Hi xrok1,

> BTW, any chance of a macro recorder in future versions? i think i could
> accomplish the workflow i desire with a macro.

I'd like to do something for this eventually, but it is also not an easy task, it will take quite a while before I will get a chance to work on it.


> and where is the documentation for script commands, maybe i could make
> a keyboard shortcut to accomplish my goals.

There isn't any documentation for scripting yet - for version 1.0 I decided it was more important to create documentation just for the basic use of MoI instead of for scripting it.

It takes quite a bit of time and effort to create documentation, and also to support people doing scripting or programming type work, so this is likely to be another area that I won't really get a chance to focus on for a while yet, sorry!

I know that it is frustrating that MoI doesn't have all these features that you would like. Please keep in mind that MoI is at version 1.0 and some of these things will take some time before they can be implemented.

- Michael

thank again, but i have to say Moi being at a ver.1 level. is miles beyond lots of progs out there at ver.2 ,3.... that i won't even bother with after an hour or so of trying them out; crashes, incomplete (basic) tool set...

Moi even at ver.1 competes well with the best software out there! Keep up the great work.

Hi Frenchy, correct, Hexagon isn't NURBS but it has pretty good 2d sweep capabilities so while it's a polygon modeler, you can create your base shapes using curves in a similar fashion to MOI. (actually Hexagon and Amapi are sorta related code wise - my problem with the software was the company's business practices. Polyloop.com has a lot of that history embedded in the messages there...)

XRok1, I'm not assuming what people do and don't know, except for the fact that they may not know about the two applications I mentioned.

Michael has mentioned several times that MOI isn't focused on poly editing (at least at this point in time) and I offered suggestions, Amapi probably being exactly what being asked for...

I can understand needing accuracy and that's why NURBS works so well for mechanical models.

But if SketchUp is delivering polygons, it's polygons that you'll need to edit. For polygon modeling accuracy, there's always Lightwave and Modo but they're certainly more than $200...

Personally I'm glad that MOI is exclusively a NURBS modeler, I'd like to stay away from polygons as long as possible for my mechanical models... (But I can understand the various desires to be able to do more within MOI.)

-Will

I to am against polys and hope they never creep into Moi, my preference is Solidworks, i just like Sketchups workflow, the fact that it uses polys its probably its biggest flaw. the biggest reason i like to go into Sketchup is for the plugins, specially Indigo. So to clear things up what i was asking for was Sketchup type work-flow not polys.

BTW, I believe Amapi is discontinued, or at very least stalled.

Hence my statement that I didn't like the business practices of the company - the selloffs ($1.99 deals), broken promises (half-working Hex 2), the layoffs etc...

I tried getting into SketchUp (the free version) but I couldn't figure out how to make a wall say 15 feet or make things to a specified sizes / dimensions (perhaps I needed to spend more time with the package?)

Or does only the Pro version have that?

-Will

PS - The one thing I've begged Michael to include within MOI is "realtime curve booleans" such as what LWCAD 2.x has for Lightwave:

http://www.wtools3d.com/swf/tutorials/RTboolean/RTboolean.html

Being able to draw (or import) curves in MOI and then be able to drag them around using a specified boolean mode and have them interact in a similar fashion would be just wonderful for me when constructing my curves before working them into 3D forms...

>>xrok1 wrote : "I to am against polys and hope they never creep into Moi, my preference is Solidworks, i just like Sketchups workflow, the fact that it uses polys its probably its biggest flaw. the biggest reason i like to go into Sketchup is for the plugins, specially Indigo. So to clear things up what i was asking for was Sketchup type work-flow not polys"

I think there is nothing wrong with having a minimal set of poly tools in Moi. For example, if you are going to boolean some very heavily detailed objects together, it should be faster to do with Mesh Booleans than with Nurbs (at least this is normally true in Rhino). If you don't need to run fillets along the intersections, meshes can be very practical. Also Moi should be able to handle some minor inspection and editing of it's own meshed objects, so you don't need to depend on a 3rd program between Moi and your RP, CAM, or whatever. I agree that poly modeling tools would be a waste of time to develop, but having the ability to find and correct problems is a must...


>>xrok1 wrote : "BTW, I believe Amapi is discontinued, or at very least stalled."

Not to mention highly unstable... :)

jonah

< but I couldn't figure out how to make a wall say 15 feet or make things to a specified sizes (in Sketchup)
Depend of Unities
Just Type 10,200 (page right bottom) if you want a rectangle 10m *200 m and press P (for push) and type 2.4 if you want 240 cm hight :)
But you can make the same with the mouse :)

Thanks for the tip, I'll take another gander at SU when I get time. ;-)

-Will

yes SU is very similiar to Moi in that you can type your dimension directly after you start your action, move, draw, extrude... check out the video tuts on-line, very user friendly. you too will start to wish every program worked the same way after useing it for even 15 mins.;-)

Something very cool
you can export from Free Google Ketchup to the free Kerkythea with no limit of size for the rendering!

You can also export directly in Kerkythea from Moi in format OBJ ;)

Exporter is su2kt 3.0
http://www.kerkythea.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=42&func=select&id=7
Kerkythea http://www.kerkythea.net/joomla

It's better than the 500*500 of Podium (in free)

Here my try of Podium model by Michelle Kaufmann (it is not a Moi model) you can load it at Warehouse http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/search?q=michelle+kaufmann&btnG=Rechercher&styp=m



and my try with the same in Kerkythea

try Indigo its much nicer.

http://www.indigorenderer.com/joomla/

see images:




these were modelled in SK.

< try Indigo its much nicer.
but maybe not so easy to manage ;)
And gallery Interior or Exterior architecture by Kerkythea is no so bad ;)
http://www.kerkythea.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=77

Cool renders, guys! :-)

-Will

Interesting thread here on polys. Personally I agree with XROK1 that I would like to see MOI stay as clean from polys as possible. Maintaining simplicity is vital. Once too many functions or tools have been added to an application it becomes overwhelmingly complex and that attractive user-friendlyness would soon be lost.

However one thing I have been thinking about is if you guys out there know of any application that is able to translate standard polygon meshes e.g. OBJ or STL into Catmull-Clark subdivision surfaces. Such an application if existent opens the door to translating trimmed NURBS into subdivision surfaces for postprocessing surfaces where more sculpting flexibility is needed.

Is there perhaps something available out there that is able to directly translate trimmed NURBS into SDS?
P.s. I think T-splines has not yet the ability to translate trimmed NURBS into SDS.

All the best,

The Lapstrake Lover

why not just take an .obj/ngon export from Moi into any app (ie Modo) capable of SDS, and apply SDS to it?

it works for me.

XROK1, Maybe that´s not such a bad idea. My apologies for asking silly questions, but I am not familiar with MODO or any of these high end polygon/SDS modeling applications.

However I have specific topological requirements. I want to convert meshes based on triangles into Catmull-Clark subdivision surfaces having a rectangular controlpoint grid. Is modo capable of translating meshes consisting of triangles into SDS divided by a recangular control point grid? Direct translation of NURBS into rectangular SDS topology l is easy, but when the NURBS has been trimmed things become complicated.

which modelling program do u use.

I ask because (someone please correct me if i'm wrong) you should be able to take an .obj with ngon divisions out of Moi and apply cat-mull division in another modeller that supports it (not 100% sure, do some experiments)?

Hi XROK1,

Just like you I have no desire to make monsters.Currently the only SDS modeler I have is Delftship (a great application for boatdesign). It uses natively SDS based on rectangular (Catmull-Clark) topology. It´s also able to import NURBS (via IGES) but only untrimmed NURBS. I was hoping that by tessellating my trimmed NURBS files to OBJ, STL or any other common triangle based mesh and subsequently converting it (if possible) to rectangular Catmull - Clark topology I would be able to bypass the "trimmed NURBS" import problem.

Delftship is not able to import .obj, it however imports VMRL 1 and I was hoping to use that route for getting my trimmed NURBS converted into Catmull Clark into the application.

P.s. attached is a screenshot from Delftship.

All the best,

The Lapstrake Lover

One more thing.

Here is a link to an article on the currently hot and exciting subject of bridging NURBS and SDS.

http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=1138450.1138455

Moi's n-gon meshes are not suitable for subd smoothing because the extra vertices which create the n-gons are not matched up to the vertices on the coneccted faces. The exceptions would be more simple objects such as a cylinder or box. But then you might as well have modeled them in subd to begin with...

NPower makes a 3dsMax plugin which translates trimmed nurbs objects into quad meshes which can be smoothed as catmull-clark subd...

jonah