Member Avatar for kained

Right i have made a rather nice little background and ocean type thing in 3d max. I am now trying to animate the ocean using this tutorial.

But I am having troubles.

Again, adding a Noise modifier can create this type of motion, but we need to rotate the Gizmo so it is almost at a right-angle to the sea plane. By adding a deformation in the Z-axis, we can see the modifier deforming the wave so it creates peaks and troughs. Turning on the animation option in the modifier and again amending the frequency spinner can add more realistic motion.

This is the bit i am stuck on at the moment. I cant seem to rotate the gizmo on any other view other then perspective and that isn't having the desired effect. So what am i doing wrong?
Is something locked that shouldn't be? Any help or the solution would be greatly appreciated.

The file i am working on is here.

Ocean.max

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by peter_budo

Dani AI

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Good catch by — the problem turned out to be a selection-level issue rather than a bug in 3ds Max. When a modifier sub‑level (vertices, faces or a modifier subobject/gizmo) is active, transforms apply to that subcomponent instead of the modifier gizmo itself. Exiting the subobject mode so the modifier (or its Gizmo sub‑level) is the active selection is the first step.

Practical steps to rotate a modifier gizmo reliably:

  1. In the Modify panel click the modifier name/header (or the modifier's Gizmo sub‑level if it has one) so the whole modifier/gizmo is selected.
  2. Switch to an orthographic viewport (Top/Front/Left) for precise single‑axis rotations.
  3. Activate the Rotate tool and set the Reference Coordinate System to World or Local as needed; use the Rotate type‑in to enter exact angles (for example 90 degrees) if you need a precise orientation.
  4. If the gizmo still wont move, check for active subobject flags and clear them; also check that Transform Type‑In is affecting the gizmo (not the object pivot).

Extra tips for a believable ocean:

  • Make sure the plane has enough geometry (segments) before Noise; use a moderate base mesh and either TurboSmooth or displacement at render time for detail.
  • For looping or directional wave motion, animate the modifier/gizmo position or animate a procedural offset rather than animating very large frequency jumps.
  • If the object has odd behavior after transforms, apply Reset XForm and collapse the stack, then reapply modifiers.

Save incremental versions before experimenting. Credit to for posting the example and for the push — this kind of selection mistake is very common and easy to miss.

Member Avatar for kained

was being dumb and had a sub selction selcetd rather then the whole thing

Member Avatar for peter_budo

At least you worked out and did not wait for somebody told you such a silly thing :)

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