Cerbera

It's an interesting point Thanulee. I am not a member of any other 3D forum apart from this one (beta stuff excepted), and I really hate most things about Reddit, and Discord so those couldn't ever replace this for me if it wasn't here. But I think there will always be a place for forums at some level, and I certainly hope this one remains. We had to do that. When it was all C4D the categories could be about sections within it, and keywords were not so important. Now they are, because everyone wanted maximum simplicity in the categories, and they have diversified, and so that's what they've got ! The tags are still useful in finding the sort of posts you need, hence their renewed importance in the overall context of the site... CBR

Another example. A client comes to you and wants to try 50 different geometric shapes for a new toy they are thinking about. Do you build all 50, so he can see what they look like, or do you build 1 rig, once, nodally, and then just change the input geometry to get the variations done for you ? I think @bezo has done some nodal building tests which I'm sure he'd show you if you asked nicely... CBR

Imagine you are making Laketown out of Lord of the Rings. Do you wanna model 20,000 individual buildings, or do you want to spend the time creating the sort of nodal setup that can combine and randomise the 50 parts you modelled traditionally earlier into all the assets you need ?!! I hope that illustrates why both approaches are needed, and how they are often used together. You would not (ordinarily) use nodes to model a character. But once you had a character you might use nodes to get 50 more just like him but randomised for your army ! I am not into nodal modelling as much as I a) want to be, and b) need to be, but I do appreciate its vast importance to the way are things done in the future. But with that said, until doing nodal modelling is functionally identical to trad modelling in terms of viewport interaction with models, there will always be the need for the latter, so it ain't going anywhere anytime soon ! I am too old now to be anything other than a trad modelling expert primarily, but I will still learn the nodes at a relaxed pace all the time my brain seems capable ! So far I am kept away by the lack of vp interaction, but still use capsules wherever I can squeeze one in... and those, I feel, are a decent bridge between the 2 worlds... CBR

Yes ! And it can do multiple edge loops at once as well... It knows what to do because of the edge loops either side, in the way that preserve curvature in Loop cut does. CBR

If you are investigating the modelling tools, have a look at 'Set Flow', whose reparatory properties for surface curvature are superb. When you use the loop cut tool you have the ability to 'preserve curvature' which will match the curve you are inserting to the adjacent loops. That is all well and good, except that once you have made the cut, or if you have made it with that setting not on (in error for example), there would be nothing you could do about that afterwards, without removing it and adding another one, which is not always possible or convenient (especially if subsequent modelling has taken place, and that loop is now an essential part of something else in the mesh for example). Set Flow lets us to select vast numbers of edge loops, and instantly match their curvature with a single mouse drag. I was positively delighted when Maxon implemented that one, and it has already saved me a great deal of time in my daily modellings. Take this situation yesterday for example... Here I had to adapt one model of golf club out of another, and the alteration of the perimeter had given me a huge ridge in the top edge that needed to be curved as shown by yellow lines below... Now, because this mesh curves in multiple directions at once before S26 I would have need to have manually moved every point individually along 4 whole edge loops there to sort that out... which would have a certain zen tranquillity to it I will admit, but that doesn't save us the time or the $$$ does it ? 😉 With Set Flow I can just select the 4 loops and instantly repair that surface curvature so it is beautifully contiguous, like so... Job done, 10 seconds ! CBR

No, not THOSE simulations, who use the background triangulation (or averaged normals thereof) of every surface to calculate their collisions. The sims I am referring to are the new cloth components, and bullet soft bodies for example, which can sometimes benefit from cross-triangulated topology. However, I do note that we have excellent control over that in the new cloth regardless of the actual triangulation or not of the mesh because we can choose whether the diagonals springs are absent, single or double (same result as poke polys), so I am unsure how that is different. CBR

Yes. Poke polys will be the least-used of the new modelling tools, but I remain glad it is there, like you say, for all those whiskey glasses, knob knurling, and getting alternatively triangulated topology for use in the new simulation stuff... other than that I don't see it getting a great deal of use... CBR

Interesting. Conversely, my tips are up in the hundreds now, so I've been loving that system ! People have been very generous with me I think, for which I am very grateful... CBR

So, for example the mesh on the left below, which we can imagine has become that topologically sound but messy-as-hell arrangement of edges through much poly pushing and alteration over the course of the project; with smooth edges we can equalise and unify that to produce a mesh like on the right. In conjunction with the Straighten Edges tool, it's a pretty powerful combo for neatening, evening and embettering topology layout. Without that, the only way to repair this would be by sliding every point, or laboriously zero scaling sets of edges. So if I had to sum it up in a single sentence it would be 'time-saving topology neatener' ! CBR

That is a properly awesome and useful tool. Without blowing my own trumpet, it can take really very untidy topology, and turn into the sort of meshes people like me would produce - those ultra regular, ultra neat and tidy looking ones ! 😉 The thing that is great about it is that unifies and equalises parallel rows of edges whilst having a non-shrinking, volume-conserving algorithm, which makes it functionally different from, and a useful alternative to HBMB's hb_RoundEdge tool, which does a similar thing in a different way, and does tend to shrink the mesh as it does it. However, the smooth edges tool has a tendency to equalise edges in both directions at once, often redistributing points along the length of those edge selections, which is not always what we want, and the HB alternative doesn't do that, hence why the 2 tools together cover all our bases in the edge smooth department... CBR

2 materials, glass being the base one, and then the chrome masked over the top using the alpha channel I would think. Substance will probably be helpful in eradicating seams / unwrapping that. CBR

Er.... that is how that command has always worked ! It has never not been part of the sculpting workflow, and has never gone missing from any version of Cinema that I am aware of ! CBR

You may have just been unlucky, or the people who had the skills to answer it weren't around between the time it arrived, and the time it disappeared off the front page of the site. Agree with above - much prefer to have it there, answered or otherwise, than not. Sometimes if stuff is particularly niche, specialised or advanced it can be a while before the right people see it, so I would advise always leaving these things up. CBR

Which version ? CBR

No, a mesh is either all a softbody or it is not - the use of the map slots there can only affect the various parameters of the softbody (which can include stiffness and volume etc), but not whether it is active or not on a single part of the mesh. However putting a vertex map in those slots should do 'something'. Please upload the file so we can see all your settings. CBR

You are missing half the equation ! 🙂 This works in conjunction with 'ToDo' Tags which you can add to any object, using the r-click / tags / other menu. All tags you add appear in the master To Do Tab in the Project settings, at which point you can just edit them directly and mark them done or not. CBR

Hmmm. It is certainly not the case any more in S26 - I get crosshairs on all sculpting brushes. But I also don't remember that not being the case in 24... I will test 24 myself (latest version of that, yes ?) when I am back at that machine later... CBR

It IS mainly for sculpting, and adds a sculpt tag to the model when invoked ! CBR

It's all in here dude... dropbox and link... CBR

Welcome to the core. We'll be needing to know specifically which version you are working in (pls complete profile) and ideally, to also have the .c4d file you are working from so we can see all your relevant settings and models without having to recreate them first ! CBR

Nothing wrong with saying that, or agreeing with it til the cows come home... ...but then you go and add this... Stop derailing threads with uncouched speculation masquerading as fact ! This is not the first time, but it is amongst the last of the warnings you're gonna get. CBR

They did not ! Project Mesh still present and correct under Sculpting menu ! CBR

I DO remember that, albeit rather vaguely now as 'maturity' continues to dissolve my grey matter... CBR

Fair enough. I can tell you what won't work - either Polygon Reduction Generators or the old legacy PR deformer, neither of which I think can use restriction tags or fields to confine their influence... And yet I seem to recall there is some way of doing it...but the gremlins in my head can't find the file yet 😉 CBR

Yeah, you see we have multi-instances over here in Cinema too, and I do hear figures of 10s of millions being bandied about as remaining vaguely usable. When I am not so loaded with client work I will have to give that a go. CBR