Mapping question

[Alphajet_Enthusiast]

Just a n00b question, when you unwrap the UVW and you have selected the faces with planar map, how do you get to the Named Selection Sets Dropdown?  ???

I suppose that in that Planar map section Sub Object Params should be set to averaged Normals?

Thanks!  :)

[Travis]

Wow.

I'm pretty proficient with Gmax, and that was ALL gibberish to me . . .

What exactly is the issue, here?  (Please use standard English.  I'm an idiot.)

[Alphajet_Enthusiast]

Ah, thanks Locke!  :)
The thing is im using a tutorial at the New Zealand Flightsim Design because its the only one I could find, in order to learn how to texture a building.

Once you put all the textures into on bitmap file, and you place the texture on the building using the material editor, all the different textures are mapped all over the building.

So apparently you need to UVW unwrap so that the texture for the front of the building goes onto the front, the roof onto the roof etc.

Thats what im trying to do, and the instructions of the tutorial are (for this stage):

Looks funny, doesn't it? The texture is actually made up of a number of different textures, but at the moment all of them show up on the box. We can fix that.

UNWRAP THE UVW.

What? Here is a description of UVW:
To apply a material that contains maps to an object, the object must have mapping coordinates. These coordinates specify how the map is projected onto the material, and whether it is projected as a "decal," or is tiled or mirrored. Mapping coordinates are also known as UV or UVW coordinates. These letters refer to coordinates in the object's own space, as opposed to the XYZ coordinates that describe the scene as a whole.

With our box selected, go to the Modify panel. In the dropdown Modifier List, select Unwrap UVW. Our box will effectively 'unwrap' so that each face can be given a separate portion of our texture.

Expand Unwrap UVW in the stack, and click on Select Face. Now click on the first face of our box, and click Planar Map. Now repeat this for each face - don't worry about the bottom of our building, we won't need to apply a texture, so just select each of the four sides and the top, pressing Planar Map after each selection.

Now, if you drop down the Named Selection Sets Dropdown, your five faces should be listed as PlanarMap0 to PlanarMap4.

That last part is what I dont get.... Where is the Named Selection Sets Dropdown  ???

The site is http://www.windowlight.co.nz/simplebuilding.html if that helps!

Thanks!

[notloste]

Whoops, sorry, I didn't read the tutorial before replying.

Anyway, the problem there appears to be that they're telling you to apply the texture directly to the box, which I don't think is a good idea.

Rather than that, what you should do is this:
1. Apply a "Mesh Select" modifier to the box and select one side of the building.
2. Apply a UVW map modifier.
3. Open up the material editor and apply the material.  Make sure it is applied to the UVW map rather than the building itself.
4. Change the size of the UVW map, and move or rotate it around (by clicking on the little plus sign next to the modifier and clicking on 'gizmo') until it the part of the texture that you want is on the correct part of the building.
5. Repeat this for each face of the building, each time applying a mesh select modifier.

Hope that helps.  

[Alphajet_Enthusiast]

Thanks, I will try that!  :)