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editable mesh/patch/poly

Hi,

This is probably a very stupid question, but I don't really know the differences between an editable mesh, editable patch and an editable poly. Can someone explain briefly what the differences are and when to use which one.

Thank you

Jorrit
 
Messages
19
jorritvandommelen said:
Hi,

This is probably a very stupid question, but I don't really know the differences between an editable mesh, editable patch and an editable poly. Can someone explain briefly what the differences are and when to use which one.

Thank you

Jorrit

An editable mesh is a type of deformable object in gmax. An editable mesh is a trimesh; that is, it uses triangular polygons. Editable meshes are useful for creating simple, low-polygonal objects or control meshes for MeshSmooth modeling. You can convert a patch surface to an editable mesh. Editable meshes require little memory, and are a natural method of modeling with polygonal objects.

An editable poly is a type of deformable object in gmax. An editable poly is a polygonal mesh; that is, unlike an editable mesh, it uses polygons of more than three sides. Editable polys are useful in that they avoid invisible edges. For example, if you use a cut-and-slice operation with editable polys, the program doesn't insert extra vertices along any invisible edge. You can convert editable meshes, splines, primitives, and patch surfaces to editable polys.

A patch is a type of deformable object. A patch object is useful for creating gently curved surfaces, and provides very detailed control for manipulating complex geometry.

When you apply an Edit Patch modifier to an object or convert it to an editable patch object, the software converts the object's geometry into a collection of separate Bezier patches. Each patch is made up of three or four vertices connected by edges, defining a surface. Patches also have interior vertices that you can control, or let the software control for you.

You control a patch surface's shape by manipulating the vertices and edges. The surface is the renderable geometry of the object.
 
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1,484
just to add a note

First, this is not a stupid question. Nothing in the tutorials makes this very clear. I struggled with it for quite a bit.

One thing I've learned is that working with editable poly has some strong capability not present in edit mesh. The ability to cut a new edge into an object appears to be present in edit mesh, but its flaky. With edit poly, you can divide an edge, and then connect the new vertices with a created edge, and it works every time. Also, I like the "border" subobject in edit poly, with that you select an "open" edge, like the end of an object that is missing a cap, and you can produce the cap...works reliably.

Cheers,

Bob B
 
Hi


First of all I like to thank you all for the quick responses.
It is still hard to understand it, but I think that I seem to get the basic idea. I will read it again and I'm going to try something with those things. I mostly modell complex objects, so if I understand well, it is better for me to use the editable poly in most cases, right?

Thanks again. :)

Jorrit
 
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