[Beta1] Sphax VectorialCurve object

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  • Hello Boys and Girls !
    A new beta extension is ready for your hands and brains ! :D

    VectorialCurve is like VectorialLine with an infinite number of connected points and the possibility to round up connected lines. VectorialCurve is a lot more sophisticated but is a bit slower to rendering. With this object you'll be able to create and manage a complex vectorial object !

    Features :
    - [color:#FF0000]All features of Sphax VectorialLine object ! and much much more ![/color] ;)
    - Support an infinite number of points
    - Polys can be closed or opened
    - A tension can be set to round the connected lines.
    - 10 presets are available : basic line, basic rectangle, basic triangle, simple curve, simple poly, simple triangle iso, complex star, complex rounded rectangle, complex house, no points !

    Examples :
    - Only one for the moment which uses all presets (and a programmed one)

    Enjoy and test it a lot ! :)

    Do not hesitate to submit your ideas ! :D

  • Been away all weekend :)
    This is a really cool object. It feels easy to use and it draws pretty fast too! :)
    I wonder if you could change "texture" of the line?
    (like making a rope textured line for example?)

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  • Quote from Andos

    I wonder if you could change "texture" of the line?


    For the moment, as this object is a real vectorial object, I don't know how to handle bitmaps... It's a very big work and I think the render will be slowed down a lot...

    Actually, I look into a way for having filled forms. :)

    Thanks Andos for your reaction. ;)

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  • Me too, I'm back from Weekend I could not test your last releases like your new extension. :)

    And there, I have just tested it's incredible :)

    --------------------------------------
    Nicolas "Nico" Sourdeval
    2D / 3D / Video Artist
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  • With this extension, I would see well a game in the style “Deflektor”. It was a game where mirrors were placed, and a laser was drawn so that it arrives at a given point...

    --------------------------------------
    Nicolas "Nico" Sourdeval
    2D / 3D / Video Artist
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  • Give us some time to check in there, Sphax :)

    My first response is, already? I anticipated this, but not so soon. I am looking forward to trying it out, that is for SURE!

    You are very productive as an EDT, BTW! That is great. Churning them out like that makes me feel great and is very exciting. Reminds me of the good old days when we all worked together to create the Bonus Packs.

    Let's all work with Sphax so that these objects can get finished and become available.

  • Oh, I assume this will replace VectorLine, then? If so, maybe the final name should reflect that?

    Since there is the potential for future vector work, (thanks to your HUGE start in that direction) the name should be carefully chosen. For instance, there may either be an update to this or a new vector extension that does fills and works with bitmaps, etc.

    Vector Draw, maybe?

  • Would it be possible to get circle and ellipse in the presets? That would be very handy.

    I noticed that, with dashes with thicker lines, the angles tend to look kind of sloppy at the peaks, like with start. I have even seen a tail on one of my points and the points tend to be asymmetrical. Not a super big deal, but I wonder if that could be made to look better?

  • I have some more suggestions, to see if they are possible:

    I find myself mostly using objects right now as my coordinates for points. Would it be possible to have alternate settings that just let you pick an object as the x and y, rather than having to go through each position menu option for each expression?

    Second, I have an idea for another preset:

    A wave/sine/saw line with offset? That would allow for snake-like and wave effects on a line. That would allow for sawtooth and sine waves from one point to another. That would be a cool effect.

  • WOW Novabrain ! :D

    Give us some time to check in there, Sphax :)
    [color:#3366FF]> Lol, yes, I'm sorry about that... :)[/color]

    My first response is, already? I anticipated this, but not so soon. I am looking forward to trying it out, that is for SURE!
    [color:#3366FF]> I've developped VectorialCurve just after VectorialLine and VectorialLine is the huge part which permit me to continue on VectorialCurve.[/color]

    You are very productive as an EDT, BTW! That is great.
    [color:#3366FF]> Thanks ! :)[/color]

    Churning them out like that makes me feel great and is very exciting. Reminds me of the good old days when we all worked together to create the Bonus Packs.
    [color:#3366FF]> Sorry, I don't understand this... :crazy:[/color]

    Let's all work with Sphax so that these objects can get finished and become available
    [color:#3366FF]> VectorialLine, VectorialCurve and maybe another one will be finished and released after CC07.[/color]

    Oh, I assume this will replace VectorLine, then? If so, maybe the final name should reflect that?
    [color:#3366FF]> VectorialCurve is a little different than VectorialLine and it will not replace it. VectorialLine is simpler but faster than VectorialCurve. It's better to use VectorialLine instead of VectorialCurve if you just want a simple line. ;)[/color]

    Since there is the potential for future vector work, (thanks to your HUGE start in that direction) the name should be carefully chosen. For instance, there may either be an update to this or a new vector extension that does fills and works with bitmaps, etc.
    [color:#3366FF]> I'm actually working on a way to handle filled shapes with colors. I'll see, after, how I can fill them with bitmaps. And after that, I'll see if it's possible to draw textured outlines. ;)[/color]

    Vector Draw, maybe?
    [color:#3366FF]> Actually, the future final extension which will be able to handle a lot of different forms will be named VectorialForms (VectorialForms is the DrawForms object I've planned since 1 year now. ;) )[/color]

    Tried it. Wowzers! Cool, neat, and useful.
    [color:#3366FF]> Thanks a lot Novabrain ! :D[/color]

    Would it be possible to get circle and ellipse in the presets? That would be very handy.
    [color:#3366FF]> Ellipses are a bit complicate because they will be discretized. But I'll see the better way to do it without too much points. :)[/color]

    I noticed that, with dashes with thicker lines, the angles tend to look kind of sloppy at the peaks, like with start.
    [color:#3366FF]> I think it's not just a dashes problem. I'll see what I can do for smoothing angles.[/color]

    I have even seen a tail on one of my points and the points tend to be asymmetrical. Not a super big deal, but I wonder if that could be made to look better?
    [color:#3366FF]> The "tail" on points are displayed when a very small angle is created. I'll see what I can do against that. I don't understand the asymmetrical problem.[/color]

    I have some more suggestions, to see if they are possible:

    I find myself mostly using objects right now as my coordinates for points. Would it be possible to have alternate settings that just let you pick an object as the x and y, rather than having to go through each position menu option for each expression?
    [color:#3366FF]> I don't understand... You can already move the object with several methods (more than default actions of MMF2 objects)...[/color]

    Second, I have an idea for another preset:

    A wave/sine/saw line with offset? That would allow for snake-like and wave effects on a line. That would allow for sawtooth and sine waves from one point to another. That would be a cool effect.
    [color:#3366FF]> I'll see what I can do for that. But the offset seems to be a bit difficult... I don't know. I'll see. :D[/color]

    Thanks a lot for all your reactions and ideas Novabrain ! :)

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  • Quote from Novabrain

    I wanted you to look at this file, Sphax.

    If you drag Kyle around and he takes the curve directly horizontal to the side of either green ball, there is a jutting effect.

    The end of the curve does not correspond with the x and y of the object and tends to jut out erratically as you drag in either horizontal direction.

    It's not a bug. Your curve has a tension of 1.0. If you want your curve to be terminated exactly at the Kyle position, you should set its tension to 0.0. If you want to have a curve look, you can change the tension in function of the angle of the first segment. ;)

    EDIT:
    To optimize your application, you should set the preset, the alpha, and others settings only one time (at start of frame for example). If you want then to change a point position, you should use "Set position of a point". Your frame rate will be a lot increased (noticeable when you use a lot of points and/or a lot of Vectorial objects).

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  • Thanks for the answers, and I see what you mean about not setting everything during an "always". Makes sense, but I am lazy when I experiment with little changes ;)

    I understand more about your strategy now. I thought when you said that VectorialCurve had all the features of line, that it would be a replacement. Now I see why you have both.

    About the old Extension Developers Team: We worked on a lot of extensions together a few years ago and that is what you see in the Bonus Packs that CT offers. Your work seems to be of the same quality and speed, so I get nostalgic. I think things will be picking up and we on a new wave, so thanks there.

    >I find myself mostly using objects right now as my coordinates >for points. Would it be possible to have alternate settings that >just let you pick an object as the x and y, rather than having to >go through each position menu option for each expression?
    > I don't understand... You can already move the object with >several methods (more than default actions of MMF2 objects)...

    Now what I mean is that, instead of setting the first point's x and y by say, setting to Active Objects via the expression menus, you have another set, say for the presets.

    Each point would just allow you to select an actual object. There are some extensions that allow you to pick objects from the object picker window.

    It would go like this:
    Presets
    Pick points by coordinates
    blah
    blah
    _________
    Pick points by object
    blah blah

    So if you used the line object preset, it would ask you for the first object, (object window pops up) and that would set the x and y, after ok, then the next choice would be the second object, then the final parts of the expression.

    Is that clearer? You are just setting both x and y by clicking on the object you want in the list.

    Take a look at the MoveIt extension. It has a menu action: Add objects to queue. Then you see the choice of objects. It would be cool if we could simply, (and optionally) set points that way.

  • Ok ! After reading 5 or 6 times (maybe an english problem on my side), I've finally understand what you mean... Well, it's a very difficult thing and it will not as optimized as the object is already is... I'll maybe add an action to set a point position from an active object. I'll see what I can do for it but I'll not add an action to automatically set the point position to an active object coordinates each frame (it will slow down the entire VectorialCurve object).

    Notice that presets of VectorialCurves are only some functions which add/set points, set the closed state and the tension for you. All presets can be done manually with default actions and expressions. ;)

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  • It was hard to describe as well. Thanks for spending time understanding it.

    Q: Should curves show end caps? I don't seem to be getting them on curved lines, but I will look again.

    Idea: I have been enjoying the "motion effect" of using the dash offset. I see a couple of things to note. The distance, (space) between the dashes, of course, increases with the thickness of the line. Try a nice, fat, 50 pixel line.

    Would it be possible to control that distance? Again, I am using this to get a sense of pumping motion by setting the offset in increments. Another nice thing for that effect would be to be able to set the color of the that space either as the default alpha or an RGB color.

    I am just noting that it adds another degree of "movement" that way and could be very useful. Maybe I will post a file to illustrate that point later on.

  • It was hard to describe as well. Thanks for spending time understanding it.
    [color:#3366FF]> You're welcome ! :)[/color]

    Q: Should curves show end caps? I don't seem to be getting them on curved lines, but I will look again.
    [color:#3366FF]> Only opened curves show the end and start caps.[/color]

    Idea: I have been enjoying the "motion effect" of using the dash offset. I see a couple of things to note. The distance, (space) between the dashes, of course, increases with the thickness of the line. Try a nice, fat, 50 pixel line.

    Would it be possible to control that distance? Again, I am using this to get a sense of pumping motion by setting the offset in increments. Another nice thing for that effect would be to be able to set the color of the that space either as the default alpha or an RGB color.
    [color:#3366FF]> I don't know if it's a very important feature... I can let you set the alpha and color of the space between dashs but it will slow down a bit the whole render. I'll see what I can do for it. ;)
    I don't know how to change the space between dashs as well as I can't find how to change the size of start and end caps.[/color]

    I am just noting that it adds another degree of "movement" that way and could be very useful. Maybe I will post a file to illustrate that point later on.
    [color:#3366FF]> Yes post an example. :D[/color]

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