#Cycle Editor??
10 messages in this thread
Well, my copy of Imagine finally arrived at the weekend. Most things seem
to be fitting into place, except for the Cycle Editor. Can anyone give me
some hints as to how it works, even with the manual it is remaining totally
opaque to me.
To be more specific, I presume from the name that it is for defining
movements that cycle. What is a 'segment' as refered to by the manual? How
do you define the frames manipulated by the CELL menu? My attempts always
only have one frame shown on the status line.
Any help in getting me going with Cycle edits would be appreciated.
Thanks, Phil Camp.
Hi Phil,
I would also like to know a bit more about the Cycle Editor.
Everytime I try to save a cycle object the guru comes. Let me know if any
experiments provide insight.
Bob.
Bob,
It seems the bit I was totally missing in the Cycle editor is that GOTO
also creates new frames, unlike in the other editors. It seems a simple
cycle edit session would be;
1) Assign an object to the axis the cycle editor has created for you.
2) Select "Make Key Frame".
3) Select "GOTO frame" (say 64).
4) Select an manipulation mode (move, rotate etc).
5) Alter the axis.
6) Select "Make Key Frame".
If I do this I can get an object to move around in the anim preview.
However, when I load this cycle object into the Action list of the
stage editor, no matter what I set (number of cycles etc) the thing
refuses to move/spin at all?. Anyone got any thoughts?.
Phil Camp.
Phil,
Ok, with your help I got it all to work (Cycle object). I saved the
object, then loaded it into the stage editor in the ACTION menu. I set the
number of cycles to 2 or 3, press return and the thing jiggles as per
design.
My usual screwup is to set a value in a requester then click OK
before pressing return. Otherwise, I have no idea why your's doesn't work.
You told me how to do it. Go figure.
Bob.
I'm in the dark about that too. Everything I try is guru-city.
Steve
Yea, I don't get it nether…
BradHayes
Brad, the cycle editor functions like DPaint III animation. First you
define a heirarchy of sgments around the axis of rotation on the cycle edit
screen. For bi-ped, this heirarchy would look like a skeleton. Next, in
the Assign mode, you define which objects from the Detail or Forms editor
are assigned to the individual moving segments. Make sure to position each
object's axis at the object's base and scale the axis so that it is the
entirength of the object. The cycle editor auto-scale these objects so
that they fit properly according to your heirarchy. Use the Goto command
to add frames to your animation. Each time you make a change to youcycle
object, designate a key frame. When you have a cycle you like, save it to
disk and then you have, in essence, a 3d cycle brush which can be inserted
into your animations. –Rick
/exit
Sorry if these messages tonight are garbled, I've got some serious line
noise on my end here. –Rick
That helps with the cycle editor Rick! Thanks. I was kind of hoping that
the cycle editor would provide some means for integrating wave series from
Terrain. Is there, or will there be, any automatic way to use Terrain
generated wave files? As it is, they can be sequenced in the Action editor,
I suppose, but with a fair bit of work. Scott
Scott, I haven't heard of any automated support for Terrain. I'll be
pushing for an upgrade in '91, myself. –Rick