Automatic path from model ? - Simply Maya User Community

# 1 17-03-2012 , 10:18 AM

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Join Date: Sep 2011

Posts: 109

Making motion path for vehicle ?

Hey,
I got this rail track and "train". I added curve path it goes fine,
But the problem is that rail track is very long.

is it possible to automatically adjust vehicle movement to the track bends, rotations etc ?

it is possible to do that just by manually adjusting each frame, but I got kilometers of this track.

Maybe it could be done by extracting faces from metal part and converting them to path, is it possible ?
but them I would need both rail metal side parts, because with only one it would be same as curve tool.
With two it could calculate rotations bends easier.. Hope you understood.

Thanks

Last edited by lauris47; 02-04-2012 at 09:06 AM.

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# 2 17-03-2012 , 11:56 AM

The thin red line
Join Date: Aug 2009

Location: England

Posts: 4,472

Try turning on banking in the motion path and play with the settings..........dave

Avatar Challenge Winner 2010

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# 3 17-03-2012 , 01:41 PM

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Animation works now, its easy.
I'm asking of how to "improve movement"

using just one curve it is fine, but it won't "react" to road turns, bumps etc like it would, if example i would pick faces from rails itself and make it as a road, then i would get all those "details" -bumps, truns, rotations... that i need.
So hmmm

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# 4 25-03-2012 , 04:25 PM

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Join Date: Sep 2011

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ok ok.
I have curve - path;
I have model - vehicle.

How to get from 1 to 2, in easiest way, for a whole path ?
1

Any ideas ?

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# 5 28-03-2012 , 11:17 AM

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pleeeeeeeease someone ? :O user added image

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# 6 28-03-2012 , 11:49 AM

The Nurb Herd
Join Date: Oct 2007

Location: London

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you want the wheels to follow different paths and you want their movement to effect the carriage? and you want to know the easiest way possible. That is pretty difficult to say. I have no idea what your experience with maya is.

have you done any kind of rig on the cart and wheels?

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# 7 28-03-2012 , 11:52 AM

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outside doesn't matter, player will be sitting inside, so i just need that carriage rotate where it suppose to, like in picture 2, it suppose to rotate a bit to side, setting key frames destroys path following.

you want the wheels to follow different paths and you want their movement to effect the carriage? and you want to know the easiest way possible. That is pretty difficult to say. I have no idea what your experience with maya is.

have you done any kind of rig on the cart and wheels?

Originally Posted by honestdom

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# 8 28-03-2012 , 12:55 PM

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Join Date: Oct 2011

Posts: 139

This probably isn't the best way, but you can always put the cart inside a group. Have the group follow the path and then animate the cart tilting inside of that group.

There should be an easier way to do this using dynamics (eg. gravity on the cart (an active body) and make the wheels rigid bodies, have each wheel follow it's own path (rail).. have it all grouped so that the elements interact correctly etc) but i'm just guessing - never did anything like that.

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# 9 28-03-2012 , 01:44 PM

The Nurb Herd
Join Date: Oct 2007

Location: London

Posts: 2,381

outside doesn't matter

Originally Posted by lauris47

I don't get it. i didn't mention anything about the outside. Outside of what?
I'm guessing this is for some kind of game?

...have you heard of rigging and or expressions?

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# 10 28-03-2012 , 02:45 PM

Technical Director
Join Date: Feb 2004

Posts: 2,988

Simple. Create another curve that follows one of the rails. Animate a locator along that path. Aim constraint the cart to the locator. Done.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

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# 11 29-03-2012 , 07:40 AM

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Thanks guys.
it worked like this:

Its still kind of manyal way of doing this but it worked good.

Next thing is carriage speed along path, how to do that ?
Faster downhills, slower at straights..

ps, yes its game. you will be sitting in that carriage and go down hill through forest.
In real world you will be sitting in hydraulic chair so thats why those road bends matters.

Last edited by lauris47; 29-03-2012 at 08:12 AM.

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# 12 29-03-2012 , 08:53 AM

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Ok, I found out how to edit speed along curve path.
But I did mistake, I should have made speed differences along path first, and after rotation- lean angles.

My graph editor looks like this now, middle line is path, speed and the side line is leaning angle line.

When I edit middle line (adding points, stretching..) it also affects points of leaning angles, even if lines are separated.

I guess it is possible to make those two lines independent ? Or lock "leaning angle line" so it woudnt be affected ? how to do that, thanks.

---- actually those are independent, in that graph, I can select them separately, but still same problem edditing one affects others point positions..

Last edited by lauris47; 29-03-2012 at 09:03 AM.

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# 13 29-03-2012 , 04:51 PM

Technical Director
Join Date: Feb 2004

Posts: 2,988

Please take a look at some tutorials on motion paths.

Maya Video Tutorial: Motion Path (Part 1) - YouTube
Maya Video Tutorial: Motion Path (Part 2) - YouTube
Maya Tutorial: Controlling Motion Path Speeds (Part 1 of 4) - YouTube
Maya Tutorial: Controlling Motion Path Speeds (Part 2 of 4) - YouTube
Maya Tutorial: Controlling Motion Path Speeds (Part 3 of 4) - YouTube
Maya Video Tutorial: Controlling Motion Path Speeds (Part 4 of 4) - YouTube

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

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# 14 02-04-2012 , 09:05 AM

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Thanks NextDesign,
I watched those before, learned something good tutorial.

Though my stuff is bit more difficult. I need somehow make those two graphs independent from each other, as example if i modify one, speed, at selected time interval, frame, leaning angle graph shouldn't change or be affected by it. In graph editor they are displayed separately, but still..

Second problem is related to first one, how to keep frame positions (leaning angle and speed) even when I expand curve at front, add curve pints ect. ?

More details, I have two curves, one bigger one is with animation details those speed and leaning angle modifications, and I need to add other at front, to make animation more detailed. If I join both curves animation from first one wont disappear, but i loose ability to modify those, its like history is deleted.

---- here is the video of how it looks. I have two curves at the beginning, i join them and history dissapears from longer curve.
maya curve motion path - YouTube
Shortcut would be to switch those path on time, it would be so much easier, is it possible ?

Last edited by lauris47; 02-04-2012 at 09:39 AM.

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# 15 02-04-2012 , 12:19 PM

EduSciVis-er
Join Date: Dec 2005

Location: Toronto

Posts: 3,374

It looks like you are asking to break the relationship between time and rotation, which is typically how rotation is keyed. The only way to do this that I know of is using set driven keys. You can drive the rotation from the position. Hope that helps.