Conform Spline to Surface?

[miketruly]

I can't remember if this is possible with the native MAX toolset.

I know I can Conform one editable poly object onto the surface of another object (terrain for example)....  but is there a way to conform a spline onto a terrain and end up with just the spline... not an editable poly?

Basically... I want to 'Conform' a spline.

Thanks!

[miketruly]

Or is there a way within 'ShapeMerge' to get just the resulting spline that has been Conformed to the surface?

Thanks!

[miketruly · Accepted solution]

Ahhh... OK.  I got it sorted.

Using the 'ShapeMerge' method... the resulting terrain object with the shape merged into it...

if you go to subobject vertices... all the desired verts are selected.  CTRL-click the Edges icon and you have all the desired edges plus a bunch of edges you don't want.  Click on 'Shrink' one time and the edges are reduced to ONLY the desired edges for the spline.  Click 'Create Shape from Edges' and now you have the desired spline which conforms to the terrain.

Thanks anyway!

[srhyne]

Thanks for providing a solution to this problem. I'm confused on a couple steps I hope you can add some clarity too. I don't understand the process you describe about Cntrl-click on the edges icon and selecting shrink.

Thanks!

[VaizardNL]

You might have already solved the issue yourself, but for others who didn't fully understand it or might bump into this topic. After you have  done the ShapeMerge. Either add an 'Edit Poly modifier' or collapse the stack/make it an Edit Poly. In my example image I have added an 'Edit Poly Modifier'. Step 1 shows that you select the 'Vertex Selection Mode'. The vertices of the projected shape will then be selected. Step 2 points to the 'Edge Selection Mode'. If you press CTRL on your keyboard while currently in the 'Vertex Selection Mode' and then click with your mouse/tablet on the 'Edge Selection Mode'; all edges that are connected to the selected vertices will be selected.  This works with all selection modes, so give it a try and see what happens. Because vertices are also 'touching' edges of the Cube Shape in my example - these will also be selected; though they are not part of the shape that I projected. This is why it is necessary to click on the 'Shrink button'. In the modify panel - once in 'Edge Selection Mode' - there is a button called 'Create Shape'. This will create a new Spline from the selected edges on the surface. Hope this is somewhat clear 🙂

[Tvortsa]

Are you seriously!? Is this your solution to the simplest task?

in this solution, we lose the topology of the original spline

[Anonymous]

An easier way to do this is using the Glue script by itoo software. It is free and simple.