Nodal based motion survey

[Sensei]

Hi!

Somebody is interested in nodal based motion modifier?

Example usage:
- Add motion modifier
- open node editor
- change size/position/rotation of object depending on 2nd object distance, distance to camera, light, time or whatever you can imagine, with limits controlled by Min/Max vector nodes..

How much would you be willing to pay for such functionality in LightWave with unlimited ways to enhance motion?

Best Regards!

[tischbein3]

Hi!
How much would you be willing to pay for such functionality in LightWave with unlimited ways to enhance motion?

Mhmm,
honestly I think such a plugin would be more powerfull comfortable as a master plugin, wich controls multible objects motions from within.

(I'll would do this myself, but honestly I'm sticking in something else / and even then I would prefer to wait until there is a way to hide/forbid nodes access / startup outside the wished context without hacks).

just my 2 cents on this.....

EDIT:
(But in general a good idea)

[DarkLight]

While not using Nodal, there is already a node based motion plugin available.
http://www.nodalideas.com/amelie/

[[email protected]]

http://www.naturalmotion.com/morpheme.htm

Download that video (might have to register). That's the kind of stuff I'd like to see in a node system - not just transfrom properties. For realtime/interactive stuff that is going to become really important, especially as 3d packages start incorporating more and more realtime features out of the box.

[Mylenium]

Hi!

Somebody is interested in nodal based motion modifier?

Example usage:
- Add motion modifier
- open node editor
- change size/position/rotation of object depending on 2nd object distance, distance to camera, light, time or whatever you can imagine, with limits controlled by Min/Max vector nodes..

How much would you be willing to pay for such functionality in LightWave with unlimited ways to enhance motion?

Best Regards!

Na, it would be just another workaroundish solution not worth any money from my end. Unless someone comes up with a really usable scene wide expression system that has access to every single scene parameter, including channels, marterials, other nodes/ items etc., all efforts in that direction are in vain, regardless whether it's based on nodes, scripts or neuronal interfaces. This is a problem at the core of LW and any new plugin would only add to the long list of candidates for the trash can once those underlying problems hopefully get solved by NT themselves. So no, no good idea at all.

Mylenium

[zardoz]

this is kind of what I asked in this thread...

http://www.newtek.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57127

[Sensei]

this is kind of what I asked in this thread...

Not really IMHO.. You wanted import data that are not yet calculated and ready..

But imagine this:
- Add Motion Modifier.
- Open Node Editor.
- Add node Sinus and connect to Multiply node by 3.14159 then result connect to Make Vector in Y axis.. Ball is jumping up and down..
- another object flies somewhere and yet another node checks whether it's close enough (f.e. Subtraction between ItemInfo World Position and ball position) and then ball is limited by bottom of this object and ground and start jumping faster and only in range between ground and top object and with time reduces jumping amplitude to 0..

All this without even touching graph editor where you would have to setup milion keys to achive the same result.. And reusable because such setup can be saved as *.nodes file..

And I have this plug-in at hand..

I watched somewhere trueSpace video where motion was controlled by nodes, and guy talked about how to make bolt that flies in the air without rotation, then when it's close enough to thread start screwing on it and stops when it's not possible to move more down..

Just to show what I am talking about here is this video:
http://www2.trueart.pl/Tests/PACh02pt2.avi

If somebody make bolt and thread, I will reproduce this video in LightWave v9.. Step, by step..

[Mylenium]

I watched somewhere trueSpace video where motion was controlled by nodes, and guy talked about how to make bolt that flies in the air without rotation, then when it's close enough to thread start screwing on it and stops when it's not possible to move more down.

But you are not considering that nodes in trueSpace have a different meaning. Just like XPresso in Cinema 4D, nodes in trueSpace are representations of generic script functions and not just materials/ shaders. They are even used to get some of the workgroup functionalities and as a way to program interaction e.g. for VRML and Schockwave output. Unless Lightwave can do the same on a scene wide level, I don't see any point in what you are suggesting.

Mylenium

[Sensei]

But you are not considering that nodes in trueSpace have a different meaning. Just like XPresso in Cinema 4D, nodes in trueSpace are representations of generic script functions and not just materials/ shaders.

LightWave nodes are not just for materials/shaders! That's just top of iceberg..

They are even used to get some of the workgroup functionalities and as a way to program interaction e.g. for VRML and Schockwave output. Unless Lightwave can do the same on a scene wide level, I don't see any point in what you are suggesting.

LightWave nodes can be used to anything that doesn't require issuing Layout commands..

For TrueMotion case nodes created by user are changing position, rotation and scalling of item where such motion modifier was applied to.

[jeremyhardin]

I'd be interested, especially if there were the normal motion modifiers as well, only in nodal version. i.e. parent, follower, sticky, expressions, etc. Maybe even an IK node. all with data in and out. that would be brilliant.

Because honestly, i think EVERYTHING should be nodal. and if the above modifiers were to exist in the same nodal space, THEY'D ACTUALLY RESPECT/AFFECT EACH OTHER...which is more than they do in LW. You never know what's going to work with what.

[ercaxus]

LightWave nodes are not just for materials/shaders! That's just top of iceberg..



LightWave nodes can be used to anything that doesn't require issuing Layout commands..

For TrueMotion case nodes created by user are changing position, rotation and scalling of item where such motion modifier was applied to.

LW has serious problems with motion modifiers in general. For example if items are parented to an item in a 2 IK chain hierarchy. For example a null that is supposed to follow a wrist bone's world pos does weird things sometimes. Arm + Spine = 2 IK chains. These kind of things should be extremely easy, but not at the moment.
If your system is not going to have similar restrictions and, then go for it, but someday newtek might come up with their own version (since they have the nodal now) and that wouldn't be cool.
Actually the moment they have a motion system that actually works, plugging it into the nodal should be extremely easy, and for some reason I (want to?)believe that's coming very soon.

Good luck.

[ercaxus]

You never know what's going to work with what.

That's LW's motion system

[Sensei]

I'd be interested, especially if there were the normal motion modifiers as well, only in nodal version. i.e. parent, follower, sticky, expressions, etc. Maybe even an IK node. all with data in and out. that would be brilliant.

I am sure that parenter/follower can be simulated by Item Info node with specified by you object and not only position can be copied/mixed to target item, but also rotation and scalling.. If you do little modification of data after reading them from Item Info and before feeding target outputs, you can have very nice effects indeed.. f.e. use sinus driven by time to add/set scalling of object, and this happening only if complete set of other circumstances are true (by using Math > Scalar > Logic)..

If you want re-parent object in fly, with smooth transition such node setup is needed (it works, just checked):

Middle ball is smoothly rolling between 1 and 3 when I move frame slider.. Ball 1 & 3 can have any position keyframed or not, changing or not, and ball in middle will roll between them..

[Stooch]

hehe, is this the beginning of houdini for everyone?

[GregMalick]

Does this mean that the development of TrueHair is almost done?