I've always hated UV mapping. I always found the tools in 3dsmax a little clunky and slow, and really struggled to map anything quickly or efficiently - especially as 3d asset polygon counts have gotten higher and higher.
I found a tool around a year ago called RizomUV that really changed that. Weirdly, I actually have fun UV unwrapping now and the seam and management tools are so much quicker and faster than 3ds Max's built in tools. Unfortunately, because it's a completely separate tool it meant that it broke my workflow a little. The only way to UV map things was to convert-to-editable-poly (losing all modifiers, edits, etc.), export as FBX, UV map, re-import. There is a tool out there that 'bridges' the two apps, but it still only worked on Editable Poly objects and could be a bit hit and miss.
I ended up writing a maxscript tool for myself that works on the top of the model stack and doesn't destructively require a conversion to Editable Poly.
You can download the script for 3dsmax 9+ by clicking here.
You can activate the script when you want to use it by simply dragging the .mse file onto your 3dsmax window. You can also install the script so that it's always available:
Now you've saved in RizomUV, you're ready to import your mapping. Simply click the Update x edited UVs button in the RizomUV Bridge section of the plugin,
And that's it. If all went well, the mapping from RizomUV should be transferred to the objects in your scene without anything being destructively lost. You can further modifier the mapping in RizomUV and press the 'Update x edited UVs' button again to reimport the changes. Press Finish editing UVs once you're done.
Note that if your model already has uv mapping and you want to edit the selection in RizomUV, press the 'Edit selection in Rizom' button instead of the Create selection button.
I'm Blake and I like to tinker with things and make stuff. When I'm not programming or developing random systems, I'm playing with electronics, doodling bits of art, 3D modelling or sculpting and painting things or nerding out watching sci-fi or horror TV.
From 2001 I worked in the games industry, eventually specialising in tools to aid in the development of video games and their engines. In 2011 I left the industry and teamed up with a few other talented composers to utilise my knowledge to help build the company 'Spitfire Audio'.
I also periodically compose soundtracks for video-games and have worked on titles such as The Stanley Parable and Portal Knights. You've probably also heard my music in random TV commercials at some point.
If I'm needing raw power, I'm most likely utilising C++ in Visual Studio 2008 (I know, I'm behind the times).
To knock up quick and effective systems, I'm usually using nodeJS in Visual Code.
If it's games stuff, you'll probably find me pottering about with Unreal Engine with a mixture of C++ and Blueprints.