Environment Per Camera
Version 3.5
Full user guide
Installation
How to install EPC
- Temporarily disable Windows firewall and other software that blocks internet traffic on your computer (you can enable them after installing the script)
- Run 3DS Max as an Administrator
- Drag & drop your purchased script file into 3DS Max viewport
- In case of dropping into 3DS Max viewport is blocked – go to 3DS Max menu Scripting ► Run Script and choose your script file
- Paste your personal Serial Number
- Click Install
How to create EPC shortcuts
- Go to 3DS Max menu Customize ► Customize User Interface
- Go to Toolbars tab
- Create a new Toolbar and name it EPC
- Drag new EPC Toolbar to the empty space in main 3DS Max Toolbar
- Go to category HAIKO VISUAL
- Drag Open EPC Camera Switcher and Open EPC LightMix Editor to the new EPC Toolbar to create new buttons
How to set EPC hotkeys
- Go to 3DS Max menu Customize ► Hotkey Editor
- Click on any line and type «Open»
- Scroll down and click on Open EPC Camera Switcher line
- Click on the Press key... in the field, click a favorable key (for example / on the numpad) and click Assign
- Find Open EPC LightMix Editor line below
- Click on the Press key... in the field, click a favorable key (for example * on the numpad) and click Assign
- Click Done
Camera Switcher
How to add EPC to all Cameras
- Click EPC Switcher button in the EPC Toolbar or the assigned hotkey to open EPC Camera Switcher panel
- Drag panel to the left side of the screen to dock it
- Grey EPC icons (
) mean that EPC has not beed added to Cameras
- Click Add EPC to all Cameras – all EPC icons will turn green (
)
Switching between Cameras
- To switch to any Camera view just click on any button with Camera name
- Use the arrow buttons ▲▼ in the top of the panel to switch Cameras up or down the list
- Click Target to select Camera's target
- Click All to select both Camera and it's target
How to create new Camera view in 1 click
- Hold Shift on the keyboard and click on any button with Camera name
- New Camera with the similar name and the same EPC settings will be created
How to use color labels
- Color labels are very usefull to facilitate navigation in the Camera Switcher when your scene has many rooms with many Cameras but with similar names for each room
- One color label applies to the group of Cameras with similar names
- We suggest not to use standart Camera naming like CoronaCamera001, CoronaCamera002 – better use something like Kitchen_001, Kitchen_002 and Living_Room_001, Living_Room_002 and so on. This will create different color labels for groups of Cameras with similar names.
Image Size & Camera
How to set image resolution
- Click on any Camera button in EPC Switcher panel
- Go to script's Image Size & Camera section
- Use W and H fields to set image Width and Height
- Use Lock button to make these fields depend on each other
- Use /2 and x2 buttons to make image resolution twice smaller or twice bigger
How to change aspect ratio
- Click Swap button to swap W and H values
- Click Square button to make W and H values equal
- Click any of 16:9, 2:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 5:4 buttons to set standart aspect ratio
How to set largest side for all Cameras
- Click Set largest side for all EPC button in any Camera
- The largest value of W and H fields will be applied to the largest side of all other Cameras, maintaining aspect ratio
How to change FOV, Focal length and Clipping
- Click on Field Of View to control FOV
- Click on Focal l. to control Focal length
- Activate checkbox at the left of Near Clip to enable Clipping control
How to align Camera and it's target by axes
- Click Align X button to align current Camera and it's target by X axis
- Click Align Y button to align current Camera and it's target by Y axis
- Click Align Z button to align current Camera and it's target by Z axis
How to rotate Camera view
- Click ◄ button to turn Camera view by 45° counter clockwise by Z axis
- Click ► button to turn Camera view by 45° clockwise by Z axis
Batch Render
How to set Batch Render output file for all Cameras
- Click on any Camera button in EPC Switcher panel
- Go to script's Batch Render section
- Click on Select button in Batch Render output path block
- Choose the folder to save Batch Render output files
- Choose the type of the Batch Render output file (do not set any file name) and click OK
- Now the final forder name is displayed on the button
- Move mouse cursor above the button to see full Batch Render output path
- Click Clear if you want to clear Batch Render output path
How to add current Camera to Batch Render queue
- Go to Send to Batch Render block
- Click This EPC to add current Camera to Batch Render queue
How to add all Cameras to Batch Render queue
- Go to Send to Batch Render block
- Click All EPC to add all Cameras to Batch Render queue
- Click Clear Batch list if you want to delete all Batch Render queue
Corona Sun
How to set Corona Sun for Camera view
- Click on any Camera button in EPC Switcher panel
- Go to script's Corona Sun section
- Click on any Corona Sun in the Corona Sun for this Camera list
- To use more Corona Suns for this view hold Ctrl and click on another Corona Suns in the list
How to select Corona Sun and it's target in the scene
- Select Corona Sun in the list
- Click Select Sun to select Corona Sun in the scene
- Click Select Target to select Corona Sun's target in the scene
How to add all Corona Suns to one LightMix Channel
- Go to Sun LightMix Channel block
- Select LightMix Channel, that will be used for all Corona Suns in the scene
- All current Corona Suns and all Corona Suns, that you will create, will be automatically added to selected LightMix Channel
How to link Corona Sun to HDRI Map
- Select Corona Sun in the list
- Select HDRI Map in the list
- Go to Link to Corona Sky & HDRI block
- Click Link
- Now Corona Sun position will change to match sun spot in selected HDRI Map
- Linked Corona Sun will follow HDRI Map rotation automatically
- Linked Corona Sun will change it's position automatically after selecting another HDRI Map
- Go to Position Correction and apply corrections for the distance between Corona Sun and it's target and Corona Sun angles for the best light composition
How to link Corona Sun to Corona Sky Map
- Select Corona Sun in the list
- Select Corona Sky Map in the list
- Go to Link to Corona Sky & HDRI block
- Click Link
- Now Corona Sun position will affect Corona Sky and it's clouds color
Corona Sky & HDRI
How to load HDRI & Corona Sky Maps into EPC
- Open Slate Material Editor (do not use Compact Material Editor)
- Create new material Tab and call it HDRI (exact this name is important)
- Load any HDRI Map via CoronaBitmap or add CoronaSky Map
- Use Color Correction or CoronaColorCorrect maps for each HDRI or CoronaSky map if necessary
- All maps will appear in EPC list automatically
How to set HDRI Map or Corona Sky Map for Camera view
- Click on any Camera button in EPC Switcher panel
- Go to script's Corona Sky & HDRI section
- Select HDRI or CoronaSky Map in the script's list
- Set HDRI Map rotation in Rotate (degrees) block if necessary
- Repeat for other Cameras
- Use Corona Sun and HDRI Map link if necessary
- HDRI or CoronaSky Map will switch automatically every time you switch the Cameras
Lights
How to select Lights for Camera view
- Click on any Camera button in EPC Switcher panel
- Open script's Lights section
- Click + button in the Lights for this Camera block to manually select Lights in the scene
- Click Select from list to select Lights from lights list
How to turn on/off specific Lights for Camera view
- Go to These Lights will be turned block
- Click On to turn on only Lights from the list for this Camera view
- Click Off to turn off the lights from the list for this Camera view
Time Slider
How to switch Frame number for Camera view
- Click on any Camera button in EPC Switcher panel
- Open script's Time Slider section
- Click Enable and set necessary Frame number for this Camera view
- This Frame number will remain in Time Slider until another Camera with another enabled Frame number will be switched
Viewport Previews
How to create Viewport Previews for all Cameras
- Click on any Camera button in EPC Switcher panel
- Open script's Viewport Previews section
- Click Full Preview to set destination folder and generate full viewport previews (as png) from all Cameras
- Click Geometry only to set destination folder and generate viewport previews (as png) without lights, cameras and splines from all Cameras
LightMix Editor
How to add lights to LightMix Channel
- Open EPC LightMix Editor panel
- Select lights in the scene
- Click on any LightMix Channel button to add selected lights to this Channel
- Number of added to this LightMix Channel lights will be displayed in LightMix Status block
How to remove lights from LightMix Channels
- Open EPC LightMix Editor panel
- Select lights in the scene
- Click Remove
- Number of deleted from LightMix Channels lights will be displayed in LightMix Status block
How to remove <deleted> lights from all LightMix Channels
- Open EPC LightMix Editor panel
- Click Clear
- Number of deleted from LightMix Channels lights will be displayed in LightMix Status block
How to create new LightMix Channel
- Open EPC LightMix Editor panel
- Hold Shift and click on any Channel button
- Enter new Channel name and click Create
How to rename LightMix Channel
- Open EPC LightMix Editor panel
- Hold Ctrl and click on any Channel button
- Enter new Channel name and click Rename
How to delete LightMix Channel
- Open EPC LightMix Editor panel
- Hold Alt and click on any Channel button
- Click Delete
Troubleshooting
HDRI Map and Corona Sky Map do not change while switching Cameras
- This situation is caused by manual duplication of Cameras in the scene due to the specific 3DS Max coordinates functions of Camera and it's target
- To fix this avoid two Cameras to have the same coordinates or duplicate Cameras only in EPC Camera Switcher (hold Shift and click on Camera button)
Any questions?
Contact me right now
Andrei Haiko
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