MCG Path Constraint a.k.a IncrCloneOnCurve
This MCG constraints your object motion to a path. The motion can be repeated forever beyond the curve.
It can also be used to incrementally clone object along a curve and there is no need to adjust the distance
between the clones and count when length of curve changes.
Ver 1.01.00: You can now use a curve to control scaling of the clones.
Ver 1.02.00: updated due to SP2 catering for multi curves in a spline. However this will still work only on the 1st curve in a spline. I have not updated multicurves functionality yet.
I strongly advise you to get SP2 as this provides a great speed boost to MCG....and extra stuff, of course.
ver 1.04.00: now supports multi curves in a single spline. Also added Rotation control curve for Cloning, and Fake movement to utilise Scale/Rotation curves in PathConstraint mode.
Ver 1.05: added Pivot Gap option...WARNING: becareful with low gap values....ie. there will be shitloads of clones for gap approaching 0, I've actually put minimum at 1 for safety reasons.
Ver 1.06: updated for Max 2017 to fix Spline/Path related flaw (please continue to use 1.05 for Max2016)
Ver 2.00: This version will work for both 2016 and 2017. Please note for 2017, you'll get deprecated messages, it's OK, it will still compile and run.
Ver 2.01: you can now rotate your path freely
Any small donations to [email protected] would be greatly appreciated. I intend to then fully donate onto the following:
http://www.worldanimalprotection.org/
https://www.worldwildlife.org/
http://www.savethechildren.org.au/
Thankyou. Meow. Woof. Moooo. Oink. Grrrl.....Bzzzz...
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| vu_pathconstraint_1.00.00.zip | 17.62 KB |
| getcurvelength.zip | 1.07 KB |
| vu_pathconstraint_1.01.00.zip | 19.26 KB |
| vu_pathconstraint_1.02.00.zip | 20.48 KB |
| vu_pathconstraint_1.04.00.zip | 25.61 KB |
| vu_pathconstraint_1.05.zip | 25.75 KB |
| vu_pathconstraint_1.06.zip | 49.49 KB |
| vu_pathconstraint_2.00.zip | 25.58 KB |
| vu_pathconstraint_2.01.zip | 26.39 KB |
Comments
update ver 1.05
added Pivot Gap option...
easy peasy lemon squeezy..
I'll upload it soon....
Default Zero value
I'm trying to find a way that would make easier for architects to use it; i.e. to place panels along a path, and it'd be much more practical to set the gap between the center of the objects. I'm still trying to modify it though, I'll see if I can come up with something...
compound conflicts
yeah I'm not too happy with packaging an MCG properly, ppl install it...then compounds are overridden with same name compounds in another directory...what is the point of 'packaging' then...I've raised this issue but there's only so much I can do.
The gap is between the BBox of the instances ...so they would fit snuggly end to end...
Note that you can make the gap NEGATIVE, so adjust this to your liking..
Gap between pivots points?
Ah, sorry, I should have shown a better screen -- No, I actually played with every single value without ever seeing any change. I think there's something wrong with applying the path to the mesh, since it doesn't even place the actual mesh onto the curve (That's what I did with mine, I don't know if yours keep the original mesh untouched or moves or hides it...)
EDIT--After some research I maybe pinned the problem down, but I still haven't the solution; the MaxScript Listener returns many errors...
From what I saw on Autodesk forums and the MCG Facebook Page, this would mean that the compounds used by the scrips are in conflict with their homonyms in Max default folder.
EDIT--After further researcg again, I had to manually delete every compoint pointed out by the listener, then relaunch Max and voilà! The script worked.
EDIT--So, now I have another issue... I thought the gap between clones would be calculated between their pivot points, not the actual gap between the meshes. Would there be a way to change that by modifying the graph...?
Percent is 0
because you are currently in Clone Percent mode but your Percent is at 0...so there are no clones...even if you have a small value in there it might be below the threshold of 1 clone so you don't see any. So just put in 50%, then play around with it...
If you were in Clone Count mode, you would see 12 according to your setting...
Should work this time...:)
V.1.04 issue
Hi! I started using MCG a few days ago, I was going through hell building a clone-on-a-path thingy when I saw yours - same basic idea, I even could recognize some nodes, but waaaaay more complete~
Anyway, I tried to use it (V.1.04, I've got SP2) but i can't seem to make it work -- The mesh I use won't get onto the path no matter what...
The graphic is way more complicated than my current level, maybe you have any idea of what could be going wrong...?
updated to 1.04
to support multi curves
Ver 1.02.00: updated due to SP2
updated due to SP2 catering for multi curves in a spline. However this will still work only on the 1st curve in a spline. I have not updated multicurves functionality yet.
path issue
have you modified something in:
C:\Users\xxx\Autodesk\3ds Max 2016\Max Creation Graph\Compounds ?
because this is overriding my compounds when the graph is evaluated. This is a
path issue which I have no control of. A quick test is to rename
C:\Users\xxx\Autodesk\3ds Max 2016\Max Creation Graph\Compounds to some dummy name, reinstall my mcg and it should work