dForce: just hand and arm Visible in Simulation

marble

I think it is possible to have a figure visible in simulation but turn off parts (such as a hand and arm) but is the opposite possible? I mean to switch off Visible for the root node but then turn on Visible in Simulation for the hand and arm?

Richard Haseltine

Have you tried? I can't just now, but if figure off overrides bones then you could perhaps select all of the bones and turn visibility off, then select the bones you want and turn it back on.

charles

If that doesn't work you'll need to use a dforce Modifier Weight Node and use it to restrain the parts you don't want effected. There is a youtube video on doing this for making any Daz hair dforce (which is wrong because it won't work on ALL hair), use the same technique for that for the clothes.

 

marble

Richard Haseltine said:

Have you tried? I can't just now, but if figure off overrides bones then you could perhaps select all of the bones and turn visibility off, then select the bones you want and turn it back on.

Yes I have tried, Richard. That's why I posted this - just in case I was missing something obvious. I seems to be a bit of an issue with dForce that grouping objects and nodes is not intuitive. I never know whether selectng a group, for example, changes the Visibility in Simulation setting for all the member objects of that group. I mean it doesn't change the individual settings but does it over-ride them? I have experimented in the past and convinced myself that it does only to be proved wrong when I use it in a scene. So when it comes to a figure, it seems that there is an over-ride which then does not allow for individual bones to be turned on.

 

marble

charles said:

If that doesn't work you'll need to use a dforce Modifier Weight Node and use it to restrain the parts you don't want effected. There is a youtube video on doing this for making any Daz hair dforce (which is wrong because it won't work on ALL hair), use the same technique for that for the clothes.

 

I get what you mean and I have used that method in the past - as well as using primitives. For example, if I want a hand to affect a dress, I put a small sphere (with enough subdivisions) over the hand just for draping and then make the sphere invisible after the drape. I really think that this is a design omission for dForce which needs to be addressed. Clearly people are using workarounds.

I'm not experienced enough with weight maps to know whether they are saved automatically or if they are removed when the scene is closed. 

charles

Well when you use the dforce modifier weight node you'll painting the geometry sections you want to be effeced and those you don't by dforce. It gives much mroe fine tuning than nodes.

 

marble

charles said:

Well when you use the dforce modifier weight node you'll painting the geometry sections you want to be effeced and those you don't by dforce. It gives much mroe fine tuning than nodes.

 

I understand that but it isn't the answer in every situation. For example, you need to know where the dress is going to contact the hand so that you can paint that area of the dress. And, as I said earlier, I don't know whether these weight-painted areas are permanent or just effective for a single drape.

charles

I see, they aren't permenant, you apply it to the Weight Node you create and attach it to the item. You can remove it and edit but it does have to go along with a dforce item (or attach dynamic dforce). But if the item already has dforce weight node built into it, well that I'm not sure if you have to remove the old one or not. So fair quesiton something I'll have to look into> Usually it's no big deal to just reapply the item again from the library with the original dforce.