i've been going over the pin table example on this website which i must say is great.
i do have a problem though and it concerns the sop_pins operator. in this there is the splineVOP which is named “overshoot_spline” and has four constantVOPs attached. these are noted in the comment as being keyed.
while trying to work this out, i cannot find where the keying is done.
could anybody help me with this.
betty

I downloaded the Pin table example yesterday and think it's fantastic!

It's a perfect example to demonstrate the use of VOPs.


I noticed that the 4 constants weren't animated either.

I'm not sure exactly WHAT is happening, but if you notice in the comment it says the spline starts at 0, goes up to 1.2, then goes down to 1. The constants themselves are 0, 0.5, 1.2, 1. When the comment says “keying” I guess they mean the keying of the spline, not the constants.

While I was checking this out, I tried to use the print module. However, when I enable “output to console” it displays the output console with the value for a long time and I can't do anything else until I turn that off. This seems like a useless option if it prevents one from actually playing the animation. Did anyone else notice this?

PS: I installed the Apprentice Edition yesterday and am thoroughly impressed with it. The “free” factor gives me the freedom to experiment for my university degree.

where the hell is that spline?
sorry i didn't notice an “output to console”, i'll keep looking.

You'll notice it's called “overshoot_spline” inside “sop_pins”.

This is a spline VOP, which generates a spline (that doesn't show up in viewports) based on input keypoints. Those constants that are connected into the “overshoot_spline” node are the keypoints (not animation keypoints) which are used to create a math function. In this case, a function that starts at 0, goes up to 1.2, then settles at 1. This spline (which is a math function) doesn't show up anywhere because it's used to control a parameter, and doesn't directly correspond to something visual.

Hope that makes a little more sense. I'm slowly getting there with Houdini too. It has a very steep learning “spline”

The “print” module (is module the right word here??) is in VEX Builder and is used to print values out somewhere, but if you switch on “output text to console”, weird stuff happens.

I understand now, the “output text to console” switch on the “print” VOP module stops because it has finished cycling through the points. Because there are alot of points, it takes a while before it gets to the next frame.

I guess the best time to use this is when I manually update everything.

hey county
oh yeah i see what you mean now with the print “module”. i believe they are called “operators” ops for short. VOPs as in vex opetators, etc.
i didn't know what you were talking about as that isn't one of the operators used in the pin table file and i am very new to VOPs so i haven't looked at 90% of them.
now regarding the “overshoot spline”, it does make sense what you say with inputs and i was looking for a “visual” presentation of the keying. but it's the one thing i can't seem to get going so i thought i have to key it in somewhere….i'll work it out somehow. still have to experiment more.
i also have other problems to work out…….
thanks heaps for your replies..you really are getting the hang of it by the sounds of things…keep it rolling