About Marco Brunetta
TeaCup
Version:
4.0
Date Updated:
11/27/2009 
+WHAT IS IT?
TeaCup is a free online asset sharing platform for 3D Studio MAX, that is fully integrated with the program. It allows 3D Studio to connect to an online database giving you the ability to upload and download materials and objects directly from/to your scene very easily. The objective is to create a common pool of resources where everyone can contribute and everyone can benefit. Think Google Warehouse, but directly inside MAX.
+WHAT CAN I DO WITH IT?
It works like any of the dozens of webpages with downloadable content, but by being a part of the program it makes the process infinitely more streamlined. Once you've found a result you want, just double clicking it can import it into your scene, and uploading it's just a matter of selecting what you want to upload, everything else is taken care of automatically. Plus on this version we've added several "community tools" like a ratings and comments system.
+HOW DOES IT WORK?
After the installation has been completed, the first step will be to register an account from the Configuration panel. Once this is done you will get a confirmation email in the email you used for registration. After that you are all set. There are basically 4 sections in the TeaCup panel:
SEARCH OPTIONS: At the top of the panel you will see all the controls used for searching the database. You can filter the results depending on your needs.
SEARCH RESULTS: The big white box will display the search results after a search has been started. From here you can select any item and either apply it to your scene. Right clicking an item reveals some extra options.
INFO PANEL: The bottom section displays info on the selected item in the search results. Using the buttons on the bottom right you can see the general info, the item details, or the comments and rating for the chosen item.
NEWS & RANKING: The section on the left can be used to see the latest info on TeaCup, check the ranking, see the latest uploads, check your download history or quickly see the assets you have uploaded.
+HOW DO I INSTALL IT?
On this page you will find the TeaCup installer inside a rar file, after downloading and executing it, all you have to do is follow the instructions (make sure you choose the 3d Studio folder!). Once this is done, run 3d Studio and go to Customize>Customize User Interface. Now find the TeaCup category, and either add a button to a toolbar (in the Toolbars tab) or to create a keyboard shortcut (on the Keyboard tab). All done!
+ANYTHING ELSE?
Yes, TeaCup is still growing, so not everything is done. For instance sharing Meshes is not done yet. And you might find some bugs or things that just don't work like you'd expect. Feel free to comment here or email us at mbrunetta@gmail.com if that happens. And also, if you use the tool, make sure you share as much as you can!
Version Requirement:
MAX 9 sp2 and up | Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Install TeaCup 0.4.rar | 4.51 MB |
Comments
Materials that are not
Materials that are not compatible with your 3d Studio install, either because you don't have the necessary plugin or were created with a newer version of MAX will be displayed with a red border.
Great!! this is the cool
Great!! this is the cool thing you were talking about ;)
Really nice, but the are only fry render materials, arent?¿ so i am going to upload Vray ones!!
best regards
finalRender actually...since
finalRender actually...since that's my engine of choice. And please go ahead, let me know if you have any issues with it. Make sure you set the material editor render engine to vray, or else the previews will look wrong. I'll fix this on a future release.
I have man plans for this, hopefully if we manage to get enough people on board it will become a great community building tool.
Hi Marco, did you plan to
Hi Marco, did you plan to add web access through web browser? I like the base idea, but as other of your scripts I havn't test it because beta testing encrypted files is too risky for me. Thanks
my recent MAXScripts RSS (archive here)
Maybe sometime in the future
Maybe sometime in the future but not at the moment. I can understand your doubts, however I assure you it's been tested by several people and their computers are still intact and there is no malicious code included.
I have every intention to open as much of the code as possible once it's correctly organized and polished. However is't likely that some chunks will remain encrypted to limit "improper" use of the database.
I would not say that anyone
I would not say that anyone would put malicious code deliberate. Years ago I using free scripts without MXS knowledge. Now I always first read the code, and I'm sure now, so most of the data's losses are occur over time, not in the moment. Maybe if I had seen a more complete open codes from you, now I would know your code style and I'll know what to expect. However, dotNet is enough risk in itself. Never mind. Go ahead.
regards, Anubis
my recent MAXScripts RSS (archive here)
amazing!! animo luego existo
amazing!!
animo luego existo
animo luego existo
Since this is essentialy a
Since this is essentialy a community-oriented script, I figured it might as well have a facebook page! =D
http://www.facebook.com/pages/TeaCup/187613697621?ref=nf
not working in 2009 under
not working in 2009 under XP64
Try replacing TeaCup.mse
Try replacing TeaCup.mse with the one attached. This uses a different background worker class. The SynchronizingBackgroundWorker SHOULD be available in max2009 and up, maybe your .net is not up to date?
In any case, let me know if this works for you.
no success with it :(
no success with it :(
Thanks for this great
Thanks for this great script. I hope there will be more materials uploaded soon.
Manny
oppsie, my bad... Third one
oppsie, my bad...
Third one is the charm one.
nice script, I ll try it asap
nice script, I ll try it asap
thanks ^^
thanks ^^
I included a simple video
I included a simple video showing how easy it is to access the material database.
Very original and useful
Very original and useful concept. This could be a totally new way of working and colaberating. A new paradigm.
Are you in anyway interested in allowing the connection to databases on other websites/servers or releasing the server side scripts?
Congratulations and thank you for your work. I hope this is as much a boon to the community as it appears it will be.
edit: I just discovered a small issue: I uploaded a MentalRay material, and the preview generated doesn't represent the material very well. What was a brick pattern ended up looking like a solid (dark) color. I believe it is due to enabling "Use Real-World Scale" on a Tiles procedural map. If you download the material, it shows up correctly in the material editor and in renders.
edit2: It appears the major issue was having "Use Real-World Scale" enabled, however the previews are still quite dark.
Thanks! Those are very kind
Thanks! Those are very kind words. Putting together a way for everyone to be able to share there assets quickly and easily was exactly our intention.
As for connecting to other databases, yes, we'd like to be able to do that very much, however I'm not entirely sure if the owners would agree to that. The problem is that those webpages subsist thanks to the traffic they receive from people downloading materials/meshes/whatever, which would be reduced if those assets where to be found on TeaCup... so it might be tricky.
On the plus side we were contacted by the owner of MR Materials recently, to see if we could work something out... so there might still be hope. =P
On a side note, I noticed you uploaded a procedural brick and the preview did not look right. The problem is that you used the "Real World Scale" option. Right now, when TeaCup renders the preview sphere, it uses a sphere with no Real World Scale, to keep "regular" materials from looking wrong. I'm planning to make the preview render a bit smarter, so it will render using the RWS option when appropriate. MAX has so many options, variables and material types that some times little issues like these arise... sorry.
I'm attaching the fix I
I'm attaching the fix I uploaded for harumscarum, since apparently it got lost in the website update. Future versions should work fine.
Install the script using the installer, if you have any problems like the one reported below, replace TeaCup.mse with the one in the attachments. Also make sure you are running Windows as administrator.
thanks it suits me very well
thanks it suits me very well
Hehe I'm glad =D
Hehe I'm glad =D