Full Version: Tiles and tile maps

Show messages:  1-10  11-30  31-49

Thanks Michael, Max, and James.
- Brian

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Under MoI4, my incomplete draft 2D truchet tile (.js) script is lightning fast, with no edge "flicker". :-)
- B

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Hi Brian, yeah that will be because of the change in threading model for how scripts are run. In MoI v3 scripts were run in a separate process and used inter-process communication with MoI.exe to retrieve properties and such. That has a fair amount of overhead but it also made it difficult for an errant script to lock up MoI because it could be torn down any time by killing the worker process. In V4 the .js script file for a command is run on the main thread so there's no interprocess communication (same as if in V3 you moved your code over to the .htm file) so a lot less overhead, but it's also easier for it to lock things up if it doesn't behave well like if it just churns away continuously in a loop too much.

- Michael

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Using Notepad++ only, I just lost 1.5 hours work on my draft script documentation, despite multiple saves :-(
And I was doing such a good job too.

- Brian

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Bummer.
What happened?

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Hi Mike,
I made a bunch of edits of documentation, saving about a dozen times.
Then I decided to close Notepad++. There was a message that some directory was gone, and did I want to save the file.
I clicked yes, , and that was the end of my file, but I still have the one from yesterday.
Note that Notepad++ will sometimes backup to appdata, and that there is a 3 level backup system under Notepad++/Settings/Preferences/Backup
none, simple, and verbose. In ignorance, mine was set to none. Now it is set to simple.
( I have had some recent file copy problems/weirdness...)
- Brian

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Hi Brian, I'd be worried that your hard drive may be dying. Might be a good time to make a full disk image backup to an external drive, and try to check SMART status https://www.howtogeek.com/134735/how-to-see-if-your-hard-drive-is-dying/

- Michael

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Thanks for the link Michael.
CrystalDistkInfo says drive are good.
I'll do a backup this PM...
Cdrive is SSD, and I also have D and G drive.

- B

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So is mine - now!
Thanks for the tip.

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One web place said to use the "verbose backup."
- B

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Hi Michael,

Given an objectlist filtered from MoI's geometry database, containing say BRep surfaces and Curves,

Is there javascript code to determine the object.type of the various objects in the objectlist?

The question is asked, because Curves do not contain .edges, and I am hiding .edges after using copy.

(Alternatively, I can filter the geometry database, and get two objectlists, and hide the edges for the BReps, and then concatenate the Curves.)


function selectTileCurves( tileName )
{
//var objs = moi.geometryDatabase.getObjects();
//Next line is a test line, to select only curves.
var objs = moi.geometryDatabase.getObjects().getCurves();
//Next line is a test line, to exclude curves.
//var objs = moi.geometryDatabase.getObjects().getBReps();
for ( var i = 0; i < objs.length; ++i )
{
var obj = objs.item(i);
if ( obj.name == tileName )
obj.selected = true;
}
}

The question is also asked, because if edges are not hidden, boundaries between surfaces do not look as good.
(unhidden edges do work well visually, if there is only one surface, with screen background.)

Having one Curve at the boundary improves the visual look, by reducing "pixel jaggedness."

- Brian

(I have the truchet tile script working well, but am trying to tune up the boundaries between colors or tones, with hidden edges.
I have code from the forum to hide the edges.)

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Hi Brian, there is an object.type but it gives it as a number code. Here's a helper function get_type that will return a string type:

function get_type( obj )
{
    switch(obj.type)
    {
    case 1: return 'CurveSegment';
    case 2: return 'Curve';
    case 3: return 'BRep';
    case 4: return 'Face';
    case 5: return 'ConstructionLine';
    case 6: return 'PointObject';
    case 7: return 'MeshObject';
    
    case 0:
    default: return 'Unknown';
    }
}

var objs = moi.geometryDatabase.getObjects();
for ( var i = 0; i < objs.length; ++i )
{
    var obj = objs.item(i);
    moi.ui.alert( get_type(obj) );
}

- Michael

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Hello Michael.

Please correct me if I'm wrong :)

But...the method you gave us I think is not suitable to distinguish a "curve" from an "edge" because both are curves.

I use a very coarse and manual method to be sure that a curve is "only" a curve.
I write here in "pseudo-code" :

1) SelectedCurves = moiSelectedObjects.getCurves();
2) SelectedEdges = moiSelectedObjects.getEdges();
3) I perform a loop on the set "SelectedEdges"
4) Because every single entity in Moi has the "id" property,
IF the "id" of a "SelectedCurves"'s element is not into the set "SelectedEdges",
THEN that entity is a "simple curve" and not and "edge"

Thanks in advance.

Ciao.

Marco (mkdm)

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Hi Marco, yes you're right. There are also these properties on an object you can access on an object for distinguishing that:

obj.isBRepSubObject - true if object is a sub-object inside a brep.
obj.isCurve - true if it's either a standalone curve or an edge curve.
obj.isEdgeCurve - true if it's an edge curve.
obj.isLaminaEdgeCurve - true if it's a "naked" edge curve that isn't joined to another.
obj.isJoinedEdgeCurve - true if it's not a naked edge.
obj.isSeamEdgeCurve - true if it's a joined edge but its the seam of a closed surface so it's the same face on either side of it.
obj.isStandaloneCurve - true if it is a standalone curve and not an edge curve.
obj.isCurveSegment
obj.isEdgeCurveSegment
obj.isBRep
obj.isSolidBRep
obj.isOpenBRep
obj.isSingleFaceBRep
obj.isFace
obj.isConstructionLine
obj.isPointObject
obj.isMeshObject
obj.isTopLevelObject

- Michael

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Thanks a lot Michael.

This list is very welcome !!!!
This is a long awaited list!!!!

@You : "...

But you write also :"obj.isCurve - true if it's either a standalone curve or an edge curve."
So...this sentence invalidates the "manual" method I wrote in my previous message ?
LOL :)
Anyway If that's the case, It's better this way !

Grazie (thanks)

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Thank you very much Michael.

Function get_type( obj ) is perfect for the script.

- Brian

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Hi Marco,

> So...this sentence invalidates the "manual" method I wrote in my previous message ?
> LOL :)

Yup, that's correct, when calling objectlist.getCurves() it will give back both "standalone curves" and also "edge curves". But you could call objectlist.getStandaloneCurves() instead.

- Michael

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Thanks for the tip Michael.

Ciao.

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Here is the TruchetTile script.

To use the script, first load the file TruchetDuo22.3dm.

Considerable time was spent in tile design, and coding "design," and in re-writing documentation in the .js file.
The screen display was "tuned up," by introducing a limited amount of Curves, and by hiding all edges for quadrant I.
The .3dm file loads with a few edges not hidden, but still looks good.

Michaels help was invaluable, including many code samples from the forum.

Unique and specific naming conventions were used in the .3dm file. There are 5 tile pattern examples, 4 tiles each.
A solid sphere may be added to a tile, and works, provided it is named properly, although 2D surfaces are expected.
This script was written by an amateur programmer.
Note that parity, in the classic tile case, reduces the randomness of the display.

Functions very well in MoI3 and in MoI4BetatNov18. Row and column numbers worked OK at 25x25 for MoI3, and 100x100 for MoI4 (12 seconds+/-)

(Random replacement of single tiles was not implemented. (It would likely flicker.) (Some orphan code was left.))
- Brian

Attachments:
_TruchetTile11_24_2017.zip

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