[Plugin] triangulateFaces.rb v1.2 20101120

Woz2007 · 1 Jun 2010, 10:34

Got a sample of where it fails?

If you look at the texture in the tringle before & after you will see that it is affected. When I export the model as a mesh the surface is indeed messed up.

I hope the image is enough to work from?!
Thnaks for looking into this. This script could save me a lot of hassle if working correctly

thomthom · 1 Jun 2010, 11:00

hmm...? Are you using Sandbox tools to modify the geometry afterwards?

Woz2007 · 1 Jun 2010, 11:41

Yes.
Should I be using an alternative?!

thomthom · 1 Jun 2010, 11:47

That is causing the UV to distort, not the triangulation.
The flip function in sandbox doesn't preserve UV mapping when flipping.

Gaieus · 1 Jun 2010, 12:16

@thomthom said:

The flip function in sandbox doesn't preserve UV mapping when flipping.

Sorry Woz; that was my suggestion I know...

Thom; any other idea? Rewriting the sandbox tools for instance?

(Or maybe some vertex edit tools?)

Woz2007 · 1 Jun 2010, 12:36

@gaieus said:

Sorry Woz; that was my suggestion I know...

No worries Gaeius Im grateful for whatever help I can get

I should really introduce myself & what Im trying to achieve.
So Im a hobby artist that fell upon Sketchup back in version 3. Ive found it to be the most user friendly UI for quickly pulling a model together albeit somewhat quirky. Ive tried other apps like 3DSM, Maya, Lightwave etc & those intefaces are just too over complex for simple modelling. PLUS they come with extreme pricetags. SU for me was a happy medium.
The models Im creating are for use with the Unreal 2.5 engine for the development community of this application: http://avayalive.com/WaStore/Overview.aspx
There are a few problems that I need to be able to overcome.

Unreal uses meshes in a triangulated form & uses vertex lighting so I need to be able to see the mesh in a triangulated form prior to exporting & allow me to be able to edit those triangles so that the vertex lighting is shown correctly. At current some bad triangles are shown with hard shadows on flat surfaces due to the nature of the triangulation created. With the ability to edit those triangles I can quickly edit the mesh in SU PRE-EXPORT so the creation doesnt have these issues. Other apps such as 3DSM recommend re-tesselating the mesh to breakdown the triangles into smaller surfaces, however this also is detrimental as it increases the polycount, which is at a premium considering the overall level created.

Gaeius recommended the use of this script along with the sandbox "flip edge" tool to see if it would solve the problem. Whilst the triangulation script works the UV as we now know is messed up with the flip edge tool affecting the polygons UV mapping.

So is there a suitable solution that can meet my needs?
BTW: the .alive project is something I plan to open up to the SU community in the coming weeks as there is a lot of potential for modelling, texturing etc & all with a small learning curve they could soon be developping whole environments Some projects also have funding!!

thomthom · 1 Jun 2010, 13:51

@gaieus said:

Thom; any other idea? Rewriting the sandbox tools for instance?

something like that.

@gaieus said:

(Or maybe some vertex edit tools?)

I do have plans of making Vertex Edit keep UV mapping when modifying geometry. But probably not fro initial release. But it won't help in this case as it would not flip edges.

It's a real shame that UV coordinates doesn't stick in SU when you modify geometry - that each tool would need to implement a feature to keep them.

Woz2007 · 1 Jun 2010, 14:02

damn...sounds like theres no easy solution.
Could a UV script not be written that uses a similiar situation to align face but align UV ? Please excuse my ignorance if Im talking gibberish.

thomthom · 1 Jun 2010, 14:05

I do have plans for some UV tools, but I have some other projects lined up first.
I have done some experimenting with making UVs "sticky".

Gaieus · 1 Jun 2010, 14:16

Ag imagine Crish's Shape bender or FredoScale with sticky UV's!
What an easy thing it would be to make cool arches is no time!

Woz2007 · 1 Jun 2010, 14:27

@thomthom said:

I do have plans for some UV tools, but I have some other projects lined up first.
I have done some experimenting with making UVs "sticky".

Cheers ThomThom. Ill look at if Whaats UV solution wors for me in the meantime.
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=23725&hilit=uv+mapper

.Alternatively I can fix the triangles & export to Accutrans & resolve the UV there.

thomthom · 1 Jun 2010, 14:28

I hope to make Sticky UVs into a framework that can easily be added to plugins.

Woz2007 · 1 Jun 2010, 16:42

Hmmm,.. i think Ive found something interesting by accident though.

If you create an object then use this script to triangulate the face then apply a material & then use the sandbox Flip Edge tool....the UV appears to be untouched.

-However-

If you create an object then apply a material then use this script to triangulate the face & then use the sandbox Flip Edge tool....the UV gets messed up.

..so it looks more like a process issue?!?!?!?

blair · 22 Aug 2010, 20:38

I installed the "[Plugin] triangulateFaces.rb v1.1" and tried it on the simple flat face with material shown below but it only creates 2 triangles. How can you get more triangulation?

jeff hammond · 22 Aug 2010, 20:51

hey blair.. this plugin simply changes everything to triangles instead of quads or more..

you're looking for more of a subdivision type of thing:

that was done with subdivide and smooth (available at smustard) but i believe there is another subdivision plugin out there that is free and will do what i think you want (although way less functional than whaat's subdivide and smooth).

blair · 22 Aug 2010, 21:09

Thanks Jeff,

Now I understand that one better. I have seen Subdivide and Smooth and it does a lot more than I can ever imagine needing so I would like to find the free one you mentioned for now.

pilou · 22 Aug 2010, 21:28

@unknownuser said:

so I would like to find the free one you mentioned for now.

no problem
Subdive and Smooth (basic free) http://www.smustard.com/script/Subdivide by Ricks Wilson

blair · 22 Aug 2010, 23:20

Thanks PILOU!

I just tried that one on the flat plane I had previously shown and it did nothing. What I would like to do is create a multitude of triangles like Jeff had shown on the far right in the example he posted.

thomthom · 20 Nov 2010, 09:57

Try this plugin: http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=21472
Use the UV probe and hit F2 to see SU's internal triangulation. What do you get then? Would that triangulation be ok?

bac9-flcl · 20 Nov 2010, 10:07

Upd: I've figured out what conditions are needed to reproduce the bug (all dimensions are multiple of 1m in this example; if it matters):

@thomthom said:

Try this plugin: http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=21472
Use the UV probe and hit F2 to see SU's internal triangulation. What do you get then? Would that triangulation be ok?

Thanks, will try it and post about result