Hi folks,
I think the time has come to stop playing and failing and start asking. I'm having problems with the visibility of planar objects when viewed through transparencies in other planar objects.
Basically, what I have done it this:
To create the windscreen and canopy for a vehicle scenery object in Gmax, I have created four planes - one for the windscreen, one for the left side windows, one for the left side of the canopy and one for the canopy roof - and textured them. I have then cloned the left side windows and canopy and moved them to the right. I realise, before I go any further, that this means the Normals are incorrect for these polys. The windscreen is also inside-out as it happens.
The textures are double sided, the same material is applied to all of these polys. I have applied the Mesh Editing roll-out's "Normal", "Flip Normals" modifier to the windscreen and the two right hand side components.
The problem is that "Flip Normals" seems to do absolutely nothing. If I view the model in the sim, or in ModelConverterX, then look through the windscreen, all the planar objects are invisible. If I look through the left windows, they're spot on. If I look through the right windows, all are invisible... except the windscreen and, unfathomably, the canopy roof!
So. OK. Remove all "Flip Normal" modifiers, clone all the objects and Flip Normals on the clones. The problem moves from one side of the vehicle to the other - all is now visible through the right windows, all but the canopy roof and the windscreen are invisible through the left windows. Everything is still invisible through the windscreen.
That's the only place I can find an option for Flip Normals. All the objects and textures work fine, unless they are viewed through a transparency. I've tried lots of combinations of the above on individual polys and groups of polys - apart from moving the problem from one side to the other, I'm getting nowhere. What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Ian P.
I think the time has come to stop playing and failing and start asking. I'm having problems with the visibility of planar objects when viewed through transparencies in other planar objects.
Basically, what I have done it this:
To create the windscreen and canopy for a vehicle scenery object in Gmax, I have created four planes - one for the windscreen, one for the left side windows, one for the left side of the canopy and one for the canopy roof - and textured them. I have then cloned the left side windows and canopy and moved them to the right. I realise, before I go any further, that this means the Normals are incorrect for these polys. The windscreen is also inside-out as it happens.
The textures are double sided, the same material is applied to all of these polys. I have applied the Mesh Editing roll-out's "Normal", "Flip Normals" modifier to the windscreen and the two right hand side components.
The problem is that "Flip Normals" seems to do absolutely nothing. If I view the model in the sim, or in ModelConverterX, then look through the windscreen, all the planar objects are invisible. If I look through the left windows, they're spot on. If I look through the right windows, all are invisible... except the windscreen and, unfathomably, the canopy roof!
So. OK. Remove all "Flip Normal" modifiers, clone all the objects and Flip Normals on the clones. The problem moves from one side of the vehicle to the other - all is now visible through the right windows, all but the canopy roof and the windscreen are invisible through the left windows. Everything is still invisible through the windscreen.
That's the only place I can find an option for Flip Normals. All the objects and textures work fine, unless they are viewed through a transparency. I've tried lots of combinations of the above on individual polys and groups of polys - apart from moving the problem from one side to the other, I'm getting nowhere. What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Ian P.
