@ nameless - yes an optional dark theme is definitely on my radar. I don't expect to have it for v4 though.

@ Marco - still fixing a few tenacious bugs but making good progress and shouldn't be much longer for the next beta. There will probably be 2 more.

- Michael

Thank Michael for the info.

We'll catch up!

Ciao.

Good morning everyone,
I use Moi v4 beta for reverse engineering and the results with the new SubD tool are very good.
I wanted to know if in the next beta, there will be tools to manipulate the geometry before subdivision?
Currently I import then I export to retouch then I import again and on some files the operation can be repeated dozens of times.

Hi Nico!

Michael (if you happen to see this and have some time): I am trying to bring over simple subD models in MoI to test a new workflow. Using Smirnov's importObj and then SubD script I get a good solid after Joining. When I use the beta's implemented SubD command, I get a larger group of surfaces. Most likely I am not getting something, or using the right tool for the wrong job, but what am I missing? It's the same obj and the size is significantly different.

ps. It occurred to me that the implemented SubD feature, tries to get real nurbs, but I am still curious as to why the different size and if I did something wrong and it could not close the curves correctly. :<

Hi Nico, there won't be sub-d editing tools built in for version 4 but it's definitely something I want to work on in the future.

- Michael

Hi nameless,

re:
> Most likely I am not getting something, or using the right tool for the wrong job, but what am I
> missing? It's the same obj and the size is significantly different.

Max's OBJ importer is designed to scale objects when you import them. There is an option to disable the scaling though, see here:
http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=6674.453

The new built in one does not do any scaling.


> and it could not close the curves correctly.

Looks like your polygons do not have welded points. You'll get a result like you show if faces have their own individual vertices where they touch rather than faces sharing a single common vertex.

What are you using to make the OBJ file? Can you post it or e-mail it to me at moi@moi3d.com ?

- Michael

Hi Michael,

Bingo! You were correct. Points were not welded :'( I modeled it using Zmodeler and polygons that belong to different polygroups get disconnected during obj export. When all polygons get a single polygroup the export is unified and the conversion works flawlessly. With a quick inspection moving a specular highlight over the surface, it looks even better than the result of the first method.

And that link is super useful, I needed that "exact" option since I go back and forth multiple applications. You are a national treasure! <3

The simple possibility of applying SubD after import or not during import will be great and will save me time, i hope is possible?
The results obtained with Moi 3D V4 are better than the expensive software I currently use.
Best regards.

Hi Nico, I would like to make that possible in the future but not applying sub-d during import would require a new type of sub-d control mesh entity in MoI which will take time to implement. So that won't be possible in the v4 time frame.

The focus for v4 is just to get a reliable and high quality sub-d to NURBS conversion working as a starting point.

- Michael

1)From a UI perspective why is OBJ import not part of the File>Import command?
2) The filesizes for these imported OBJs is quite large. Looking forward to some of the other options you mentioned with fewer edit points with the possibility of some editability or a lighter file size.

Hi parel,

re:
> 1)From a UI perspective why is OBJ import not part of the File>Import command?

Because it's not a general purpose OBJ importer, it is only meant to import an OBJ file that is structured for sub-d smoothing. MoI itself exports .obj files that are set up only for rendering and not sub-d smoothing and so it could be confusing to have it on the regular Import command with different behavior than the Export command.

In the future I expect to add more Sub-d tools including more on the "Create" menu and then the UI won't look as odd as it does currently.


> 2) The filesizes for these imported OBJs is quite large. Looking forward to some of the other options you
> mentioned with fewer edit points with the possibility of some editability or a lighter file size.

In the next beta there will be an option to choose between Patch type "Fewer patches, more control points" (which is the current method) or "More patches, fewer control points". The second new style will make little patches around extraordinary vertices but regular areas of the mesh will have less control points. It will reduce file size a bit but not really too much.

I would not expect either of these methods to generate something suitable for NURBS control point editing. If you want to edit control points the ideal place to do it is in your sub-d modeling program before you generate the .obj file in the first place. Also the ideal way to make a lighter file is to use a lighter control cage for your sub-d object from the start as well.

In the future I want to add a new type of object into MoI for representing a sub-d control cage. Then the sub-d importer would make that type of object and you would be able to access the sub-d control cage points in MoI rather than only the converted NURBS object as it is now.

- Michael

>In the future I want to add a new type of object into MoI for representing a sub-d control cage. Then the sub-d importer would make that type of object and you would be able to access the sub-d control cage points in MoI rather than only the converted NURBS object as it is now.

Wow... That would bring the game to a whole other level. I am already all over the subD coversion of the beta, but being able to control the result on the fly... I am very excited! But first things first!

Hi nameless, yes really the primary thing I want to have for SubD is the ability to make fairly sparse sub-d cages directly in MoI. They would be particularly good for semi-organic things like vehicles.

But in order to have that the conversion from SubD to NURBS needs to make high quality results and the OBJ importer was the easiest way to get that part worked out initially.

- Michael

Hi Michael,

that sounds like the dream, really.

2 thoughts from my short experience with the program so far:

- Understanding Clines is so very crucial to designing in MoI (and I am still not 100% there). The Clines lock script is also so handy that in my eyes it would justify it being visible somewhere in the interface. I
currently draw Clines by "faking" a line tool and then canceling. Is there a more straightforward way? Would a Cline construction mode button make sense?

- Is there a way to adjust the scale of an object being pasted during the axises adjusting face? (After you Ctrl+Shift+V it on an object's surface). I tried looking it up in the documentation but I couldn't find it. If
not, wouldn't it be very useful to be able to scale the object around its center projected on the snapping surface?

I was very hesitant to suggest these, as 1) I am quite new and I might be wishing for features that already exist due to ignorance and 2) I totally get the advantages of a very simple interface on first program launch vs an intimidating full featured UI. So I am just pointing these out just for the sake of feedback through the eyes of a new user!

Hi Michael,
is it possible to increase the size of the colour palette.
I know there are more options in the V4 beta palette but the basic colour panels
are very small compared to V3.
Barry

Hi nameless,

re:
> I currently draw Clines by "faking" a line tool and then canceling. Is there a more
> straightforward way? Would a Cline construction mode button make sense?

You could set up one of the Cline plug-in commands from here:
http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=1029.1
http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=1029.25

I do want to add an official persistent cline command in the future, I haven't figured out the details of how they should be selected yet though.


> - Is there a way to adjust the scale of an object being pasted during the axises adjusting face?
> (After you Ctrl+Shift+V it on an object's surface). I tried looking it up in the documentation but
> I couldn't find it. If not, wouldn't it be very useful to be able to scale the object around its center
> projected on the snapping surface?

There is not currently any way to do this directly inside the PastePart or Orient commands but I do think it would be a good thing to add.

- Michael

Hi Barry,

re:
> is it possible to increase the size of the colour palette.
> I know there are more options in the V4 beta palette but the basic colour panels
> are very small compared to V3.

Which colour palette are you asking about, do you mean the Scene browser > Styles section? Or the one that pops out from the properties panel?

- Michael

Hi Michael,
it’s the pop up properties panel.
Barry

Hi Barry, can you show me what yours looks like?

Over here my v4 looks like this:


And my V3 one looks like this:


- Michael

Hi Michael,
this one.
Barry