help with instancing unique objects in max or maya

panic

Does anyone know how to / or even if its possible to create a instance or link two unique objects together so when you move a vert on object A it affects object B?

both objects have the exact same geometry but they are just slightly different in size and positioned differently in 3d space.

o2_is_alright

In Maya that would be "Duplicate special" under edit. In the options you can select instance plus a whole bunch of other things. Very good to use if you're working with mirrored geometry. Hotkey for duplicate special is shift+ctrl+d. You can make unique changes on an instance in object mode but any cahnge you make in componentmode is gonna affect all instances. Hope that helps.

passerby

both max and maya can do that, the transform is separate from the shape data, so you can do all the moveing rotation and scaling you want on each instance, but the positions of the verts is from 1 mesh.

you must be new to 3d?

reverendK

When you duplicate in Max just specify in the pop-up that it's to be an instance. Scale, rotation and position at the object level will remain unique, but any manipulation at vert/edge/face level will carry across to the instanced object. done and done.

panic

Oh, i know what you guys are talking about with the duplicate special.
But im not trying to duplicate 1 mesh and create a instance.
I have 2 meshes that are both unique. but they have the same geometry as each other (ie. box_A and box_B)
i want to know if you can link them together so if i squash box_A, box_B will also get squashed

o2_is_alright

Well that's exactly what an instance will do. Even though they're instances they are two separate objects that you can rename etc. I'm confused about what it is you want to do.. The whole idea of working with instances is that you can have a bunch of different objects that share the same geometry and whenever you make component changes in one it affects the others as well.

passerby

maybe your looking for "modify > replace objects", which can replace as a instance. when you replace with this method it will let you choose to copy scale and rotations over or not too.