Topic awaiting preservation: Isometric/Axonometric rendering on Maya or Max? (Page 1 of 1)

I think it's been a couple of years since I've posted a question in here. Anyways, I'm wondering if anyone here knows if either Maya (4.5) or Max (4.x) (old versions I know, but my university has been super slack with software upgrades of late) can render images in an isomertic (or axonometric, or orthographic as their also known) projection, i.e. no vanishing point.

I'm more concerned with axonometric projections, commonly know as isometric in computer games as oposed to any form of orthographic projection (which distort the z axis (assuming y is up and not back, which is the default of many 3D modeeling apps) so the measure of any line on x, y or z is of equal value on screen, often used in engineering drawing where 3D projections are favourable yet the drawings still need to retain a high level of usability).

This is for a computer game so a degree of accuracy is required here too. So assuming that z is the verticle axis, x horozontal and y receeds into the background, I'll want the view of the objects I'm rendering to be z (yaw) roated 45° and x (pitch) to be rotated -26.565° and y (roll) at 0. The position of the camera shouldn't matter seing as there's no vanashing point (but the roataion does), objects should be the exact same size no matter how close the camera is to the object. The only thing that should change the size is the camera's view angle (or view height/width as a view angle would suggest depth, of which there is none), which I'm yet to wrestle with, but I can deal with that once I can figure out how to set camers to display an isomertic perspective.

Oh, just incase you were wondering, the 26.565° is due to the game engine; 2D isometric tiles form a pixel perfect pattern that can't be the standard 30° isometric thus it has to be 26.565°:

TAN α = 1/2 -- (1 pixel up : 2 across -- this ratio represents a straight line along the x axis when rotated 45°
α = TANˉ¹ 0.5 = 26.565° (downards camera pitch)

Even though the game engine is 2D, isometrics, even in 2D, act like a 3D environment in almost every respect.

Anyways, that should be easy enough to setup , but it's getting the view to an be axonometric/isometric that's kinda got me stumped. I don't know these 3D apps very well and I often get lost inside them so any help would be greatfull.

In Max, I believe setting the viewport to User will do the trick.
If not, drop a camera *far* away from the scene and zoom way in.

Yeah...user will do the trick for you..just don't set it to perspective or activeshade and you'll be fine

Arr, that makes sence now. I'll have to give that a try next time I get beck into the computer labs. Thanks guys.