Noise Map vs Arnold

[quinnredshift]

For some reason, I cannot get Noise maps to work with Arnold; everything with a Noise map renders white (for that particular Mat ID).

These are the standard, basic, general Noise maps, mind you.

I tried using the Arnold-specific Noise maps but I simply cannot reproduce what I'm trying to do with the legacy Noise map because there are way too many settings and some settings that seem to be completely missing, and it's all a big mess.

Why aren't Noise maps working, and how can I make them work?

[quinnredshift]

I'm not just thinking about now.

I'm thinking about the future, too.

Cuz if I give one example of something specific I'm trying to do, I'll just be back here later asking how to do the same kind of thing with different parameters when I need to do something similar but which seems unavailable (yet existed and was easily found in previous versions of MAX).

So when I say I want to do "everything", I'm mean because I'm going to be using everything that legacy maps are able to do, but which have been deprecated in current versions of MAX.

But in particular, the "Gradient Type" and "Coordinates" panel are the biggest issues.

I can't seem to get the same level of control out of Arnold maps. What used to take tweaking one variable seems to now involve all kinds of gymnastic and kludging to get results which used to be extraordinarily simple.

I'm butting up against a lot of changes to how things worked in MAX 2013 (which was the last version I used until now), here, guys; please be patient with me.

[wernienst]

I've just found that there is no need for UVM Map Modifiers (except activating 'Generate Mapping Coordinates') on objects. By putting a UV Transform between Ramp Rgb and the surface shader you have even more control...

[wernienst]

btw, the sphere on the left is a spherified cube...

[quinnredshift]

So, wait...UV Transform is basically the Coordinates panel, but separated from the original map (where, in previous versions, it was integrated into most maps)?

[wernienst]

That's correct. The advantage is, you can use (almost) every other map/shader as input to the parameters. The disadvantage is, there may be a lot of try & error (and frustration). Aside from that, the 3dsmax part of the Arnold manual gives only sparse information, e.g. the Ramp Rgb has no own entry. So it's a good idea to also consult the general part of the manual.

[wernienst]

and doing the tutorials 🙂

[quinnredshift]

I mean, you might be right about the tutorials.

Cuz this is such a radical change from what I'm used to, and I wasn't expecting to need to do tutorials! Heh. 😋

[wernienst]

Btw, there is a new MaxtoA version out, 5.6.2.0. Generally, they are updating it more frequently than 3dsmax itself.

[quinnredshift]

I think I saw a notification about that.

As long as I can render using the GPU, I'm a happy camper. That's really my only goal, here, or I'd be using a lot more legacy maps (and, if I'm perfectly honest with my dumb self, whinging less).