>Hi,
>I have just started using 3d Studio MAX 3 and have downloaded some
>great materials from the net. I wanted to test them out so I created
>a sphere and applied a metallic material to it.
>When I rendered the sphere it appeared `matt', rather than shiny. I
>could not seem to get the material to display as shiny surfaces at
>all. I don't have any extra lighting (just one Omni Light) and the
>material displays as shiny in the Material Editor on the test sphere
>Max generates.
>Any ideas?
>Thanks
>Rob
>------
If this material is a "chrome-like" material, it's very possible that
it needs other objects and/or a background environment for the metal
to work. If you just have one omni light and nothing else in your
scene, you probably aren't going to be able to see what you're
expecting to see. Shiny metal surfaces are largely defined by the
reflections and highlights they catch, not by diffuse colors. Some of
the best-looking metals out there have a diffuse color that's almost
black. In your scene, it sounds like you're reflecting the "void"
that comprises the rest of your scene.
Plissken
by