Hi, I’m fairly new to both reactor and MAXscript but I was hoping to use them in a project. My idea is to create a tree (polygonal modeling) and make it an unyielding object, and then have leaves grow and have a life limited based on a timer, and then fall off the tree and float to the ground with reactor.
I was also thinking of setting up a particle system for weather or at least some wind.
I am not looking for a code hand out here, but just trying to get pointed in the right direction. I have C++ experience so I’m sure going to scripting won’t be that hard of a learning curve.
If anyone could point out some functions i’d use, like random # generator, how to create new objects based on a stored reference copy, and how to make reactor know when an object is ready to fall based on a conditional statement in maxscript, and when to apply weather effects to a falling or now ready to fall object, it would be a great help.
Thanks a lot for any input!!
Also, is there anyway to create OOP classes of your own in maxscript to allow addition of custom variables and member functions?
Okay, I’ve learned a fair deal just reading through the basics in the Reference. My original post was when I was stuck on a Mac in a lab so I didn’t have access. I can see why many tutorials don’t exist, because Autodesk did a kickass job documenting.
Anyway, I think at this point, is there a way that I can start / stop reactor physics on specific objects based on a time constraint per individual object? I guess a trick might be to change the mass once they’re ready to start moving, or just activate them? However, if I’m running a script to do this, how can I capture that in keyframe and or at render time?
just throwing idea here.
how reactor react (?) with object who have a mass of 0.0 ? if they arent affect i think if could be interessecting “keyframe” their mass
-another idea
use Pflow to generate tip and other predefine location for your leaf.
have the pivot set a the base of the leaf and keyframe scale so they “grow”
and using an offset key ( the life of the leaf) to start the use of the mass. or maybe a gravity-spacewarp
That an interessting project
-D-
Thanks for the input, but I am a little confused…
Well, if an object has a mass of 0.0 and is in a rigid body collection (a container for objects to be used in the physics calculations), then it is merely a static object that does not move, since all physics equations with mass would end up being zero. Likewise, when previewing, you cannot right click them or move them. Anyway…
[i] use Pflow to generate tip and other predefine location for your leaf.
have the pivot set a the base of the leaf and keyframe scale so they “grow”
and using an offset key ( the life of the leaf) to start the use of the mass. or maybe a gravity-spacewarp
[/i]Do you mean that I should first create the objects at a pre-defined location using particle flow, and then have them slowly grow as if time elapsing and the leave is literally growing (using a scale keyframe), but then …? Not sure about the offset key or as to how I would use it.
I was actually thinking that, using maxscript I could just set the leaves to active from inactive under their reactor object properties, when they’re ready to fall.
Thanks for the input! I was sort of leaning toward doing something like that with the scale keyframe idea, I think implementation might be the hardest part in this.