Cutting off a model

[AJLynn]

I have Max models of Boston that I didn't make myself (http://www.cityofboston.gov/bra/BRA_3D_Models/Index.html) and I'm using the Downtown Boston base and buildings in my thesis work. I'd like to do renders in the style of a physical model built into a wood box, with water to the north and east and city to the box edges to the west and south - which means I need to define the box edges and cut off the model there.

 

The model in built from a lot of objects, with buildings as groups of rectangles and bevels and extruded lines and all kinds of stuff, and then the buildings grouped by program. Dealng with each individual object will take forever, so can somebody tell me a way to define the border and then say "everything left of here (etc) gets removed"?

[vertexART]

hey there,

first thing that comes to my mind is this:

-select everything and apply an 'edit poly' modifier (or convert everything to ep and then attach all segments into a single ep)

-go to polygon subobject mode and choos 'slice plane', but make sure U 'check' split option.

-position the slice plane as U want, and then 'slice'

 

then U can select new polys created and delete.. with holding your breath deeply

 

this will make a mess of your mesh probably, but worth of trying..

hope it helps

[AJLynn]

Thanks. Tried that, but it wouldn't apply the modifier - guess it's too complicated... Any other options?

[MegaPixel]

Select all objects, go to the Utility Panel and choose collapse selected. Be pepared to wait a minute or two while it does it's thing but it's basicly going to flatten everything into a giant single mesh. Then I would proceed to do what vertexArt suggested and use the Slice Plane to dice up the mesh as you wish.

 

Mega

[vertexART]

Thanks. Tried that, but it wouldn't apply the modifier - guess it's too complicated... Any other options?

the other option is . ..

(or convert everything to ep and then attach all segments into a single ep)

 

or using MegaPixel's approach, whatever suits U. But it will take a while if there are many polys involved.

hope it helps

[tomchang]

QUote ;Be pepared to wait a minute or two while it does it's thing but it's basicly going to flatten everything into a giant

 

 

You also can use a blur script (available at http://www.maxplugins.de). It never crashes as max attach mesh does.

[radii]

Group all items, apply the "slice" modifier, check the appropriate slice type and adjust the gizmo to cut in the right place. The more object are grouped however, the longer it will take the modifier to compute.

[AJLynn]

Thanks. It also would not allow the convert to EP and the model was so complex it wasn't doing anything without a really long wait, so I ended up starting a new file with the objects I was using to mark the cuts, then importing Boston piece by piece and opening all groups, deleting things I didn't want and booleaning some things that were large and crossed the boundary. Took a while but it was worth it - went from a 60 meg file to 20 and my laptop can cope with it. First render:

 

 

Things left to do:

 

Fix UWV maps for wood box

Get/Make a model of Chelsea/Charlestown

Fix overlapping street "base" objects (making weird black parts)

[vertexART]

great approach Andrew!

starting clean and importing bits by bits is the best way really. Not the fastest, but surely the cleanest.

Nice progress so far, model looking OK.

cheers

 

[edit] what's the polycount btw? Or I shouldn't ask

[tomchang]

Do you know a plugin called Scalpel?

 

I think it's the tool u need :

 

http://www.cebas.com/products/products.php?UD=10-7888-33-788&PID=6

 

cheers.

 

Thomas