Armadillo Object Scripter Help

The Armadillo Object Scripter (AOS) utility was designed to give MCM2 track creators the ability to render object shadows on their textures in 3dsMax. The program works by building the necessary 3sdMax scripts used to merge and place the objects into your Max scene. Once these scripts are executed, the Max scene can then be rendered giving accurate shadows for the track in MCM2 (assuming care was taken in aligning the light sources. See the MaxCalculator program for assistance).

Since the Armadillo program was first released by Rainbow Studios, I have always felt "short changed" in what we could do when creating tracks. This motivated me to make efforts on expanding the horizons for MCM2 track creations. This program is just another step along the way, I hope you enjoy it. As with most of my programs, explicit knowledge of MCM2, Armadillo, and 3dsMax are required attempting to use this program.

Buttons and Controls

• Source Armadillo Project

  "Main Tile" - This is check box is the default when the program is executed. When checked, this will direct the AOS program to generate scripts for the Main Tile(center) of your Armadillo project. Unchecking the box will require a reload of the project if it is already loaded.
  
  
  "Perimeter Tile" - Checking this check box will direct AOS program to generate scripts for the Perimeter Tile(s) of your Armadillo Project. Checking this box will require a reload of the project if it is already loaded.
  
  
  "Browse" - Used to open your Armadillo Project.
  
  
  "Number of Tiles (per side)" - Used as a reference to display the tile format of your Armadillo Project.
  
  
  "Grid Res:" - Used as a reference to display the Grid Resolution of your Armadillo Project.
  
  
  "Number of SLT files" - Used as a reference to display the number of SLT files in your Armadillo Project.
  
  
  "Select Object" - A control used to select the Armadillo object you will be making a script for. A drop down selection list allows you to select the desired object.
  
  
  "Vertical Scale Adjust" - An optional control used to vary the vertical placement of the objects in 3dsMax. This is normally set to one(1.0) unless your are attempting something tricky.
  
  
  "Vertical Offset Adjust" - An optional control used to vary the vertical placement of the objects in 3dsMax. This is normally set to zero (0) unless you are attempting something tricky.
  
  
  

• Source Max File and Object Name

  "Browse" - Used to point to the Max file for the selected vegetation type.
  
  
  "Object Name" - Used enter the 3dsMax Object Name. It should be noted that it is convenient to keep the object name the same as the 3dsMax file name.
  
  
  "Use Armadillo name" - Check box used to automatically insert the Armadillo object name as the Max object name.
  
  
  "Use Abbr. Max file name" - Check box used to automatically insert the abbreviated 3dsMax file name as the object name.
  
  
  

• MAX Script Output

  Max Script Output Window - Used as a reference to view the Max script generated by AOS.
  
  
  

• Main Controls

  "Process" - Control button that directs AOS to generate to the Max script.
  
  
  "Save to File" - Check box that when checked saves the output script to a file. Unchecked provides a means for previewing the output before actually saving it.
  
  
  "Combine Scripts..." - Launches a pop up window that allows you to combine many scripts into one large script for 3dsMax.
  
  
  "View Help" - Used to launch this Help file.
  
  
  "Exit" - Used to quit the AOS program.
  
  
  "Use Object Scale (%)" - Check box that when checked allows you to scale the objects to match the scale of 3dsMax scene. The default is 100% which assumes that the objects and 3dsMax scene are created at actual size. The resulting 3dsMax grid size is calculated and displayed in the 3dsMax Grid Size field.
  
  When the Use Object Scale check box is unchecked, the 3dsMax Grid Size field becomes a control to enter in the grid size of your 3dsMax scene. You normally would use this if you have already created the 3dsMax scene and know the grid size. In this situation the the resulting object scale is displayed under the Use Object Scale check box.
  
  

How To Use

1. Run the ArmadilloObjectScripter.exe program and open your PRJ file. This will load all of the project data.
2. On "Select Object" click the down arrow and click on the first object.
3. Browse for your object Max file and select the one that matches the object name.
4. Enter the object name for the Max file.
5. Set the object scale or uncheck the check box and set the size of the Max grid (usually 256).
6. Click the "Process" button and the script shown in the output display will be written to disk. You will need to create a script for every object type in your track.
7. When all the scripts have been made, use the Combine Scripts function to combine all the scripts into a single script file.
8. In 3dsMax, click on the Utilities tab (hammer) and click on MaxScript. Click on RunScript and browse for your script file.
9. Open your script file and let it go!

Support for Stock MCM2 Objects

When I started this project I realized that many of the stock MCM2 objects were just retextured to provide many occurances of the same model. Some of these include single bales, triple bales, billboard banners, and trash can/55 gal drums. Since these are common objects used on most tracks I went ahead and created the "shadow" Max files and built these into AOS as automatically detected objects. The bottom line is that you should feel free to place any of these objects at will and AOS will detect them for you. These Max files are provided for you in the "StockModels.zip" file. Use the following guide for these objects:

Bale_.max = Use for all stock single bales

TripleBale_.max = Use for all stock triple bales

Billboard_.max = Use for all stock billboard banners

55GalDrum_TrashCan_.max = Use for all stock trash cans and/or 55 gal drums

AOS will detect additional stock objects by adding lines to the file "ArmadilloObjectScripter.ini". Basically this file contains a list of stock models that you have made duplicate "shadow" Max files for. The stock objects included with AOS include the following:

(file listing of "ArmadilloObjectScripter.ini")

[MiscStockObjects]
TotalItems=10
Item_1=LightPole.SLB
Item_2=Toilet.SLB
Item_3=Palette01.SLB
Item_4=Toolbox.SLB
Item_5=Co_OpBrick.SLB
Item_6=MiningBldg01.SLB
Item_7=MiningShed01.SLB
Item_8=MiningShack01.SLB
Item_9=WaterTower.SLB
Item_10=HayBale.SLB

Known Bugs in Beta 1

Figuring out all the rotations in Armadillo and converting them to Max script is no easy task. For the most part you can rotate/tilt your objects in Armadillo as long as you avoid the following situations:

• DO NOT ROTATE AN OBJECT PERFECTLY HORIZONTAL. An example of this is rotating a Telephone Pole so that it lays perfectly horizontal on the ground.

• DO NOT ROTATE OBJECTS UPSIDE DOWN.

These problems will eventually be corrected but you should avoid them for now. There may be other bugs in the program so take a screen shot if you can get an error you can repeat.

Credits

I as well as the rest of the Twisted DIRT team hope that you find this utility useful in making the highest quality textures possible for your tracks.

Your feedback is important! Please send all comments, questions, and suggestions to: