About Chico Hermida
HCG Asset Browser PRO
Version:
1.01
Date Updated:
01/10/2010 
Ver 1.01
Additional Info:
This is a commercial script!
Download the HCG Asset Browser PRO demo to try the script.
The demo will display only 3 assets of each type, 3 categories of each asset, 3 items of each category, Thumbnail Creation and Automatic convert to proxy functions are disabled.
Download Link: http://www.hermidacg.com/maxscripts/hcg-asset-browser/
Changelog
Features:
- See and generate thumbnails for your Models, Materials and Textures.- With few clicks add Models, Materials and Textures to the scene.- Paint geometry in the scene with a model in your Library.- Apply materials with automatic UVWmap. The script save uvwmap information for future use.- Replace models in your scene with another Model of your choice.- Drag and drop textures to material maps.- Clean and easy to use interface.- Complex options to fit your workflow.
Screenshots:
How to use:
- Click on the thumbnail of the model to merge this to the scene
- Click: merge the model one time
- Shift + Click: Rotate the model
- Click and drag: Paint the model on the surface
For more information see the Documentation in the website.
Installation:
- Download Demo installation file
- Unzip to root folder of 3ds max
- Start 3ds max
- Go to Customize>Customize User Interface>Keyboard or Toolbars> Category "HCG"> command "HCG Asset Browser PRO"
- Assign a shortcut
- Activate the shortcut
Installation Library Example:
- Download the Library Example 2.0 in the website.
- Unzip the compacted file to root folder of 3ds max
Compatibility:
- 3dsmax 2009 32 bits and 64 bits
- 3dsmax 2010 32 bits and 64 bits
Credits: (Thanks to the ones who helped me!)
- Thanks to Vincent (aka Raistlin) for your contribution!
- Thanks to Marco Brunetta for all your tips and specially for help me with the license system.
- Gavin Greenwalt who inspired me with the "Basic Asset Manager example" posted on the CGTalk Forums
- Pete "Lonerobot" for the help with the NumericUpDown problem.
- Borislav Petrov "Bobo" for all the content posted on the internet.
Version Requirement:
3ds Max 2009, 3ds Max 2010
Homepage URL:
http://www.hermidacg.com
Download URL:
http://www.hermidacg.com/maxscripts/hcg-asset-browser/ 
Comments
I already tried it today,
I already tried it today, I'm 3dsMax 9 user it said
--syntax error need a thing can u fix that for 3dsMax 9 user!
Here we are again: NO
Here we are again: NO office+home/laptop use and when I buy a new computer I somehow have to transfer my integrated network controller !?!?!?!? I'm getting so tired of this...
trick: Without this initial
trick: Without this initial license system, i wouldn't release it. So knowing this problem, i will try to think in another solution to your problem.
www.hermidacg.com.br
Oh for God's sake grow up!
Oh for God's sake grow up! This won't be some $200 plugin, it will probably be affordable to buy 2 licenses. Think about the developer and put some food on his table.
Well so far this is great.
Well so far this is great. It's so cool to be able to organize all this stuff! A few things:
-Clicking off the categories button gives an error (you shouldn't be able to click it off anyway I guess)
-In preferences, could you add a "use named camera (HCG_Camera)" checkbox? That way, we could have a custom setup camera in the scene called HCG_Camera. This solves cases where we need to use a VRay physical camera, for example.
-Have options for files (right click menu, are saved to a text file with the same name as the scene file), where the most important one for me is "exclude items". You could then have it so that only certain items in the scene are loaded in. So it doesn't bring in your cameras and lights and any other setup items in that scene.
-Ability to exclude files being loaded with certain names, for example with my library items, I have iterations of the file like GreenBush_01.max, but I only want Asset Browser to see the file called GreenBush.max
Alternatively, allow a
Alternatively, allow a script to be used for thumbnails. That way I could use the physical camera, and add anything else like a plane and sunlight, but it doesn't actually affect the scene because its just fired when rendering the thumb.
Duke2, - What has price to
Duke2,
- What has price to do with the licensing method ? Should I pay $100 instead of $50 (price per license) for my specific situations ? Buy another 2 network cards just for being able to transfer licenses ?
- I'm willing to pay developers that know how to set up a good licensing method. Didn't you express the exact same concerns about VRayScatter's initial licensing system, in the time the plugin cost $120 ?
- About growing up...Look who's talking! I'm just expressing concerns and I'm glad at least Chico understands these.
- I already use (MooTools) 3D PhotoBrowser which has a Max plugin and you can assign rendered thumbnails to Max-files. I can use it on 2 machines and the license can be de/activated. THE reason I'm interested in this tool is that it is integrated and developed by someone who uses MAX himself. But again: I have my reasons to not accept its licensing system.
Duke2: - yes, when click in
Duke2:
- yes, when click in the categories button gives a error, i will fix this.
- I'll replace the actual render thumbnail function for another with a lot of new options, you will be able to choice and make your own previews scenes and render settings.
- if i think i can do a checkbox to exclude lights, and another to remove cameras as a simple and fast solution to this problem,but i plan in future updates to include a system to manage extra information about the files that will be able to do things like you said.
-"Ability to exclude files being loaded with certain names", I thought about something that solve this, something like models variations that will be include in one item thumbnail using exactly this type of nomeclature ie: oldchair.max > oldchair_01.max , oldchair_02.max all this files displayed in as one item thumbnail and need to have a way to show the variations too. I'm working on it yet to see if will have a good workflow.
www.hermidacg.com.br
Sorry, I over-reacted. The
Sorry, I over-reacted. The whole licensing thing IS annoying but yeah I don't see many alternatives, other than to say, for every 1 license you can register on 2 machines.
Duke2, No problem! You don't
Duke2,
No problem! You don't want to know how irritating it is to NEED 2 locations to work from. And you want to know even less the trouble I have when needing to move licenses to new computers: installing them is one thing, but waiting and arguing about the license transfers is another :(
- does it work fine with max
- does it work fine with max 2010 ?
- The license problem can be temporary solved with an extra license for free before you found a solution to that.
- just a suggestion : could you imagine a shaders library integrate to your solution? It should be usefull to have twice library type in one no? It should work with matlib file and create thumbnail with that and transfer maps into a folder etc.
If this plugins is working 100% with 2010 X64(i'm talking about thumbnails in fact ^^) i'm interest about it.
raistlin: i'm working in the
raistlin: i'm working in the first update, testing the script in all possible versions of max, doing the compatibility with 3ds max 9, after this update I'll give a list with all compatibles versions. I'll fix some small bugs, and about this shaders library integration, I'm already started to do this and i'm close to end and it's only a part of the whole thing.
I'm studing yet a definitive solution to the license system, when i get something i will post here the details.
Thanks, and keep send suggestion, this is very important to me.
www.hermidacg.com.br
Excellent utility! When you
Excellent utility!
When you create a preview for the model would be a good idea to change some settings for renderers and render only a model.
www.3d-kstudio.com
Another problem: when I
Another problem: when I import a model, the script change the pivot position from the orginal model. This is not good
!
Track: Thanks!! i want to
Track: Thanks!! i want to try your script too, looks very useful, i'm writing a more complex render thumbnail system, will be able to do a lot of new things.
cecofuli: Look for the merge settings, and check the "use merged pivot".
www.hermidacg.com.br
preview screenshot from the
preview screenshot from the next update:
www.hermidacg.com.br
good news to see that you
good news to see that you made a shaders library in ! very usefull ;)
It might be interesting to have a list with shaders renderer (vray/ final render/ mental ray etc)
Because we have a lot... and a lot of shaders and it should be confused to mix all of them.
And also, why not a stuff collector like lele do in his pack to move all of the "picked stuff" from any scene to a common folder for maps, proxy and co (they could also be arranged with singular name like wood, concrete, background, hdri proxy...)
Very usefull i think.
And why not (commercial skill for you) integrate a compatibility with evermotion or dosch and co? we just have to copy and paste their library into a specific folder and that's all... it should be very powerfull and usefull...
good luck for the next and we trust in you !
will have a "checkbox" "only
will have a "checkbox" "only show compatible materials" do to what you said but it's only the simple initial solution.
the "stuff collector" could be a future tool for the script i will write this idea here, but now i need to do essential functions yet.
Thank you!
www.hermidacg.com.br
We will patiently wait!
We will patiently wait!
fajar: i already started to
fajar: i already started to do the compatibization of the script to work with 3ds max 9, but i didn't know if will be possible to end this yet... sorry for the bad news.
However i'm working on the free version that will work with the 3ds max 9.
www.hermidacg.com.br
Humm I get an error with the
Humm I get an error with the latest version:
" >> MAXScript MacroScript Error Exception: -- Runtime error: dotNet runtime exception: Value of '100' is not valid for 'Value'. 'Value' should be between 'Minimum' and 'Maximum'."
MAX 2009 Design.
yaig that's that happy good
yaig that's that happy good .....whew ....hahaha...very-very good news to read! thank for hearing!
god bless you!!
thank!
Marco: fixed this bug now,
Marco: fixed this bug now, download the version 0.721
www.hermidacg.com.br
Very impressed with the
Very impressed with the update! Still won't allow me to use the vray physical camera though. Could you add a "use first scene camera" checkbox in render thumbnail settings next to custom model scene? It should still use the other settings like the FOV and angles and auto-positioning of the camera :)
duke2: Hi! I will include
duke2: Hi! I will include some new options for the "material preview" and "model preview" that i think will possibility you to do everything.
can you explain better the situation of why you need to use the physical camera? is it for the model preview? i'm asking this just to check if the solution that i have in my mind will resolve all the issues.
www.hermidacg.com.br
I need the physical camera
I need the physical camera because i have a sun that is 1.0 intensity, which means everything is white if i use the standard camera and all my scenes are setup this way (like a lot of people's) so it's just a way of ensuring the rendered thumbnails show the model like they would in my scene :)
@duke2 : No I dont use that
@duke2 : No I dont use that trick !! hehehehehehe.... sorry duke2. I rather using standard camera than vrayCam cause it getting good result as same as vraycam were! and it can apply in general perpective view too!! not like U use vraycam,every time u rotate viewport and render it (no vray cam added), it getting too bright or too dark result! that what I hate from vray cam!! it's not general!! just that!!
the script is cool, BUT I
the script is cool, BUT I work in linear space and all thumbnails are very dark. is it possible to implement a gamma 2.2 button? also the material previews are very dark.
...and how much does the pro version cost? I don't see a price.
thanks, themaxxer
hi themaxxer, i will adjust
hi themaxxer,
i will adjust the script to fallow the gamma and lut> output setting of the max, i think this will resolve the problem and the next version i will include new options to increase the control of the thumbnails.
You can see the price in this link:
http://www.hermidacg.com/?page_id=215
thanks!
www.hermidacg.com.br
It should be usefull if you
It should be usefull if you can creat a "batch-render" for thumbnails... it's very boring to click and wait one by one... (for exemple it should be possible to do this thing on click on a category and have a choice like "render missings thumbnails" and "render all thumbnails")
and maybe one little thing i'm thinking about, just a little time-render indication on the render, to keep in mind if the object is heavy or not.
an other thing should be usefull (with the vray stuff collector like lele's one) it should be a system which it could transform some vray material into an other like mental ray, brazil and others... (like material converter we can found on this site)
(sorry for this worst english, i do what i can ;) )
thx !
The lack of updates to this
The lack of updates to this plugin is VERY disappointing!
Last time I heard from
Last time I heard from Chico, he was moving to another country, updates will probably resume once he's settled in.
yes he moved to australia
yes he moved to australia and promise a great come back for us ;)
take your time chico... Making our library is VERY long lol
Sorry for the lake of news
Sorry for the lake of news in the last month, i moved to australia and i had problems to get a internet connection here, now everthing is fine.I continued to develop the script even i was offline, in the next few days i will release a update with new features and bug fixs.
www.hermidacg.com.br
Chico could you add the
Chico could you add the option to merge as xref?
It's in my to do list(study
It's in my to do list(study a workflow to use xref)! i will think in what can i do.
Thanks!
www.hermidacg.com.br
Any news on the xref stuff?
Any news on the xref stuff? :)
Could you also add some
Could you also add some maxscript access to this? For example, the Library path, the ability to render a thumbnail, etc. I've written a script that exports the currently selected mesh or entire scene (if nothing is selected) to my AB library, with an option for category and name, and it would be good to be able to fire off an "update thumbnail" command with it as well :)
oiii chico, tudo bem?
oiii chico, tudo bem? comprei teu plugin, muito bom! só acho ele um pouco devagar, pode ser?
Duke2: I'm working on the
Duke2:
I'm working on the final release at the moment since the release of the beta version I received a good feedback from the users that used the script, it was important to direct in the write of the final functions and to show the sections that deserve speed improvement, after the final release 1.0 , and the confirmation of a stable version, i will start a new moment of the script, that I will include several functions including the suggested functions from users, so I'm greatfully for your suggestions, and I'm archiving every suggestion in my docs to be implemented in the right moment.
thank you!
whereareyou:
Oi, realmente esse é exatamente um dos pontos que estou melhorando no script, e posso garantir que nos meus testes ja atingi um desempenho muito melhor com o script, lembrando que ele tambem sera muito versatil para aplicacao de vegetacao, coisa que necessita um bom desempenho.
Abraco
www.hermidacg.com.br
Since I won't release no
Since I won't release no updates between the last version released and the final version 1.0, I will start to post mini animated gifs showing some of the new features.
Delete by area while painting mesh and reference circle.
www.hermidacg.com.br
Oii chico, uma dica boa eh
Oii chico, uma dica boa eh que de pra ver os thumbnails do arquivo do max no browser quando naum tem imagem, neh?
Any news on version 1.0
Any news on version 1.0 ?
Will you be able to use this plugin in office AND home ?
Will you be able to transfer it to another computer if neccessary ?
Yeah any news?
Yeah any news?
Hi trick, I answered in the
Hi trick, I answered in the e-mail about your questions.
Duke2: I have a new experimental version, I will e-mail you with it if you want to try, and more news are to come, I know that is a long time without a substantial update, most of the changes has been made is in the way the that the script works, to support all the features that i want to include in the future.
www.hermidacg.com.br
Chico, you're the best...and
Chico, you're the best...and hope to see this thing growing.
Will there also be a Max2008 version ? I'm still using it on some ongoing (and going...and going....) projects !! Would be very helpfull. I already put a lot of my libraries in your browser.
trick, everytime that I want
trick, everytime that I want to make a 2008 compatible version, i get a new problem, i still trying, but there is another paralel project that i'm doing that should resolve this problem.
www.hermidacg.com.br
Nice work, Chico!
Nice work, Chico!
Oiii chico, muito massa essa
Oiii chico, muito massa essa nova versao!! ta bem melhor!
abracoo,
Hi Chico, This script looks
Hi Chico,
This script looks perfect for our requirements. We have a large exhibition library that we currently merge into current stands. I have downloaded your demo and unzipped as suggested, but doesn't seem to install properly. I can create a shortcut in the user interface but when used, I get an error 'Rollout handler exception'??
We are running 3dsMax 2010x64(Vray1.5 SP4) on Windows 7. Any thoughts / guidance welcome. If we can get it working, I would happily purchase for our studio of 5
Regards
Masey
Hi Masey, Can you send me a
Hi Masey,
Can you send me a screenshot of the max listener, when this error occur? Contact me using my website www.hermidacg.com and include your e-mail , I will send another script version to figure out the problem.
Best Regards,
Chico.
www.hermidacg.com.br