Plugins and Scripts > trueSpace > Materials

Material Utilities for trueSpace7.61

material utilties icon

Plugin and scripts for working with D3D materials. Displays a list of materials with controls for naming and editing the material and selecting the objects that use the material.

persistent base install v3 is required

material converter is required for the converter button

materials list is required for the materials list button

A version comes pre-installed in the Unofficial trueSpace Updates - https://www.united3dartists.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=55

In UU the toolbar button is found in the export utilities toolbar.

Installation:

  1. Reset the Default Context if any toolbars have been modified
  2. install the persistent base if not already installed
  3. drag the node into the link editor and press the install button
  4. delete the node from the scene after install is complete

LMB to open a floating panel, RMB to open in the stack view

material utilities panel
  • Convert D3D Materials - convert base to compound, convert compound to yafaray and indigo. Change material instancing.
  • Materials List -
  • Fix Orphan Materials - some operations will copy mesh portions with all the original materials even if only one is used. This fixes those cases.
  • Remove Unused Scene Instanced - clear out any unused materials from the scene Materials node
  • Fix Bitmaps For Export - report on and fix bitmap file references for exporting
  • Convert to Material List - convert old materials to compatible "Material List" format
  • Material Name Conform - if material has no name add one using the material node name, if the material has a name rename the material node to match
  • Cycle Material Edit - cycle the materials to the editor for the selected object
  • Cycle Material Edit Copy - cycle the materials to the editor for the selected object using a copy of the material. use to make a new material based on a preexisting one
  • Load Selected Material Node - load the selected material node into the editor. this is for free floating material nodes not assigned to any object.

Convert D3D Materials:

Material Converter

This button will fall back to the Unofficial Update Material Converter

Materials List:

Materials List

Fix Orphan Materials:

If a mesh has multiple materials applied to it and the Separate Selection tool is used all the materials are copied which can result in orphan material nodes and connections. The orphans could cause a problem with some exporters. Drag this node into the link editor and run it to remove all the orphans in a scene.

Old version included the "Remove Unused Scene Instanced". Extra scene instanced materials have no bad effect except for taking up space.

Remove Unused Scene Instanced:

Will delete all scene instanced materials that are not assigned to any mesh in the scene.

material list conversion panel

Convert to Material List:

Used to convert old style materials to the Material List form.

Selected Only - when checked will only operate on the selection and it's sub-objects

conform material name panel

Conform Material Name:

Used to add a Name to the material. The name is taken from the material node name. If the material already has a Name it will rename the material node to match to make it easier to find in the link editor or scene view.

Selected Only - when checked will only operate on the active selection

Fix Bitmaps For Export:

Bitmap Texture Report and Fix

Used to alter bitmap references so they point to local images. Some exporters require this.

texture report before fix
Report before fixes - "I:\test\" does not exist
texture report after fix
Report after fixes - "C:\temp\" holds the new image files

Gives a list of all textures used in a scene. Red indicates some error with the texture file or that the bitmap file doesn't exist in the file system. Can alter purely embedded bitmaps so they reference image files on the local machine. This is useful when exporting to other applications.

Red indicates image files that don't exist on the local machine or the bitmap does not refer to any texture file

Gray indicates good bitmap image state

Create Texture Files will recreate the bitmap texture files locally and assign those files to the material bitmaps. A procedural texture or bitmap without any file association will be given a random file name. Lines with good state will not be altered or copied.

Controls

  • Selected Only - only report on and fix the selected items
  • Update List - generate the report
  • Folder - choose a folder for the image files. May open behind the tS window.
  • Open - open file explorer to the selected folder
  • Replacement Extension - if None then the files will use the original extensions. If the file is not defined in the bitmap then a random named jpg file will be created.
  • Create Texture Files - create image files from the bitmaps embedded inside the objects and then reload the bitmaps from the new files

Steps

  1. run Update List to see the scope of the problem
  2. choose a folder to save the image files to
  3. choose a replacement extension if desired - use when the destination requires a specific format or destination is incompatible with the current file format
  4. run Create Texture Files
  5. the report will re-run after the fixes are complete

Notes

  • to replace valid textures they must be moved to a new location, then the fix can be run pointing to the new location
  • exr and png+alpha potential future enhancment

Use with:

fbx export

gltf export - already has some texture reference fixes but is not complete

August 31, 2025

  • fix so material conversion button works with the uu material conversion script

August 30, 2025

  • improved convert to material list - sub-object works, not limited to the top scene level objects

August 23, 2025

  • new button to load a free floating material into the editor

July 22, 2025

  • bitmap texture report works properly with instanced materials, both report and fix
  • bitmap texture report rearrange the UI

July 13, 2025

  • allow simple groups for material list converter

February 20, 2025

  • fixed installer bug
  • open floating panel script

November 5, 2024

  • fixed bug in the Fix Bitmaps For Export Create Texture Files - was saving bitmap using pixel format instead of file format
  • added pixel format to the Fix Bitmaps For Export report

August 28 2024

  • fix bug material name conform was seeing base materials twice, once normal and once as ghost instanced material

August 23 2024

  • allow for invalid material Name value
  • allow for d3d material node selected when cycle material for editing

August 22, 2024

  • fix bug in the installer
  • new material name conform
  • new cycle object materials edit

August 14, 2024

  • new convert d3d materials
  • new materials list
  • new fix orphan materials - based on UU version
  • new remove unused scene instanced
  • Fix Orphan Materials: use no-undo commands
  • Fix Orphan Materials: fix to work with Shape nodes

August 13, 2024

  • Fix Bitmaps For Export: updated from the UU version
  • Fix Bitmaps For Export: standard floating window
  • Fix Bitmaps For Export: works with multiple selections
August 13, 2024
August 13, 2024