I am writing a tool in my spare time to help me animate a complex scene. I am going to write a function, as part of that tool that will plot an animate the trajectory of an object in real time. The objects will probably just include missiles and aircraft, ala a modern / sci-fi dogfight.
For reference, I’m considering a goal similar to this clip from Macross Zero; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJhI7oOwVLk
I already have a way to define intended heading that works very well in real time, with regular updates, via a timer UI control in maxscript.
What I’m concerned about is giving a real time preview while keeping the animation smooth. I’ve considered the following as a method:
[ul]
[li]Rotation constraint with animated weights[/li][li]Plotting splines & a path constraint[/li][li]Setting absolute keyframes based on some fancy math[/li][/ul]As well as hoping for less then 4ms updates on my rig I want it to be easy to write, since it’s for a personal project. I consider myself a competent max-scripter now.
What would you guys recommend?
if you parent a particle flow emitter to the animated object set the particle speed to zero it will leave a trail of what ever you like showing the trajectory.
I’ve already got a fumeFX emitter on the rig to give me a smoke trail.
What I’m looking to do is to plot the trajectory with maxscript. That is, to create the initial keyframes and movement. I think I’ve settled on simply setting keyframes. It seems like I don’t have to do much math … just set rotational keyframes then a move in coordsys local.
sorry I misunderstood your question…