jed

@C4DS I'm wondering if this is what they call PEBKAC - problem exists between keyboard and chair. Anyhow, I managed to reproduce the problem and not reproduce it ie 2 files, 2 different results - probably me doing something stupid...

I like to re-create crazy things I see online in C4D eg this prime number gear puzzle looney gears.c4d here's a more conventional epicyclic gear model epicyclic.c4d

Yeah - make new Python window, paste the text. Just deleting the 1st line 'import c4d' and re-typing it seems to work also.

I'd always assumed that Python code was fairly portable - it's just text, right ? Seems like it's not... I recently got a message 'thanks for the script, but it didn't work'. The guy was on an older version of C4D than me, and my bit of Python failed. I did a test with a file created in R20 that I attempted to open in R16, and got this This can be fixed by copy/paste the text into a new R16 Python window, or just deleting the 1st line 'import c4d' and rewriting it. R16 is Python 2.64, R20 is Python 2.7.14 and the difference is enough to break your scene. Makes me wonder how many 'bad' scenes I've given people in the past. You can get your version here - D'OH ! as Homer Simpson would say...

@mabad I used your code to make this 3points.c4d

I find the concept that any 3 points always lie on a circle a bit mind-blowing. Sounds like the kind of theorem someone in ancient Greece would spend their whole life trying to prove (or disprove).

No probs - was just going to add this with math mult Xpresso Testing3.c4d

Rigging isn't really my thing, but I think I've sorted it. The way hierarchy works is that it outputs each object once every frame as per the instructions - D is down one level, N is down same level (next). In your case start path is D from the top parent, then each subsequent object is N until it runs out of objects. The representative object 'becomes' each object in turn, so any data applied to it applies to all in the list. In this file I've added a reference node which uses the same protocol as hierarchy. It looks at each object hierarchy outputs and goes D to its immediate child ie thumb > thumb ch1 etc. Then I connected the same user data slider - you could put a math node in here to give different bend with the 2 levels of joint. Xpresso Testing2.c4d

If you want to apply the same value to many objects using hierarchy, you use a representative object (usually the first). The hierarchy node must reference the parent of the objects. If your objects are not all together in the OM (ie scattered around), you can use object list in a similar manner. When dragging objects into the list, click the 'padlock' to stop the window closing. hierarchy.c4d object list.c4d

@leiz Have a look at this iteration solution spots_3.c4d you can see which lights are on in object manager when you move the collider

I could have probably have made a better scene where an effector fall off shape moves (ie no object). Same idea though.

A volume effector object moving in the light plane would switch the spots on/off when the cloned light is within the object. In this file I copy the XY position of a 2nd object to the XY of the lights object. When the 2nd object intecepts a spot, it turns it on. spots.c4d might work...

If you're wondering why the numbers don't match (5 input = 8.66 depth), I was a bit slapdash plugging a real into a vector port - this makes the numbers out by square root of 3. For 5 input = 5 depth divide by 1.732, so 5 / 1.732 input gives Motext depth 5 > Mr Pedantic

This is springy delay.c4d

I could probably be sent to the tower for mocking the queen and reproducing a banknote - Photoshop gave this message when I opened the note jpeg

10 ^ -8 is effectively zero. What you are seeing is the so-called floating point error. Python doesn't store numbers the way humans think, and so you sometimes get these little quirks. I guess you could fix this 'error' with something like round(x, 2), but it's not usually recommended. There's discussions at stackoverflow if you google 'floating point error'. I only clean up numbers for display purposes - not in calculations. from https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/floatingpoint.html LOL, as they say...

I think it's Liz the current Queen Wiki Queen Vic saying 'we are not amused' is ye olde englishe mythe.

Bar-room trick

Works for me. Are you clicking compile and using 'math dot sin' ? Check menu, script, console for any Python error messages. You do know that Python + Xpresso both use radians ? 360 deg = 2 * pi radians

I was reading up on epicyclic gears at Wiki here. The math at Wiki was a bit hard, so I thought it easier to build a model in C4D and experiment. I got a bit carried away... the soundtrack was made using this , Lego Man model by Rob Redman Lman.zip

I had another look at animating the Windows spinning dot thing today with Python. In this version I animated one obj and made 2 history lists for position and visiblity. The other objs read off 5th, 10th, 15th value etc and so follow the 'master', but with delay. I tried using 'c4dcafe', and it kinda works - but too many letters maybe cafespin2.c4d I did the gifs in Photoshop.

I use this renamer pack - OK with R20 http://www.lasselauch.com/c4d-script-c4d_renamer-pack/ on Windows, goes here C:\Users\jed\AppData\Roaming\MAXON\Cinema 4D R20_4FA5020E\library\scripts\C4D_Renamer-Pack_v1.1

I dug out one of my old animations - 'We wish you a merry Christmas' played on tubular bells. I think I used Nitro4D's SoundFx to trigger the sounds. just a bit of fun

I use modulo a lot, eg if I want to trigger some event every 10F I use if frame modulo 10 = 0 <do something> pseudocode

I don't understand your maths, but this is how I'd do 2 oscillating lights 2lights.c4d edit - probably should have been >= not >, but you get the idea