Hi Michael,

Would it also be possible to have the option to "Import" an STL file?
It's just a thought, as we're able to "Export" an STL file in MoI.

regards Colin

re: import STL / OBJ

This is not very easy to do, since STL and OBJ contain faceted polygon geometry, not smooth NURBS geometry like MoI is set up to work with.

MoI exports to these formats by taking its smooth surface sheets and dicing them up into facets. But it is not easy to do the reverse and take facets and make smooth sheets out of them.

It's kind of like how you can chop up carrots to make a stew, but you can't easily take a stew and make carrots out of it...

Eventually it might be possible for me to add polygon mesh objects as a different type of geometry that you can work with inside of MoI. But it is difficult to add those and have the current toolset work with them (such as booleans and trims), so for a while I have focused on only providing smooth (NURBS) surfaces inside of MoI.

- Michael

About OBJ : no need face smoothed, only "ghost" points and edges of the structure :)

I would like to the options saved on a per file basis. Especially the grid options. I have some files depicting parts I need to fabricate for my boat. The snap size is very small and the accented is set to 3 (major dimensions of part are divisible by 3). Then again I have a couple of simple floor plans that I drew with the accented is set to 4 and snap size is a lot larger.

No matter what file you open, the options are set to whatever you were using the last time you had MOI open. So I have to write down all the data in the various option selection screens and set them accordingly when I open that particular file. Other wise by 16.5ft boat looks like a 12.5ft boat!

Yes, this will be added later I guess, like every other app I know, there are general preferences and project preferences.

WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you both (Michael and Frenchy Pilou) SO MUCH for making this happen for me!!! This capability in MoI opens up (as Frenchy Pilou put it) "infinite possibilities!" AWESOME!!!

This whole thread portion in retrospective ( 275.105 through 275.114) opens up two VERY amazing possibilities within MoI.. for instance:

1) The potential clearly now exists through this same method of making 3D fractals within MoI !!!

By using this method and alternating it with a combination of current MoI scaling and mirroring/symmetry commands (manually or within a script) one may now readily create both scalar and directional/symmetrical itterations of any object within MoI - "MOI 3D FRACTALS" !!!!!!

(I am "psyched" about this!!!)

2) At the end of that thread portion (275.111 through 275.114) the discussion which ensued between JTB and Petr / tyglik gave me an additional idea I'd like to bounce off of Michael...

Michael... how about:

...a single icon which when clicked opens up a simple child window with a filedialog where a user may:

A) Select any existing custom command script (like the command you gave us all here in response to Frenchy Pilou's request)

B) Select a "MoI-friendly icon" for it

C) Add a BRIEF custom command name to it

D) Assign all this to a scrollable "Custom Commands Launchpad" area within this very same window.

This, in my mind at least, would take a load off of you with respect to future balancing of your existing (and highly desireable, I should add) "Minimalist" approach to the MoI GUI Design, and the increasing/inevitable requests for more and more new commands from the power users.

What do you think about the idea?

- 3dvisuals dude

Hi dude
Before the fractal moi 3D maybe you can try this free crazzy amazing prog! Chaoscope!
http://www.chaoscope.org/
Amazing ergonomy! Only 3 keys !
F3 choose F4 Launch the Calculate Esc stop the process
And move(+shift) Rotate Zoom by the mouse : a task !
(you have some formula of factal inside : but don't affraid no need to be Einstein Just click on a word :D)
Have fun! (Alas it's only 2D but it's yet not so bad :)
My images of the day :)

AWESOME Images!!!!

Thanks for the link, I'm grabbing it now!!!

3dvisuals dude

Hi 3dvisuals dude,

> What do you think about the idea? (custom script / macro launcher thingy).

Yup, this is a great idea. I've been thinking of something pretty much along these lines to make it easier for someone to launch a custom script or command.

Probably at first it will just be a list of names so it will look a lot like the recent files listed under the file menu - I was thinking it could list everything it finds within a certain folder, something like a "plugins" folder.

Definitely something is necessary to make it easier to launch custom commands without needing to set up a keyboard shortcut for it.

- Michael

For the fractal I refound the free father prog Fractint :)
http://spanky.triumf.ca/www/fractint/fractint.html (dos)
http://spanky.triumf.ca/www/fractint/getting.html windows :)

free Chaos Pro the son of the father :D http://www.chaospro.de/

Free Fractal explorer http://www.eclectasy.com/Fractal-Explorer/

New small wish about images : Control the size with numbers, not just those grips...more accurate

G1, G2 and G3 Surface filleting!
Maybe its already on the wishlist, I didnt read the whole thread:-(

How about a "Split Edges" feature when exporting OBJs?

Since OBJ files don't support creased edges, when the resulting mesh is subdivided in a subdiv modeler, all the edges will sharpen unless you tediously assign creasing.

"Split Edges" refers to the fact that in the obj file, edges that should remain 'sharp' are exported as 2 closely spaced together edges seperated by small joiner polys. This edge then will remain sharp even upon subdiv in a modeler.

Another option, is to support the Collada subdiv format, which allows for creasing, or the Silo SIA format, which also allows setting edges as creased. SIA is a really simple format, a lot of other 3D apps are getting importers for it, and I think SILO and MOI are a potential match made in heaven. Model your tank in MOI, give it battle damage in Silo using Displacement Painting. Maybe if you ask nevercenter nicely, they'll give you some docs. :)

Hi Crusoe - I guess I don't understand why this feature isn't provided in your sub-d modeler environment.

OBJ files do support the concept of sharp rendered edges within the file. For example, if you draw a cube and export it to an .obj file, you should see a sharp-edged cube when you import it elsewhere.

The cube should have sharp edges because MoI wrote different smoothing information for each face even though the faces share the same x,y,z point locations.

If you want to preserve this creasing in your sub-d modeler, shouldn't they have a method over there to preserve the existing creasing and assign a crease to every current sharp edge?

Maybe I don't quite follow what you're asking for though...

- Michael

But when you subdivide the cube, those edges don't STAY sharp. A edge that stays sharp, even when subdivided, is called "Creased", maybe I should have been clearer. :)

Here's a example:

The top cube has been subdivided 3 times, and now looks like a sphere.

The right cube has 2 edges creased, these edges stay sharp even as we subdivide.

The left bottom cube has 2 edges with a slight bevel. These stay somewhat creased as the cube is subdivided. It depends on how close I can make the 2 edges when beveling. The closer they are, the more it will be creased. If you add a 3rd edge between the 2, it stays even sharper when subdivided.

Ideally, collada (which supports creased edges ) export and X3d would be nice too.

Ok.... But the subd modeler has received the information about the original sharp edges of the model, for instance the edges of the cube.

It seems like your problem would be solved if they had an improved method for building creases, such as building a crease for each sharp edge in the original model that they currently already know about...

Wouldn't that solve your problem? That would also be a more general purpose solution for working in there because it would enable creasing on any imported model.

It seems like a good entry for the Sub-d modeler's wishlist instead of MoI's...

- Michael

Hi Michael,

Thanks again for your attentive and thoughtful replies to my questions.

This has possibly already been requested-

The option to lock and inverse lock objects would be helpful
when you have a lot of objects and you want to develop
a specific part, without having the other stuff get in the way,
while having the rest of the model as a visual and operational reference.
( object snaps would still work on the locked objects)

The image is of Rhino doing it's best MoI impersonation :-)
The grayed out curves are locked, the blue curve is "live".

-Jesse

> The option to lock and inverse lock objects would be helpful

I had been thinking of including this along with the whole package of object grouping / organization / properties stuff for V2.

- Michael

The problem is when exporting from Moi, the mesher produces a lot of edges. Some of them don't need to be creased as they are part of a gently varying surface, some do ( IE, the edges formed by 2 intersecting surfaces which do not have G2/G3 continuity? ).

So you need to export with a decently high polygon count so the subdiv surfaces approximate the nurbs surfaces when subdivided. But this high poly count makes hand selection of edges somewhat tedious.

I know it's a limit of the OBJ format, but exporting in a way that keeps sharp edges sharp would be nice. Whether it's doubling certain edges up in the OBJ export, or exporting a subdiv format that supports creases (collada), I think that this would be useful too.

Might be something to consider for V2. :)

I think you're misunderstanding how subdiv modeling works. Unless the edge is weighted as 'creased', it's subdivable. All edges are created equal. And importing a cube and letting the edges subdiv is prefectly fine. A lot of humanoid models start out as a cube, with is cut, extruded, subdivd, etc. The original points of the cube can be considered the control cage of the subdivd model, you can drag them around to affect the resulting subdiv'd mesh.

If you want a edge to stay sharp on import, you mark it as 'creased' in formats that support it, or you double up the edges by defining a very very very small bevel in those that don't ( obj ).

This is important when I'm modeling something in moi that contains both gentle curves, and hard edges. When exported as a mesh, and imported into Silo ( To sculpt some blast craters ), as I subdiv the model, all the edges would go soft, as you can't denote which edges should be creased in a OBJ file.

I'll post a simple example of what I mean.