Now that real time rendering is becoming easier us MEP engineers want to get involved and I think the way Materials are added to pipes and ducts can be greatly improved.
Currently materials can be added by segment, system or object type levels, these do not allow us to have the flexibility needed to display an MEP install realistically.
At system level all things connected to the system will adopt the material, also we may want difference materials on the same system, for instance copper and plastic pipework.
At object level you cannot have difference materials for different systems all pipes will adopt the same material.
At segment level the material can only be set at creation and not modified after it has been created, also fittings do not adopt this material and need to be edited manually to match.
My suggestions is for the material to be added to the routing preferences dialog box, fittings and segment can all be modified to the desired material, the material can be for both physical and appearance properties.
Thread discussing on the beta site if you have access
https://beta.autodesk.com/project/forum/thread.html?cap=cb0fd5af18bb49b791dfa3f5efc47a72&forid={FB2F...
Also one on Enscape
https://forum.enscape3d.com/index.php?thread/390-mep-pipe-segment-material-ignored-by-enscape/&postI...
Attached mockup of the dialog box with material included
