Plug-in for maya equal to meshtools in studio max

[dweller]

hello. I recently took a studio max class and was introduced to the meshtools plug in. It allows you to pick an edge, then using the plug in select all edges along its row(if that makes sence) and splits them in two. If anyone knows what Im talking about, and there is a maya plug in for it, please let me know.

[ame]

Check the A|W web site and download the bonus game pack there is a lot of usefull tools over there.

thanks,

-a

[stormtroopar]

Also, try this. Its a new script posted here a few days ago. VERY useful and has a few of the tools in meshtools/nendo/mirai (mainy what maya doesn't have). Mainly the ring select and connect edges. I could be wrong, but up until now I haven't seen any script that does these functions or do it as well as this script. A lot of scripts out there breaks when the polygon model is farely complex and that includes many of A/W's free tools. But so far, this one works real good. Definitely recommend giving it a try. Its a real shame that simple tools like this beats what A/W has offered so far, free or not.... come on A/W, get it together.

http://www.highend3d.com/maya/mel/?section=polygon#1759

[joojaa]

Hmm i think the AW motto is if you can script it forget it.

[jtk77]

acualy i saw a little demo of MAX 5 beta and it seems those mesh tools are built right in and ..well are rather imprssive. I thinK Alias needs to think about next gen modeling tools maybe?
I'm hoping their personal shakeup and new hiring will be a good thing , maybe some nw ideas flowing?
Who knows.

[campbell]

i reckon your right joojaa, but then again, i usually do!

nice to have splitLoop w out xumi's widg to clean up, just got to sort it to select the Slide attrib after application (see how that other thread develops...).

c.

[1000101-]

Stormtroopar;
you complete me ahhaa
well actually the guy who wrote the script does
but since you showed it to me you do to.
I haven't had time to search for it.
pleased.
going back to work now.

---

a pleased TOR.

[stormtroopar]

The MJPolyTools has several buttons missing btw and its real easy to add them in or you can use it by typing in the commands. Mainly are "ringSelect" and "loopSplit". If you are interested to add it back into the script, just add the following 2 lines

button -label "Ring Select" -c ringSelect;
button -label "Loop Split" -c loopSplit;

under:

global proc MJPolyTools()
{
window MJPolyTools;

columnLayout ColumnLayout;

button -label "Ring Select" -c ringSelect;
button -label "Loop Split" -c loopSplit;

[tussockyracer]

does MJPolyTools Barf when splitting a potentially infinitly repeatling edge split like Xumis otherwise excellent solution does?

[stormtroopar]

can you define what you mean by infinity repeating edge? if you are familiar with ring selection and connect edges, you would know this only works particularly for connectable edges. When consecative edge selections are correct, I haven't had any problems with the script connecting the edges, even if its a real large ring with a lot of edges. Ring select however sometimes can select the wrong angle of edges if there are edges that has similar angle as to the ones you are trying to ring select, but usually, the errors aren't too bad and the extra edges can be very easily unselected. (unlike A/W's very stupid select continuous edges / loop select..... )

From my usage so far, this tool seems a lot more predictable and error free than the XUMI poly tools.

--- unfortunately though, these and other poly tools in maya are still quite aren't as good as other packages', like meshtools, mirai, or nendo's poly tools.....

[hyper3d]

Thanks for the Fix but I was wondering if theres someway to add the sliders that are suppose to be there into the window?
"ncludes:
Connect Edges : connectEdges;
Extrude Vertex : extrudeVertex;
Chamfer Vertex : chamferVertex;
Loop Split : loopSplit;
ringSelect : ringSelect;

(((Each have a Slide Attribute to control the position of your edges in the Split.)))"

Also is there a script for Loop Select ???
Besides the one that comes with Bonusgame seems to be a bit buggy....

thx

[minh-duong]

for edge loops, edit polygons/selections/Select Contiguous Edges works better than the edge path tool.

don't know about the window, but you can adjust the slide values in the channel box.

[xgc]

ok, connect edges is almost identicle to that tool in max that splits edges in the center, however, it doesnt split them based on order of select, so lets say i wanna go up, to the right, down, and then all the way to the left, intersecting where i started... it will give me an error, can you change that so it'll work like the max version?

[scifiwasabi]

I've had all these tools in Maya for about 2.5 years and just by going thru the developer archives I can tell lots of studios have these tools internally also.

I've always wanted to release my tools. Its easy to release tools but infinately harder to support them. Since I'm the sole user of my own tools I've had no interest in extending their capabilities beyond my own workflow nor fixing bugs that I know how to avoid

To tell you the truth...I would prefer that A|W write these tools as standard for Maya. With MAX integrating those tools....A|W simply needs to answer! Maya's standard modeler needs a serious update!

Anway, if you're on Maya 4.x NT, you're primary job function is modeling and have some time on your hands to test my tools and possibly help me document them if I decide to release them then email me some links to your images. If I recognize your models then I'll send you a beta. Sorry for being so selective...just too busy to interact with everyone. I won't promise that I'll release the tools since I'm crossing my fingers that A|W got our backs .

[geoffcrowther]

well said, and wasabi, kudos on the wonderfull tools. they are terrific.

[joojaa]

wasbi could you relaese the codes that way we could (in theory), support them ourselves.

[hyper3d]

Like you said "Maya's standard modeler needs a serious update!"
I am coming from Max and meshtools so the work flow seems so much slower in Maya. I know Maya has its own flow when it comes to modeling, so Im not looking to turn this into that kind of thread.
If A|W doesn't add them in the next version or as a plug-in then I would love to see you develope your tools.

Cheers

Edit....Sorry for the mixup

[stormtroopar]

Thats exactly what ringSelect of the MJPolyTools does.

[mikedin]

I am a veteran MAX user and always believed MAYA, XSI, etc. to be the crem de la crem in 3D Animation for years. So when I purchased MAYA Unlimited finally at there last price drop I was shocked at how bad the modeling really was.

Side note: Complex animation in MAX is awful and MAYA as little as I still know about it is Awesome.

As I have been a poly modeler primarily I haven't discovered the true value of NURBS modeling in MAYA yet but think it seems to be one of MAYAs better points. But in the end the final model for me and most will usually be a polygon model. To that end I would like to point out a couple of needed tools in the core MAYA package that would take it out of the dark ages.

1. You should be able to scale objects and components that don't lie in the same planes along one plane like you can in move and rotate - Cntrl RMB brings up this constraint menu for Move and Rotate and Scale but in scale mode you can't constrain the sames axis's. (I don't have MAYA at work so I'm writing this from memory - Sorry) We use MAX.

2. Snapping is very primative and time consuming in MAYA. This is such an important part of modeling quickly and in files with many objects with large world scale differences. (Should be able to drag an object based on a vertex of another object to again another objects vertex (To correctly space and align scene objects and optionally duplicate this to instances #N number of times.)

3. Not a big deal but It would be nice to be able to use real units in a scene file ie. 6'-3" etc.

4. As mentioned above I use meshtools and other scripts in MAX and assumed that these were borrowed ideas from packages like MAYA; maybe they are but not MAYA. I should have investigated XSI, Cinema4d etc. more but even with trial versions of software you really don't know until you buy and as I am another starving artist with no money I'm stuck with MAYA.

5. You might be able to do this but I haven't be able to be in a top view for instance selecting vertices etc. and temporarily orbit that view to see what I have actually selected and then jump back to my orginal top view. I use this technique constantly in MAX to double check my selection etc. - And Uh what's up with "Side" view how about right side, left side, bottom, top etc. It's hard enough selecting sub components in MAYA as it is. How about a select inverse or select all option in sub components vertices etc.

Frankly, I'm blown away at the "Highend" 3D Community putting up with such overlooked functionality.

Sorry if I've gripped a bit much.

Yours Truly,

Jason Brummett
Studio - Z Inc.

P.S. What's up with the few posts thingy. I've been occasionally posting here for 2+ years...

[jeffd]

A few notes...

Most of what you mention in #5 is available through scripts. Select inverse components is available in Bonus Game Tools or has always been available by simply shift-dragging around a selection.

That said, I switched over to Maya with a job change right as MAX went to R4 and its poly tools were becoming truly sublime. I feel the same way about poly modelling in Maya as you. Compared to the MeshTools style workflow (which was lifted from Nendo/Mirai), Maya's base tools are pretty lacking. I mean, Maya is in its fourth release and bevel doesn't work!

This MeshTools/Nendo workflow has quickly become recognized by most as somewhat of a revolution in poly modelling due to its speed and ease. There are a couple of tools/scripts available for Maya which put some of this functionality in - Xumi, MJ, EdgePath, FacePath, etc. These types of tools, however, need to make it into the core Maya package with full implementation and full support. Especially with the growing momentum of Sub-D modelling which relies on low poly cages to smooth from.

Oh yeah, and MAX's snap system is very powerful, too. Being able to snap around points without necessarily having to move the objects pivot is very nice.

--JeffD