Topic: Modeling metaballs in 3ds: patches or meshes?

'lo world.

Which route would you take to model interactive metaballs, aka "melting balls",
aka implicit surfaces, isosurfaces, etc. in 3ds?

Code-wise, I will use this for opting between two deeply different algorithms in OpenGL.

Patches, usually, for meta-objects lke this. A patch's spline-basis allows much more fluid... fluids.


Justice 4 Pat Richard

It makes perfect sense.
And.
It is a huge slap in the face of script babies worldwide who advertise the "marching cubes algorithm" for meta objects of all sorts.

Marching cubes = divide the space in cubes, and find the intersection of a volume, expressed by a function, with each cube.

In OpenGL, there are so-called "evaluators" for curves, which make for much smoother curves than the vertex based ones.
And simply all sorts of computations (normals are generated automatically).
And allow for more better organic stuff.
And can be compressed -a lot-.

Have to benchmark this, I think my OGL teacher will die of a heart attack when I show him what I can do when I put my hands in the dirt.

Sorry for the noise here, but when I read that thread title I thought it said "Modeling meatballs." That put all sorts of strange images in my head.


___________________________
Suho: www.liminality.org | Cell 270 | Sig Rotator | the Fellowship of Sup

Actually, so did I at first. Then I redread it, and it still said meatballs. Then I came back a couple of hours later and realised it said 'metaballs'.


Justice 4 Pat Richard

So, how do I go about modeling meatballs?

We need a Swedish person Stat!

"script babies worldwide" are right.

OpenGL evaluators are cool. In theory. In reality they suck.
Big time. Slow. Deadly slow.

Decasteljeau vs marching cubes: two different algorithms to lookup on google. The first is a pain.

quote:

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Blaise said:

We need a Swedish person Stat!

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Yes?
Oh.
Rinced meat 450gr, half onion fine chopped, 1-2dl bread crumbs, a little salt salt, little white pepper, 1 egg, 2dl milk.

Mix fine rinced bread crumbs and milk and let it stand for 10 min.
Put in the rinced meat (fine minced) onion, eggs, salt, white pepper.
Stire until the meat is firm and togheter (sorry for my bad english).
Roll the meat into small balls and frie them in a pan with butter about 4-5 min.
Try one and you notice when they are done.

This is no exact measuring but it doesnt matter you have to experiment to get exactly like you want them.
But i bet there are some reciepe(sp?) out there on the net in english as well.
Maybe ill search one.

(ok i found one: http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1827,146173-253193,00.html
And on that page the gravy seems to be of the right stuff you should try it with that gravy.)

Spellbinder.

(Edited by Spellbinder on 04-03-2006 16:33)

Coolness!

But how do I go about modelling meatballs in 3d studio? And what about OpenGL?

Mmmm homemade meatballs!
Mauro: I'd think you'd need some serious bumbmaps and shaders to get that exact look and feel of a true meatball.
Allthough I'm not sure 3D Studio or OpenGL could simulate an accurate taste and smell. But who knows with all the plugins out there...
And meatballs don't melt if they are prepared the right way, don't know where you got that silly idea...

Seriously, I have no idea, sorry to waste the space =P

/TwoD

*throws a meatball at TwoD*

See? I told you meatballs were fun.