Cineversity

Question: Is there a way in R15 Studio to have cloned objects not overlap when the cloner/object/count is increased?

Context: I have a cube (4x x 1y x 4z) in a cloner set to grid. They are affected by a random effector on position only (just to stagger their placement). On the cylinder I have a rigid body tag. Follow Position set to 10. Linear and Angular Dampening set to 100. The clones still overlap. Project/Dynamics/Gravity set to 0.

I saw a response to this question elsewhere but it dates back to 2010. I’ve followed those steps but it doesn’t work. Perhaps the method for doing this has changed in new releases?

Hi Peter Amante,

As the clone size itself of the clones is to no concern to MoGraph, as the main part works on Position,Scale, and rotation only, you need something else.

Typically some Phyton scripting is needed, to get the size of the clones and change the set up. Which in return will of course create a conflict with, e.g., the random effector if it caused the problem. Think of the effect while the clones follow dynamics and bounce off each other.

Having said that, if follow your Context description, you are familiar with the dynamic, but the cubes itself have been set not to be dynamically to—each other—.

All the best

Sassi

I think I follow you. I’m not concerned about size, only the position so they don’t overlap. I’ll need them all on the same horizontal plane, in this case xy. Right now some of them are sitting on top of each other in z. I was hoping there would be an easier solution other than Python scripting.

Thanks for the quick response!

Thanks for the reply, Peter Amante.

I’m currently not clear about the Random Effector, as it can be animated. Is the overlapping only needed for the initial set up, and the Cylinder will mix them up later on anyway? Fi so, you could fill into an frame some spheres and have them dynamically find their own space. The spheres have to be large enough to “cover” the cubes. Then switch their dynamic options off and use it as position matrix for the cubes.

A more manual solution would be to produce some more cubes even, and with the MoGraph Selection exclude those overlapping ones.

Perhaps I miss the point of your set up, but without scene file and more information, it is rather guess-work.

The size matters, as if they are super small, they might never intersect in the first place. The larger they are, the more it is possible that they intersect in the first place.

All the best

Sassi

A bit late, but this may help - http://greyscalegorilla.com/blog/tutorials/how-to-fill-a-volume-with-clones-without-intersections-in-cinema-4d/

Some other random thoughts - what you have (cloner with dynamic tag) should do the trick, but if the intersecting cubes aren’t separating try starting with the Cloner grid much larger than you need and animate it down to the final size you need. In the Collision shape menu of the Rigid body tag try Automatic(MoDynamics) - seems to work better than plain Automatic and faster than Moving Mesh.

Hi pccombes,

Yes, thanks, exactly. I mentioned it above, just fill it with the aid of dynamics. :o) As I got no follow up on this, I did not elaborate on it further.

Things like that are simple procedures, as posted a while ago: http://old.cineversity.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2720&PN=1&TPN=13

All the best

Sassi