[JGZinv]

Basically when I'm rigging a fighter in Max, due to one reason or another
the modeler has left the spec, normal, glow, etc textures in the material editor.

Of course, everything except the diffuse shouldn't be in there, as FS2 "automagically"
finds/applies everything else on it's own.

Even though I go through each material slot and delete the offending material in both the
scene and the slot (sometimes it just gives a "this will cause all the mtl/map settings to be lost")
I still end up with the all the -whatever textures when I get the dae into pcs2.

So what or where is it, that I'm missing... to eliminate the textures?

[Droid803]

I just make a new material (usually some generic texture) and apply it over, then re-texture it in PCS2 using the handy texture name replacing feature. It shouldn't export materials that aren't being used at all.

Very hackish way of doing it though (cause I suck).

[Scooby_Doo]

This usualy indicates something is still using those textures.

Go to the utilities tab->more....->Bitmap/Photometric Paths->Edit Resources

This will give you a rundown on what's all being used  (the info button will show you what objects are using the texture that's selected)



btw a material can exist oin a scene yet not be shown in the material dialog window.  Simply removing the material from the dialog won't get rid of out.

[JGZinv]

ok found the resource editor... (certainly something I need to add to the tutorial)

Next question is... is it better to try and reset the paths for the listed textures,
or strip the paths and use what is in the mtl editor?

Basically the modeler works on more than one project, so he's got a much different
folder structure, even though we have the same files. Naming is also something I tend
to edit.

Edit - and following your last thought Scooby, what do you have to do then to get rid of it?
Basically I've got 3 copies of textureA that reference the same nodes/geometry.
Another 3 textures that shouldn't be in there at all.

[Colonol Dekker]

I just handle geometry in max. I get the uv map to something resembling tidy then break out lithunwrap and finish it. Very drawn out and very tedious. But I know how to use it opposed to the max way.
Do textures in photoshop and paint shop pro.
 
Then I use max to render glowmaps.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

No need to actually delete the material you can just turn off the check box in the render options for it and it wont export them. 

[Scooby_Doo]

Also it doesn't hurt to get rid of the excess materials.... (try 3 copies of 6 2048*2048 and watch your computer grind to a halt)

Easiest way to remove unused textures:
Go to the material editor dialog
Utilities->Condense Material Editor Slots
Save the file. 

Check the bitmap/photometric paths to see if they really did get removed... If they're still used by something then they won't be removed.

[JGZinv]

Nope, no luck - still in use evidently.

Not that you probably don't already know, but for visual aid what I'm dealing with:

[Scooby_Doo]

Ok try this:

Make a new material with just mako.dds
Apply this material to everything in the scene.

[JGZinv]

That did it.

In Detail:

Went and used a new mtl slot and applied the mako.dds to all the LODs at once.
Checked the Bitmap Paths tool again, still showed a duplicate.
Went to the debris material and reset the texture it was using.

Still show one duplicate in the Bitmap Paths, but it comes out in PCS2 correctly after
export which is what I needed.

Thanks. Just about every model I deal with is like this, so it'll save me some trouble.

[Spicious]

This all seems like quite a simple change to make to the Collada importer.

[Scooby_Doo]

Ya, that would solve a lot of these problems (anything thats not a diffuse map, ignore)

Personally I've gotten to where I have two multi-material entries... one without bumps/glow and one with.

[JGZinv]

There's at least a few things I'd suggest for PCS2 if I had the chance.
But it would be helpful if it ignored everything named -whatever.

Scooby - there any better way of handling this same process for a cap
ship with 3 main lod0 textures and multiple debris pieces? The debris as
with the fighter above has a copy of the unbroken hull texture in use and the
ragged cutaway portions are textured with a debris map, similar to FS2's.

Basically I tried the above and figured what'd happen would be parts of the
ship would be incorrectly mapped when it's being applied across the hull entirely.

So is there any alternative to going back over it face by face and reapplying the correct
map?

[Spicious]

So how do you want this to work? Ideas are:

• Ignore any texture that ends with -{glow,shine,etc.}
• Ignore any texture of the form prefix-{glow,etc.} where another texture named prefix exists
• Ignore any texture of the form prefix-* where another texture named prefix exists

[JGZinv]

Ignore any texture of the form prefix-* where another texture named prefix exists

That one seems the most future proof to me. Nothing says we won't have more
types of maps in the future besides spec, norm, glow.

Plus even within that scheme I just listed, I've seen where sometimes people
use -normal instead of -norm, etc etc.

So -* or as I like to say "-whatever" please. 

[Spicious]

That's what I was leaning towards. Any objections? Would this cause problems for anyone?

[JGZinv]

Probably wiser to ask this in the PCS2 U2U help section Spicious..

Thread's kinda dead and unrelated.

[Spicious]

In case you aren't checking the other thread, filtering of unused textures should be working now in the build linked from my sig.