I've been away for a long time, I know and there's no reason except, well, life happened.  I'm slowly getting back into Bryce and upgraded to v6 a week or so ago.

So far, I'm really liking it---especially because the interface didn't change all that much which is really nice since I've not used it in awhile.

But I have a question about the new "convert to mesh" function.  :huh:  In reading through the documentation about it, it reads like the newly converted mesh can be used to boolean things: "However, the new mesh can be set to positive, negative, or intersect, and then grouped with another converted mesh or with newly created primitives." (Bryce Artist Guide, Convert Boolean Icon)  I hoped this meant that the new mesh could be used, for instance, as a negative item to carve out a portion of a positive item.  However, that doesn't seem to work.

I have one group that will become my negative and one that will be my positive.  I've tried converting the negative to a mesh, applying the negative, ungrouping the positive and regrouping with the mesh added but that doesn't work.

I've tried converting both groups to meshes, apply the appropriate positive and negative but that doesn't work either.  I've tried exporting the meshes, importing them again and doing the +/- thing but that has no effect either.

Is what I'm trying to do really possible?

Thanks in advance and I'll be back but probably mostly in lurker mode for now.  Life, ya know?

Susan :biggrin:

Hello Susan, and welcome back! I haven't upgraded yet unfortunately, so I don't have a clue.

Hi Susan...  Welcome back...

Those booleans only work with Bryce Objects....    The Meta balls work a little different...

You can set the Bryce Objects Like Sphere, Torus, Cube and Pyramid to a combination of negative and positive and create strange objects....    make holes or cut them too...  That was in Bryce 5 as well...

Now, whats new is.... (Bryce 6) you can turn these objects into an OBJ file mesh....  and export them to another program to be rendered....  Hurray!...  

MetaBalls kind of become each other like a lump of clays...  Textures do weird things and are really nice...    and you can export them also in OBJ file format....

wb!

Thanks for the welcomes and info, y'all. :o)  I'll probably remain in lurker mode most of the time (still life happening, ya'know?) but I'll be in and out periodically.  With more questions too, no doubt.

Ok, I'm trying for the third time to post a bit more info on this.  Between my (still) crappy ISP and a program crash, the first two didn't happen.

I realized I didn't say in my first post, that all the objects I'm using are either cubes or spheres.  My assumption is that this should make it possible to do what I'm wanting to do.

Susan

convert to mesh actually means you can create a Boolean object, then export it to other programs!

you can create models that can be used in (ahem, that other program) Poser, Vue, Lighwave, the possibilities are endless.

Quote - I have one group that will become my negative and one that will be my positive.  I've tried converting the negative to a mesh, applying the negative, ungrouping the positive and regrouping with the mesh added but that doesn't work.I've tried converting both groups to meshes, apply the appropriate positive and negative but that doesn't work either.  I've tried exporting the meshes, importing them again and doing the +/- thing but that has no effect either.

From the first paragraph above, don't ungroup the positive group. Make sure all the primitives inside the group are set to positive, negative, or intersect.

From the secon paragraph, if you export the meshes, then re-import them, the different pieces of the imported meshes have to be set to positive with the groups set to positive or negative. You also have to click on the E button and select the solid when grouping option for the meshes.

Since I don't have Bryce on this machine, if I remember correctly, the converted mesh can be set to positive, negative, or intersect and booleaned to another primitive or boolean group. Notice I said "converted mesh" not "exported mesh."

Here is the way to do this:

1. Create boolean group and click on the C icon to convert.

2. Click on the A icon and set the converted mesh group to negative.

3. Create a new boolean group, making sure to set each primitive and the final group to positive.

4. Group the converted negative mesh group and the new boolean group.

-darlisa

Well, I have a feeling what I'm trying to do can't be done.  My two groups consist of both positive and negative primitives.  What I was trying to do was shape the first group with the second group.  Since the two intersect at a point where both groups have shaping within their own group, each has to be a mix of positive and negative.

I've since found a way to do what I wanted even if in a more convulated way that I would have had I been able to do what I wanted.  It looks ok and since this isn't anything arty, I'm not going to worry about it.

Thanks for the help y'all. :o)

Susan

I don't have bryce 6 and I haven't used this feature for a long time, but is there a little "E" icon after you convert to a mesh?  If there is, click on that, do you get the standard mesh dialog?  I think there's a feature in there like "solid when booleaning", I seem to recall you have to click that to boolean meshes??

Um, that doesn't work at all. ;o)  However, I got a very weird result. :oD

I did a simple test with one mesh by centering it inside a flattened cube so it would show on both sides.  Changed the cube to positive and the mesh to negative and set the "solid when..." tick.  Grouped them and voila! 

One side of the cube has the top part of the mesh, the other side has the bottom part.  And it's not an even division either...it's rather jaggy.  Too weird. ;o)  It was a good try tho'.  I'd forgotten all about the "solid when" thing.

Susan,

"Well, I have a feeling what I'm trying to do can't be done.  My two groups consist of both positive and negative primitives.  What I was trying to do was shape the first group with the second group.  Since the two intersect at a point where both groups have shaping within their own group, each has to be a mix of positive and negative."

yes, I think it can certainly be done - since you say you're using B6,  You perform the operation with the first group - whatever that maybe, positive and negative or positive and intersect... whatever.  Then you click on C (i.e. collapse) to get the result of that operation.  Then you do the same with the second group, and again collapse to get the mesh you want, then you can use the second collapsed mesh to perform a boolean operation on the first mesh you created.

I just did something similar myself - but I used a sphere and a light in the first operation, (positive and intersect) and two cones in the second, (positive and negative) then I used the cones on the sphere/light mesh, it works just fine.
The result isn't anything spectacular, I'm just experimenting, but it proves it can be done.

Hmmm.....Well, that's what I did. 

My first group was composed of only positive and negative cubes.  I collapsed that.  My second group was composed of a pos sphere and some neg cubes.  I collapsed that too.  I made the second object negative, the first positive and grouped them.  It didn't work. :o(

I've since found a way to get the effect I wanted a different way but I'd still like this method to work.  I'll have to play with it some more it looks like. :o)

Thanks!