows at least 1000 sub-materials.

However you do this it’s going to be a bit messy with that number of overlaid images. Do they have to be Decals or could you just create 1 large bitmap in PS or similar with the decals already positioned?

You could also use the Decal images in the Projector Map slot of a light, but that’s going to be messy too.

Is it not possible to break the wall up into more manageable pieces?

Max 4.2 through 2013.
XP-64 (SP2)
NVidia 9800GTX-512 (Driver 266.58).
Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz, 8Gb Ram, DX9.0c.

You can always put a Composite material in each to the 10 base Composite materials: 10x10=100.

Tim Wilbers [FA]

College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Visual Arts
University of Dayton
http://www.udayton.edu/
3ds Max: 7.5, 8, 9, 2008, 2009, 2010

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Thanks for your help guys. I’ll give both methods a shot and see which suits the project best.

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100 or 1000 maps in the composite map slot is extremely messy and the organization may not even be worth the extra time needed to manage the file.  Also, this is dependent on how high the map channels can go, I think it ends a 99, not really sure.  If you still want to keep your maps ‘liquid’ sort of speak, I believe you can have a Photoshop file as a map in max, so it may be better to have the Photoshop file in the diffuse slot.  Have both Max and Photoshop open, then adjust the layers in Photoshop, saving them and reloading in Max.  Once everything is how you like, maybe save a bitmap to possibly save RAM at rendertime.

But in the end, if it is that complex, I agree with Steve, you should create a single bitmap or separate maps to achieve what you are trying to do.  The Photoshop solution may help you achieve this single bitmap.

Calvin Clayton, Jr.

Perhaps if you were to explain in detail exactly what you’re trying to achieve then we might be able to help with more appropriate answers. I’m sure most people are scratching their heads and wondering “why?” (I know I am).

Max 4.2 through 2013.
XP-64 (SP2)
NVidia 9800GTX-512 (Driver 266.58).
Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz, 8Gb Ram, DX9.0c.

Steve, I think this is a continuation of a previous thread: Graffiti on Concrete.  So basically, I think he is trying to add graffiti to a concrete wall.

Calvin Clayton, Jr.

I thought it might be but I’m still a little surprised at the sheer number of “overlays” needed - that has to be one HUGE wall…

Max 4.2 through 2013.
XP-64 (SP2)
NVidia 9800GTX-512 (Driver 266.58).
Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz, 8Gb Ram, DX9.0c.

Steve Curley 05 November 2007 01:22 PM

I thought it might be but I’m still a little surprised at the sheer number of “overlays” needed - that has to be one HUGE wall…

It’s actually an entire skatepark that I’m eventually hoping to create an animation in. I’ve applied a tiled concrete material to the whole skatepark but to add a sense of realism I’m trying to apply a large number of different (some quite small) graffiti art to the concrete material. There’s probably a far easier way but I’m v new to Max so this seemed to be the most logical way to achieve the desired outcome to me. Just for next time… what would be the alternative ways of going about achieving this result? Or is it just a rather ambitious project for a beginner?

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I would break it up into manageable sections. It wouldn’t have been built as one continuous wall (or it’s unlikely), most probably from pre-fabricated sections. Makes life a lot easier and you would probably have way more than 10 sections and therefore less than 10 decals per section. Much easier to work with I would think.

Max 4.2 through 2013.
XP-64 (SP2)
NVidia 9800GTX-512 (Driver 266.58).
Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz, 8Gb Ram, DX9.0c.

I haven’t finished building the skatepark yet so I might try using separate objects. Thanks for your help

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