Cineversity

Howdy,

I’ve been doing C4D for quite a while, but I’m rather new to character animation. Loving it so far, but Priorities are driving me crazy. I was wondering if there was an easy way to generate a list of every object and tag in a project that had a Priority value. Ideally, some kind of spreadsheet type window that’d have the name of the tag, which object it was on, as well as its priority value. Sifting through object by object has become quite cumbersome.

Cheers,
- Greg Reynard

Hi Greg Reynard,

There is no native option to have a list like that. I guess it would be possible to that, but what would be missing is the information flow that is given and the information that the scene needs. Scripts and position in the Object-Manager, etc.
If you have an idea that would allow for that, please use the link below
https://www.maxon.net/en-us/support/suggestions/

Please think of a Character as a combination of a lot of similar items, which come in action at very different times into the mix, e.g., Constrains.
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/SL43FDnWHgkLKFiXNd1FtttZEScHTNQcQCvE4hwFG7h

Just to have exact numbers for this post, I have set up a character with the Character object, see image below.  If all of these listed, it would look like the Object Manager in Flat tree mode, 1000+ objects in a list.
The given information, if it is flawed, hence why one would like to work on it, that long. Since many parts of the same kind come into the game at a certain point, that would not be indicated by the kind, position in the OM or current priority. Yes, there are lots of objects with no option to set a priority, but their position in the OM counts, and if there is a connection to an XPresso or Python Script, which is an information flow on its own.

All the best

Hi Dr. Sassi,

Thanks for your quick response. Yes, I understand what you’re saying re. the challenge of managing all of this information. I guess, like you said, there would need to be some kind of flow chart that ran back and forward from a given object, and would demonstrate that object’s position in the Priority chain, as well as the Priority values for all of those connected objects.

The example I’m thinking (because it’s what I’m currently dealing with) is the leg of a reindeer (deformed by skin and an IK chain of joints) trailing one frame behind its hoof, which is not deformed, but placed using nulls and a PSR constraint. The hoof is in the correct position according to the position of the bones, but the leg/skin lags behind, even if I set the skin priority to Generator 499, and everything else happens before that. I’m not using the C4D character rig… just a fairly simple rig I made for my own purposes, so I have fewer items that would end up in this list, but still complex enough to make it cumbersome to sort through in the object manager.

I believe I will take up the challenge and try to think up how a coherent solution might look and post it to the features request link you sent.

Thanks again!
- Greg

Hi Greg,

I get the impression that something else before has a flipped priority. Not going into details what to do or not, as that feels more like guessing and to me that is nearly qual to wasting time for everyone. But how about baking some elements, to use a elimination problem solving strategy.

Perhaps share the set up, or if needed to be private, I can give you an upload link.

Cheers

Hi Dr. Sassi,

I believe you’re correct, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what’s causing the problem. It’s for a project that’s not yet public, so if you could give me an upload link, I’d very much appreciate if you could take a look at the file.

Thanks very much!
- Greg

Hi Greg,

Please check your “Private Message Box” here on Cineversity, an upload link was set up for you an hour ago already

I will take a look into it and hopefully find the little priority twist that causes trouble. Fingers crossed.

Talk to you soon.

Thanks for the file, Greg.

Please note that I write in a forum, so more details than you might need, but others with varying backgrounds are reading along.

There is perhaps a misunderstanding in Priorities. To just set for several parts of the scene with the Priority to high (Generator 499) means only that you will create great problems. Nothing else is gained with it. This is not how it is supposed to works. Think of Generator more of the very latest parts, joints are more in the beginning of a motion, not the end.

Low priorities produces earlier the information, higher priorities later on, and nothing below will created after a higher number is processed. Many objects have a fixed Priority, they have to wait a frame then, if lower. IF a lower instance was calculated but needed the information from a higher priority, chances are that the information is then taken from the frame before .  My tip, start much lower, not with Generator. The Animation level of Priority makes your leg working in sync with the Joints, but Expression is the typical start point.In teh file it was mostly Generator, I guess after a lot of trial and error. YOu mentioned it, I though you had used it for testing, but it is all over the place.
A good idea is to explore the Character Object, and its hierarchy as well as its Priority settings. Typically most of them are in the Expression range.

Another option to mess up a scene is given by not cleaning up an XPresso set up. Often XPresso can figure those things out, but don’t bet on it. The X-Manager>XGroup works from top to bottom, this needs to be sorted for a clean scene. It can work, but it can delay things as well. I checked your set ups, only some had this flow, but yes, most people don’t care, speaking of files that I explored in the past decades.

Let me know if there is anything else, I’m happy to look into it.

The file is send via PM, not public, as requested.

I have to do a test with the “Shift Priority Tag”, but that will take a while, as the scene file provided was not just a leg.

All the best

Suggested refresher:
http://www.cineversity.com//vidplaylist/priorities

edited

P.S.: If you place a Priority Shifter Tag to the Scene Null, and set it to -1000, then the legs are all fine, so far I can tell.

The Head is a little bit behind. That needs some explorations. I don’t know what your target is here, but the information flow is manifold. It gets kind of several times the same or similar information, while the whole body moves, then the cone follows, but receives also its own added information and finally this is “piped” to the Head, which is already moved.  Perhaps this cartoony overacting is wanted, but it feels more like the information is multiplied for no reason and that is perhaps not wanted (a left over from previous set ups). If I place the Cone directly under the Body Controller (or better just outside of the whole hierarchy and pull the head out of the Hierarchy as well, it feels already more natural. But again, the art directing might have other ideals. At least there is a position feedback loop. Not even to mention the XPresso that moves the Cone as well, while the Head is … well, it is kind hard to tell: The XPresso gives a Global Position, then the Constrains transfers this, during the processing of all the information all parts proved per frame different information, until they rest before the next frame starts. I call that an information knot. Hard to tell, as we don’t see it slowly change, only frame wise, not sub-frame-wise.

A listing as mentioned in the initial post would not solve this, as the list would not assume several informations per object per frame. In other words, such an list should show a change per object, when and how often it happens. IF there is for a moment no change (no animation) the information would be seen as normal. So a whole scene must be tested.  Then from the listing a solution must be created, which requires also that any algorithm could assume the target, artistically, art direction or technically perfect, what ever it would be. Hard to see a simplification than to have the object manager already structured and with no need to go from a listing to a hierarchy of position in the Object Manager, the Priority settings and inside the Scripts (C.O.F.F.E.E., Python or XPresso).