FREE Maxwell Render for Sketchup (free version).

utiler

Got it, Jason!!
Another thing; with the latest release I notice that when you click the Fire render button it starts rendering straight away... can that be changed? I recall the previous versions would allow you to edit the parameters of the render before firing up!!

pbacot

Just open the scene editor without hitting the Fire button... but I haven't upgraded yet. Doesn't that still work?

jason_maranto

In the Maxwell Scene Manager>"Options" tab>"General" subsection you should see a "Start Maxwell Fire" option, which you will want to set to "Manually".

Best.
Jason.

utiler

That's what I needed, thanks Jason!!

pbacot

Is the requirement for Silverlight 4 with Fire going to end soon? I now have the choice to watch movies or run Maxwell... Whereas it's so slow I would like to do both at once

jason_maranto

Silverlight is being phased out -- the Grass palette is a preview of this, as per this post: http://www.maxwellrender.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=357436#p357436

Best,
Jason.

pbacot

Thanks Jason! That's interesting and good to hear. Peter

utiler

Am I right in saying that Maxwell doesn't recognize section cuts and hence won't render floor plans?

jason_maranto

Maxwell does not currently recognize section cuts (because they are not real geometry) -- Maxwell has something similar called Z-Clipping, which can be used for floor plans... however it's worth noting that Maxwell also has some issues with non-perspective based camera views. So a true floor plan would be tricky (though if you are willing to accept a slight fudge factor it can be done).

Best,
Jason.

utiler

Thanks Jason,

Are you talking about the full Maxwell Suite or Maxwell for SketchUp?

As for non perspective based views I guess I could wind out the FOV to near 0 and render..?

jason_maranto

Both. Maxwell cameras always operate in 3-point perspective, so orthographic and 2-point perspectives are "approximate" matches... which is often close enough. The plugin should automatically make the adjustments for you.

To be clear about what I said before: you can setup section cuts using SketchUp, but you would have to "bake" them into the geometry, either manually or via a plugin.

Best,
Jason.

utiler

Thanks Jason, you're da Maxwell Man!!!!!

peterboodts

Small (dumb?) question.

When I add a picture to an object in sketchup and render using Maxwell for Sketchup then the image doesn't render.
Do I do something wrong ? or do I need to set some settings to make it work ?

Peter

jason_maranto

Could you clarify exactly how you are adding the picture?

Best,
Jason.

utiler

Hi Jason, Is there a way to view the mxm files from the Insert dialog box? [See attached screenshot]

Would be nice to know what the materials look like rather than relying in names...

jason_maranto

The full render suite installs a thumbnail viewer so that you can view the material previews like you would any other program thumbnail... however I'm pretty sure the stand-alone plugin does not have this due to the lack of MXED.

I really feel like the lack of MXED is crippling to the stand alone version and I hope this is resolved somehow in future updates... as a user of the stand alone plugin my number one request would be to either improve the material editing controls in the plugin itself or include MXED in the package and I would make those requests directly here:

http://www.maxwellrender.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=127

If enough users make the request I'm sure something would happen.

Best,
Jason.

utiler

Thanks mate, I will!

Another thing: attached is a screenshot of a render in progress. You'll see a png of a Fig tree in the model which I have wound back the opacity for clarity behind but when rendered the image almost doesn't show. Am I better off changing the opacity in the image itself prior to importing it in as a component?

jason_maranto

Yeah definitely, the way the plugin interprets SketchUp material Opacity is not good for this type of stuff -- partially because it always makes it shiny (to mimic glass).

Best,
Jason.

utiler

ok, cheers.

garystan

Jason_moranto :

             Apparently, Maxwell for Sketchup has been removed.  I tried your link, and I get an  "Ooops......" error page.   I tried looking for it and, again, it has been removed from the internet.

                          garystan