Using 3ds Max model

Hi,

Please consider the following image, it's a snapshot of 3ds max. On the side of the model, a texture of 1024 x 1024 is tiled (10 x 10 UV on material editor) "bricks.tga" and on the top of model is a texture of 512 x 512 tiled the same "platform.tga".


(please don't pay much attention to light/shadow, I only exported mesh model)

I have exported it to FBX (with the latest plugin). Everything is ok, expect the texture is not mapped exactly as in 3ds max when imported. Please look at the following snapshot.


(please view the original version, the forum somewhat resizes the images)

I looked into baking textures, but I can't seem to find a simple, right to the point, tutorial for it. Then again, if baking texture is the only option then I'm surprised there isn't much threads regarding it. So I'm hopping there is some way to fully maintain 3ds max uv.

I'm an expert when it comes to export from 3dmax to mdl formats.
The exporting is made this way:
*first, only ONE bitmap per model, max of 2048x2048.
*second, UVW the model to fit map coordinates accordingly: if you're using two maps and doesn't want backed shadows, edit the coordinates with the reference uvw generated from the render-to-texture tool until they fit only a designated portion of the map (you decide wich one), and bake the texture - repeat to all elements that goes to the final map. After that, add a normal uvw map unwrapper and LOAD the texture coordinates you saved with the render-to-texture tool. With this, open all the baked textures in a paint program, join them together and make the unique texture for the upcoming model.
Make sure everthing is using the same texture and the same bitmap before exporting.
*third, the exit format from 3d max (if you're not using the max2mdl plugin that works up to version 5.0) is an export to simple .3ds format. When asked if you wan to keep max's texture coordinates, answer YES.
* Open the .3ds inside MED using importing tools.
Done! I strongly recommend you to convert the final texture to DDS format; is incredible compact and fast in the engine.

Oh, about the 10x10 tiling stuff: your only way to do this right is to scale-and-move the planar uvw map around the model.
Coodinates from map channels or any other sources usually don't work. Sorry, no fast solution on this one

thanks for your suggestions, I'll try experimenting.

Could anyone direct me to a good texture baking tutorial? cause I get the following error when I try to export my model with baked texture (shell material) - "Warning: Material Export Failed" when loading and applying the baked texture image file from the material editor directly - it has very poor quality.

Don't use the "baked material"; just the bitmap it creates, on a normal material slot. Baking is just a way to render shadows and texture effects into a bitmap ontop the model, akin to painting it. It usually generates a TGA file, but you also can save it in another format. Also, exporting the model to .3ds format (mantaining max map coordinates) and loading it on MED to apply the bitmap later is also possible.

bitmap it creates is of poor quality even when it's 1024x1024. It's only close to the original textures when I render it to 2048x2048 baked texture. Any suggestions on improving the quality? the baked material (shell material) has the same quality as the original, but the baked bitmap is of really poor quality.

You need to fix the UVW correctly - don't stretch elements from a same adjacent face, try to cover completely the square area map acoordingly.
Here's a tip: take the chess procedural square map and repeat it in 10x10 times, then apply on the object: if there are squares who aren't rendering correctly or becaming blurry, you made a mistake and need to roll back and try again.
It takes years of experience to reach satisfatory results with UVW unwrapping in any software. It's not easy, but keep your cool and try again and again until you reach a nice resolution on the map. Remember: 2048x2048 DDS format is the fastest and smaller. Good luck!