Sets with items ungrouped...

Serene Night

So I have a question. Sometimes I'll get an environment set where the items are ungrouped. I usually try to group items together, so I can move the environment while keeping the character at zero, but sometimes grouping them causes the items to lose their position. Is there a better technique to do this so ungrouped items will keep their position and can be moved 'as one.' Some items when grouped leap out of place while some do not.

Richard Haseltine

If the items move when grouped make sure that Parent in Place is checked (Scene pane option menu).

Syrus_Dante

I think its a matter of the Parent Items in Place option while reparenting. Some items may have the origin point allready at the world center others do not, and in combination with the setting Parent Items in Place off - the items origin snaps to the Group node center origin point while reparenting. If you want to change the origin point of a prop switch to the Geometry Editor and place the green center point where you want it and Memeorize Rigging in the options menu.

 

Method 1: select all items at once at the Scene pane - select first then Shift+select bottom one - then go to Create > Group and in the dialogues advanced options you have the "parent selected items to Group" option.

Keep in mind that - with this method the new Group isn't placed at the world center but at the center off all items selected and grouped. Therefore I avoid this method - it had confused me alot in the past to place the Group somewhere else than the world center - while I wanted to reset the position of the Group.

 

Method 2: I tend to first create the Group with nothing selected so it spawns at the world center. Then I check if Parent Items in Place is set to on. Then I select the Items in the Scene pane and drag and drop them to the Group.

In the Parameters pane you can check the Translation section now to see the xyz-offset in relation to the Group position - but since the Group is placed at the world center the Translation values repersenting the global Translation values even if they are local Translations by now - because they are children parented to the Group.

 

I want to give one hint at the bottomline, once you manage to Group everything in the right position select the Group, right-click in the Scene pane and choose Select Children. Then go to the Scen pane option menu and choose Memorize Selected Item(s) and also Memorize Figure(s) (maybe there are some rigged items that are threaded as figures). Once done every Translation, Rotation, Scale value in the Parameters pane is set to default and you can reset this state with Restore Selected Item(s) and Restore Figure(s).