Dagor 2 Simple CMP Editor

Caution

This tool is currently under development!

Installation

Install the script following the provided instructions.

Important

• This script requires 3ds Max 2021 or newer version to run.

• Make sure that the plugin version is at least 1.8.

• This Simple CMP Editor requires the Dagor 2 Fast Editor User Properties, which is part of the toolbox.

Accessing the Simple CMP Editor

To get started, ensure that your toolbox is up to date. Then, drag and drop dagor2_CMP_GeneratorSimple.ms into the Viewport.

• Press Ctrl+Shift to open the floating panel:

  

• Closing the panel by pressing X disables this editor completely. To return the toggle behavior, reopen the editor from the Gaijin Tools ▸ Dagor 2 Fast Properties…

  

• To open the main window of the Dagor2 CMP Exporter, navigate to Gaijin Tools ▸ Dagor CMP Exporter… (1)…

• To verify the version (2) of the script, go to Gaijin Tools ▸ About. The About window will display the current version. It’s important to check this regularly to ensure your script is up to date.

Using the Simple CMP Editor

All node properties are stored in Object Properties. The script automatically updates these properties when the position, rotation, or scale of an object changes. Below is an example:

Always use the CMP Exporter to edit properties. The following is a list of currently supported properties:

Supported Properties

Property	Example	Description
place_type:i	place_type:i = 1	"No Collision Type"=0, "Place Pivot"=1, "Place Pivot and use Normal"=2, "Place 3-point (bbox)"=3, "Place Foundation (bbox)"=4, "Place on Water (flootable)"=5, "Place Pivot with Rendinst Collision"=6
rot_x:p2	rot_x:p2=90, 2	Rotates the node 90° on the chosen axis, then applies a random angle between -2° and 2°.
rot_y:p2	rot_y:p2=0, 30	Rotates the node randomly on the chosen axis between -30° and 30°.
rot_z:p2	rot_z:p2=90, 2	Rotates the node 90° on the chosen axis, then applies a random angle between -2° and 2°.
offset_x:p2	offset_x:p2=1, 2	Moves the node 1 unit along the x-axis, then randomly between +/-2 units.
offset_y:p2	offset_y:p2=1, 2	Moves the node 1 unit along the y-axis, then randomly between +/-2 units.
offset_z:p2	offset_z:p2=1, 2	Moves the node 1 unit along the z-axis, then randomly between +/-2 units.
scale:p2	scale:p2=1.5, 0.1	Uniformly scales the node to 1.5, with variation in the range [-0.1 .. 0.1].
yScale:p2	yScale:p2=1, 0.1	Alters the node height by a value in the range [-0.1 .. 0.1].
tm:m	tm:m=[[1.0, 0.0, 0.0] [0.0, 1.0, 0.0] [0.0, 0.0, 1.0] [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]]	Non-randomized location, rotation, and scale.
aboveHt:r	aboveHt:r=0.0	Specifies a fixed height above the surface.

The script does not affect manually entered properties not listed above. The animation below shows that when you change the parameters, unsupported properties of the collision object remain untouched, example: simple_cmp_preserving_unsup_prop.gif.

Important

Only one selected object can be edited at a time. If you select more than one object, the CMP Exporter interface will be greyed out and unavailable for parameter editing. This is intentional to prevent damaging or erasing properties of different objects.

However, objects can be moved, rotated, or scaled in selected groups. When the script runs, it automatically updates all parameters inside user custom properties for all selected objects. If the script is not run during editing, parameters will automatically update when you press the Export CMP button. Alternatively, run the script and select an object to update its parameters automatically.

Important

If an object does not already have any CMP properties, default properties such as Matrix3 and Place type will be automatically assigned. Note that only Editable Mesh or Editable Poly objects can have CMP settings. For non-editable objects, the interface will be greyed out and unavailable for editing.

For example, create a box and select it when the script window is open. The whole interface will be grey because it is not an Editable Mesh or Editable Poly.

It will look like this (only node name and Matrix3):

node{
  name:t="ancient_statue_c_dmg_056_dmg:rendInst"
  tm:m=[[0.606621, 0.0, 0.0105886] [0.000184797, 0.606621, -0.010587] [-0.010587, 0.0105886, 0.606528] [-0.211369, 3.01566, 0.255796]]
}

Important

All objects in the scene must have the same scale on all axes.

If an object is not uniformly scaled along all axes, a warning will appear, suggesting correction:

The script will not correct this error; it leaves the decision to your discretion. However, every time such an object is selected while the script is running, a warning will appear.

CMP Editor Interface

Let’s consider the functionality of the script interface:

• Output Path (1): Specify the path where the .composit.blk file will be saved after export. Button (2) allows you to select a custom path. On first use, this will default to the 3Ds Max export path.

• Default Node Type (3): Set the default node type. If the name contains some gross errors like invalid characters, the script will indicate an error of the form:

  

• Remove numeric suffixes if exist (4): If enabled, removes the last three digits from object names during export. For example, ancient_statue_c_dmg_087 will be exported as ancient_statue_c_dmg_. This is useful since objects in 3Ds Max often include numbers that are unnecessary in the final composite file.

• Export CMP (5): Exports objects to the specified directory. All objects in the current active layer will be exported. Recall that the active layer is the layer highlighted by the blue folder

  

  For example a layer

  

  is exported to ancient_statue_c_dmg_cmp.composit.blk at the specified path.

  Ensure the active layer is named correctly; otherwise, a warning will appear:

  

Next are parameters to export from 3Ds Max to Dagor:

• Transfor Matrix3 Enabled (6): Exports the transformation matrix (position, rotation, scale) to Dagor’s format. Learn more about transformation matrices here.

• place_type Enabled (7): Enables object placement type in Dagor. There are seven different placement methods, which your mentor can explain in detail.

• Parameter block (8): Responsible for randomizing node rotations along the x, y, z axes. Example: simple_cmp_ed_prop_edit_rot_02.gif.

  Important

  If any checkbox for rot_x, rot_y, rot_z, offset_x, offset_y, offset_z, scale, or yScale is enabled, the Matrix3 parameter will be unavailable.

  This limitation is intentional and adheres to Dagor Engine requirements.

• Parameter block (9): Responsible for randomizing node offsets along the x, y, z axes relative to the current position.

• Scale Enabled (10): Enables randomization of node scaling from the base scale value within the specified range.

• yScale Enabled (11): Enables randomization of scaling along the Y-axis (Z-axis in 3Ds Max, which is up in Dagor).

• aboveHit Enabled (12): Enables fixed node positioning above the surface by the specified value in the aboveHt parameter.

As the Dagor Engine evolves, new parameters may be added or existing ones modified. Always refer to the updated table of parameters.

Note

This script is complex, functioning as an editor within the 3Ds Max editor. It may contain bugs or errors. If you encounter any strange behavior or issues, do not try to resolve them yourself. Report them to the developer immediately to save time and facilitate quick fixes.

• Open Learning Document (13): Opens this article.

• Contact with Developer (14): Provides contact with script developer.