Problems with selecting specific vertices

Shuriken UK

EZ all, I've been noticing a problem thats becoming increasingly annoying lately in 3DS Max 2011. Basically, when I have a model that is more complex than a simple primitive, and I go into vertex subobject mode to make some detailed selections, it seems that I will ALWAYS select "backfacing" verts, EVEN though I have "ignore backfacing" enabled.

Does anybody know why this happens, and what I need to do to STOP it? Its really starting to get on my nerves now lol, because I have to keep double, or triple checking my selections, every single time I make a them. It can be anything as simple as trying to select a line of verts going down the center of the back of somebodies head; when you rotate round to the front, you'll see that you've also selected a load of verts on the nose, forehead, lips etc.

Why does this happen? Why doesn't the "Ignore backfacing" function work in vert mode!?

Thanks!

Eric Chadwick

Should work properly, strange to hear it doesn't. However it does select based on the vertex normals... so if you have some faces facing you, even though they're on the rear side of the model, then those will get selected too. Like the inside of the lips, nostrils, inside of the eyelids, etc.

Have you tried a Reset Xform lately?

Shuriken UK

I haven't tried reset xform yet, but I'll give it a go. The model in question is a "public domain" character model I'm trying to edit, and I've noticed that there are a ton of open edges hidden away (eg, a line of verts going all the way down the middle of the legs, is actually two lines of verts directly ontop of eachother, creating an open seam). So I'm having to go around checking every part of the model for overlapping, unconnected verts, and welding them together again, but while I'm selecting verts to weld, often times I'll also be selecting verts on the opposite side of the model, as if I have some "select through model" feature enabled.

Shuriken UK

No resetting the Xforms didn't help. Nothing seems to help except aligning the camera in such a way, that the SPECIFIC verts I'm selecting, aren't inline (perspective/Z wise, not up/down, sideways) with any others.

Extremely fiddly doesn't even BEGIN to describe how fiddly this makes complex selections lol... All I wanted to do at one point was select every vert in a line going along the length of a finger. Should have taken 2 minutes at the most, but it took about 10 minutes!

Eric Chadwick

Public domain models often have all sorts of messed up data in them. Another way to clean a model is to export it to a simpler format, one that doesn't preserve all the extra data in a .MAX file. For example OBJ. Then make a new scene, and import the file.

Another way of selecting verts on a line is to select the Edge Loop, then convert that to a vertex selection. Very quick. I think there's also a command for this in the Graphite ribbon.