Plant Objects do not Send to Surface

[ericjhberg]

I'm having difficulty sending plant objects to the Site Model elevation using the Send to Surface command. Meanwhile, simple symbols send to surface in replacement of the Plant Objects without problems.

 

I'm in VW2020 and it's been awhile since I've tried this command with plant objects...long enough to question if Plant Objects lost this functionality in VW2020 going forward?

 

Thanks.

[Jonathan Pickup]

if everything is working, plants automatically sit on the surface the site model and you do not need to send them to the surface, so I'm guessing that there is something not working.

 

are the plants on the same layer as the site model?

what are the site modifier settings for the site model?

 

[ericjhberg]

Plants are on a different layer, out of necessity.

 

No site modifiers, simple site model built from 3D geometry.

 

Symbols sent to surface register correct Z-values. Plant objects do not and in 3D, their 3D representations all appear at Z=0 no matter if they are sent to surface or not.

 

Luckily, we are not rendering in VW anymore, and using Lumion instead. I was just trying to get proxy nodes in place for a quick Lumion replacement with the correct Z values. That said, I did learn that I can just send them as proxies in Lumion at Z=0, raise them all en-masse above the Lumion version of the Site Model, and then conform them to the surface. Works like a charm with no bugs...unlike VW.

 

Thanks @Jonathan Pickup for your assistance.

[Jeff Prince]

@ericjhberg Is the level of your plant's design layer set different than your site model's design layer?  That can make things interesting 🙂

By the way, plants to site model surface in 2020 works.

Edited January 5, 2021 by jeff prince

[ericjhberg]

Nope. All levels are at 0.

 

I find it strange that symbols work find with the send to surface, but Plants do not?

 

I have had a troubling history with the send to surface command. Sometimes it won't work for one object, but will for another right next to it. Usually, I have found that the more complex the site model, the more "holes" present where send to surface or even Stake objects won't accurately read the surface. This is not one of those models. Everything else works fine.

[Michal Zarzecki]

I have had the same problem - sometimes it works, sometimes doesn't. More profound mathematics behind it, I suppose.

[hollister design Studio]

I was dealing with this today.

• Plant Layer is at zero
• Site model is at zero

Plant symbols are all over the place.

 

I will say, some plants that I thought were 'missing' were right where they were supposed to be - but hidden below some hardscape... felt like an idiot for a minute or two!

[hollister design Studio]

From today.

 

Opened this file and all Landscape areas and all plants are at zero.

• PLNT design layer is set to 0 elevation.
• All plants are at zero (except a couple that I've set at between 3' and 4'  to get then up above some hardscape.
• Landscape areas are connected to Site model  layer
• Landscape areas are formed to the contours but are at zero elevation.

 

3/4 view:

Topo range is between 160' and 220' - house is at 190' at FF

 

Front View:

 

I know I shouldn't try and send to surface but I tried any way and it did nothing.

 

I have this with every file at one point or another but this file is particularly prone to plants and Landscape SAreas messing up...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Poot]

I have figured out a workaround for this issue:  select the plant(s) --> go into the OIP  --> edit plant style --> in the visualisation tab under 3D graphics select 'edit current graphics'.  Once you are taken into the editing viewport, click the Exit button and the plants should magically pop up to the surface. Suffice to say this only works on a single plant species at a time, but on any number of that same plant in your drawing.

 

 

This would be a great issue to fix, especially if we have many plant objects that are not going to the surface....

Edited March 16, 2021 by Poot

[hollister design Studio]

@Poot I'll give this a try.

 

I've had many "re-ping" your plants to the site model comments - but no really description as to how to actually do this.

Thank You!

[Rado Zezulak]

Quote

I'm finding that plants can't be sent to the site model surface unless the layer containing these plants is active. 

 

[Lisar]

I've found this a source of frustration as well. I often change the z elevation to something above 0 then back to 0 (or send to surface) and then the plant sits were it should.  Unfortunately, it seems you have to do this one plant at a time as 'select all' hasn't seemed to work.