Halftrack wheel - boolean divide fails & alternatives - Page 2

# 16 15-06-2015 , 09:57 PM

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Progress so far. The Append Polygon tool worked like a charm on the bottom cockpit, I fixed everything now.

user added image

NextDesign, thanks for the lofting settings, this time it worked but it produced this weird result, placing several faces on top of eachother. I fixed the problem by cleaning manually and I now have a nice belt user added image

One problem I couldn't figure out was the Deformation-Bend tool. I'm looking for a way to make the antennas bend back a little but this tool doesn't seem to do anything. I tried adding more segments but to no avail.

EDIT: forgot to mention, the bend it already has here was due to me manually manipulating the segments into a more crooked form.

Stay patient and trust your journey

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# 17 21-06-2015 , 11:39 AM

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Hey guys, I'm checking back in with some progress and a few quick questions.

user added image

I tink i'm starting to get my grip on the basics of hard surface modeling. I've been adding a boatload of detail, basically cleaning out tutorials and using everything on the halftrack. I've modeled the small turret, rear, and detailed tracks using Bram's workflow tips. I'd say I'm about 70% done atm, I still need the main turret and front and some small details. A few follow-up questions:

Im trying to set a few new shortcuts, but I can't find Reset Pivot in the Hotkey Editor. Where is it listed under?
When grouping objects and moving them around, is there a way to keep them grouped when clicking on a part of the group later, or do I need to select them through the Outliner always?
I would like to add 3d cuts and scratches to the metal, is this what 'normal mapping' is used for?

EDIT: Oh, and one more: I don't really understand the way size works in Maya ATM. My units are set to centimeters, and my grid is '12.000' units. So does that mean the RL size of my grid is 12000 centimeters (12m), or 12 cm? I've noticed I have odd values on my tool sizes now (0,0XX) and my Paint Select tool is pretty wonky, I'm wondering if this is due to my model being actually a few cm long?

EDIT2: Sorry for this, one more user added image

How do I 'release' an extruded object from its curve master? Ive noticed the base curve sticks around and deleting it also deletes my object. I want to manipulate the polygon object with the curve out of the way, so to speak.

Stay patient and trust your journey

Last edited by VinceDn; 21-06-2015 at 12:09 PM.

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# 18 21-06-2015 , 03:02 PM

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Hi Vince,

1) What do you mean by Reset Pivot? Do you mean Center Pivot? It's under Modify.

2) If you click on an object in a group, you can press the up arrow key to select its parent.

3) Normal mapping can add small details without increasing the poly count. A normal map is a cheat, as it doesn't actually modify the vertex positions - it modifies the surface normals per pixel. Normals are what are used to calculate how much light that face, or vertex, reflects. If you modify the normals with a texture, you can simulate more geometry than there actually is. This effect breaks down however, as noted previously it does not actually modify the geometry. This is an issue when you look at a face at a grazing angle, or create a feature that is too large. For example, take a look here: Normal map example with scene and result. As you can see the effect breaks down for large objects, and for grazing angles. If you looked at that plane from the top, it would look identical.

4) What do you mean by "your grid is 12 units"? Are you using the default grid settings? Then each grid square is 1 cm, and each value in your channel box is 1 cm as well. The default grid is actually 24 square centimeters, as it is -12 cm in one direction, and 12 cm in the other. I have no idea why your settings would have those values, but it is not related to the scale.

5) Select both objects and go to Edit>Delete History. The reason why it is behaving like this, is because Maya has a history, which defines how an object should be operated on. In your case, the mesh has that curve extrusion in its history. If you delete, or modify, the curve, the extrusion in the history will not be able to find that curve, and will fail (making the mesh disappear) By deleting the history, you "bake" the history down to the actual object. You should always do this when you are happy with the look of an object, as it reduces file size, increases the speed of your viewport, and eliminates some errors, such as the one you are currently experiencing. However, be careful when you do this, as there is no going back (Besides undoing), so make sure you do not need the history before you do this.

Hope this helps, and it's looking good!

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

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# 19 26-06-2015 , 11:40 AM

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NextDesign: Yeah it was center pivot I was looking for, thanks for all the answers!

Just a quick update: I've been sidetracked the past week with learning the basics of Mudbox, I made this practice sculpt of a face. Mudbox is amazing user added image

I'm going to use it to make backpacks and leather straps for the halftrack, I want to make it really detailed and grungy, like it's an actual in-use military vehicle. I have no questions atm as I'm pulling my answers from Google and Lynda.com but Ill get back to you guys when I hit the next roadblock. Thanks for everything!

Stay patient and trust your journey

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# 20 26-06-2015 , 03:07 PM

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From your concept art on the first page, it mentions that this is for a game mod. Make sure you keep this in mind, as game engines have different requirements in terms of texture size and polygon count. You also should keep in mind how close the camera will be to the model. If it's a tiny object like in an RTS, you don't need all that detail. For example, the tank treads. You could probably get away with normal mapping the details.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

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# 21 26-06-2015 , 05:15 PM

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Hey ND,

The end designs will indeed be used in a game mod, but ATM im just flying off the handle poly-wise to learn all the tools and theory. When I'm done fooling around I'll normalmap what I can and bring everything into a lowpoly mesh user added image

UPDATE:
One follow-up question
user added image

My brush seems to align wrong with the on-screen cursor in Mudbox. I didnt notice this problem at first so I assume it must have appeared somewhere after I crossed 1mil polys. I'm using an old Cintiq model (DTZ-1200W), could that be the problem?

Stay patient and trust your journey

Last edited by VinceDn; 26-06-2015 at 11:23 PM.

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# 22 27-06-2015 , 09:37 PM

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I return with a very concerning question. I've noticed my saves have been getting messed up. The halftrack started loading with the 'errors, refer to script editor' message. At first I noticed no difference so I rolled with it, but now my last three iterations all come up missing vertexes, and some stuff to the side of the grid got completely scrambled. If this corruption continues I am in serious trouble :s. Thanks in advance for any help with this

Here is the printout from the Script Editor

Code:

// File read in  2.7 seconds.
// Warning: file: C:/Program Files/Autodesk/Maya2015/scripts/startup/findStartUpCamera.mel line 130: Could not find an appropriate startup camera: top.  A substitute will be used. // 
select -r polySurface458 ;
select -r pCube62 ;
select -cl  ;
file -f -options "v=0;"  -ignoreVersion  -typ "mayaBinary" -o "D:/3. 3D & SCULPTS/Bulle halftrack Leichtpanzer/Bulle Halftrack Leichtpanzer/scenes/bulle leichtpanzer HALFTRACK SLANTBACK BACKUP.mb";addRecentFile("D:/3. 3D & SCULPTS/Bulle halftrack Leichtpanzer/Bulle Halftrack Leichtpanzer/scenes/bulle leichtpanzer HALFTRACK SLANTBACK BACKUP.mb", "mayaBinary");
requires -nodeType "mentalrayFramebuffer" -nodeType "mentalrayOptions" -nodeType "mentalrayGlobals" -nodeType "mentalrayItemsList" -nodeType "mib_illum_hair" -dataType "byteArray" "Mayatomr" "2015.0 - 3.12.1.12 ";
dataStructure -fmt "raw" -as "name=externalContentTable:string=node:string=key:string=upath:uint32=upathcrc:string=rpath:string=roles";
// externalContentTable // 
applyMetadata -fmt "raw" -v "channel\nname externalContentTable\nstream\nname v1.0\nindexType numeric\nstructure externalContentTable\n0\n\"cloth_texture\" \"fileTextureName\" \"D:/3. 3D & SCULPTS/Bulle halftrack Leichtpanzer/Bulle Halftrack Leichtpanzer/scenes/mudbox/paint channel 1 2.psd\" 2577960867 \"D:/3. 3D & SCULPTS/Bulle halftrack Leichtpanzer/Bulle Halftrack Leichtpanzer/scenes/mudbox/paint channel 1 2.psd\" \"sourceImages\"\nendStream\nendChannel\nendAssociations\n" -scn;
// Warning: line 1: Selected nodes were ignored since the 'scene' flag was used. // 
// 1 // 
// Warning: line 1716: Can't perform polyDelEdge16 on selection // 
// Warning: line 1716: Can't perform polyCut48 on selection // 
// Warning: line 1716: Can't perform polyCut49 on selection // 
// Warning: line 1716: Can't perform polyConnectComponents2 on selection // 
// Warning: line 1716: Can't perform polyMergeVert53 on selection // 
// Warning: line 1716: Can't perform polyCut37 on selection // 
// Warning: line 1716: Can't perform polyBridgeEdge32 on selection // 
// Warning: line 1716: Can't perform polyAppend1 on selection // 
// Warning: line 1716: Can't perform polyAppend2 on selection // 
// Warning: line 1716: Can't perform polyAppend4 on selection // 
// Warning: line 1716: Can't perform polyAppend7 on selection // 
// Warning: line 1716: Can't perform polyAppend8 on selection // 
// Warning: line 0: Can't perform polyConnectComponents1 on selection // 
// Warning: line 0: The mesh |pCube76|pCubeShape76 contains faces that can not be triangulated.
These can be cleaned up by removing faces with zero geometry area using the Mesh Cleanup dialog. // 
// Warning: line 0: The mesh |pCube77|pCubeShape77 contains faces that can not be triangulated.
These can be cleaned up by removing faces with zero geometry area using the Mesh Cleanup dialog. // 
// Warning: line 0: Can't perform polyMergeVert32 on selection // 
// Warning: line 0: The mesh |group40|pCube82|pCube82Shape contains faces that can not be triangulated.
These can be cleaned up by removing faces with zero geometry area using the Mesh Cleanup dialog. // 
// Warning: line 0: Errors have occurred while reading this scene that may result in data loss.

Please check the Script Editor for details. // 
// File read in  3.2 seconds.
// Warning: file: C:/Program Files/Autodesk/Maya2015/scripts/startup/findStartUpCamera.mel line 130: Could not find an appropriate startup camera: top.  A substitute will be used. // 
// Warning: To visualize UV tile textures in VP2 please generate all UV tile previews via the global control in the viewport settings window or individually on each file node. // 


Please check the Script Editor for details. // 
// File read in  3.2 seconds.
// Warning: file: C:/Program Files/Autodesk/Maya2015/scripts/startup/findStartUpCamera.mel line 130: Could not find an appropriate startup camera: top.  A substitute will be used. // 
// Warning: To visualize UV tile textures in VP2 please generate all UV tile previews via the global control in the viewport settings window or individually on each file node. //

EDIT: Quick update to this, those missing faces do render in my Keyshot demo so it's only maya that messes them up.

Stay patient and trust your journey

Last edited by VinceDn; 27-06-2015 at 09:46 PM.

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# 23 27-06-2015 , 10:56 PM

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Oh dear... Something has gone wrong with your file. First things first: enable the obj plugin and export the meshes you have in your scene right now. That will keep them safe from anything else. You mention that it looks fine in Keyshot. Was that from a previously saved version?

You should stop using this file immediately, as continuing to work with it will only cause more issues. Create a new file, import the obj, and save as a Maya Ascii file (in the save settings). You should always save in ascii, as it helps if this kind of thing ever happens. Also turn on incremental save in the save file option box. (This will save a separate copy of the file whenever you save, so you have multiple backups if something goes wrong)

You may lose something, but that's better than losing everything!

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

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# 24 28-06-2015 , 09:11 AM

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I'm disassembling everything for an OBJ export and moving to ASCII. I have a series of older versions, I should probably be able to pull the undamaged mesh parts from there. Is an ASCII save better than the vanilla binary save?

UPDATE: seems that exporting to ASCII maya also fixed the mesh problem for no apparent reason. Ah well, time to continue the work.

user added image

Stay patient and trust your journey

Last edited by VinceDn; 28-06-2015 at 09:16 AM.

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# 25 28-06-2015 , 04:22 PM

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Do not use that ascii file! Start fresh. If all of your data is there, export it as an obj, and then import it into a new scene. That way you can make sure there is no corrupted data in your file. (FYI, you don't need to explode your model when you export as an obj)

Yes, ascii is almost always better than binary, except for the fact that the files are larger, and therefore take a bit longer to load. With your file, you won't see a difference.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

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# 26 28-06-2015 , 11:03 PM

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Even when the new file loads without error? I use my own incremental save system which is a carry-over from my graphic design doctrine. This is 'Bulle leichtpanzer blablabla 9 MA.ma', the bugged one was v7.

user added image

I do lose my groups when exporting to OBJ and reimporting, it flattens everything to one mesh :S. I've looked it up and this seems to be a common issue when moving complex models around.

Stay patient and trust your journey

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# 27 29-06-2015 , 01:12 AM

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Yes, you shouldn't use that file as it could have creeping file corruption, much like how your .mb file had. Everything may seem fine now, but as you keep working, things may begin to go wrong. It's best to start over, and remove that possibility.

Yes, if you export as an obj, your groups will be destroyed, however each mesh will still be retained as its own. Just go to Mesh>Separate to get each mesh back.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

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# 28 29-06-2015 , 02:12 PM

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I've tried exporting all as OBJ and reimporting, then separating in a new file. However, the resulting file took ages to load, and crashed twice in my five loading attempts. The detailed tracks make this a heavily loaded scene so I'm guessing that's whats causing the problem.

So I guess my options are:
1. Continue with the new MA file wich was a save from the corrupting mb (which is working fine)
2. Split everything into parts, export to OBJ and reimport and reassemble in a new scene.

How do you feel about this? What are the chances of things going wrong with this new file? Obviously Im not thrilled about door 2 as that would take me two nights user added image

. Im unfamiliar with Maya so I have no way to gauge how stable it is.

Stay patient and trust your journey

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# 29 29-06-2015 , 02:21 PM

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Something isn't right. What is taking ages to load? The obj, or the new ma file? The new ma file should take the exact same amount of time to load as the other ma file. (Make sure you delete the history on the objects after you separate them)

Another alternative would be to export your scene as an fbx file, and then reimport that into a new scene. This will keep your groups.

You're free to continue to use that ma file of course, but I would try the fbx export/import first.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

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# 30 29-06-2015 , 04:46 PM

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Something isn't right. What is taking ages to load? The obj, or the new ma file? The new ma file should take the exact same amount of time to load as the other ma file. (Make sure you delete the history on the objects after you separate them)

Another alternative would be to export your scene as an fbx file, and then reimport that into a new scene. This will keep your groups.

You're free to continue to use that ma file of course, but I would try the fbx export/import first.

Originally Posted by NextDesign

The FBX import worked like a charm, thanks for all the help! Finally I can continue modeling on this.

As an extra, here's a Keyshot render I made two days ago, KS works really well.

user added image

Stay patient and trust your journey

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