[3DS Max] - Trouble with simple commands

FredCM

Hello! I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how to get along with a few simple commands in 3DS Max.

So, does anybody know how to solve the following issues?

1) How to connect vertexes across edges (without using the cut tool)?

2) How to connect multiple vertexes at once, preserving a good topology (without getting lots of tris)?

3) How to bridge edges that form a triangle (when cap is not an option)?



I find myself repeatedly making workarounds for those problems, which turns out to be very time-consuming at the end of the day.

poopipe

1 : cut tool is the least steps  - use snapping if you find it awkward
2 : delete the middle face and use bridge
3 : i usually just shift-extrude an edge and target weld it back together

Swordslayer

3: use the options button next to the bridge command, it also has bridge adjacent threshold that you can set higher if the angle is bigger.

FredCM

@poopipe thanks for your reply! Yeah, actually I generally go for these exact same solutions. But I still think there should be faster methods somewhere.

I was hoping to find some "hidden" commands, tools, or maybe some settings I haven't try yet, that would solve those issues with 1 or 2 clicks.

FredCM

Thanks, @Swordslayer! Yeah, that totally worked!

For #3, another artist also suggested using the Create tool (which I have never tried before), while in the polygon mode of the Edit Poly/Editable Poly, which worked too!

mafida

http://www.scriptspot.com/3ds-max/scripts/uniconnector

FredCM

@mafida thank you! That script worked And sorry for the delay. For some reason, the notification from Polycount went to my spam box

FredCM

Thanks to all the support received from you guys and from other forums/ discussion channels, these are the best solutions I got:

1) Connect across edges:

Use the Distance Connect tool, under Modeling - Loops. However, the target vertexes need to lay between two edge loops. So, it won't work every time, but can still be very handy though.


2) Connect multiple edges at a time - 2 methods:

a. Install the UniConnector script and use its UniConnector tool. The only limitation is that you have to keep pressing the command until all the vertexes connect. But it works just fine though;

b. Install the MeshTools script and use its "Connect Selected Edges/Vertices/Polys" tool. The drawback is that it only works with Editable Poly objects, and not with the Edit Poly modifier. Also, depending on how curved the surface is (the closer to 180 degrees, the worst) the tool may not function correctly. So, the user would have to connect groups of vertexes at a time, rather than all of them together;


3) Triangle Bridge - 3 methods:

a. Run the Bridge tool options box and increase the "Bridge Adjacent" value, until you get a triangle;

b. While in Editable/Edit Poly go to the polygon mode and click on "Create" (under the Edit Geometry tab). Then, select all the 3 vertexes of the hole in clockwise/counter-clockwise order. Close the selection by clicking on the first vertex, and you should get a triangle;

c. Install the rapidTools script and run the "fastBridge". Depending on which edges you pick, it may not work, but all you have to do is to choose another pair of edges, and this should work.

Thanks for all the support, and if somebody else knows of a different solution for those issues, please let me know!

mafida

for distance connect:

http://www.scriptspot.com/3ds-max/scripts/crosscut

was using it long time ago, remember it was working better than internal max version.

FredCM

@mafida thanks! I tested this script, and it looks more like an enhanced cutting tool, rather than a connecting tool. I mean: it creates a straight line between two vertices, but it doesn't keep the edge flow. So, the Distance Connect is still closer to what I need.

However, it doesn't have that annoying glitch the cut tool has (which is to not work on orthographic views sometimes). So, I replaced the Cut tool for this one