Multi Map Exporter - Information, Installation and FAQ

[marcus_civis]

Multi Map Exporter is designed to automate map creation and export for your model. Settings can be saved and reloaded so that you can quickly set up the plugin and then leave it to export the maps, freeing you to spend more time creating your art.

________________________________________

This plugin is compatible with ZBrush 4.

________________________________________

Installation

1. Quit ZBrush
2. Download the latest version of Multi Map Exporter from the Download Center.
3. Extract the zip file in a temporary folder.
4. Copy the MultiMapExporter_4.zsc to your ZPlugs folder. With a default Mac installation this will be in /Applications/ZBrush 4 OSX/ZStartup/ZPlugs. With a default PC installation this will be C:\Program Files\Pixologic\ZBrush4\ZStartup\ZPlugs.
5. Also copy the MMEData4 folder and its contents to the ZPlugs folder.
6. Launch ZBrush.
7. Open the ZPlugin palette where you will find the Multi Map Exporter menu, containing the plugin buttons and sliders.

________________________________________

Frequently Ask Questions

Q: I don't see Multi Map Exporter in the ZPlugin palette.
A: Check that you installed the plugin correctly.

© 2010 Pixologic, Inc. All rights reserved, Pixologic and the Pixologic logo, ZBrush, and the ZBrush logo are registered trademarks of Pixologic. Various patents pending. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

[aurick]

ZBrush's newest plugin!

[HaloAnimator]

You guys just saved me SO MUCH TIME!!! If you were a woman, i'd marry you... THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

[koyima]

Awesome stuff

[J-L_A]

Thank you very much!

[Grugi]

I would really like to download the zbrush plugins, but like a lot of people, I get this error "This server can only be accessed by the proper referring server.".

I´m using the latest version of firefox and also tried other browsers and I´m not using any download managers.

I know this is a known issue and there must be a way to solve this problem.
But until then, can anyone host the plugins somewhere, so that all the people who aren´t able to download these plugins, get the chance to use them?!

[marcus_civis]

I know this is a known issue and there must be a way to solve this problem.
But until then, can anyone host the plugins somewhere, so that all the people who aren´t able to download these plugins, get the chance to use them?!

Do you have any internet security running that could interfere with the download? A user has reported that briefly turning off McAfee security solved the issue.

[Grugi]

I´ve already tried to turn off every program, that could block the site, but I´m still not able to download via Firefox, Opera or Internet Explorer.

But there are some good news. I´ve installed the Safari browser for windows and now the downloads work!
I don´t know what the reason is, though. At least I can enjoy all the latest plugins now

[mulligan]

has anyone been using a Mac to generate Normal Maps in ZBrush 4? to my understanding there were issues with generating Normal Maps & Displacement Maps on a Mac in previous versions. has this been resolved in ZBrush 4?

[armstrongnt]

.
mudbox the names are like :u_1 v_-1 ... ccan we export like this from multimap exporter !

so it's easy to determine which textures belong to which tiles
but in this case, its 1-2-3-4-5-6
but how do i know which one is 1, which one is 2

[MatCreator]

I have a couple of questions regarding this script...

Is it possible to have ZBrush export the separate textures for models that have multiple uv texplates/maps?!?

When I tried it for the 1st few times, the process seemed to take longer each time... 1st it was 4 minutes. Then 8 minutes, then 30 minutes. Admittedly for the 3rd I increased the texture size, but it was still the same model. Even further, for the 2nd trial I didn't export the ambiance and cavity maps... Anyone else getting this?

And lastly, for my model it exported 3 instances of the same texture/displacement/normal/ambient and cavity. The original, an original_1 and an original_1 copy... I couldn't find a setting that caused this, so what did I miss?!?

All in all, this feature is great, it was a real pita having to go back, reload the model, to get the textures, displacement and normal maps.

[marcus_civis]

Grugi,
I'm glad you got it sorted.

mulligan,
I'm not aware of any issues with generating normal maps from ZBrush 4 MacOSX.

armstrongnt,
This is something that I am looking into adding in an update.

MatCreator,

If your model has separate UV tiles then MME will export a separate map for each. In other words, if part of a subtool is in U 0-1, and part in U 1-2 then you will get two maps.

The plugin will take longer if it is the background (in other words if the ZBrush window does not have focus). This is a limitation with plugins that I hope will be addressed as soon as possible. Larger texture sizes will of course take longer.

If you click Export Options>File names you'll get a dialog which includes an 'overwrite existing files' option. This is off by default so duplicate files have 'copy' added.

[MatCreator]

I think I asked the question wrong, let me explain...

I have a model that has overlapping uv templates. For my purposes, I can separate the uv templates, and paint on sections individually and then apply those textures over only the selected material groups for the model. I do this to give areas more surface area to paint on, so that the models painting isn't squeezed into one large texture.

What I want the MME to do is extract the various textures from the designated material groups. What it is doing is "layering" all of the texture/displacement/normal mapping, so that all material groups are on only 1 texture, no good... Is it possible to have it extract the textures according to the material groups themselves?

Also, with regards to the multiple copies being created, it should be known that it does this if there are no files to overwrite in the 1st place, it will generate the multiple copies even to a blank folder where no previous copies exist =/

[MatCreator]

Ok, I just went back to make sure... I've tried all options that seemed "viable" on my end, and no matter what, it produces 3 exact copies of the texture and displacement. Same size, same quality. The "same".....

I Just don't know why it's doing that =/

And I do appreciate the help.

[marcus_civis]

MatCreator,

I would need to test the model to see what is causing these issues. Is there any chance you could send it to me? A low res version would be OK.