It sounds like messing with the UVS on your lowest sub model has messed up the vert order when you re-exported from Max. Max is notorious for doing a terrible job of exporting OBJ files, use the GuruWare obj importer/exporter instead.
http://www.guruware.at/main/objio/index.html
So your sculpt in ZB is now finished?
Here’s what I would do if the model is corrupting when you try and create your maps within ZB.
1)Export your head at the lowest subdivision back out as an obj. Import this into Max, add UV’s etc and then save.
2)Export your head out from ZB again at its high detail level, again as an obj. Import this into Max, (make sure you don’t have show wireframes on in your viewport!). Max can get a bit twitchy with very high poly stuff, so save often. If you find that Max is freezing or crashing a lot, either export your head out again at a lower subdivision or use a third-party program like PolyCrunch to get the poly count down. Select the head polys and make sure the all share the same smoothing group, either using the Smooth Modifier or by clicking just one smoothing group slot.Collapse your modifier stack and save the head out again from Max.
3)Reset Max and load in your lowpoly head model that you saved in step 1.
Merge in your highpoly head that you saved out in step 2. You will now have both high and low detail heads in the same scene.
4)With your lowpoly head selected go to “Rendering” at the top of the Max GUI and select “Render To Texture”
5)In the Render To Texture pop-up window, choose a path where you want to save your texture maps to and click the button marked “setup” next to “RenderSettings”
6)In the Render Scene pop-up window that appears, click the Renderer tab and then choose “Mitchell-Netravali” as your filter type and “Hammersley” in the drop down menu underneath the “Enable Global Supersampler” tick box…making sure that box is ticked! Close the Render Scene window.
7)Back in the Render To Texture window, click the “Enabled” tick box under Projection Mapping, click on options and make sure Use cage is selected. Click the “Pick” button and choose your high-detail model from the list.
In the viewport tick “Shade” under the cage options and using the selection tools and the Push amount sliders try and get your projection cage to cover your hipoly model, parts that are not covered will show up as red in your rendered textures. Take your time, its worth getting right (means less touch-up work in Photoshop!).
8)Under “Mapping Coordinates” make sure you have the right mapping channel selected for your low detail model (usually 1)
9)Under the “Output” section click the “Add” button and select “Normals Map”, choose your texture resolution from the click boxes, make sure the “Enable” box is ticked, and insert a name for your map in the File Name and Type box. Click “Render”
- In the Material editor, choose a new material slot and under Maps Select and adjust the Bump slider to 100, click on the empty slot next to it and choose “normal bump” from the options. Under the Normal Bump options, click the empty slot next to “Normal” and select your newly created normal map.Click the uparrow to go up a stage in your material and under the section marked “DirectX Manager” make sure the “DX Display of standard Material” checkbox is checked. The little blue and white dice icon will turn to pink and white, make sure it is clicked on and your head, with normal map applied, should now show in your viewport.
Note-there are better ways of showing your normal maps etc in Max than the above options, but is the closest to a “default” way. Just make sure you are running Max under Direct 3D…your normal maps will not show up in the viewport under Open GL.
If its a displacement map you need, this tutorial should help you convert your normal maps to displacement maps…
http://wookieebuddha.com/?p=11
