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Author Topic: Wide Sidewalk Interior Corners  (Read 1448 times)

NCViz

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Wide Sidewalk Interior Corners
« on: April 29, 2016, 08:47:14 PM »
I am trying to create a sidewalk with a brick and concrete pattern with tree grates.  My approach has been to make it as simple as possible.  This is due to me being somewhat of a beginner with RailClone and geometry concernes.

I initially created 2 sections.  One without a tree grate.  One with a tree grate.  I am using a selector to swap out the section based on the spline material ID.  The problem is the sidewalk is wide and there are some acute corners where the geometry is getting bunched up.  There are also some obtuse angles where gaps occur between different IDs.

I created a third section with extra geometry to try to round the corners.  This helped but did not eliminate the issue.

Are there any settings I am missing that can deal with this or should I be approaching it in a different way?

Paul Roberts

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Re: Wide Sidewalk Interior Corners
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2016, 05:08:17 PM »
Hi,

Thanks for contacting us. Generally speaking you will get the most accurate deformation around a tight corner with a wide segment when the spline is in the middle of the geometry. Because the distance to the furthest edge is not so great, you're less likely to get edges crossing over and small inaccuracies in the spline are not magnified, as illustrated in the image below.



We also have an FAQ entry on this topic that you may find helpful: http://forum.itoosoft.com/index.php?topic=1679.msg6070#msg6070

For the corners at a Material ID break there is a post here that could be helpful, though this may be the approach you are already using. If neither of these things help, please feel free to upload your style and I'll take a closer look.

Many thanks!

Paul
Paul Roberts
iToo Software

NCViz

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Re: Wide Sidewalk Interior Corners
« Reply #2 on: May 05, 2016, 02:36:13 PM »
Thank you for your help.  I was able to fix the Mat ID break issue with the conditional node but I'm going to need some more experience with RailClone to fix the corner issue.  Using a center oriented spline is not going to work for me.  I need to use the edge of pavement to build off of.  I tried some of the other tips and was able to minimize the effect some but I just don't think the issue can be fixed the way I have it built.  I don't have the time right now to rebuild everything.  Most of the issues will not be visible in the final render hopefully.

This brings up another question....

I needed to add a drop curve section but didn't have the time to do it correctly.  As a quick fix, I added an Edit Poly modifier and tweaked the vertices.  I wanted to preserve the RailClone object so I didn't collapse it.  The problem is the Edit Poly modifications do not render.  Is this normal?
« Last Edit: May 05, 2016, 02:40:13 PM by NCViz »

Paul Roberts

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Re: Wide Sidewalk Interior Corners
« Reply #3 on: May 05, 2016, 02:55:10 PM »
Hi,

Normally applying a modifier onto RailClone will automatically disable the instancing engine but if this isn't happening for some reason you could try the following

1 - Got to the Display rollout.
2 - Set the Viewport mode to Mesh
3 - Turn off Render > Use Instancing Engine

I hope that helps, please let me know if you have any further questions.

Many Thanks,

Paul
Paul Roberts
iToo Software

NCViz

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Re: Wide Sidewalk Interior Corners
« Reply #4 on: May 05, 2016, 04:04:13 PM »
I did this but it destroyed the UV Mapping.  I ended up saving an uncollapsed clone as a backup.

Paul Roberts

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Re: Wide Sidewalk Interior Corners
« Reply #5 on: May 05, 2016, 04:48:28 PM »
That's strange. would you mind sending me your style so I can take a closer look? If you'd prefer not to post it publicly please feel free to send it to support@itoosoft.com.

Many thanks,

Paul
Paul Roberts
iToo Software

NCViz

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Re: Wide Sidewalk Interior Corners
« Reply #6 on: May 05, 2016, 05:07:11 PM »
Here is a simplified file with just one sidewalk.

BTW, the mapping doesn't mess up until render time.

Paul Roberts

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Re: Wide Sidewalk Interior Corners
« Reply #7 on: May 05, 2016, 07:31:34 PM »
Hi, Thanks for the file.

I can see the problem. Your segments have Box mapping turned on. This doesn't work with Mental Ray, so you wouldn't have noticed it, but it does work in any renderer when you disable the instancing engine. That's why the UVWs go wrong. In this case you can just uncheck Deform > Mapping > Apply Box Mapping and it all works as expected.

Thanks!

Paul
Paul Roberts
iToo Software