3ds Max Tech Rigging Floor Tile

Chrismartinartist

Hello,

I'm attempting a small project and was wondering about setting up a convenient tool/rig for adding variation to a model.

This is the low poly (981 polys) with the Normal Map of my Mudbox sculpt. By selecting the tops of each stone and changing the height and/or making them uneven with some rotation I can get the variation in the four to the right. What I'd like to do is set up a rig to make it simpler to add the variation, I'm not sure what the best approach to this would be or if it is even possible, with the various methods I know of. I thought at first having point helpers above each stone, or a couple that controlled multiple stones, I was also wondering if the Data Channel modifier can tackle this - I've never used it but seen examples of it moving things.

Ideally I'd be able to randomise selection sets of the tops of the stone, randomise the height within a min/max, randomise some rotation within a min/max. Would trying to figure out a script be the better option?

Any help appreciated, thank you.

Edit: I'm in 3ds Max 2019

gandhics

You can move verts with DCM.  I guess you can randomly select top polygons and move...

poopipe

you'd need a way to group the verts that make up the top surface of each stone - vertex colour would probably work.

I'm not familiar with DCM so I'm not sure what's exposed to it but presumably you could then apply displacement based on noise or random values etc. 

Axi5

Couldn't you model 1 of these, apply an FFD, then duplicate it and randomize FFD points? That's what I'd look at trying to do, and then apply some additional wear through a masked out displacement map.