Maxwell Render

Hi!

I'm using LW 8.5 64-bit, and I know that everyone has probably moved on from this version and won't be able to help as a result, but giving it a go anyway.

When opening up the surfaces/materials editor with the plug-in, I can't get the "Layers" window to work correctly, and selecting the other areas are sketchy as well (only using the tab button works for moving down the list of fields). I can't select a different layer to edit if there are more than one, I can't delete a layer at all;trying to edit emitter settings brings up nothing, and if I try to, lets, say, use Wizard to add a new surface it will likely crash the whole program.

(While this is not a Maxwell plug-in problem, I'll also mention that when I load a scene, it will ask me to locate one or two objects that are right there where they should be. When I open these same scenes up in 32-bit LW, it makes no such requests, finds everything. Also, when I start-up LW 8.4 64-bit, it opens the surface editor window on its own, which is kinda strange.)

Hardware and software specs: I am using Win XP-64 on a Core i7, Maxwell 1.7.6 LW plug-in, and LW 8.5 64-bit. The OS and software are all freshly installed. I have the visual C++ RP, both the 32-bit and the 64-bit, installed. Other than what I mentioned above, everything seems to work reasonaby fine between LW 8.5 64-bit and Maxwell 1.7 so far (although I haven't done extensive testing of things).

Thanks for listening.

Hi Will,

I don't think I can help you with your plugin problem. But on the finding things issue I have run into that too.
Check your Content Directory to make sure LW is looking in the right place. That can get buggy from time to time, don't know why but it's happened to me.

Just for safety sake I keep a copy of all my configs in a separate folder titled 'LW Safety'. Configs can get corrupted pretty easliy. Every time I add a script or plugin or change something I copy all the configs and overwrite the ones in the safety folder. Good to have clean configs to revert to if something goes wacky...which can happen pretty much anytime with LW. I change out the configs whenever I crash as well.

I do think that 8.5 was the most stable version of LW. The 9+ versions have been buggy as hell and I know at least one developer that still uses 8.5.

Ron

Thanks for the reply Ron. I know about keeping config files safe; have mutpile copies around. I don't think that's the problem here. I didn't do any customizing on this new install of 8.5 except putting in the MW plug-in. It seems more to me like some OS code not working within the MW plug-in. I really thought/hoped installing the C++ package (talked about in other posts here) was going to fix it, but
I mean, everything with this LW works fine, opens fine, except within the MW plug-in's material editor. Clicking on things there, which are fully visible, has no effect (such as "Remove layer"; clicking it does nothing?? and I know how to use that button; works perfectly on my LW8.3 32-bit/MW set-up). I might just need to do a re-install of Win XP-64 and LW 8.5 64, but I have an alternate workflow that is just easy enough to keep me from wanting to go through that much trouble.

Yeah, from hearing that continual complaint over the last couple of years, I actually still have not upgraded to 9. I'm mostly in 8.3 land (on my older machine -- my new machine is where I'm doing 8.5, or trying to anyway). I'm one of those guys who customized my set-up so much that I just don't feel like re-doing it all for even v8.5 (yet) let alone v9. While I'm here, I'll ask: I assumed I couldn't just re-use the same config files from 8.3 in 8.5 (from my looking at them both in notepad and seeing how really different they look). Do you happen to know if that would work -- just copy/overwrite my 8.3 configs into 8.5 64-bit Lightwave (and copy the related plug-ins into the new folder of course)? I got that sense that wouldn't work, but I haven't tried it (and I'm kinda scared to! ).

I have my gripes with LW 8.x, but modeler especially (and Layout's cool too), all the tools you can have set-up with all the many very neat little outside plug-ins out there, wow, it's great! (But without a lot of those plug-ins, not quite as good, to me anyay -- but the plug-ins are available so ) And our current plug-in for MW, it is a thing of beauty to me, is wonderful!

Hi Will,
I doubt that using 8.3 configs in 8.5 would be a good thing. Kind of like repainting a car but leaving all the nicks and dents showing through. Just my opinion though, I don't really know what would happen. If you try it post what the results are.

I hope you fix the plugin issue, wish I could help with that.

I am really getting interested in Modo. Been watching the Luxology tuts and I am impressed. I like the concept of the modeling plane or work plane, which ever it is. Very cool for adding parts to something by selecting a couple of faces, the plane snaps to the selected poly's angle and center so whatever shape is created is at that same angle. When you are finished you snap the plane back to world center. Very nice tools and work flow also, well thought out, much better than LW. I also like the ability to extrude edges. And I like the single window work space rather that the two programs approach that LW has. To tell the truth unlike Modo, LW isn't much without a slew of important plugins. Modo is worth looking at since MW v2 will have a Modo plugin.

Cheers, Ron

Yeah, but I really doubt Modo has the "Kttn2Bnny" plug-in! Those times when I've modeled a kitten but it turns out I need a bunny, I just select the kitten mesh and hit this plug-in's button and wallah! The kitten mesh is now a bunny mesh! I also have the "Kttn2Puppy", "Kttn2Uncrn" and "Kttn2Rnbow" plug-ins made by the same devoloper. With the 3D work I do, I would be a gonner without these specialized plug-ins, and I doubt Modo has 'em!

Seriously though, well, gosh. I guess I should take a look into Modo. The thing is I'm just a hobbyist with 3D and feel I've invested almost too much time/$$$ into it as it is. But perhaps the world really is starting to pass me by. Software, oh the frustrations. I used "Imagine" a long time ago on my Amiga and there are some features of that, as old as it was, that I wish LW never had but should have IMO. Each object had its own axis, which was a very prominent feature; "Local" or "World" option was there all the time for mesh editing and for animating, very up-front and nice. "Imagine" also thought of edges as equals with points and polys in regards to mesh editing. Maybe one day we'll all be able to design our own 3D apps (which LW inadvertently kinda lets you do with all the plug-ins).