Tag class extension usable w/other Tags?

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On 26/08/2004 at 10:21, xxxxxxxx wrote:

User Information:
Cinema 4D Version:   8.503 
Platform:   Windows  ;   
Language(s) :     C++  ;

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This is sort of a complicated question and this would be my first foray into custom tags.

Background: When asking in another forum about the possibility of using different vertexmaps on a bone restriction dependent upon rotation axis, I received a reply and a C4D example file. The example uses an XPresso tag and four vertexmap tags (a default and one for each rotation axis) on the geometry.

What I'd like to do is create a custom tag on the geometry that encapsulates the XPresso and vertexmap tags for each bone which can then function as a vertexmap in a bone's Restriction tag. Of course, the XPresso functionality could be built-in to the tag using C++ SDK methods and data instead. And maybe make a custom tag extension of the Restriction tag that is linked to the other custom tag on the geometry.

As you can see, it is unclear what approach, if any, is viable for this situation. Mainly, the reason for this consideration is to reduce the number of tags on the geometry (which will become preposterous as other features are added).

Thanks,
Robert

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On 28/08/2004 at 00:17, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Sorry, this isn't possible. Plugin tags cannot replace or extend the built-in tags at the moment.

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On 28/08/2004 at 11:54, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Any suggestions short of making my own custom tags with fully replicated functionality (not my first or last choice).

The preposterousness is that with 50 to 100 bones, each with an XPresso tag on the geometry (though this might be able to be generalized down to one) and three or four vertexmap tags, we're talking 300+ tags (not inluding textures, polygon groups, material groups, and so forth). Is there a maximum number of tags permitted for each object?

The rotation axis vertexmap dependency is something that must persist beyond the scope of the Command Plugin, so it can't do anything to control this.

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On 29/08/2004 at 14:53, xxxxxxxx wrote:

To fully replicate the functionality you would have to reverse engineer C4D, rewrite it from scratch and then add the possibility to extend tags... ;-)
I don't think there's any easier way to get what you want, given that bones will never accept anything else than real vertexmap tags. What you could do is write a separate tag manager, or bundle an existing tag manager plugin. There's no limit for the number of tags on an object, though vertex maps can of course be quite large on objects with large point counts.
Another idea would be to have one real vertexmap tag per bone and one multi-vertexmap tag of your own that updates the real vertexmap tag based on the bone rotation. The multi-vertexmap tag would have a link to the real vertexmap tag. You would have to make sure that the multi-vertexmap tag executes early enough.

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On 30/08/2004 at 21:28, xxxxxxxx wrote:

;)   Ahh, no thanks! :)

I had considered a combination of vertexmap tag and my own custom tag, but thought that it may be too slow updating (interactively, anyway). Still, this sounds more promising than the alternatives, so that'll be my approach.

Thanks, Mikael!

Robert

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On 05/09/2004 at 12:43, xxxxxxxx wrote:

How do I 'make sure that the multi-vertexmap tag executes early enough'? Is it in the ordering of the tags on the object or is there a priority that can be set? (Still researching before diving into coding).

Thanks!
Robert