The Houdini Engine for 3ds Max plugin has now officially been released with Houdini 17.0.352!

Documentation for the plugin can be found at: https://www.sidefx.com/docs/3dsmax/ [www.sidefx.com]

//Is there an official QnA thread about HE for Max?

Does anyone know how to apply material ID for multi/sub-object for HDA object?
Vertex color works fine (can expose colors in max and update them)
but using different ID on mesh would be nice.

Tried to apply hemax_matid attribute for two meshes I have
as Attribute Create -> hemax_matid = 1 (integer) for Primitives
https://www.sidefx.com/docs/3dsmax/_materials.html [www.sidefx.com]
but obviously did something wrong

Thank you!

Hi there!

If I understand correctly, you want the HDA to assign material IDs to each face?

If this is correct, then you will want to name the attribute “hemax_matid” rather than “hemax_material”. The plugin will assign the integer values of the hemax_matid primitive attribute to the mesh faces in 3ds Max.

Also check out this section in the documentation for the full list of attribute inputs and outputs: https://www.sidefx.com/docs/3dsmax/_data_marshalling.html [www.sidefx.com]

Thanks Brandon!

it finally worked with hemax_matid for Primitives as Integer

thanks for this tip…but I might add:

if you want Max Mat ID to be 1,2,3 etc….

then in Houdini set value to be 0,1,2…etc….

Will I be able to export Houdini Assets that are readable in the 3ds max Houdini engine if my commercial license for Houdini is 16.5.268?

thanks!

The plugin is only currently supported for Houdini 17. To be certain that your asset works you'll want to create your HDA in Houdini 17, but it is also possible to use HDAs from previous versions of Houdini (e.g. some assets off Orbolt from older versions will work)–though there is no guarantee that they will work correctly.

Not sure if its ok to post an issue in this thread, if there is a better thread please let me know.

I tried a very simple HDA in 3ds using Copy to Points, it works with Geometry but if I try to copy lights (redshift rSlights) it does not copy and tends to crash if I remove them from the input. Is it only possible to use with geometry?

Any advice is appreciated…