Data Creation Plug-Ins

The data creation plug-ins are a group of plug-ins that aid in the creation of data for NintendoWare.

The plug-ins are used to set NintendoWare attributes and search for settings primarily for nodes in Softimage.

The data creation plug-ins are executed from the NW4C For Banner main menu.

The Types of Data Creation Plug-Ins

The Types of Data Creation Plug-Ins

The following table shows a list of data creation plug-ins.

Plug-In Name Description
NW4C_ForBanner Set Material Attribute Sets attributes for materials.
NW4C_ForBanner Set Render Priority Sets the polygon rendering priority for materials.
NW4C_ForBanner Set No Compress Node Sets the node compression disable flag for nodes.
NW4C_ForBanner Set Billboard Sets a billboard for nodes.
NW4C_ForBanner Set Combine Group Sets a combine group for nodes.
NW4C_ForBanner Set User Data Allows user data to be set for nodes, materials, cameras, and/or lights.
NW4C_ForBanner Set Force Export Key Sets the forced output of animation keys for nodes.

Plug-In for Setting Material Attributes (NW4C_ForBanner Set Material Attribute)

Sets the NintendoWare material attributes for materials. Note, however, that this is not reflected on the XSI screen. It is also possible to search for settings. To display properties, click NW4C_ForBanner and select NW4C_ForBanner Set Material Attribute....

Setting Method

Select an object, polygon cluster, or material (multiple selections are allowed), and then click NW4C_ForBanner and select NW4C_ForBanner Set Material Attribute, and the Properties page will appear. If you select an object, you can set the global material of that object. If you select a polygon cluster, you can set the local material of that polygon cluster.
Once set, the Custom-NW4C_ForBannerMaterialAttrProp property is created below the Material node.
If the NW4C_ForBannerMaterialAttrProp property is already set, the property currently set is displayed.

Searching for Attributes

Select Search, and click the Search button to select and display the corresponding NW4R_ForBannerMaterialAttrProp property.
If the and radio button located to the left of the Search button is selected, a search is made for the materials which have the same attributes. If the or radio button is selected, a search is made for materials with at least one of the same attributes. If no radio buttons are selected, attributes are excluded from search conditions.

Plug-In for Setting the Rendering Priority of Polygons (NW4R_ForBanner Set Render Priority)

Sets the polygon rendering priority for materials. It is also possible to search for settings.
To display properties, click NW4C_ForBanner and select NW4C_ForBanner Set Render Priority....

Setting Method

Select an object, polygon cluster, or material (multiple selections are allowed), and then click NW4C_ForBanner and select NW4C_ForBanner Set Render Priority, and the Properties page will appear. If you select an object, the global material of that object is set. If you select a polygon cluster, the local material of that polygon cluster is set.
Using the radio buttons, select Don't care (no render priority specification) or Care. When specifying as a numeric value, enter an integer ranging from 1 to 255 for the priority. Polygons with the materials that have the lowest values are rendered first. If there is more than one material with the same value, the order in which the polygons are rendered is undefined (that is, it depends on the rendering routine). It is possible to make multiple selections and change all selected nodes at once.
Once set, the Custom-NW4C_ForBannerRenderPriorityrProp property is created below the Material node.
If the NW4C_ForBannerRenderPriorityProp property is already set, the property currently set is displayed.

Searching for Attributes

Select Don't care in the Search field (no rendering priority specified), or select a conditional specification and click the Search button to select the corresponding NW4C_ForBannerRenderPriorityProp property.
The following conditions can be selected: under (<), below (<=), exactly (=), above (>=), and over (>). below), equal (= : exactly), over (>= : above), over(> : over). Integers from 1 to 255 can be specified for the numeric value.

Plug-In for Setting the Rendering Priority of Polygons, List Version (NW4R_ForBanner Render Priority List)

The rendering priority of polygons in a scene may be set in list format.
To display the Properties window, click NW4C_ForBanner and select NW4C_ForBanner Render Priority List.

Setting Method

Clicking the Update button in the lower left corner of the window will display the scene rendering priority in list format.
Here, Don't care is displayed as 0.

To select an object or a polygon cluster, click on the name of a material in the list.
If the Frame Objects checkbox is ON at this time, the corresponding polygons will fill the view.

Clicking the Priority or Material button will sort the list by rendering priority or material name, respectively.
Clicking the same button twice will reverse the sorting order.
Under the initial settings, sorting is performed in the ascending order of rendering priority.
Rendering priority may be changed individually, by clicking the Edit button. Multiple rendering priorities may not be edited together.

To switch the rendering priority of the material directly above the currently selected one, click the Move Up button.
In the same way, to switch the rendering priority of the material directly below the currently selected one, click on the Move Down button.

Updating the List

To update the list in an open window such that it reflects the addition of new materials, deletions, and name changes in the scene, click the Update button.

Plug-In for Disabling Node Compression (NW4C_ForBanner Set No Compress Node)

Sets a flag so objects and nodes are not compressed even if the node compression feature is enabled. It is also possible to search for settings.

Setting Method

Select a Null or joint node (multiple selections are possible), then click NW4C_ForBanner and select NW4C_ForBanner Set No Compress Node to display the property.
The flag for disabling node compression can be changed by clicking the combo box. It is possible to make multiple selections and change all selected nodes at once.
If Compress this node if possible is set, compression will be performed when the node compression function is enabled. This is the default.
If Don’t compress this node is set, compression will never be performed even if the node compression function is enabled.
Once set, the NW4R_ForBannerNoCompProp property is created below the selected node.
If the NW4C_ForBannerRenderNoCompProp property is already set, the property currently set is displayed.

Searching for Attributes

Select Search, and click the Search button to select the corresponding NW4C_ForBannerNoCompProp property. If multiple check boxes have been selected, a search is made for nodes that satisfy any of the settings.

Plug-In for Setting Billboards (NW4R_ForBanner Set Billboard)

Sets a billboard for nodes. However, the settings are not reflected in the 3ds Max Work View. It is also possible to search for settings.

A window is displayed when NW4C For Banner > NW4R_ForBanner Set Billboard... is executed.


Setting Attributes

When a node is selected (multiple selections are possible), the Set field displays current settings for the selected node(s).
If multiple selections were made, the settings get displayed for the node that was selected first.

Billboard mode can be changed by clicking the combo box. If multiple nodes are selected, they can all be changed at once.

Searching for Attributes

Select a Search field check box and click the Search button to select the corresponding nodes. If multiple check boxes have been selected, a search is made for nodes that satisfy any of the settings.


Plug-in for Setting Combine Group (NW4C_ForBanner Set Combine Group)

By specifying a combine group for nodes you can set the range that will be integrated upon optimization.
A window is displayed when NW4C For Banner > NW4R_ForBanner Set No Compress Node is executed.

SetCombineGroup

Setting Attributes

When an object or node is selected (multiple selections are possible), the Set field displays current settings for the selected node(s).
It is possible to make multiple selections and change all selected nodes at once.

If Don't Care is selected, the value of the parent node is inherited. If the parent also has been set to Don't Care the combine group is not exported. This is the default.
Values in the range of 0-255 can be set for Combine Group.

If you select multiple nodes and press Set Sequential, the node hierarchy will be configured from shallow to deep while incrementing the count one at a time from the specified value. If the value exceeds 255, a warning will display and the configuration process will not proceed.

Searching for Attributes

Select Don't care (no specified combine group) in the Search field, or select a conditional specification and then click the Search button to display the pertinent materials. The following conditions can be selected: under (<), below (<=), exactly (=), above (>=), and over (>). below), equal (= : exactly), over (>= : above), over(> : over). Integers from 0 to 255 can be specified for the numeric value.

Plug-in for setting the forced output of animation keys (NW4C_ForBanner Set Force Export Key)

This plug-in sets the forced output of animation keys for nodes. It is also possible to search for settings.
From the NW4C For Banner menu, run NW4C_ForBanner Set Force Export Key to display a window.

Selected file nodes are displayed in the Selected Nodes column.

Setting Attributes

When a node is selected (multiple selections are possible), the Set field displays current settings for the selected node(s).
Animation key output settings can be changed by clicking the check box. If multiple nodes are selected, they can all be changed at once.



A different node can be set by selecting it without closing the window.

Searching for Attributes

Select the Search field check box and click the Search button to select the corresponding nodes. If the and radio button located above the Search button is selected, a search is made for all nodes that have the same attributes. If the or radio button is selected, a search is made for nodes with at least one of the same attributes. Items for which no check boxes are selected are excluded from search conditions.

Plug-in for Setting User Data (NW4C_ForBanner Set User Data)

This plug-in sets user data for the object or material.
A window is displayed when NW4C For Banner > NW4R_ForBanner Set User Data is executed.

Setting Attributes

If only one object or material is selected, current settings for the selected node are shown in the window. New user data can be added by clicking the Add button. If an item in the list is selected, data is inserted in the selected location; if no item is selected, data is added to the end of the list. (The selection can be canceled by clicking "-----" at the bottom of the list.) The name and contents of existing user data can be changed by selecting an item in the list and clicking Edit or by double-clicking on the item.
Selected user data can be deleted by selecting an item in the list and clicking Delete.
The order of user data can be changed by selecting an item in the list and clicking Move Up or Move Down.
A different object can be set by selecting another object without closing the window.
A user data entry window can be displayed by clicking Add or Edit button.

User data can be added or changed by clicking OK. If the name, character string, or numeric value is invalid, an error will be displayed on the command line and in the script editor .


Even if additional information just for NintendoWare has been set or, conversely, deleted, there will be no effect on the work view or data configuration under Softimage.


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