Selectively deleting history or baking deformers

[gregs]

Is there a way to delete only certain types of history? If I have clusters set up as part of an animation rig, and an ffd, or some other deformer or tweak (even another cluster), can I bake the modelling type deformers but keep the animation ones?

[joojaa]

Yes as long as the animation ones are last in the chain. its bit tricky and im in ahurry so ill just say that you insert a shape in between them and delete the history for that shape.

[gregs]

Thanks for your reply Joojaa. I went hunting and I found a way to view an intermediate object, and I assume once you have it selected it's not a problem to "delete by type / history" on it, but I didn't find a way to create an intermediate object. Or is it just a case of being in the right place in the input list when you ask to view the Int Obj?

Thanks again.

Greg

[joojaa]

No not all operations make intermediate objects. If so you need to make your own extra shape thats inserted there between.

Open hypergraph graph the selected object type createNode mesh or createNode nurbsSurface for nurbs and then look at whats going in and out of the other node then insert this between. The connections arent realy trivial and cant be desribed for all cases but in general the world matrix needs to be connected back to the transforming node and .output connected to inmesh or create and out mesh to the next nodes input.

But im sure youll get it onec e you look at the connections and availeble connectors for a while (note some connections such as create may sometimes be hidden so that you have no choise but to use mel to do the connecting)

[gregs]

But im sure youll get it once you look at the connections and availeble connectors for a while

Well, I did spend some time looking (see? see the drool on my chin?) but I don't know enough about how all this stuff works to build the connections as you say.

I suppose I'll just have to detach the skinned geometry, delete by type history, and rebuild the animation clusters. I thought I might have found the answer when I came across Akihiro Yoshida's mel script "ak_goodbyeHistory", but all that does is delete the nodes. It doesn't bake the deformations.

And now a bit of editorializing (or call it whining, I suppose):

It seems to me that to have a feature where a node in an object's history could be "baked" would be a good item.

See, what I've done is to change the head on a rigged character by deleting faces on the character's geometry and swapping in another head. So the "polyChipOff" and the "polySeparate" nodes are still there taking up space among the "eyebrowLeft", and "upperlip" deformation clusters. "ak_goodbyeHistory" deletes the results of the node as well as the node.

Thanks for your help though Joojaa. I've got your instructions set aside to look at from time to time and maybe it will penetrate someday. Although if I ever DO get it, it may put at risk my membership in the Loyal Order of Technophobes and Luddites.

[joojaa]

BAking happens automaticaly if you disconnect in comming connections to a shape instead of deleting the nodes.

How much ui do you need. Porblem with this is taht it cant be done super reliably to work on all possible cases.

[gregs]

As an example, what if I wanted to remove the "polyAverage" node from this scene, but keep the changes to the geometry it makes, and maintain the functionality of all the clusters. Could you describe sort of roughly what the procedure would be? Am I out to completely isolate the "polyAverage" node by deleting the connections by selecting them and pressing backspace, and then hotwiring the connections that were made through it?

Or do I have to do the createNode mesh procedure you've described above?

(thanks again for your time)

[joojaa]

You cant in general collapse nodes that are in between the things in this case it MIGHT be possible to reorganize the order if you can move the poly avarage to the beginning of the thing. but because poly avareage has no tweak associated in its creation its not a easy task (isf there was a tweak the reorder would be simple enough).

Now this mightbe a bit tricky, and if the modification has troopology changing effects it will NOT probably work!

connect the avarage to the start of your history chain then connect it forward to a empty shape mark it intermmediary connect this forward to the next thing and so on. Test if it still works theres a possibility it wont.

Then finaly delete the connection form the avarage to the newly created shape.