Question about rotation...

[Arkive]

My problem is that I want to create items, such as pillars, and then duplicate and rotate them around an axis (like supports following a curved hallway). If you play CTF-Bollwerk and go up to the curved section where the armor is, you'll see what I mean. I know I can create the curved hallway using the 2D shape editor, and then just make the pillars and caopy and rotate them into position manually, but if you check out CTF-Bollwerk, you'll see there obviously is a much more precise way of doing it. I guess I'm just wondering if there's a way to copy an item multiple times, and as it's being copied, rotate it about an axis?

Jeff

[tarquin]

I think it is possible, but I haven't got Bollwerk, so bear with me as I try and explain what I think you mean:

You have a hallway that's a fancy cross-section. Every so-often, 128, say, you have a nice pillar. So far, easy.
Now your hallway goes into a curved bit, made by revolving the same cross-section. Say it's 256 wide, the inner radius is 512, and you've used 16 pieces per full circle.
If your hallway turns a quarter circle, it'll have 4 bits. You now want pillars left and right at each join.

You can duplicate a pillar from your straigh section, and turn off the grid and position it by hand, but this is the accurate way:
position a pillar on the corner where the curved hall starts. Get it in the right place. THis will be your template.
Now duplicate it, and superimpose the duplicate on the template exactly. Now set this duplicate's pivot to the center of the hallway's curvature -- the point in empty space that correspond to where the point about which the 2D shape was rotated. (The hallway brush's pivot should be there unless you've moved it)
(personally, I can never remember which mouse click sets the pivot, but you can select the brush, then right-click on the grid intersecting, and pick snap to grid command)
Now rotate you duplicate brush, and it should describe an arc that follows the edge of the hallway exactly.

Don't use 12 per circle when making your hallway, I've made that mistake and the rotation grid won't do that, only powers of 2.

Hope this helps.

[Arkive]

Thanks...that's exactly what I was looking for.

Jeff

[NVerxion]

Part of this was explained above but if it's not clear then read this. You said it was what you were looking for, which is cool, but if anyone else reading it was a little confused as I was at first, I've written how I do it here:
First you need to find the pivot point itself, by using the builder as a cylinder the same diameter as the hallway to find the exact center (if the hallway was a complete circle, for example). The vertex point in the center of the cylinder will be where you want the pivot point for your pillars. We'll call this the virtual center of the hallway. Create your pillar and place it where you want the first one to go, but don't add it yet. Click on the vertex in the center of the shape, hold Alt, then drag that vertex to the virtual center of the hallway (make sure it is in the exact center). :) With me so far??
Ok, now add the first pillar. Hold Ctrl (overhead view here) and use the right mouse button to rotate the pillar around the center axis. You'll have to deal with the set amount of increments between each 90 degree angle, but from there you can easily judge where any extra pillars would go:)

[Edited by NVerxion on November 24th, 2000 at 06:28 PM]

[tarquin]

Good point. It's easier using the builder brush, rotating it and using the add brush button at intervals along the way.
I've been using the duplicate command a lot lately, so that's what sprang to mind!