Blank Level to start with

#1 The texture has to be a power of 2. 256x256, 512x512, 512x256, etc., it doesn't have to be square, but it has to be a power of 2.

#2 No problem there, its the same as the UDK, though could the size of the texture be the problem, I think I made it 2048 x 2048 out of habit. Is it to big for the engine?

#3 I take it this is T3D.

The demo probably comes with just the desert level. In the full version you can install a striped down project which has no art assets, literally just a space and a camera and start from there, or the full project and create a new level and still have all of the stock assets available.

You could try selecting it in the material editor and then selecting the texture manually - but if your model and texture are in the same folder it should just work if you've modeled and exported it correctly.


I'd check sidedness and normals of your model - soz, but I don't know anything about Max, it's too rich for my blood.

#4 For max, I highly recommend the OpenCOLLADA exporter. It works much better than the stock exporter, and I've never had any glaring issues. (Even when exporting models without any materials set) It also has an option to copy your texture(s) into the export folder, makes it much easier to keep things straight and assign properly in T3D.

#5 The fact that the texture is a PNG does not matter in the least, and the size that you stated should also not be an issue at all. The description of what you are seeing is quite strange in my experience and I have tried feeding T3D some pretty funky things.

You said that the color on the mesh is purple? This is important because if it was orange then I would say that you simply need to use the Material editor to re-assign the proper image, something that I frequently have to do (and exactly what Steve said 2 posts up).

Also, is the mesh that you are trying to import UV mapped? I'm not very familiar with what 3DS does with its meshes, but I have seen something similar come out of another program when I had neglected to provide UV coordinates for a mesh.

The only other thing that I can think of, and this is really just a shot in the dark, is to ask about your polygon count. I would assume that you're not using NURBS or Bezier Curve based modeling, as neither of those methods will work in a live render environment. I only ask because I was a bit surprised when a mesh I had deformed with a BCurve did some very strange things in T3D (I cannot stress enough,the importance of ensuring that modifiers are applied before you export).

Just a few thoughts that may clear the waters slightly.

#6 Is there a certian folder within the project folder that I created in C# that the texture has to be in in order for it to appear on my model in Max? I found the Material editor in the Torque engine (at least I think it is) by double clicking the texture file, but cant make since of it at all. I am coming from working with the UDK and maybe I am just use to that and the way it works. But when I import a model in to the engine do I have to apply the texture to it or do I have to convert the texture in to a material first like in the UDK?

#7 EmptyRoom.mis

//--- OBJECT WRITE BEGIN ---
new SimGroup(MissionGroup) {
   canSaveDynamicFields = "1";
      Enabled = "1";

   new LevelInfo(theLevelInfo) {
      visibleDistance = "1000";
      fogColor = "0.6 0.6 0.7 1";
      fogDensity = "0";
      fogDensityOffset = "700";
      fogAtmosphereHeight = "0";
      canvasClearColor = "0 0 0 255";
         canSaveDynamicFields = "1";
         levelName = "Empty Room";
         desc0 = "An empty room ready to be populated with Torque objects.";
         Enabled = "1";
   };
   new SkyBox(theSky) {
      canSaveDynamicFields = "1";
      Position = "0 0 0";
      rotation = "1 0 0 0";
      scale = "1 1 1";
      Material = "BlackSkyMat";
      drawBottom = "0";
      fogBandHeight = "0";
   };
   new Sun(theSun) {
      canSaveDynamicFields = "1";
      Position = "0 0 0";
      rotation = "1 0 0 0";
      scale = "1 1 1";
      azimuth = "230.396";
      elevation = "45";
      color = "0.968628 0.901961 0.901961 1";
      ambient = "0.078431 0.113725 0.156863 1";
      castShadows = "1";
      attenuationRatio = "0 1 1";
      shadowType = "PSSM";
      texSize = "1024";
      overDarkFactor = "3000 2000 1000 250";
      shadowDistance = "400";
      shadowSoftness = "0.25";
      numSplits = "4";
      logWeight = "0.96";
      fadeStartDistance = "325";
      lastSplitTerrainOnly = "0";
   };
   new SimGroup(PlayerDropPoints) {
      canSaveDynamicFields = "1";
         Enabled = "1";

      new SpawnSphere() {
         canSaveDynamicFields = "1";
         Position = "0 0 2";
         rotation = "1 0 0 0";
         scale = "1 1 1";
         dataBlock = "SpawnSphereMarker";
         radius = "5";
         spawnClass = "";
         spawnDatablock = "";
         autoSpawn = "0";
         sphereWeight = "1";
         indoorWeight = "1";
         outdoorWeight = "1";
            Enabled = "1";
            homingCount = "0";
            lockCount = "0";
      };
   };
   new GroundPlane() {
      canSaveDynamicFields = "1";
      Position = "0 0 0";
      rotation = "1 0 0 0";
      scale = "1 1 1";
      squareSize = "128";
      scaleU = "12";
      scaleV = "12";
      Material = "BlankWhite";
         Enabled = "1";
   };
};
//--- OBJECT WRITE END ---

Doesn't get much more blank than that. Cleaning out the "fluff" from the project template is almost as simple

#8 No, the folder of the image, for initial development, is irrelevant. For example, almost all of the textures that I use in T3D are on a network mounted drive on our texture artist's computer so that any alterations made by the texture artist are automatically updated into the world.

With that said, your setup may differ since you mention C#, which is a topic that I avoid. If you are not using Torque Toolbox I cannot direct you. If, however, you are then the material editor is found by opening a project in the World Editor and hit F4 (there is an icon but F4 is easier to explain).

Once there, it will allow you to apply any image in any location to the currently selected material's Diffuse Normal and Specular channels. those images are mapped onto the mesh based on the UV coordinates within the mesh file.

So, basically: (going to be detailed because I'm not sure where the problem is)
(1) load 3DS
(2) make a box
(3) give it a material
(4) use any image within the material and map the UVs
(5) export to COLLADA using no spaces in the file name and placing the file within the game/art/shapes directory of your project or the provided example FPS
(6) in the World Editor of that project hit F1 then in scene tree (on the right) select the library tab then the mesh tab under that
(7) navigate to the art/shapes folder in the pane that just switched
(8) double-click the file

If the box does not appear then something is very wrong. If the box is orange, then hit F4 and add an image as a Diffuse map or swap the material for another.

#9 Well I am at a loss. I will check out the Collada exporter but if that dosen't work than I guess the Torque X 3D engine just dosen't like me? There has to be something that I am not doing right. Though I followed everything that they did in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zMss65_7vQ&feature=related

My model is just a simple 6 sided box that is 2 meters in length, width, and height.

And still nothing. Could it be how my hierarchy is set up in max?

I have my base01 node at the top and connected undernieth that are my detail-1, collision-1, and start01 nodes and connected underneith my start01 nodes are test_box and col-1 nodes.

Been following all the documentation that I can find but a lot of it is out of date. So it wouldn't surprize me if something was wrong.

thanks for the help,

- Patrick

#10 Ok, there may be some confusion here. TorqueX is not the same thing as Torque 3D. I have personally never even seen TorqueX running and the video link you provided is clearly TorqueX.

If you have the TorqueX engine your question would likely be served best if asked in the 'Technical Issues' forum with a clear indication of which engine you are using or else ask in that product's forum under the 'Engines' tab. If, however, you have Torque 3D (T3D)that video is completely inapplicable.

(Edited for correctness)

#11 I was begining to think the same thing after my last post after I stumbeled across the Torque X form. The thing here that is throwing me off I think is the fact that at the very top of the page under the engines catagory there is no Torque X button, only Torque 3D. I found the Torque X forums but I would think that since they are diffrent engines it would have a link up there, but o well. I will scan through the Torque X form to see if I can find the answer.

thanks for all the help

- Patrick