[jc4d]

Hi all,

Is there a reason because the MXS reference object have a scale of 100?
To use some spread plugin I create a instance of that Reference and then I have to scale the objects even up to 10000% in order to reach the right scale than the orginal referenced object.

Cheers
JC

[JDHill]

The reason for a scale factor of 100 would be that you are using cm units in Cinema. Let's say that you had an MXS file which contained a single 1m cube. You then made an MXS reference with scale of 1.0 and set it to reference this MXS; the 1m cube would be 1cm to Cinema, and you would need to scale it up 100x to match another 1m cube (i.e. 100 units) you had drawn in your Cinema model. That is why the plugin is pre-scaling your MXS Reference at 100x. Does this help to explain?

[jc4d]

So if I change the units to meters before export, then when I make a new scene in cm the reference object is not going to need be scaled?
I ask because to crank the scale in the spread plugin to 10000% is a little absurd.

Cheers
JC

[JDHill]

No, it is just necessary to remember that in the MXS file, 1 unit = 1 meter, always. It is in Cinema where the meaning of '1' changes, so in order to use an MXS reference at scale = 1, you need to be using meter units in Cinema, in the model where the MXS Reference is being used. If you are not, then you need to compensate the scale of the MXS reference according to whatever units are being used.

Regarding the spread plugin, I don't know what that is; I assume you mean this? If it is that, or another, my question would be: can you observe MXS References needing this extreme scaling when not using that plugin? If it's that plugin, I'll try the demo and see how it works.

[jc4d]

Yes that´s the plugin that I use where I have to crank the scale, even I tried another one that I have http://www.dns-plugins.de/plugins.php getting the same result than with spread surface but then I tried using the Array modifier native from C4D and this one respect the scale, I don´t know if is because the nature of those plugins.

Cheers
JC

[JDHill]

Could you send me a simple scene which uses this plugin (the c4d jack one) so that I can see exactly how you're using it?

[jc4d]

Sent to your email.


Cheers
JC

[JDHill]

Thanks, so really, you need to apply the identical multiplication (i.e. 100x) here as you do in the MXS Reference itself, but it seems more because in that plugin 0-100% describes the same range as 0-1 does for scale in Cinema's Coord. tab.

The question is why you need to do that, when for something like a cube, or even a Maxwell Instance of a cube, the clones created by this plugin are pre-scaled according to the scale of the source object, while In the case of an MXS Reference, its scale values are ignored. In other words, you can scale the source MXS Reference however you like, and it will not affect the clones.

I'm not immediately sure why that would be, but I'll see if there's anything I can do about it.

[jc4d]

Thanks for checking this out, I just tried a new document with just the cube primitive of C4D and when I use it as a MXS reference it goes scale down when I populated with Surface Spread... Maybe the plugin SurfaceSpread and Paintonsurface are resetting the scale to 1 from 100 of the MXS reference object, so that could be the reason bacause I have to multiply the scale in the spread plugin.

Cheers
JC

[JDHill]

Yes, and the question is: why does that happen with the MXS Reference, but not with other objects. And why with these particular plugins, but not with arrays, thinking particles, etc.

[jc4d]

I have no idea but I just got a workaround, put the MXS reference object inside a null with 1x1x1 size and voila, maybe is not the cleanest workaround but better than crank the scale in the Spread plugin even to 10000%.

Cheers
JC

[JDHill]

Interesting to know, thanks.