Home Technical Talk

ImpressObjects, new plugin for 3ds Max

Malkalypse
vertex
Offline / Send Message
Malkalypse vertex
Any Max users out there might want to take a look at my new plugin, which allows two intersecting meshes to be pressed against one another so that their respective vertices do not overlap. (In simpler terms, it squishes them against each other.)

The free version of ImpressObjects can be downloaded here: http://versatileartist.com/ImpressObjects_Free.zip


HOW TO USE:
1) Use the "Select Node A" and "Select Node B" pickbuttons to choose two overlapping meshes.
2) Press the "Create Target" button to create a target helper. This determines the directions in which intersecting vertices will be moved.
3) Adjust the target helper as desired.
4) Click "Impress".


FEATURES:
- Non-destructive to mesh topology
- Unlike boolean operations, ImpressObjects does not cut through the geometry, allowing the resulting meshes to be used in morph animations.


Fast and easy to use
- Select two nodes, create and position a target helper, and click a button for immediate results*
- If you don't like how it turned out, just hit undo, adjust the settings, and try again.
- ImpressObjects creates standard editable mesh objects that can be distributed, exported, or converted to other formats without hassle.


Set the comparative "hardness" of each mesh
- Two meshes may be used to impress upon each other equally, one entirely on the other, or anywhere in between.


Fine tune the intersection
- Control the manner in which the intersection is checked. Use a point, line, or plane to generate intersect reference coordinates.
- Decide how close your mesh surfaces are allowed to be using buffer objects. Increase the buffer values to prevent intersection of low poly geometry, or decrease them for a seamless fit.



Replies

  • Sajeet
    Offline / Send Message
    Sajeet polycounter lvl 7
    Nice script.. see a ton of usage for it but im on Maya! :D
  • Malkalypse
    Offline / Send Message
    Malkalypse vertex
    Maya's cool too. I don't see myself starting on Maya plugins anytime soon, but maybe one day. ;O
  • IEatModels
    Offline / Send Message
    IEatModels vertex
    that is a pretty sweet script man, good work
  • musashidan
    Offline / Send Message
    musashidan high dynamic range
    Great looking tool. Does it work with non-solids? I could see it being very useful for a lot of things.
  • fdfxd2
    Offline / Send Message
    fdfxd2 interpolator
    So in other words..

    It's the c4d collision modifier.
  • musashidan
    Offline / Send Message
    musashidan high dynamic range
    fdfxd2 said:
    So in other words..

    It's the c4d collision modifier.
    If you say so. Only difference is that a bloke wrote it in his spare time and is kindly donating a free version to the community.
  • fdfxd2
    Offline / Send Message
    fdfxd2 interpolator
    fdfxd2 said:
    So in other words..

    It's the c4d collision modifier.
    If you say so. Only difference is that a bloke wrote it in his spare time and is kindly donating a free version to the community.
    Oh I know I just felt that I had to fill my daily quota of being an ass :smile:

    The addon is nice for the 3DS max community I guess.
  • Hellfire
    Offline / Send Message
    Hellfire polycounter lvl 14
    How can i start this plugin? I don't see it under modifiyer, create stack or or menu list.
  • musashidan
    Offline / Send Message
    musashidan high dynamic range
    fdfxd2 said:
    fdfxd2 said:
    So in other words..

    It's the c4d collision modifier.
    If you say so. Only difference is that a bloke wrote it in his spare time and is kindly donating a free version to the community.
    Oh I know I just felt that I had to fill my daily quota of being an ass :smile:

    The addon is nice for the 3DS max community I guess.
    At least you're being an honest ass. :) 
  • JasonLavoie
    Offline / Send Message
    JasonLavoie polycounter lvl 18
    Oh this looks like a great tool @Malkalypse ! Thanks for sharing.

    I have one quick question, is there a way to add to the mesh, or is it only subtraction based? Looks very handy either way!
  • demigodssw
    Offline / Send Message
    demigodssw greentooth
    so many nice scripts coming out for max nowadays i might have to start doing my personal work in max
     do u guys know of any plugin that makes max shortcuts similar to maya?
  • Dan Powell
    Offline / Send Message
    Dan Powell polycounter lvl 5
    Looks awesome!

    Is there a way this could be done without the whole Target thing? That part kind of feels like it's making the task of using this modifier more tedious for just modelling purpose.

    For example, could you just have two objects: A and B. Use the Script on Object A (which is the main object), and the have object B as an impressed object which well physically pressed against the mesh will move its geometry? 

  • Malkalypse
    Offline / Send Message
    Malkalypse vertex
    Wow, it figures I would get a flood of comments while I was out for the day! Okay, let me try and get to everyone in turn:

    IEatModels: Thanks!

    Musashidan: I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "solids"? It won't work on splines for example (though plans are in the works) --
    basically it will work on anything that can be converted to an editable mesh.

    FDFX: I've not worked with Cinema 4D personally, but from what I can tell it's similar but not exactly the same. I don't take any offense by the comparison -- either way it's a feature not built into Max.

    Jason: If you switch the direction from "toward" to "away" (or reposition the target on the opposite side) you can use it in an additive fashion, but it wasn't really developed with that in mind. You can try it, but the results may not be what you want.

    Dan: The target is necessary for the internal math involved in calculating the vertex deformations. However, when you click "create target", the target is initially created in what the plugin determines to be the "optimal" position. The ability to move it around is just there to allow a finer degree of control. Real-time deformation is a feature I plan to add to a future release, as soon as I get a couple other things working. I'm still not as proficient with the SDK as I am with Maxscript, so please bear with me :)
  • masterxeon1001
    Offline / Send Message
    masterxeon1001 polycounter lvl 7
    very nice... i am... "impress-ed"?
  • Taylor_Zachary
    Offline / Send Message
    Taylor_Zachary polycounter lvl 5
    Nice! This will come in handy!!
  • DanaosC
    Offline / Send Message
    DanaosC polycounter lvl 5
    Great stuff dude! Thanks for your contribution and your time :)
    I am trying to figure out more uses for this great plugin, do you guys think it could be used to push away intersecting hair cards on a character?
  • Malkalypse
    Offline / Send Message
    Malkalypse vertex
    Danaosc, it should be able to. I would test it myself but I am currently focused on fixing an undo/redo crash that I thought I had straightened out prior to release.
  • LuCh!
    Offline / Send Message
    LuCh! polycounter lvl 5
  • Malkalypse
    Offline / Send Message
    Malkalypse vertex
    Version 1.0.1:
    - Fixed a major stability issue which resulted in 3ds Max crashing during undo/redo actions
    - Fixed several additional stability issues

    Just before releasing version 1.0 I made some small changes to the code to improve its efficiency. Soon afterward it was brought to my attention that this had re-opened an issue that I had previously fixed. In hindsight, I should have done another round of tests before releasing ImpressObjects into the wild. Mea culpa.

    I have managed to get the undo/redo sequencing working properly once again, and fixed several additional bugs. In addition, the plugin should run slightly faster overall.

    I have replaced the free and full versions at the existing links. As is always my policy, anyone who purchases the full version will be sent updated files if any further issues are found.
  • Tomiajayi
    Offline / Send Message
    Tomiajayi polycounter lvl 2
    Awesome! i'll definitely find a use for this. I do interior design rendering and this is handy for all sorts of stuff. Pillows sitting on a sofa..  object leaning on a bed, etc etc.
  • allaze-eroler
    Offline / Send Message
    allaze-eroler polycounter lvl 11
    i could totally imagining that we could use it for boobs interactions! no, i'm not kidding about this idea XD;
  • Malkalypse
    Offline / Send Message
    Malkalypse vertex
    So Tomiajayi suggests using it for pillows, and you suggest using it for a different kind of pillows, lol

    I had a friend who suggested the same actually :P
Sign In or Register to comment.