Impractical Sculptie idea?

This might fit better into the build or script forums but I also want to know how you go about pursuing your crazy ideas.

Is it possible to change a sculptie shape by replacing the texture of the sculpt using a script? If so I envision a sort of 3D animated GIF like effect, where you could have, say a pteradactyl, dragon, or eagle, slowly flap and flex its wings in a repeating pattern. Or you could make flowing water by creating a sculptie series that ripples or swells and churns. This wouldn't be too hard using Wings3d I would think, just very time consuming. I wonder how many shapes/ textures you would need for a smooth animated effect.

Has this already been done? Surely it has, if I thought of it.

Anyway, what do you do when you get a bee in your bonnet about such ideas a bit outside the range of time you have available?

[Edit: I didn't think about rez times. That could be a problem unless you preload the scupltie textures somehow.]




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Actually, you could probably makes scripts that change the shapes (all the properties under 'Object') of prims. Not so sure about sculpted ones though.

Being somewhat an anti-sculptie type myself take what I say with that in mind. I would say the idea is somewhat impractical since sculpties rezz in such weird ways......first the base prim, then the sculpt texture changes the shape. That would be one problem I see that would make it a little undesirable to many (myself being one). The other is unless the sculpty is very well made (which, in my experience, is the exception rather than the norm) what ever it is you want to animate would look quite unreal......and possibly ugly.

But, can it be done? I think it probably can. As I understand sculpties they are merely textures applied to a specialized prim so you can make a texture changing script to put in the prim to get the effect. Don't let my dislike of most sculpties discourage you though........it's just me.

I have seen this done before, specifically with animals.

There are some pretty neat ones too. I saw a set of gears that meshed and spun together when sculpties first were introduced.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZGFyN0GwZs

ETA~ How to....http://www.purplestatic.com/anim_sculpt/

Hair works by loading everything, then just adding and removing transparencies.

Yeop... been done!
Curtains are a fine example.

See animals at aeryglow wildlife

yup

depends on the effect and size. for smooth effects... alot.


a lot


shelve them or offer them up to the public and let someone else make it


it is, and you can, but smooth motions will be necessarily slower than jerky counterparts. a common trick is to resize different prims with the particular sculpty step already rezzed, rather than swapping the image. or having a seperate set of prims that pre rez the shape, while only one changes.




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