3ds max 2024 New Slate Material Editor bug

[krll_3dsmax]

The "Show material in the viewport" button on the SME Main ToolBar does not work, there are no Realistic and Shaded display modes

[giuseppe.schiralli · Accepted solution]

Thank you for the report. It looks like the drop-down menu is not turning on when a material is selected.

As a workaround, the same settings are available in the context menu, right-click on the material.

I'll pass the defect on to the team.

-Giuseppe

[jbclerc]

How, what contextual menu??

[CAMedeck]

@jbclerc the contextual menu comes up when you right click on the Material node in Slate.  You can also right click Map nodes to show/hide in viewport, along with many other commands.

[fixonu4]

And there are problems with the preview window of the material. Attachment resets, resets the selected material in the display...

[RobH2]

I found another bug. You can't copy, paste or type in the HEX field (I think it's called) for color adjustment. See the attachment. 

[andro43bg]

Hello,

in addition to this problem I'd like to add that in 2024 SME the red stripes that indicated which texture/material node is selected for viewing in the viewport are not present! It is a convenience I'd like to see again in the SME.

[altshift.de]

Really? No updates on this topic? This is so sad.

[RobH2]

I'm not sure what's sad about it as it's the nature of software development. All software ships with bugs and we have to endure them until patches are released. There are a few bugs in Sketchup for example that are very irritating but someday they'll get fixed. All software is the same in regards to this. 

Due to the complex nature of development infrastructure, you can't just do that on an instantaneous basis. I'm assuming the .2 patch we are expecting anytime will address this and a lot of other things in Max 2024. 

[altshift.de]

This is more than sad. I don't have a single clue why you are referring to software development. Wasn't this feature already developed ages ago? I am a Max user for the last 10 years now, always fighting on Autodesks side, when somebody comes and tells me how crappy Max is. Really. I always loved my Max.

Your comparison with SketchUp Development is sad as well in my opinion, as Trimble is not taking thousands of Euros from me every year... Autodesk is.

I will of course stick to good old Max, but "assuming" that .2 is adressing that problem - doesn't help users at all.

Don't get me wrong, this is not meant in an offensive way at all. But it is getting harder and harder for me not to see the benefits and (technical/innovative) advantages of competitor software...

And yes. This is sad. At least for me.

[fixonu4]

New update 2024.2 This function does not work with Multi/Sub-object. Neither through the button, nor through the context menu.

[RobH2]

If you could, please provide some details as to what you mean "does not work." That could mean a lot of things. Also provide a list of any exotic 3rd party plugins you might be using. 

I have no issues at all with Multi/SubObject and didn't with 2024.1 either. 

Edit: I went to explore. I think you might be saying that the 'Show Shaded Material in Viewport' button does not function. Is that correct? It doesn't function in 2023 either. It might be the way it's redesigned to work now for some reason. You can alway back up and turn it on for the Material that is being piped into the specific ID. It works fine there.  

Edit 2: This intrigued me so I explored more. It's not broken. That's how it's always worked, at least since 2010 anyway. Here's a post that talks about it that is helpful:

NukieFrequenter Nov '10

Multi-sub object isn’t exactly a material but more a basket to hold more than one material. So it shouldn’t be treated as a material. Therefore you wont see a “show map” button. As said you have to go into each separate material inside your multi-map material, and there you will find the button your looking for.

In addition, if you have a lot of materials and do not want to go into each of them. You can go to the “Material” menu button on your material editor, and you will find the “Show materials in viewport as >”. There you can select how you want to display your materials. This, however, toggles all the materials in your scene so be careful with it since it takes a lot of memory if you have a lot of materials.

https://forums.cgsociety.org/t/how-can-i-see-my-multi-sub-object-material-in-my-view-ports/1473651

[fixonu4]

[conceptark]

when I use the Slate Editor on 3dsmax 2024.2, I also have this problem, none of my textures are displayed in the viewport even when right-clicking.

However, everything works wonderfully with the compact editor, it's very annoying to switch from one to the other all the time but it is, for now, the only solution I've found

[RobH2]

Do you mind uploading that file for testing?

[fixonu4]

This bug can be noticed in the simplest scene with a cube. Why these difficulties?

[RobH2]

I just wanted to check the settings in your file. I have no issues with Slate or Standard showing textures. 

[fixonu4]

You only display diffuse, you don't have the option to display bump or reflect maps. Please take a look at my screenshot again, it's very easy to understand.

[RobH2]

@fixonu4 

It's helpful when posting that you point things like that out. It's easy to misinterpret and hard to read your mind. Even as you circled a bump map in your image, that could have just been the one you happened to circled by chance. It's very easy to understand "with" just a tad of direction. 

I'll do some testing and see what I can find out. 

[RobH2]

OK, so here's an oddity. Things work fine for me, even as Giuseppe indicated it might be a flaw. See the attached video.