Working with backculling in maya

JoshWilkinson · Dec 2011

I'm trying to only select the facing vertices. From what I've looked up it's called backculling and is accessed through the custom polygon display options. These are the options I set up, but it doesn't seem to deactivate the rear vertices. Anybody recognize what I'm doing wrong?

cryrid · Dec 2011

I'm not a Maya user, but generally in other apps back-face culling just prevents the back-faces from being seen, which is why its normally found in the display options. If you're looking for something related to selections, enabling backface culling may only be a small piece of the puzzle.

From other threads I see the following hints:
Windows>Settings/Preferences>Preferences>Selection>Camera based selection
and
Use Selection Tool (Q), open Tool Settings and check "Camera based selection"

Perhaps that is what you're also looking for.

JoshWilkinson · Dec 2011

cryrid wrote: »

I'm not a Maya user, but generally in other apps back-face culling just prevents the back-faces from being seen, which is why its normally found in the display options. If you're looking for something related to selections, enabling backface culling may only be a small piece of the puzzle.

From other threads I see the following hints:
Windows>Settings/Preferences>Preferences>Selection>Camera based selection
and
Use Selection Tool (Q), open Tool Settings and check "Camera based selection"

Perhaps that is what you're also looking for.

Hey cyrid, you nailed it. Thanks a lot dude

claydough · Dec 2011

BringMeASunkist wrote: »

I'm trying to only select the facing vertices. From what I've looked up it's called backculling and is accessed through the custom polygon display options. These are the options I set up, but it doesn't seem to deactivate the rear vertices. Anybody recognize what I'm doing wrong?

In your example, this backface culling setting was applied to only the "selected" active selection ( if any ).
That might lead to unexpected behavior if you simply meant to apply backface culling to "ALL" or on an object that wasn't selected. If that were true then the right answer would be to simply select the "all" option to apply the cull option globally or make sure the target object is selected.

Also...
Backface culling can be turned off by at least 7 locations!! twice in the custom polygon display options you have pictured ( you can potentially toggle by using the check box and/or the dropdown on/off/wire menu option )
The Main preference window also has polygon display options like you have pictured ( you can potentially toggle by using the check box and/or the dropdown on/off/wire menu option )
or, you could use the main menu location:
Display> Polygons> Bacface Culling
Or within every objects Mesh Component Display Attributes is a Backface Culling attribute ( easily editable from your shape node within the attribute editor.
Besides and shelfbutton toggles you may have dragged other tools that sometimes change culling might fail leaving culling in a different state.

I prefer to just use a Full culling toggle in a custom tool that allows me visually reset and refer to culling state when in "shaded" mode with a gui that toggles to reflect that culling state.
( Even when using camera based selection it is not always "clear" what selection state is present when in shaded modes. )
I made a shelfbutton version of that icon/cull toggle available here:<--

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?p=867445#post867445

claydough wrote: »

If you want to select backface vertices...
shouldn't you still be in wireframe mode or at least rotate around to verify you have the correct selection?
Rather than attempting a "blind selection".

Usually I have the opposite problem ( selecting unwanted back face verts ) when I thought backFaceCulling was on.

Personally, I like using an animated symbol button toggle in my UI that reflects the current culling.
This way I have a visual feedback of what state my model is in even when in shaded mode...

(edit: icons upgraded for better visual reference... Thanks you Pior! )

without having to build a custom UI u can do the same with an animated shelf button that reflects culling state.

Here is an installation script that will set up the backFaceCulling animated shelf button toggle to your current shelfLayout tab
( in the Maya's Main layout )

The script will not work without the icons placed in yer icons folder.

download here

"click" to toggle culling on your selected poly object only.
"double click" to toggle culling on all poly objects instead.

The icon however will only reflect correctly with your current object and or scene..
( with a new scene, or new object, or if yer jes unsure, click once to "align")

funshark · Dec 2011

Personally, I only use the option located in "Display> Polygons> Bacface Culling" and I UNcheck the "limit to selected" checkbox in the same menu.

The camera based selection works very badly so I'm not using it.

Working with backculling in maya

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