Face It Release Notes ===================== Warning : This is the second beta release, so I would suggest saving your objects before using it at this point, just to be on the safe side. Release: Version 1.0 Beta 2 [3rd September 2001] Introduction ============ The "Face It" plugin for Lightwave 6.5b is designed to allow you to select polygons in Modeler based on their orientation (several options are available). Installation ============ Ensure that modeler is not running. If you downloaded the ZIP file simply extract the faceit.p file into the [Lightwave Root]\Programs\Plugins\Model. Or simply download the faceit.p file into that directory. If you are upgrading then you dont need to do this next step. Then open modeler, and goto the "Modeler" -> "Plug-ins" -> "Add Plug-ins ..." menu option. Then find the faceit.p file in the same directory as before. And double click on it. Then click on the "Done" button. It should say that two plugins have been located. How to use it? ============== Well this plugin comes in two parts, a "Mesh Edit Tool" and a "Mesh Edit" class plugin for those that are interested. Currently the plugin is accesible by default from the "Construct" tab, under the "Additional" menu. If there are no polygons currently visible then the menu option will be greyed out. You should find two plugins listed, the first is called "Face It", and the second "Face It Selector". How you use both will be come clear as we go along. The first step is to activate the "Face It" plugin. This acts like other tools in Modeler allowing you interact with the current object, using the handles provided. This tool has one or two handles depending on the mode you are working in. When activated or reset this tool switches to the first mode as default, "Basic Point".To change modes and some other settings you will need to use the numeric panel, it is a good idea to have this open while reading this document. The four modes available are :- a)Basic Point, allows you to position a single point on your object somewhere. This is represented by a small blue circle. You can move it around by simplying pressing and holding the mouse button and dragging it around. If you have the numeric panel open you should see the Start values changing. You can manualy enter a value here and the point should move to it. Note that the point stays the same size so you can see it what ever you grid size is. The only other option you can use while in this mode is the Inverted which will make the opposite selection to the normal behaviour, more about this is discussed later. When using this option all polygons that are facing this point are selected. By facing, I mean that if viewed from this point, in any direction, any polygon that you can see the face of would be selected (it does not take into account double sided surface textures, purely on the polygon face). b)Advanced Point, allows the same operation as Basic Point, except you can now specify a threshold angle. This was made a seperate mode as the calculations involved are more intensive. So unless you need to alter the threshold (basicaly your happy with the default 90 degrees which means its visible) use the Basic Point mode. c)Direction, allows you to place a start and end point within the Modeler views. Again the starting point is represented by the little circle, and the direction is indicated by a line extending from it. Depending on this vector different polygons will then be selected. In this mode you will see, and can modify both the Start and End values. You should also see that the threshold value now becomes usable. Also the locked option is usable. When using this mode any polygon the points in the direction you have chosen will be selected (the threshold value also plays a role in the selection). When ever you change to this mode from Point mode the end point is set to the origin (0,0,0) so you can easily locate the end point. d)Axis, is very much like direction, but instead of moving the points by hand, or by value. You simply click on one of your views, just a single click (this includes the preview windows). Once clicked the circle and line representation are drawn appropriately in all views. In this mode the only other option available is the Inverted option. The polygon selection criteria is the same as Direction mode. One important thing to note, is that you cannot drag the start or end point around these are now fixes, in this mode. When in Direction, or Axis mode, using the threshold value alters which polygons are selected. The threshold value represents how far of in terms of degree the polygons normal can be from the chosen direction. The easiest way to see this is to create a sphere and play about with the Direction mode, and alter the threshold value to see which polygons are selected. When in Direction mode, you can use the Locked option. All this does is fix the direction being pointed in, so if you move either the start or end point, the other point moves relative to it. The Inverted option which is available in all modes, will basicaly select the opposite group of polygons to what it would in normal operation. Okay so you have seen how to operate the interactive tool. Now how do you get those polygons selected. Well this is where things got a little clunky, due to the way the Lightwave SDK APi operates, I am still looking at tidying this up. For now what you do, is while using the tool, simply goto the Additional menu under the Contruct tab and select the "Face It Selector" plugin. This will then select those polygons based on you interaction with the tool. For now you should make sure you are in Modelers Polygon mode, so that you can see the selection take place if you want to play around with it. The selection will still take place if you arent in Polygon mode, but looks nicer. If you try using the second plugin without having the tool active you will get an appropriate message. Also note that only polygons with three or more vertices will be selected, as I need a normal vector to calculate angles etc, which they wont have. Some work has been made to try and speed this up, but you may still find it slow with a large number of polygons. Working on a 1Ghz Athalon, with 392Mb of memory. It can take something around 1 second to calculate the selection but about 3 seconds to actualy highlight them (dpending on how many get selected), with 16,000 4 sided polygons. The plugin will work best with planar polygons, it will function with non-planar but the results may unexpected because of the polygons normal which can vary depending on where it is measured. IMPORTANT NOTE - It has become apparent that while using certain tools within Modeler you are still able to alter the geometry of polygons without loosing the tool, an example is flipping polygons. This plugin was developed with a cache of polygon properties to speed it up, but this becomes invalidated if you alter the geometry of any polygon while the plugin is open. So please while using this plugin do not modify the geometry, simply close the plugin and make the changes. Then reopen the plugin, at which point it will refresh its cache. Reporting Problems ================== If you have a problem installing the Plugin or while using it. Please send an email to ascerriuk@yahoo.co.uk . As well as your description of the problem, please include the following information :- Lightwave Version Plugin Version Operating System CPU Memory Releases ======== Current Intended Release : Version 1.0 Beta 2 [3rd September 2001] This was a quick update, to fix any problems, and then to add the angle threshold functionality to Point mode :- Features: Default threshold angle changed to 90 degrees. Speed improvement where possible. Allow use of threshold value with new "Advanced Point" mode to make it a little more fun. "Point" mode has been renamed to "Basic Point". Known Problems: None. Although the advanced point mode, may still be classed as experimental and is subject to minor changes with regard to angle accuracy. Next Intended Release : Version 1.0 Final 1 These are features that are planned for future releases, some depend on the kind of feedback I get from users. Most will probably not get put in the next release, but are order of need:- Features that might be added: Boolean operators for combining polygon selection with what was already selected. Work with the test and build methods to try out a selection but remember old selection, and build finalises. Distance limiter Axis inverter Known Problems: Wait and see Previous Release : Version 1.0 Beta 1[30th August 2001] This is the first public release of this plugin :- Features: As described above Fixes: None in this release Known Problems: There may be memory leaks, not fully checked yet. And maybe some points where it may crashed but this hasnt happened for a while now. When the plugin is closed in Direction mode. Then you open and use it, and then try changing to point mode it wont work properly. To resolve the problem, either upgrade or simply close the plugin in Point mode, and then it will work. Copyright © 2001 Antony Scerri