SiNi Help Documentation

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31min

IgNite (UI) - Standard

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Tip - 3ds Max plugin help

Clicking on the question mark in the header will open this help document page.

01. Tabs

The UI has 3 tabs - Standard Tools, Workflow, and Config.

02. Scene tools

The basic tools rollout contains quick access to set viewport display, lights, textures, frame rate. Lockdown cameras.

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Top row - from left to right

  • Viewport display - box, wireframe, shaded, edged face, clay.
  • Reset View - resets to original 3ds Max default setting.
  • Pro View - 3ds Max Expert viewport mode.
  • All View - displays all viewports.
  • My View - personal viewport layout. Set in the IgNite config tab.
  • Toggle textures in the viewport - on/off.
  • Toggle lights in the viewport - on/off.
  • Toggle cameras in the viewport - on/off.

Bottom row - from left to right

  • Set scene frame rate.
  • Set the scene start and end frames.
  • Real-time checkbox - tick for real-time playback.

Camera controls

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  • Lock All Cameras - locks all camera transforms.
  • Unlock All Cameras - unlocks all camera transforms.
  • Select Active Camera in Viewport - selects the active camera.

03. Displays scene and system scale

Displays the current scales of the 3D scene. Display and System scale.

04. Basic tools

Copy and paste, modifiers/materials and 3D geometry, within the scene and to another.

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Top row - left to right

  • Copy modifiers - copies modifiers on the selected object.
  • Paste modifiers - paste modifiers on the selected object.
  • Copy materials - copies modifiers on the selected object.
  • Paste materials - paste materials on the selected object.
  • Copy selected object - copies everything, geometry, modifiers and materials.
  • Paste object - paste in the scene or open a new scene, open IgNite and click paste.

Tip - copy / paste

You can copy from an ealier 3ds Max version (2021) and paste into 3ds Max (2022). However, you cannot copy to older versions of 3ds Max.

Bottom row - left to right

  • Save - saves incrementally.
  • Scale - add a 3D reference person 1.7 meters tall to your scene for scale. The person includes horizontal stripes at 500mm centres.
  • Clear - clears the material editor.
  • Fetch - fetches the material of the selected object and loads it into the material editor.
  • Hold - 3ds Max hold scene.
  • Fetch - 3ds Max fetch scene.
IgNite's scale person is handy for height reference.
IgNite's scale person is handy for height reference.
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Additional - MAXScript tools

MAXScripting tools
MAXScripting tools
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The following tools will only be displays if a user has ticked the MAXScript tools checkbox in the Config Tab. ο»ΏIgNite (UI) - Config.

From left to right

  • Editor - opens the MAXScript editor.
  • Open - opens the MAXScript listener.
  • Clear - clears the MAXScript listener.
  • Props - displays the object properties in the MAXScript listener.
  • Make Test Geometry - creates a selection of primitive 3D objects to test with.
  • Make Test Splines - creates a selection of splines and shapes to test with.

05. Playblast previews

The IgNite playblast differs from the 3ds Max capture viewport preview in a few different ways. The biggest difference is the ability to send previews to network rendering.

Playblast preview tools
Playblast preview tools
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From left to right - top row

  • Select render size.
  • Select animation frame range - start frame to end frame.
  • Select rendering style. See below.

From left to right - bottom row

  • Time - select how many seconds per frame. Select longer for a high res still to generate.
  • Still Image - click on Still Image to generate.
  • Animation - click on Animation to generate an animation sequence.
  • Advanced - see below for more information.
  • Select folder - select the folder you wish to save to. Default is the 3ds Max previews folder.

Playblast renders in the following styles

Playblast render styles
Playblast render styles
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  • Hidden line - fast.
  • White Render - realistic (ambient occlusion).
  • White Render - draft.
  • Clay - realistic.
  • Textured - realistic.
  • Textured - draft.
  • Current Settings.

Advanced Options

The advanced tools are made for animation previews, giving artists more control and the ability to network render.

Playblast advanced options
Playblast advanced options
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Select a folder to save previews
Select a folder to save previews
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Network Rendering

Pulze Render Manager - (coming soon).

Deadline - (awating AWS update) ο»Ώ

06. Object toggle tools

Toggle settings. Verts, Display, Lights, Proxies.

Toggle settings
Toggle settings
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From left to right

  • Toggle display verts - clicking turns vertices ON/OFF.
  • Toggle display as box - clicking changes display from box to full display mode.
  • Toggle renderable - clicking makes selected objects renderable or not.
  • Toggle lock/unlock - clicking changes objects from being locked to unlocked.
  • Toggle lights on/off - clicking turns the selected lights ON/OFF.
  • Toggle proxies display high/low - clicking changes the display settings of proxies.

07. Animation keyframe tools

The animation keyframe tools are designed for object transformations only. They should not be used on character animation with rigging.

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Top row - from left to right

  • Shift keys - shifts the keys by an input number. See below for UI.
  • Delete keys - Deletes keys. See below for UI.
  • Bake keys - bakes the selected objects keys.

Bottom row - from left to right

  • Copy keys - copies the selected keys.
  • Paste keys - pastes the selected keys.
  • Flip keys - flips the selected keys.
Popups for key selection
Popups for key selection
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08. Object tools

Instance Objects. Replace Objects.

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Top row - from left to right

  • Glue objects - glues the selected objects to the surface below. See below for UI.
  • Random colour - Add random wire colours to the selected objects.
  • Measure object - Adds measurements to the selected objects with real-time response.

Middle row - from left to right

  • Instance object - Makes instances of the selected objects.
  • Replace object - Replaces the selected object with another. See UI below.
  • Unique object - Makes the selected objects unique.

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Popups for Glue and Replace tools
Popups for Glue and Replace tools
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Measure any selected object or objects
Measure any selected object or objects
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Bottom row - from left to right

  • Straighten objects - straightens the selected object to 90Β° for editing. When complete, click again to rotate to the original position.
  • Reset objects - resets the selected object (xform). Recommended on all imported BIM/CAD geometry.
  • Random pivot - Applies a random pivot position to selected objects.

09. Affect Pivot

Click on dots to change pivot point.

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Affect pivot Icon Clicking on the icon points changes the selected objects pivots.

10. Select and Rename

Rename objects options.

Select and rename tools
Select and rename tools
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Top row - from left to right

  • Similar objects - select objects that are similar.
  • Exact objects - select objects with the exact same properties.
  • Wire colour - select objects by wire colour.
  • Instances - select instances of an object.

Bottom row - from left to right

  • Select by name - Enter the full name or use an * asterisk in the description.
  • Rename objects - Enter the text you wish to rename the objects to.

11. Create layers from imported BIM/FBX files

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  • Create layers by object name - Enter the full name or use an * asterisk in the description.
  • Auto-create layers by imported Material names - This is best for imported REVIT models.

Recommended for imported BIM/CAD models

We recommend using the Layers by Materials to move the imported objects onto new layers for scene management. You may then want to use Sculpt to Attach by Layer.

12. Custom MAXScripts

Load your favourite MAXScripts
Load your favourite MAXScripts
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To quickly access your favourite MAXScripts, set the paths in theο»ΏIgNite (UI) - Config.tab.

Updated 03 Mar 2023
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IgNite (UI) - Workflow
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Tip - 3ds Max plugin help
01. Tabs
02. Scene tools
03. Displays scene and system scale
04. Basic tools
Tip - copy / paste
05. Playblast previews
06. Object toggle tools
08. Object tools
09. Affect Pivot
10. Select and Rename
11. Create layers from imported BIM/FBX files
Recommended for imported BIM/CAD models
12. Custom MAXScripts