[Sam Treadway]

Let’s see if this scene file created in R21 will open in R17:

13855_animatedextrusionwithbankingtest.c4d.zip

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[Sam Treadway]

I’m not sure I follow. Have you tried MoExtrude?
Actually I think I know what you mean and did a fun little experiment.
This whole setup could be combined into an eXpresso Rig using Instance objects as internal placeholders.
A Python script is also possible…but another day maybe.

Here’s a simple (convoluted) approach assuming you want to extrude a polygon along a path:

Destructive but clean in the end method:
While on frame zero, center a null on the polygon and animate the null with all the banking you want.
Go back to Frame zero.
Select the polygon and in the viewport: right-click and choose “split”.
Drop that polygon that you just split off as a child of the animated null.
Create a Mograph Tracer and drop that split polygon object into the “Trace Link”.
Set the trace mode to “Trace Paths” and make sure Trace Vertices is turned on.
Other settings: Limit = none, Type=Cubic, Intermediate points=natural.
Play through to the final frame and stop.
Select the Tracer and perform current state to object.
Add in a MoGraph Fracture object and make the tracer splines a child.
Set the Fracture mode to “explode segments” and then do a current state to object.
Now Create a Loft Nurbs object and move the splines in the Fracture(null) as children of the Loft.

A non destructive method if you wish to keep the animation of the extrusion:
Center a null on the polygon and animate the null with all the banking you want.
Go back to Frame zero.
Select the polygon and in the viewport convert the selection from polygons to edges.
Perform an Edge to Spline operation.
Drop that new spline a child of the animated null.
Create a Mograph Tracer and drop the edge spline object into the “Trace Link”.
Set the trace mode to “Trace Paths” and make sure Trace Vertices is turned on.
Other settings: Limit = none, Type=Cubic, Intermediate points=natural.
Now create a Loft and and MoSpline.
Make the MoSpline a child of the Loft.
Set the loft to loop=on/true.
Set the MoSpline to “Spline” mode.
On the Spline tab, drop the Tracer object into the spline source field.
Count how many edges the extruding polygon has.
Set the end value of the MoSpline to 100 divided by the number of edges (4 edges to 25%).
Duplicate the Mospline so you have one for each edge (4 MoSplines for 4 edges)
Now set the offset value of each MoSpline object to (100/Number of edges*(Current edge Count-1)) (first edge = 0%, 2nd = 25%, etc.)
Now back to the edge spline that is a child of the animated null: put it as a child of an extrude object (still under the animated null) and set movement to 0,0,0.
This will be the cap of the extrusion.
Now Create a Connect object and make the animated null and the Loft children of the Connect.
Set the Connect’s Phone mode to “Average”.
Press play and adjust the segments/subdivisions of the Loft as needed. Adjust the Loft’s Phong tag angle limit to a lower value.

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[Sam Treadway]

First, they will only react with other objects that are dynamic.
Second, If you want the objects to move freely with physics then use a rigid or soft body tag instead of collider (think of a collider as floor or wall or rigid body that moves with a parent object.

Also, there is a chance the normals of the imported OBJ’s are inverted. I’d actually check on that first with any OBJ imports from CAD software.
To check if the normals need correction:
Make sure you have normals display turned on: viewport menu > Options > Configure… > Display tab , Polygon Normals.
Select all the polygons and and make sure they are all the same shade (blue or orange I believe). If they are blue and the numerals are facing inward then right click in the viewport and select “reverse normals”. If they are random with some facing inward and some outward, the first right-click in the viewport and select align normals, then reverse normals.

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[Sam Treadway]

If you are using standard materials on the buildings:
Add a Lumas shader to the alpha channel and crank up the illumination to maybe 200% and contrast to 100%. This will render everything in shadow per building transparent.

Now to also make the shadows that are cast on other buildings transparent or match the BG color (assuming it’s a solid BG):
Add a sketch style tag to each object or group them and add it to the group null.
Enable shading and set it to gradient. Default gradient patterns should be fine for now.
Turn on Illumination, Shadows and Colorize.
On colorize gradient, keep the black and set the other color to match your BG color.

Here is a quick examples based on what I interpreted from your description. Is This what you’re sorta looking for:

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[Sam Treadway]

No problem. I’m available for more advanced feats as they arise….technical or otherwise:
rigging, xPresso, tool scripts, automation scripts, modeling, FX and more…

😉

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[Sam Treadway]

minor cleanup:

13851_polygontocenterpointv0.0.3.zip.zip

[Sam Treadway]

Well there you go now twisting my arm ????

13850_polygontocenterpointv0.0.3.zip.zip

[Sam Treadway]

…just realized you’re on R19.
Maybe this has already been fixed? I’m using R21. Sorry I can’t be of more help.

[Sam Treadway]

I honestly haven’t done enough grooming to come across this issue….sounds like a real PITA!
Out of curiosity: what will happen if you click on Store, Regrow, Restore in the ‘editing’ section of the Guides tab?

…definitely not expected behavior and you shouldn’t have to keep restarting to get stuff to work.
I’d submit a bug report to MAXON along with a screen capture.

[Sam Treadway]

I’d have to see your scene or at least a screen recording to know what you are talking about. There are two caches for hair – dynamics and editor.
If you click on the editor tab in the hair object’s parameters, is the cache enabled? If yes, then you may be running low on system memory. If you have it set to display the hairs instead of just spline guides then try reducing the detail level below 10% (maybe even 5%) and see if that helps.