CompuServe Messages

I don't know exactly what featues Danny will be implementing in his patch modeler, but fundamentally it works like this: You can choose building blocks of either planes or a cylinders. These spline meshes have something like 16 control points, or CV's that have influence over the shape and deformation of the patch. Among the many potential uses for patches: 1) seemlessly link objects. In other packages it is possible to select curves on objects, and make patches between these. This is not a built in function of 3DS, so I cannot say if this will be possible with Danny's modeler, but he's a bright guy… This is one of the more ideal uses for patch modeling, because you don't have to get into the complex buisness of moving individual or clusters of CV's around to make the shape – the modeler will blend the difference between surface (curve) A and surface (curve) B. One could, concieveably, loft basic shapes that defined cross sections of the final model, then patch these cross sections. This would be a work around to curve patching, using lofted objects instead of spline curves. This is like what SKIN.AXP does, but you'd have the advantage of interactively adjusting the spline patches. The disadvantage is inherent in the difference between patching and skinning: patching does not create an overall blended surface between curves, rather it links them without reference to the previous surface. Skinning will put a smoother surface across the curves, because you skin by selecting a group of curves, not just two like in patching. Again, Danny's implementations may differ from my experience with patch modeling. 2) Building from scratch. This is accomplished by creating as many patches (plane or cylindrical) as needed to get the detail resolution desired, either at first, or one at a time during the modeling process. CV's would be moved around to deform the original shaps and "sculpt" the desired model. In many cases this could be a powerful modeling tool, but it is excrutiatingly similar to moving vertices in the 3D Editor – it gets just as cluttered and confusing. The biggest difference (advantage, IMHO) to moving spline CV's over polygonal CV's is that the object being deformed is smoother, and the surface looks like what you'll render (unless you model with low rez meshes or render with lower than ideal subdivision settings). Hope this gives you a better idea of what might be useful… John Tissavary | LUNA cie, inc