[MAX SCRIPT] creating grid helpers - script units != max units?

Coding
1

New to Max Script.

our game levels will use a tile based layout system, each tile is 1.5 meters
the artists are working with Max’s Home Grid grid spacing set to meters

I am trying to write a script to generate a “tile grid” grid helper
with 1.5 m cels and a .75m offset ( so objects at 0,0,0 are centered on a tile.)
but the units in max script do not appear to be understood by Max as meters.

tileGrid =grid name:"tile_grid" length:50 width:50 gridFloat:1.5 position:[0.75,0.75,0]
activeGrid=tileGrid

generates something completely unexpected in size, a grid that is 1.27 x 1.27m with 0.254m spacing, offset by 0.019m

If I watch the macro recorder while tweaking the parameters in the modify panel to be what I want ( length and with 50x50, spacing 1.75)
I get some unexpected results:

$.length = 1968.5
$.width = 1968.5
$.grid = 59.0551

It appears that the units in max script are not the same as units in the home grid?
what’s going on here?

Any insight into what is happening?

2

Your max scene is set to inches, I think. Look at the documentation for the Units struct:

http://docs.autodesk.com/3DSMAX/14/ENU/MAXScript%20Help%202012/index.html?url=files/GUID-DB50F450-C3D1-47A5-98A2-A3460171003-1997.htm,topicNumber=d28e671230

You probably want to set the scene to meters with

units.DisplayType = #Metric
units.MetricType = #Meters

but it’s been a while since I looked at this

3

Thanks, just the info i needed!