Looking for script - automatic building/block animation

[stevesideas]

I remember seeing a script that (I think) rotates or pushes up meshes automatically to form the final build. Does anyone remember this script ? I think it was a mainly white animation that showcased it ?

[stevesideas]

I may have found something similar: http://www.3dbrother.com/3ds-max/arc...n-creator.html

Has anyone used this ? I don't think this was the script I was looking for unless of course it has now turned into a commercial product.

[Neilg]

I believe what you're thinking of has turned into this - http://animatorstoolkit.com/

It is however well worth the low price and a seriously massive set of tools - which do jobs that are otherwise near impossible in max.

[stevesideas]

Thanks. I'll check this out

[stevesideas]

I've purchased this script but haven't got a clue how to get started. I've checked out the tutorials but can't seem to find anything where they start from scratch and go through the motions of how to use ATK.

I'm trying to have buildings push up from the ground and have the timing controlled by a gizmo. Is this possible with this script ? Like a domino effect as the camera sweeps across the buildings pop up one behind the other. Any help would be appreciated.

In fact, if anyone has any ideas about the best way to build buildings (a lot of buildings) as if being constructed it would be a great help.

[Neilg]

It is possible with the script, yeah. i did that a couple weeks ago. I dont know your scene or how it's built so I cant be specific about how to approach a single building (or even what kind of buildings they are) though.

read the help files - http://animatorstoolkit.com/atk/help/
You want to focus on 'copy', 'object selection' & 'transform'. read about how the UI works too.

follow this one first and have a go of setting up a scene where all your building segments come up in sequence over 100 frames - http://vimeo.com/76596717
You only need to use the 'copy keys' and 'shift' to get a similar effect if you're not exploding the geometry & resetting the pivot within the script.
You basically create a control object with your animation. select all your non-animated objects and transfer those keys to it (starting from the final animation frame, so they move into position rather than from it) and shift the start point out over 100 frames based on their distance from any reference object you choose.

You wont be using the same method for everything - and once a method is setup with this, save your presets. Some things can just come up through the floor over 10 frames, some objects look better rotated in, etc. save presets!
Use edit mesh's explode tools to break elements up into separate objects. reset pivot points/xform. maybe use the deconstructor script to break huge single objects into smaller ones (cut the walls up by floor etc)

What i did when I had a pool space to do was break it up into scenes - one for the main path, one for the lounger area, one for the cabanas, one for the pool itself etc. I animated each of these over 100 frames and grouped it before merging it back into a master scene where i could shift the keys along the timeline to control the overall timing. I'd recommend breaking your scene up as much as possible too - it made it much easier to work on & change timing. Also, switch off 'snap to frames' everywhere - in the curves editor and the timeline at the bottom. the script will create a lot of subframes and that 'feature' will fuck it up whenever you move anything.

When I first used this it took me 2 days just testing animation methods/getting to grips with my options and seeing how I wanted to approach it. then, once the presets were saved out and I was ready to hit the entire scene I finished all the animation in a single day.

the great thing about this script is once you have a single building done every other one will be finished within a matter of hours. Using a gizmo to control the landscaping and keeping each building as a group so you can independently shift & scale the frames depending on the speed of the gizmo will save you a lot of headache later.

[stevesideas]

Wow, thanks for the quick reply and advice. I'll give this a go

[lukx]

wow this is awesome script for awesome price buying it right now !