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AuroraFlex

Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 11:22 am
by Bannor Bloodfist
What is AuroraFlex?

This modifier, in 3dsmax/Gmax, allows you to have an object, say a flag, or a fern, to move with the wind in game, AND/OR move when a pc walks into it.

Open your mdl file, in my case I will work with a tile model, and for simplicity sake, I will work from the Cloak Tower found in the basic Bioware rural tileset.

These 4 tiles are named ttr01_l01_01, ttr01_m01_01, ttr01_l02_01 and ttr01_m02_01.

For the pictures here, I will be working with ttr01_m02_01.

Select your object in max, and go to the roll-out menus where you can select the Aurora Trimesh and Editable Mesh.

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You must set the AuroraFlex between Aurora Trimesh and editable Mesh, or you may lose this modifier when you export due to the way that NWMax exports.

Next, if you select the AuroraFlex modifier, you get the following roll-out choices:
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You can play with the above settings to adjust how much movement you get. Note that in your test area in your module, that the weather needs to be enabled, and should probably be set to medium strength.

Next, select vertex mode within the "Editable Mesh" section.

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Now select the vertices that you wish to adjust.
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Going back to a previous pic, scroll down until you find the "Surface Properties" roll-out and click on the Color bar.
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Once you have selected the color bar, you get the following window. Ensure that all 3 colors in the color selection box are set to the same number. Also ensure that this number is at least 10 different, darker, or lighter from the starting point.

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Black is all 1 (One), for all 3 color choices, Black is also the strongest point of movement for your object. So, if you select the lowest vertex on that flag, and set it to black, it will move the full length/width according to the choices made here. If you plan on setting this modifier to affect more than one row of vertices, be sure to adjust each set at least 10 apart in the color scale.
Izk The Mad wrote: I have to comment about black being all zeros. According to the CC guide, "a value of 0 or 255 means 0% affected by Flex", which I found to be true in my testing. So a value of 1 seems to be where the strongest movement is achieved. Otherwise, everything else you said worked like a charm.
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Again note that this strength is read by the engine, and mathematically applied according to how strong your weather affects are set for the individual area that you place this tile.


Note: This modifier works on the color of the vertex, but it only actually reads the red channel. We used GREY/GRAY as it makes it much easier to visualize the difference in strength that you are setting, any other color, it is very difficult for the human eye to see the difference. Red alone will work, but you will be hard pressed to see what you are setting up.

Also Note: Never collapse this modifier down into the stack, or you may lose your settings. Normally, we collapse all modifiers on the stack except for the Aurora Trimesh, prior to exporting a mdl file. In this particular case, the Aurora Flex modifier must NOT BE. So, you should end up with Aurora Trimesh, followed by Aurora Flex, followed by Editable mesh.