3DS Max

I am really glad, i just got 3DS Max. There is one small problem though. I really dont know much of what i am doing, and as i was playing around with the tools, and changing options, i think i changed something for the worse. I am not sure what it is called, or what the correct term is for it, but the arrows that apear when you click move object, and then the object arent there. the ones that allow you to adjust the x, y, and z position of the object. Not only are those gone, but the scale interface is gone as well.

I know this is probably some kind of really obvious answer, but i really dont know what it is. I was thinking it is something with the view, or tools, maybe i just unchecked something?

Anyway, any feedback is welcomed! :)
Thanks,

What you need to do is buy tutorial videos on the net and just copy the ones that seem useful to you.

I have a career with max, I learned it by doing, you really just need to copy, and do... then it will all make sense, dont look for miracles. Feed max lots of time and do do do, and it will make sense.

Keyboard shortcuts really work too. When you are doing 3D, bear in mind that it is like sculpting, you get your basic shape then use poly tools to whittle away at it.

As for your bugs, tell max to load default interface, its in the options someplace. it should reset it all.

Ok thanks that really helps my problem, and my Max crafting.

Much appreciation for your help!

video tutorials will get you going much quicker than any books. It just helps to see whats what demonstrated. Autodesk actually do some good videos that you can get for $30 by a guy at Ubisoft. Really good to see once you have learnt your way around the program. Theres so many things that arent taught with books that you can learn through experience and he shows off quite a few in the video.

The thing that surrounds a part of an object with the x/y/z arrows/sphere is called the gizmo. Unsure what exactly turns it on/off these days as the 3ds max I got to use was a decade old.
(go go out-of-date licensed high school software)

Oh, i think i remember something on the toolbar that said gizmo. Ill test that out.

Once again thanks everyone, and ill check out some of those tutorials.

If you want to disable the gizmo in the viewport, pressing 'X' in most setups will switch it to the disabled form.

Very few people buy 3ds Max (at the heavy price tag) and know little about it before buying it.

Doesn't max come with a book?

the books don't teach you much about making stuff for games. you only need about 10% of 3ds for game art, even less if your not touching every area. And then there are plenty of cool little things that are overlooked or not explained well in the manuals and books.

If you see someone experienced using 3dsmax that knows what they are doing and is willing to share and demonstrate their tips that only an expert would know, you can pick up and enjoy 3dsmax so much better.

Easy to get overwhelmed and take a long time learning stuff the hard way. You can shave off months with the right video demonstrations.

I recommend these whether your a beginner or even an advanced max artist wanting to learn new skills for shader gen game dev.

http://store.autodesk.com/servlet/ControllerServlet?Action=DisplayPage&Env=BASE&Locale=en_US&SiteID=adsk&id=ProductDetailsPage&productID=81370000

http://store.autodesk.com/servlet/ControllerServlet?Action=DisplayPage&Env=BASE&Locale=en_US&SiteID=adsk&id=ProductDetailsPage&productID=81371000

I found the texturing one really usefull when I first started playing with normal maps. The modeling one is also good because the guy from ubisoft takes you through modeling low and then updating your low poly mesh to a high poly reference mesh for normal mapping. the texturing one takes you through the mapping and normal mapping process following where you left off in the last DVD.

I recommend Ebay, I tried direct downloads off of autodesk and after 2 weeks of no support and broken downloads from a third party the autodesk tech support had no contact info for. Ebay ended up being cheaper and

I got what looked like original DVD's 3 days later from this guy.

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZlloyd-dobler84

I just wonder how you can buy such an expensive modeller without knowing how it works first? There's a trial version you know.

I tried out the trial version for a month, and liked what i saw.

MAX is total overkill for indi-game models (when taking into account the price).

Still at least you have a package that does virtually all you need. You will need 2-3 years full time out of your life to learn everything though (to get your moneys worth) ;P

3dsmax is brilliant! Only wish I had time to use it nowadays!

Max? Pah! :)

I've been a Maya user since 1999 and would hate to move back to Max now.

Although, I must admit, the current iteration of Maya (8.5), is bloated, machine crippling and somewhat unreliable.

Seriously though, I'm sure Max is excellent, I'm just too embedded into the Maya way of doing things now. It's natural to me. If I were to move to max, I'd be a like a noob again :)

Are there many Maya users here?

problem with maya is there are hardly any exporters for game engines. Max always gets the star treatment and dedicated exporters for almost everything.

You can learn max in a couple of months with the right instruction and it's WAY better than it used to be in and around Y2K when I almost gave it up for Maya. I went back to max after 2 years of both simply because the poly tools which Maya has always been playing catchup to. Maya came a long way since then but I still feel max is better for scenery and the shader support is really nice including realtime shadows and shader materials in viewports.

It does a good shader representation of materials made in the material editor in viewports and plugins like shaderFX can make game dev with shaders REALLY nice and easy for artists.

Sometimes I do think I should learn to use Max, to be honest, cos I could apply to more companies for work if I needed to then.

I'll probably stick with Maya for a while yet though, cos I won't have time to learn that as well as get stuck into doing a game with BlitzMax.

What I have in mind though, for my first game, won't require any 3d app.