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604 Chapter 20: Managing Scenes and Projects
Tip:
If you are using object i nstancing in 3ds Max,
creating blocks can reduce the file size of the
exported file, because the geometry of the object is
only output once in the exported file. You can also
use groups to group lights with the geometry that
represents their fixtures. This wi ll ma ke moving
and changing lig hts easier in Lightscape.
Layer Creation a nd Name—These settings allow
you to select how layers are created and how
surfaces and blocks are placed on the layers.
Default=Instance. The five possible settings are:
•
Instance—A layer is created for each object
instance in the model, including lights. The
surfaces for each instance are placed on their
own layer. The name of the layer is the same
as the name of the 3ds Max object instance.
Thissettingisveryusefulifyouplantoimport
theLightscapesolutionbackinto3dsMax,
since the importer can reconstruct the original
objects.
•
Object—A layer is created for each 3ds Max
object. All surfaces in all instances of the object
are placed in the layer for the object. The name
ofthelayeristhesameasthenameofthefirst
instance of the object.
•
Group—A layer is created for each 3ds Max
object and each group. All surfaces in all
instances belonging to a group are placed in the
layer for the group. All other surfaces are placed
in the layer for the object. The name of the layer
isthesameasthenameofthegroup,orthefirst
instance of the object.
•
Single—Asinglelayeriscreatedandallsurfaces
are put on that layer. When this setting is used,
Name is enabled. You can enter the name of the
single layer in this field. The default name is the
base name of the exported file.
•
Mater ial—A layer is created for each exported
material. Surfaces are assigned to layers based
onthematerialassignedtothesurface.
Quadrilaterals group
This group gives you more control over the
geometry exported to Lig htscape.
Length Toler ance—The tolerance between points
that wi ll be welded together when forming
quadrilaterals. Points closer than this distance are
welded.Thedistanceisgivenintheunitsselected
in the Master Units drop-down list. This value
becomes the Length Tolerance in Lightscape.
Trian gles—When chosen, no quadrilaterals are
formed.
Mesh Quads—When chosen, only quadrilaterals
that are in the mesh are forme d, but only if they fit
thecriteriathatLightscapeusesforquadrilaterals.
•
Force—Enabled only when Mesh Quads is
chosen. If it is on, then quadrilaterals in the
mesh will be formed even if they don’t fit the
Lightscape criteria.
Any Quads—When chosen, tr ia ngles can be used
to form quadrilaterals, as long as they are planar,
convex quadrilaterals that fit the criteria that
Lightscape uses for quadrilaterals.
D on’t a ll ow L ightscape to chan ge geom etry—When
this is on, flags are set to prevent Lightscape f rom
modifying the geometry when it is initialized to
start t he solution.
Note: This option is available only for recent
patches of Lightscape. The most recent patch is
available at f
tp://ftp 1.discreet.com/web/support /
lightscape/short_sizes2.zip. Whenyourunthe
patched Lightscape, you can use the new controls
Preserve Polygons and Condition Polygons. These
are located on the Layer Table Context menu.
Turning on Preserve Polygons preserves the
geometry layout in the LP file; it is the Lightscape
counterparttoDon’tAllowLightscapeToChange
Geometry in the LP exporter. Turning on
Condition Polygons restores the behavior to the
default for t he currently selected layers.