deformers

Deformers for trueSpace7.61

Bend, squash, taper and twist deformers.

A version of this script comes pre-installed in the Unofficial trueSpace Updates - https://www.united3dartists.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=55

C3D Persistent base install is not needed for the Unofficial Updates

select a well divided mesh
press the button to open the deform scripts panel - RMB=stack panel, LMB=floating panel
Type to choose Bend, Squash, Taper or Twist
select an axis - X, Y or Z
press Add New to add the new deformer to the mesh object
use the widget and controls to control the deformations
Remove All - remove all deformers from the object
Flatten / Clean - remove all deformers and apply the deformations to the mesh. Also use to clean invalid deformation nodes caused by point editing.
Disconnect - disconnect the deform nodes so that point edit or SDS operations can be performed
Reconnect - reconnect the deform nodes to reactivate deformations

Bend A/B - use to change the direction of the Bend deformer
Remove - remove this deformation
Type - change the type of the deformer
XYZ axis indicator - [ in X, in Y, in Z ]
Active - can be used to turn off the deformation
Amt - amount of deformation
Max - control maximum point for the region of infuence on the original mesh
Min - control minimum point for the region of infuence on the original mesh
Select / Cycle - select the deformer to activate deformer widget mode / select the next deformer. If the deformer is already selected it will select the next deformer.
Index - use the up and down arrows to control the order of deformations
Period - time in mS between mesh updates - needed to prevent slow non-stop mesh updates
Sel. Parent - select the owning object to get out of deformer mode, 3D shortcut is up arrow key or just select any item in the 3D view
Matrix - right click to reset the deform matrix

Swapping the Max and Min values will reverse the Taper deform direction
multiple deformers can be chained
heavy meshes will deform slowly and bog down the system
the Bend A/B button may be needed for the Bend deform to work as expected
works with NURBS, primitives, meshes, mesh simplifier, SDS(with care)
select the mesh object inside an object that has hair
Disconnect Deformers before point editing or adding/removing SDS
will work with SDS, but Disconnect Deformers must be run before point editing or SDS changes, failure to disconnect can result in a crash
if point edit produces invalid deformation panels, use Flatten/Clean to fix it
scripts and widgets are lazy loaded, so the first run may be a little slow while they load into trueSpace
Widgets for Min and Max do not scale with the display zoom level

Differences from Unofficial Updates version

UU has additional widget shortcut keys
UU has min/max widget mouse wheel action with faster motion
UU widget has 2 widget modes one compensates for view zoom - the other does not
UU UI and widgets are different
uu has some guard code for point edit and sds - separate from the deform installer, so the non-UU version will use the same guards and automatic disconnects

~~Future Change: Note from trueBlue, "Persp. comp. preferences cs" node should only connect to the "Default" node~~

Future Change: Mesh Normals node Type from 0 to 2 and change Angle to 80

change min widget from cone to flat cylinder shape for a more "base" look
script manager deform description copied from the UU
will reuse the existing UU toolbar button if it exists
fix error some panel buttons when deform scripts not loaded, autoload script from deform buttons

widgets changed to maintain size at diff distances and made amount widget smoother, Radial 16 -> 32
taper is reversable via min/max swap
waiting for next UU so know what to do about Guard script(replace or not)
update installer to select a scene item to "wake up" the 3D view
more UI changes

if needed select object after disconnect deform
change LMB open floating by default - so disconnect and reconnect available to use, RMB open in stack
slight UI change

fix up/down arrow bug caused by active widget plus Node.LinkedOutputNode command
fix remove all not work when deformer node selected
select owner after remove 1 or all deformers
reorganize panel
flatten/clean deform will work with point edited primitives and other meshes
fix reconnect bugs and add some cleaning to reconnect for floating mesh simplification
toolbar button LMB open in stack, RMB open floating if floating panels installed

new disconnect/reconnect button so can point edit the original mesh
new Bend switch so can change the direction of a Bend deformer when it doesn't look good
removed BendOld option
Sel Deformer button will cycle through all the assigned deformer nodes

fixed bug in the installer that required reset default context to get proper background and view widget behavior
fix installer so CCFunctionSet loading works with the UU
bend deformer control too sensitive - scaled it down
new BendOld deformer choice because new math of Bend deformer is also wrong
new Period value to prevent constant mesh updates

March 20, 2020

March 20, 2020