Making A AC18 template File

[Anonymous]

I am looking to update my Template file from AC17 to AC18.
Just looking at one material (Earth), I can see that it will be best to rebuild my template using the default AC18 Building Materials & Surfaces (which may be using new features). Attached is the Surface settings in AC18 showing the Earth surface from 17 (settings mostly grayed out) and the Earth surface from 18.

What are others doing with the new attributes and creating a working Template file with AC18?

[Anonymous]

Here is the CineRender Image. The AC18 material is on the Right. It is much smoother and more irregular and life like.

[Barry Kelly]

Don't completely scrap you materials and start again because they will all get new attribute numbers and will not be compatible with you existing jobs if you ever copy and paste from one to another or if you ever use the Attribute manager to modify materials (surfaces I should say).

Use your existing 17 template (saved as an 18 template) but go through each surface (in Cinerender mode) and either tweak the settings or press the 'New' button and choose to 'Replace settings from catalogue' if there is a Cinerender surface that is better than what you have already (i.e. your earth material).
Of course you can replace it and then further tweak it (for colour, etc.) if you need to.

You can then use the 'Match Settings' button to make sure your Internal Engine material matches the Cinerender settings if you want to. This also seems to update the OpenGL surface.

Now you will have amended surfaces but with the same attribute numbers as before so if you ever want to update an old file just open it in 18 and use the Attribute Manager to 'Overwrite' your surfaces from your template into the job.

Barry.

[Anonymous]

Actually I had already "re-tooled" my template with using the AC17 default Id's (which I assume are the GUID). For at least the Building Materials I appended My custom materials on starting with the number 100. (maybe I should have chosen 150.) For the other items like Fills, Surfaces I just appended to the end of the list.

With your warning I may create two templates. I do not often bring a project forward for future work in a newer ac version, but it does happen. Editing the materials seems out since the options look grayed out. I do not know much about CineRender.