3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [318]
The Hide Distribution Object option lets you make the Distribution object visible or invisible. The Seed value is used to determine the randomness of the objects.
Loading and saving presets
With all the various parameters, the Load/Save Presets rollout enables you to Save, Load, or Delete various presets. You can use saved presets with another Source object.
Tutorial: Covering the island with trees
You can combine several different types of compound objects to create interesting effects. In this tutorial, you use the Scatter object to add trees to the Terrain object island created earlier in this chapter.
To add trees to the island with the Scatter object, follow these steps:
1. Open the Island terrain with trees.max file from the Chap 27 directory on the CD.
This file is the same island terrain example that you completed earlier in this chapter, but it also has a simple tree added to it.
2. With the tree object selected, select the Create⇒Compound⇒Scatter menu command.
3. Click the Pick Distribution Object button, and select the island terrain. Set the number of Duplicates to 100, and disable the Perpendicular option.
All the trees now stand upright.
4. Select the Random Faces option.
The trees become denser around the hills where there are more faces.
Figure 27.14 shows the island with the trees.
FIGURE 27.14
Using the Scatter object, you can add trees to your island terrain.
Creating Connect Objects
A Connect object is useful for building a connecting bridge between two separate objects. Each object must have an open face or hole that specifies where the two objects are to be connected.
To use this object, delete a face on two Editable Mesh objects and then position the holes across from each other. Select one of the objects, and choose the Create⇒Compound⇒Connect menu command. Then, click the Pick Operand button, and select the second object. The Connect object builds the additional faces required to connect the two holes.
Filling object holes
If multiple holes exist between the objects, the Connect object attempts to patch them all. You can also use the button several times to connect a single object to multiple objects.
Caution
The Connect object doesn't work well with NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines) objects. •
The Parameters rollout includes a list of all the operands or objects involved in the connection. You can delete any of these with the Delete Operand button. The Extract Operand button lets you separate the Operand object from the Connect object.
In the Interpolation section, the Segments value is the number of segments used to create the bridge section, and the Tension value is the amount of curvature to use in an attempt to smooth the connected bridge.
The Bridge Smoothing option smoothes the faces of the bridge, and the Ends option smoothes where the bridge and the original objects connect.
Tutorial: Creating a park bench
The Connect object is best used between two symmetrical copies of an object that need to be attached, as with a table or bridge. For this tutorial, you use the Connect object to create a park bench between two end pieces.
Note
Although the Connect compound object works fine, it requires that both holes have the same number of vertices. A more robust solution is the Editable Poly's Bridge feature. •
To connect two ends of a park bench, follow these steps:
1. Open the Park bench.max file from the Chap 27 directory on the CD.
This file includes symmetrical ends of the park bench. One end was created by extruding a spline shape and using the ShapeMerge tool to cut matching holes on the inner-facing surfaces. The Mirror tool was then used to create and rotate the symmetrical clone.
2. Select one end of the park bench, and select the Create⇒Compound⇒Connect menu command.
3. In the Pick Operand rollout, click the Pick