Simplygon 10.2.11500.0

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Simplygon Shading Network functions ​

The Simplygon Max plug-in exports a number of global MaxScript / Python functions. The following sections lists Simplygon ShadingNetwork functions and examples, general Simplygon functions and Simplygon Pipeline functions are listed separately.

Shading networks are usually generated automatically in the plug-in but for some material types, such as DirectX and CGFX (HLSL), the mapping has to be done manually. It is recommended to read Shading network concepts before proceeding.

Note: Max 2021 introduced a new (standard) material type, specifically Physical Material. Most shading network functions can be used in combination with Physical Material. As Physical Material is not HLSL based there are no shader properties to map against. This material type has its own predefined variables that can be used for mapping.See How to map a Physical Material for more details.

Script functions ​

FunctionParameter(s)Description
sgsdk_RunPipelineOnSelectionint pipelineHandleOptimizes the selected asset(s) based on the pipeline object.
sgsdk_RunPipelineOnSelectionstring pipelineFilePathOptimizes the selected asset(s) based on the pipeline file.
sgsdk_RunPipelineOnFileint pipelineHandle
string inputFilePath
string outputFilePath		Optimizes the asset(s) in the specified input file and stores the result in the output file. The output file will get indexed if the Pipeline specifies a LOD chain, use sgsdk_GetProcessedOutputPaths to get the correct paths.
sgsdk_RunPipelineOnFilestring pipelineFilePath
string inputFilePath
string outputFilePath		Optimizes the asset(s) in the specified input file and stores the result in the output file. The output file will get indexed if the Pipeline specifies a LOD chain, use sgsdk_GetProcessedOutputPaths to get the correct paths.
sgsdk_UseShadingNetworkbool isEnabledEnables DirectX shading network pipeline. Note: not compatible with Physical Material!
sgsdk_CreateMaterialMetadatastring materialNameCreates an override material for the named material.
sgsdk_CreateShadingTextureNodestring textureNameCreates a texture node that connects to the given texture name in the shader.
sgsdk_CreateShading<nodeType>
Ex: sgsdk_CreateShadingColorNode		string nodeNameCreates a node of the given type.
sgsdk_SetDefaultParameterint nodeIndex
uint inputSlot
double a
double b
double c
double d		Sets default values for the given node input.
sgsdk_AddAttributeToNodeint nodeIndex
uint inputSlot		Sets an attribute to the specified node.
sgsdk_ConnectNodesint nodeIndex
uint inputSlot
int nodeIndexToConnect		Connects a node to another node’s input slot.
sgsdk_ConnectNodeToChannelint nodeIndex
int materialIndex
string channelName		Sets the exit node for the given material channel.
sgsdk_ConnectOutputToDirectXMaterialstring effectFile
string channelName
string textureSlot		Specifies to which shader and texture slot the result will be connected to. Note: not compatible with Physical Material!
sgsdk_VertexColorNodeSetVertexChannelint nodeIndex
int mappingChannel		Specifies which color channel to read from.
sgsdk_SwizzlingNodeSetChannelSwizzleint nodeIndex
uint inputSlot
uint outputSlot		Sets output slot for the given input slot for the node, (RGBA -> 0, 1, 2, 3).
sgsdk_GeometryNodeSetFieldNameint nodeIndex
string geometryFieldName		Sets the field name for the given geometry field node.
sgsdk_GeometryNodeSetFieldIndexint nodeIndex
int geometryFieldIndex		Sets the field index for the given geometry field node.
sgsdk_GeometryNodeSetFieldTypeint nodeIndex
int geometryFieldType		Sets the field type for the given geometry field node.
sgsdk_SetMappingChannelint nodeIndex
int mappingChannel		Sets the mapping channel/UV-set for the given texture node.
sgsdk_SetSRGBint nodeIndex
bool isSRGB		Sets the sRGB flag for the given texture node.
sgsdk_SetUVTilingint nodeIndex
float uTiling
float vTiling		Sets the UV-tiling for the given texture node.
sgsdk_SetUTilingint nodeIndex
float uTilingSets		Sets the U-tiling for the given texture node.
sgsdk_SetVTilingint nodeIndex
float vTiling		Sets the V-tiling for the given texture node.
sgsdk_SetUVOffsetint nodeIndex
float uOffset
float vOffset		Sets the UV-offset for the given texture node
sgsdk_SetUOffsetint nodeIndex
float uOffset		Sets the U-offset for the given texture node.
sgsdk_SetVOffsetint nodeIndex
float vOffset		Sets the V-offset for the given texture node.
sgsdk_GetProcessedMeshes<none>Returns a list of processed mesh names from last run.
sgsdk_GetProcessedOutputPaths<none>Returns a list of processed file paths from last run.
sgsdk_GetMaterialForMeshstring meshNameReturn material name for the specified mesh.
sgsdk_GetMaterialsForMeshstring meshNameReturn material names for the specified mesh.
sgsdk_GetMeshReusesMaterialstring meshNameReturns material name if the material is shared, otherwise empty string.
sgsdk_GetMeshReusesMaterialsstring meshNameReturns material names of reused materials, otherwise empty list.
sgsdk_GetChannelsForMaterialstring materialNameReturns a list of material channel names for the specified material.
sgsdk_GetTexturePathForChannelstring materialName
string channelName		Returns the texture path for the specified material channel.
sgsdk_GetMappingChannelForChannelstring materialName
string channelName		Returns the mapping channel for the specified material channel.
sgsdk_GetMaterials<none>Returns a list of material names from the last run.
sgsdk_GetSubMaterialsstring materialNameReturn a list of sub-material names for the specified material.
sgsdk_GetMaterialReusesSubMaterialstring materialName
string subMaterialName		Returns reused material name id reused, otherwise empty string.
sgsdk_GetSubMaterialIndexstring materialName
string subMaterialName		Returns sub-material index.
sgsdk_SetGenerateMaterialbool generateMaterialSpecifies whether the plug-in should generate a standard material for baked LODs.
sgsdk_SetTextureOutputDirectorystring filePathSets the output texture directory for baked textures.

Special node attributes ​

Special node attributes can be set using sgsdk_AddAttributeToNode, see the list of attributes below.

Shading NodeAttribute Type
ShadingTextureNode1 – TileU, 2 – TileV
3 – MappingChannel
4 – TileUV
5 – OffsetU, 6 – OffsetV
7 – OffsetUV

Examples ​

This section contains various Pipeline examples written in MaxScript and Python. We've left out some parts of the scripts to keep things as simple as possible.

  • from pymxs import runtime as rt must be declared at the top of each Python script.
  • reductionPipeline settings-path must be declared for both MaxScript and Python scripts where it makes sense.
  • effectFile file-path to the target shader must be declared for both MaxScript and Python scripts where it makes sense.
  • a scene-selection is made before each sgsdk_RunPipelineOnSelection.

Create material ​

Creates a shading network material override for the specified material.

MaxScript
DirectXShader = sgsdk_CreateMaterialMetadata "MyMaterial"
python
from pymxs import runtime as rt

DirectXShader = rt.sgsdk_CreateMaterialMetadata('MyMaterial')

Create node ​

Creates a texture node that is linked to a shader's texture slot named DiffuseTexture.

MaxScript
DiffuseTexture = sgsdk_CreateShadingTextureNode "DiffuseTexture"
python
from pymxs import runtime as rt

DiffuseTexture = rt.sgsdk_CreateShadingTextureNode('DiffuseTexture')

Set default values ​

Creates a pow node, connects a texture to input 0 and sets a value for input 1.

MaxScript
powNode1 = sgsdk_CreateShadingPowNode "powNode1"
sgsdk_ConnectNodes powNode1 0 DiffuseTexture
sgsdk_SetDefaultParameter powNode1 1 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
python
from pymxs import runtime as rt

powNode1 = rt.sgsdk_CreateShadingPowNode('powNode1')
rt.sgsdk_ConnectNodes(powNode1, 0, DiffuseTexture)
rt.sgsdk_SetDefaultParameter(powNode1, 1, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5)

Set exit node ​

Assigns a shading node to a material channel, in this case we connect as texture node (which points to DiffuseTexture in shader) to the Diffuse channel.

MaxScript
sgsdk_ConnectNodeToChannel DiffuseTexture DirectXShader "Diffuse"
python
from pymxs import runtime as rt

rt.sgsdk_ConnectNodeToChannel(DiffuseTexture, DirectXShader, 'Diffuse')

Set swizzle ​

Creates a swizzle node with the same texture input on all input channels and swizzles the output channels (in reverse). (R->A, G->B, B->G, A->R)

MaxScript
swizzNode = sgsdk_CreateShadingSwizzlingNode "swizzlingNode"
sgsdk_ConnectNodes swizzNode 0 DiffuseTexture
sgsdk_ConnectNodes swizzNode 1 DiffuseTexture
sgsdk_ConnectNodes swizzNode 2 DiffuseTexture
sgsdk_ConnectNodes swizzNode 3 DiffuseTexture
sgsdk_SwizzlingNodeSetChannelSwizzle swizzNode 0 3
sgsdk_SwizzlingNodeSetChannelSwizzle swizzNode 1 2
sgsdk_SwizzlingNodeSetChannelSwizzle swizzNode 2 1
sgsdk_SwizzlingNodeSetChannelSwizzle swizzNode 3 0
python
from pymxs import runtime as rt

swizzNode = rt.sgsdk_CreateShadingSwizzlingNode('swizzlingNode')
rt.sgsdk_ConnectNodes(swizzNode, 0, DiffuseTexture)
rt.sgsdk_ConnectNodes(swizzNode, 1, DiffuseTexture)
rt.sgsdk_ConnectNodes(swizzNode, 2, DiffuseTexture)
rt.sgsdk_ConnectNodes(swizzNode, 3, DiffuseTexture)
rt.sgsdk_SwizzlingNodeSetChannelSwizzle(swizzNode, 0, 3)
rt.sgsdk_SwizzlingNodeSetChannelSwizzle(swizzNode, 1, 2)
rt.sgsdk_SwizzlingNodeSetChannelSwizzle(swizzNode, 2, 1)
rt.sgsdk_SwizzlingNodeSetChannelSwizzle(swizzNode, 3, 0)

Set vertex color mapping channel ​

Creates a vertex color node and sets the node to read from mapping channel 0 (default vertex color channel in Max).

MaxScript
vertexColorNode = sgsdk_CreateShadingVertexColorNode "vertexColorNode"
sgsdk_VertexColorNodeSetVertexChannel vertexColorNode 0
python
from pymxs import runtime as rt

vertexColorNode = rt.sgsdk_CreateShadingVertexColorNode('vertexColorNode')
rt.sgsdk_VertexColorNodeSetVertexChannel(vertexColorNode, 0)

Specify geometry data field ​

Assigns a data field (of the mesh) to a geometry-field node. The node can be used to sample specific geometry fields in shading network such as Coords, TexCoords, Normals, Tangents, Bitangents, Colors, TriangleIds and MaterialIds (see EGeometryDataFieldType). In this example we will set up a geometry field node that samples from the color field named '0' (fields in Simplygon gets the name of the mapping channel index in Max).

sgsdk_GeometryFieldNodeSetFieldType specifies which type of the field to sample from, as all colors (normally mapping channel 0 (vc), -1 (illumination) and -2 (alpha)) unless overridden with sgsdk_SetIsVertexColorChannel are stored as 'Color'-fields in Simplygon we want to use the 'Color' index in EGeometryDataFieldType as the type, which is 5.

sgsdk_GeometryFieldNodeSetFieldName and sgsdk_GeometryFieldNodeSetFieldIndex specifies either the Name or Index of the Color field to sample from, Name har precedence over Index (index might also differ between meshes).

MaxScript
geometryFieldNode = sgsdk_CreateShadingVertexColorNode "geometryFieldNode"
sgsdk_GeometryFieldNodeSetFieldType geometryFieldNode 5
sgsdk_GeometryFieldNodeSetFieldName geometryFieldNode "0"
python
from pymxs import runtime as rt

geometryFieldNode = rt.sgsdk_CreateShadingVertexColorNode('geometryFieldNode')
rt.sgsdk_GeometryFieldNodeSetFieldType(geometryFieldNode, 5)
rt.sgsdk_GeometryFieldNodeSetFieldName(geometryFieldNode, "0")

Override mapping channel / UV-set ​

Creates a texture and overrides the mapping channel / UV-set.

MaxScript
DiffuseTexture = sgsdk_CreateShadingTextureNode "DiffuseTexture"
sgsdk_SetMappingChannel DiffuseTexture 3
python
from pymxs import runtime as rt

DiffuseTexture = rt.sgsdk_CreateShadingTextureNode('DiffuseTexture')
rt.sgsdk_SetMappingChannel(DiffuseTexture, 3)

If we have the mapping channel exposed in the shader we can create a direct link between the texture node and mapping channel shader parameter using attributes. The Texture2D definition in the HLSL shader below contains a variable named MapChannel.

HLSL
Texture2D <float4> DiffuseTexture : DiffuseMap<
    string UIName = "Diffuse";
    string ResourceType = "2D";
    int Texcoord = 0;
    int MapChannel = 1;
>;

Note that the mapChannel in the line below starts with lowercase.

MaxScript
sgsdk_AddAttributeToNode DirectXShader "DiffuseTexturemapChannel" 3
python
from pymxs import runtime as rt

rt.sgsdk_AddAttributeToNode(DirectXShader, "DiffuseTexturemapChannel", 3)

Override sRGB ​

Overrides the sRGB flag for a texture node.

MaxScript
sgsdk_SetSRGB DiffuseTexture false
python
from pymxs import runtime as rt

rt.sgsdk_SetSRGB(DiffuseTexture, false)

Override tiling / offset ​

Creates a texture node and overrides the U/V-tiling and U/V-offset.

MaxScript
DiffuseTexture = sgsdk_CreateShadingTextureNode "DiffuseTexture"
sgsdk_SetUVTiling DiffuseTexture 2.0 2.0
sgsdk_SetUVOffset DiffuseTexture 0.25 0.25
python
from pymxs import runtime as rt

DiffuseTexture = rt.sgsdk_CreateShadingTextureNode('DiffuseTexture')
rt.sgsdk_SetUVTiling(DiffuseTexture, 2.0, 2.0)
rt.sgsdk_SetUVOffset(DiffuseTexture, 0.25, 0.25)

If tiling and / or offset parameters are defined in the HLSL shader it might be preferred to create a link between the texture node and the shader parameter(s) using attributes.

HLSL
float g_UTiling <
 string UIName = "UTiling";
    string UIWidget = "slider";
    float UIMin = -10.0f;
    float UIMax = 10.0f;
    float UIStep = 0.01f;
>   = 1.0f;
float g_VTiling <
    string UIName = "VTiling";
    string UIWidget = "slider";
    float UIMin = -10.0f;
    float UIMax = 10.0f;
    float UIStep = 0.01f;
>   = 1.0f;
float g_UOffset <
    string UIName = "UOffset";
    string UIWidget = "slider";
    float UIMin = -10.0f;
    float UIMax = 10.0f;
    float UIStep = 0.01f;
>   = 0.0f;
float g_VOffset <
    string UIName = "VOffset";
    string UIWidget = "slider";
    float UIMin = -10.0f;
    float UIMax = 10.0f;
    float UIStep = 0.01f;
>   = 0.0f;

Link the texture node to the parameters.

MaxScript
sgsdk_AddAttributeToNode DiffuseTexture "g_UTiling" 1
sgsdk_AddAttributeToNode DiffuseTexture "g_VTiling" 2
sgsdk_AddAttributeToNode DiffuseTexture "g_UOffset" 5
sgsdk_AddAttributeToNode DiffuseTexture "g_VOffset" 6
python
from pymxs import runtime as rt

rt.sgsdk_AddAttributeToNode(DiffuseTexture, 'g_UTiling', 1)
rt.sgsdk_AddAttributeToNode(DiffuseTexture, 'g_VTiling', 2)
rt.sgsdk_AddAttributeToNode(DiffuseTexture, 'g_UOffset', 5)
rt.sgsdk_AddAttributeToNode(DiffuseTexture, 'g_VOffset', 6)

Back-mapping to custom shader ​

Specifies to which shader and texture slot the baked texture will get connected to after the processing has been completed.

MaxScript
sgsdk_ConnectOutputToDirectXMaterial effectFile "Diffuse" "DiffuseTexture"
python
from pymxs import runtime as rt

rt.sgsdk_ConnectOutputToDirectXMaterial(effectFile, 'Diffuse', 'DiffuseTexture')

More about shading networks ​

Get to know how to work with shading networks: