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>> 3dsmax material features supported by the NeL export <<

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SUMMARY

-> Export those information from stdmat
-> How to use lightmaps
-> How to use "color vertex"
-> How to use "alpha vertex"
-> How to use multitexture
-> How to manage multiple textures set for a single material

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-> Export those information from stdmat

 * Ambiant color
 * Diffuse color
 * Specular color
 * Self illumation value (pseudo)
 * Self illumation color (pseudo)
 * Opacity
 * Shininess (pseudo)
 * Glosness (pseudo)
 * Diffuse texture 
 * Opacity texture. If opacity texture and diffuse texture are used, NeL try to use the alpha channel of the diffuse texture as opacity map.
 * Double sided
 * You can use crop if you don't repeat the texture.
 * You can use crop and repeat the texture on U if the U crop is full (0 -> 1).
 * You can use crop and repeat the texture on V if the V crop is full (0 -> 1).
 * Extended parameters transparency type (filter or additive)
 * Specular is used throught cube environnement mapping (use composite to give the 6 faces a unique texture)

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-> How to use lightmaps

Use a NeL material.
Check the box "lightmap".
You material MUST have a texture.
The object must be mapped.
You can map your object twice using the second mapping channel for the lightmap. (Use CopyMap)

YOU CAN
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Lightmap can be used with vertex color
Lightmap can be used with alpha test
The material diffuse color is used
The material ambiante color is used

YOU CAN'T
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Lightmap can't be used with alpha vertex
Lightmap can't be used with multitexture
Lightmap can't be used with specular map
The material specular color is not used
The material opacity is not used
The material can't be used with extended parameters transparency type (filter or additive)

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-> How to use "color vertex"

See the sample "color vertex.max"
Use a NeL material.
Check the box "color vertex".
You can edit your vertex color with vertex paint or edit mesh.

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-> How to use "alpha vertex"

See the sample "alpha vertex.max"
Use a NeL material.
Check the box "alpha vertex".
Choose the channel to use as alpha. You can edit your vertex color with "vertex paint" or "edit mesh".
Then copy it with "CopyMap" in the selected channel for alpha vertex.
The source of the copy must be 0, the destination is the channel you have choosed in the NeL material.

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-> How to use multitexture

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-> How to use specular texture

See the sample "specular.max"

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-> How to manage multiple textures set for a single material

When selecting a map, you can choose bitmap as a map type, but you can also select Nel Multi Bitmap.
With a NeL multi bitmap, you can have 4 sets of maps for a single material.
The 'bitmap' slot of the map isn't used anymore, it is just useful to select the currently displayed map.
The 4 slots are in the 'Aditionnals bitmap' rollout.
If the file name is left blank, that means that there's no map assigned for that slot.
The 'Get' button allows you to choose the bitmap, and a 'View' button allows to display it

You can convert all maps in an object to 'Nel Multi Bitmap' maps by using macro script called 'ConvertMaxBitmapToNelBitmapMacroScript'
It operates on the selection, and can convert materials that are either StdMat, NelMaterial, or MultiMaterial.

Once you start using Nel MultiBitmaps, you can toggle which bitmap is displayed in the viewport by using the macro scripts
called SelectNelBitmapSet1..4. Sometimes you may need to refresh the display to get it work..
If a slot hasn't been defined, the first slot is taken as a default.

Note : you can also change the displayed set of texture in the object viewer, in the 'View' menu.

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-> How to use Per-Pixel-Lighting ?
Per pixel lighting i available on GeForce 3 (and above) only for now. On other boards, gouraud shading is used instead. It is based on the blinn model.
No bump is applied. Only the nearest light is rendered using p.p.l. Others are rendered using gouraud shading.
(to keep single pass rendering). For now, only per instance attenuation is done.

REQUIRED : You model must have one, and only one stage of texture used (but is can use several textures) 
A continous mapping is needed to applied per pixel lighting techniques.

YOU CAN'T 
- You can't use a mesh vertex program when this shader is used. 
- You can't mix shader that use a vertex program in a single model.


HOW-TO
- Create a NeL Material
- Select the per pixel lighting shader (with or without specular)
- Apply it to your model. 
- Apply a mapping and a texture to your model

