advanced user question - real time collision detection during modeling?

[Pyrex]

I've always wondered this, but now I'm at the point where knowing if this is possible or not would greatly increase my workflow. My current project involves a lot of rocks on terrain, or think of it as pebbles. It is a very time intensive thing to place each rock on the terrain - it takes hours. Is it possible to assign some sort of collision detection where I can just drag rocks onto a terrain and have them set on the terrain by themselves, and detect where to stop and prevent passing through? That would really make my life a lot easier.

[MrCAD]

Have you tried this plugin ?

 

http://www.itoosoft.com/freeplugins/glue.php

 

I guess it can help you to some extent

 

good luck

 

Meher

[MBetke]

You could drop the rocks with Reactor physics inside 3dmax, use a particle solution, use a scatter/painter plugin/script or simply your mouse with a snap to face option turned on.

[Pyrex]

MrCAD - that's a great little plugin, I didn't know it existed, you might have just saved me a lot of time.

 

MBetke - I did consider using a particle solution, but I've never used it with the Reactor physics.

[Devin Johnston]

This plugin is wonderful.

http://rendering.ru/ru_en/plugins/multiscatter.html

[Dave Buckley]

If your in Max 2012 I suggest using MassFX, select all rocks and terrain, press go and watch them fall and collide.

 

Well theres a little more to it than that - not much though. Look it up