a problem with GMax

[Buzzit]

hey there people!
well i installed Gmax without any problems
but i can't start the application because of this

the first thing i have to do after it is setting up my driver
i can 'choose' from

heidi(never heared of this before)
openGL
and direct3d
and custom (wich i cant choose at all)
but with every mode that i choose i get this error:

---------------------------
Fatal Error
---------------------------
Interactive 3D Renderer initialization failed.
Please check your device settings by using the -H command line option.
---------------------------
OK   
---------------------------

did someone else had this aswell? i checked out google but that didnt helped..

so i was wondering if somebody could help me out with this

thanks in advance!

[Girafe]

If upon starting your GMAX you get an error message like "Interactive 3D Renderer initialization failed. Please check your device settings by using the -H command line option", don't panic. It's not realy a problem. It is just a warning and it is giving you the solution at the same time.

What does it mean ? I means that the rendering driver you choose at the beginning isn't able to display correctly on your screen.

What's the solution ?

You can do it in 3 ways :

A) FROM INSIDE GMAX
===================================================
1) click in the top menu CUSTOMIZE
2) in that menu, click PREFERENCES
3) you will get a pop-up with a bunch of of options. Click the top one that says VIEWPORTS
4) in the bottom right corner, click the button CHOOSE DRIVER
5) another pop-up appears with choices of HEIDI, Direct3D and OpenGL. One should already be chosen. Choose another one.
6) click OK then the OK button of the other pop-up
7) if your viewport still doesn't work, try another driver.
8) if after trying all drivers it doesn't work, post a reply here indicating it.


B) FROM OUTSIDE GMAX
=============================================
1) find the shortcut you use click on to execute your GMAX(if you don't have one because you click on the GMAX program icon directly, then do create a shortcut)
2) do a right click on it and choose PROPERTIES in the menu that appeared
3) a pop-up will appear. Click the top tab SHORTCUT
4) in the TARGET field, you will have something like "YOUR DRIVE:\...\GMAX\gmax.exe"
5) before the ending double quote, add -H (dash H)
6) click OK
7) execute your GMAX via that shortcut you have just modified
8) the GMAX logo will appear. Wait a bit ...
9) another pop-up appears with choices of HEIDI, Direct3D and OpenGL. One should already be chosen. Choose another one.
10) click OK then the OK button of the other pop-up
11) if your viewport still doesn't work, try another driver.
12) if after trying all drivers it doesn't work, post a reply here indicating it.

C) NO CLUE ON HOW TO DO SOLUTION A OR B (risky solution so be ware)
=========================================================
1) start a text editor (Notepad will do nicely)
2) open the file ../gmax/gmax.ini or ../gmax/gamepacks/your_gamepack_folder/gmax.ini
3) do a FIND on "[WindowsState]"
4) the current rendering driver used will be coded as follow following that string of character you found

[WindowState]
GFXType=OpenGL

or

[WindowState]
GFXType=Direct3D

or

[WindowState]
GFXType=HEIDI

5) just replace your the value of GFXType by any of the three above that doesn't match what you already have.
6) save the file
7) start GMAX
8) if the screen is weird or blank or whatever, just close GMAX and choose another one.



Link for some information about Gmax problems and more

[Buzzit]

hey thanks for the information

anyways

i can't do solution A because when i get the driver setup window and after the error nothing happens

so i tryed solution B
i did what you said
the target has been set to : E:\gmax\gmax.exe "add -H"

about my E:\ Drive its my secondairy drive because my primairy is almost at its maximum but i dont think it matters? or am i wrong about this?

anyways that unfortunately didnt worked
it acted the same as before

so i tryed solution C

i opened a blank notepad and searched for the ini files

the first one in the Gmax folder only contained this:

[BitmapDirs]
Dir2=E:\gmax\downloads
Dir1=E:\gmax\maps

no [WindowsState]

so i continued my search to the other Gmax.ini
fortunately it had more information:

[Directories]
Fonts=gamepacks\BAT
Scenes=gamepacks\BAT\scenes
Import=gamepacks\BAT
Export=gamepacks\BAT
Help=Help
Expressions=gamepacks\BAT
Sounds=gamepacks\BAT
PlugCFG=gamepacks\BAT
Heidi Drivers=Drivers
AutoBackup=autoback
Materials=gamepacks\BAT\maps
gmaxStart=gamepacks\BAT\scenes\startup
Scripts=gamepacks\BAT\scripts
Startup Scripts=gamepacks\BAT\scripts\startup
[BitmapDirs]
Dir1=gamepacks\BAT\maps
Dir2=gamepacks\BAT\maps\NightWindows
[XReferenceDirs]
Dir1=gamepacks\BAT\scenes
Dir2=gamepacks\BAT\scenes\CamLightRigs
[Performance]
DeferredPluginLoading=0
UnitType=5
UnitScale=1.000000
AutoUnitConvert=0
[CustomMenus]
FileName=gamepacks\BAT\ui\BAT.mnu
[Utility Sets]
ModifierSetName0=
ModSetEntry0=1397767338 621422992 761473067 1521299528 -1479269395 1692309753 307388827 306186243 1470835552 1493529333 1698601430 1759998750 -1923732607 0
ModifierSetName1=gmax default
ModSetEntry1=307388827 306186243 1924876789 -1482568881 1470835552 1493529333 1855492501 1576747447 1698601430 1759998750 -1479269395 1692309753 -1923732607 0 1163371204 1600820 761473067 1521299528 929757223 190734547 81152088 382825757
CurrentModSet=0
[CustomColors]
FileName=gamepacks\BAT\ui\BAT.clr

unfortunately it didnt contained : [WindowsState]  aswell..


hmm im pretty stuck here 



Edit: it works now i think i added the text to the ini file

thanks for the help!

[Girafe]

So nice to helped you   

[Buzzit]

i now got a noob related question lol...

i didnt think i needed a new topic for this but..

how do i restore my camera settings? i cant use the restore view button for some reason its allways gray

and now i got this lol..: http://img443.imageshack.us/f/jahoor.png
its maybe ultra noobish but since i cant restore my camera setting @ the views i don't have a clue what to do

[callagrafx]

Simply click on one of the preview directions (N, W, S, E).  The cameras are an external reference (xref).  If this doesn't work, go to File > Xref Scene and delete the xref that is there, then click on one of the preview directions again....

[Buzzit]

jup that worked!
thanks!

allthrough i modeld some models today and i wanted to go to the bat section untill i got this:
script error while executing:openTB2MainUI().

i have to press ok
and then nothing happens i cant do anything no exporting or rendering and this comes at a really bad moment!
whats the problem?

edit: fixed! just reinstall the program if you have this!