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Marionette - User Data Interface


Kevin McAllister

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I am super excited about Marionette.

I would like to be able to add a variety of user data fields to the OIP for Marionette Objects beyond the basic data entry box. Cinema 4d has a great interface for that. Possible options would be:

- a float slider with user definable start/end/units (ie. it could be percentage or degree of rotation)

- the same float slider combined with a data entry box

- paired co-ordinates (x, y)

- 3d co-ordinates (x, y, z)

I bet some of this is already in the mix somewhere.....

Kevin

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Going to add a request for dropdown lists where the selections can be pre-populated and submit this now.

Thanks Jim. I wondered about dropdowns but I thought they might also be possible since you can do them in Vectorscript.

A proper float slider would be great. Think of all the other places the programmers could use them (wherever there's a rotation angle in the OIP could be a slider + input box, scaling textures, translating texture x/y, the list goes on...). You only have to use C4D for a while to appreciate their power as an input method.

KM

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

I am currently creating the basic howto for Marionette and I was poking through the input nodes to see if one of them did it, but haven't come across anything yet.

Worst case when the engineer sees the request, he'll show me where it was all along, I'll look a doofus but then be able to share the info publicly. Win/win!

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dropdown lists

So much inspiration. If the dropdown could be populated with Symbols, your Marionette object could take the symbol, convert it to a 2d profile and drive an extrude along path object..... Can Marionette prompt a user for path input like a PIO object can....I feel like this scripting might unlock a lot of doors when it develops a little more....

KM

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

The Control Geometry input node seems to allow this, however so far ive only been able to get one control geometry object per node network, (but I haven't poked that hard enough to be sure it isnt possible.) it then shows up as an option when you right click on the Marionette Object (after you wrap it up) and lets you edit the control geometry in a mode similar to edit symbol or group.

I was trying to create a super-molding-creator-5000 object that let you add the molding profile as one part and the path as another, a sort of intelligent EAP like we talked about the other day, but can only seem to get it to let me add one set of custom geometry so far.

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You can add popup controls but, currently the list of choices only updates when the definition script is executed (when the user clicks "OK" in the script editor window). This is towards the top of the list of improvements I would like to make.

As far as "Control Geometry" goes, it can only be 1 object....but there is no reason that object cant be a group. Then just use "FInGroup" and "NextObj" to traverse a list of objects in the group.

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Control Geometry is similar to the Path Object and Profile Object in an extrude along path. Using this allows you to "manually" change the geometry used to create a Marionette Object.

There is only a single Control Geometry object allowed, but that object can be a group, so you can effectively put as many different objects into an Object as you want.

Run the Control Geometry input through a Contents node and you will get a list of the items in the stacking order they were in the group.

Run that through a List Explode node and you can then access each individual object in the Control Geometry group to use as you see fit.

To put the initial Control Geometery into the object select the group containing the control objects and the network, right click on the network and Convert to Object Node.

If you right click on a Marionette Object you get an option to Edit Control Geometry. If you double click on an Object you get a dialog box asking if you want to Edit the Control Geometry or the Script.

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The "Control Geometry Group" is a group that is normally hidden visually on a Marionette Object. It can be used to hold extra geometry that can then be referenced in a script using the "Control Geometry Node". It's the same thing as the Path group of an Extrude Along Path object. The Control Geometry group can be accessed and modified through the context menu or on the normal "Modify->Edit Marionette" menu command. So, an example of use might be a custom "duplicate along path" object. The script could draw some geometry and then copy it along a polyline kept in the Control Geometry group. Some types of control geometry (polylines) will also allow the object to be reshaped using the reshape tool.

Usually I will build a script and use a "Name" node to get a object by name (future control geometry) while testing & prototyping. When I'm happy with the results I will swap the "Name" node for a "Control Geometry" node, convert it to a Wrapper then convert it to a Marionette Object with the named object also selected. This will put the selected geometry in the Control Geometry group for you on conversion. Or, just convert from wrapper to Marionette Object then manually put the object into the control geometry group after. Hope this helps make it clearer. It's a little complicated to get at first but does significantly add to the power of Marionette Objects.

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When I'm happy with the results I will swap the "Name" node for a "Control Geometry" node, convert it to a Wrapper then convert it to a Marionette Object with the named object also selected. This will put the selected geometry in the Control Geometry group for you on conversion. Or, just convert from wrapper to Marionette Object then manually put the object into the control geometry group after. Hope this helps make it clearer. It's a little complicated to get at first but does significantly add to the power of Marionette Objects.

I'm not certain, but I think when I tried to convert a network or node to and Object without already having the Control Geometry there, I got an error due to an undefined handle. The Object was then basically missing. The only way I could edit it was with Enter Group and only because it was the only object in the drawing.

Am I missing something or is that the way it works?

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- a float slider with user definable start/end/units (ie. it could be percentage or degree of rotation)

- the same float slider combined with a data entry box

I'm bumping my request for float slider style input for Marionette. The float slider options in C4D are what I'm looking for. I think this type of input is essential and I'm really hoping its been considered for VW2017.

KM

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