Page 1112 - Kitab3DsMax

Part X: Dynamic Animation
Run Script button. This opens a file dialog box. Locate the script and click Open, and the script runs.
Running this script opens the Rag Doll dialog box, shown in Figure 43.11. Using this dialog box, you can
provide a Name for the rag doll and set its Height and the number of Vertebra. The Create Humanoid but-
ton makes the rag doll appear in the viewports.
Once positioned, you can press the Constrain Humanoid button in the Constrain Humanoid rollout. This
adds all the necessary constrains to the rag doll.
Tip You can execute this script by opening the Utilities panel, clicking the MAXScript button, and clicking the
You can use the rag doll script to place reactor constraints on a Biped object. n
FIGURE 43.11
Fully constrained humanoid figures can be created using the rctRagdollScript.ms script.

The Point-to-Point constraint lets you attach two objects together by a common point. The attach point is
the pivot point of the child and parent objects. It can be used to animate a lifeless body colliding with vari-
ous rigid body objects. Using the Rag Doll constraint, you can manually define how the body joints can
twist, rotate, and move.

Tutorial: Swinging into a wall
Playing with the rag doll object is just plain fun. Remember that in the Preview window you can use the
right-click button to throw the doll around. For this example, you use a couple of Point-to-Point
Constraints along with a Rag Doll constraint to create a simple scene where the rag doll swings from a rope
into a brick wall.
To animate a rag doll swinging on a rope, follow these steps:

1. Open the Swinging into a wall.max file from the Chap 43 directory on the DVD.
This file includes a simple scene consisting of several Boxes, a Cylinder for the rope, and a
brick wall.
2. Open the Utilities panel, and click the MAXScript button. Click the Run Script button in the
MAXScript rollout. In the file dialog box, locate the Scripts directory where Max is installed. Select
the rctRagdollScript.ms file, and click the Open button. The script file opens in a MAXScript win-
dow. In the MAXScript window, select the File ➪ Evaluate All menu command to make the Rag Doll
panel appear.

1064