Models, actions and constraints question...

[rusty]

Hi,

 

I have a head model (the way I do things, this is the character), a hair cap model (what hair-do I want to use) and a body model (what 'wardrobe' is needed). Currently I constrain the hair cap to the head model in an action (the hair cap being the action item) so I can just drop the action on the head in the chor and then I constrain the head to the body in the chor (involves 6 constraints). I'd like to use an action to do this however, if I do, either the body model or the head model would be an action item and of course I need to be able to select the head and body models in the chor to animate them (and perhaps I can somehow select an action item in the chor to work with it but even if I can, this complicates things).

 

As I need the body model and head model in the chor so I can select and animate them, I can see no way to pre-constrain the head to the body in an action. I can't think of another way to pre-define the head to body constraints so I don't have to repeat this process with each character in each chor...which, isn't so bad but...I'm lazy and thought I'd see if anyone had any ideas.

 

If you can understand what I'm saying, lol...any thoughts?

 

Thanks!

Rusty

[Rodney]

When an Action Object is created those are automatically constrained to the initial Model so you might not have to use many additional constraints.

 

perhaps I can somehow select an action item in the chor to work with

 

 

Each Action Object can be selected separately in the Chor and independently animated as well.

 

The bigger issue might be that if using Action Objects you won't be able to use Netrender as there is a reported issue with rendering Action Objects there.

 

I must assume that importing the separate models into one master model isn't an option.

 

 

Added: It seems to me that one of the difficulties is getting all three models to be of the same level (i.e one must be the main model while the other two are the Action Objects). A way to overcome this would be to use an empty model as the main model and then have all three models (with geometry) be Action Objects. The empty model could then be named something relevant such as 'Robot container'.

 

Aside: For those this applies to a downside of combining Action Objects with the goal of later combining them into an external master model is that Export to Model format is not an option from the main model in an Action. The workaround is to assemble everything (drag the Action onto the empty model) in a Chor... THEN export to a new master model. I haven't tested to see if constraints and such make it through but they should.

[robcat2075]

I'm not sure I understand the whole problem.

 

As long as you don't have to turn "action objects" on and off in a shot, how about if you skipped the action object thing altogether and import the hair and head and body into one model?

[rusty]

Thanks Rodney and Robcat for the replies! Two days ago I surfed to the Hash forums to read them and respond and a window popped up saying I needed to install Flash...without thinking (I already have flash and this site had never prompted me like this before) I clicked okay (I just wanted to read/reply posts). Eight different installs took place (none of them flash) in what turned out to be the worst virus/malware attack I'd ever had! I do not believe it had anything to do with the Hash Forum site...I don't know what caused the initial message to appear. Every time I attempted to uninstall one of these obnoxious programs...it immediately reinstalled itself in the background. These progs blocked my view and ran all manner of stuff on screen and in the background!! I finally had to take my notebook in to Best Buy (Geek Squad) to get it fixed!! Anyway I'm back up but will answer both of your very good replies later today or tomorrow (I'm still checking data, running correction programs and testing my notebook).

 

Rusty

[robcat2075]

That's very scary. I've never had a prompt like that visiting any part of Hash.

 

Is it possible you had another site in another tab that bought the prompt up? Just guessing.

[Fuchur]

more likely you already had something on the computer. often those programs start with showing of advertisements. it looks like the website you visit has a lot of those ads on it but in reallity this is not triggered by the website but is loades like a layer over the website.

 

this is only possible if you have such crapware already on your computer. they make money with that. showing all kinds of paid ads lie that. and if some of the paid ads are bad/harmful (which is very likely since a normal company would not give these guys money) it all goes bad...

 

The only real solution is to format your harddrive (hopefully it could not infiltrate your bios...), get a good virus scan software (like bitdefender for instance) and be more careful which websites you visit and which software you install...

[Rodney]

The only real solution is to format your harddrive

 

Seriously? That's the only real solution?

 

 

The following is long and a bit rambing but old frustrations from my years as a workgroup manager persist.

As such I'll offer the following thoughts:

 

For most browser based infections another solution is to reinstall the browser.

I'd at least do that before formatting my harddrive.

 

The number of times I've formatted my harddrive in the past I dunno how many years approaches zero.

This isn't to say a formatted harddrive can't be a good thing. A squeaky clean harddrive will definitely clean out the cobwebs... but it'll also clean out pretty much everything else. So your efforts could prove to be more damaging than the imaginary virus you are trying to rid yourself of... And restoring from a backup to the new squeaky clean harddrive could (theoretically if not practically) reinfect your system. So, formatting a hard drive isn't the full-fix answer to these type of problems.

 

I'm tempted to give you my recipe for success but... then someone could spice up that recipe and take advantage of known vulnerability against me. Never a good thing.

Here's a starting place (a recalibration if you will allow) to consider in absense of the full recipe:

 

Assume you have a computer that has no viruses and doesn't even have a dedicated anti-virus program installed.

Assume it suddenly gets infected by something (we know this because stuff keeps getting installed that we don't want installed).

Consider the cause was very likely that we said 'yes' to something we didn't want to say yes to and installed a program (for argument's sake we could call this a virus although technicially most nuisances of this type aren't). One of the first things we need to do is stop the program from operating.

We can do this multiple ways and some work better than others.

 

One method would be to temporarily install an antivirus/malware program and sweep the computer for known programs.

After the results are in, bad programs removed or quarantined then uninstall the antivirus/malware program and you are back to square one again.

 

Some persistent malware programs install in RAM and continuously launch/install new programs in an effort to stay one program ahead of the person trying to uninstall them.

One method to stop and get to the point where antivirus/malware software can be properly dispatched would be to kill any programs that are running, then reinstall the browser and... then reboot the system. It might not be wise to reboot the system before killing the programs and reinstalling because the virus/malware might have left installation instructions that go into effect upon reboot. Reinstalling the program (usually browser) will usually overwrite that instruction. I generally don't care to reboot my system while having a major problem until after I've isolated the problem. This is where antivirus/malware programs can come in handy because they will quaranteen programs so they cannot run (especially upon reboot).

 

In today's age it is quite possible to operate a computer with the default protection of the operating system alone. The trick is to stay clear of sites that are known to spread malware (and malware like programs that trick users into installing software) and to use other software for special purposes as needed; preferably uninstalling them when not needed which is generally any time you are directly working with/against a problem.

 

It does help to stay up to date on your primary browsers. Malware writers study current vulnerabilities and exploit them where possible. When those vulnerabilities are removed by a new update of any give software/browser the malware writer has to then update his malware to work around/through the changes in the new software... and the process starts again. There is a trend now for software companies not to publish all of their changes in order to keep malware creators in the dark. This is a good move in my opinion but it does make a lot of folks nervous because they'd like to know what software changes/updates were installed. "Why is Windows updating? What is it updating? This is proof positive that is evil! What are they doing with my information? Are they sharing images of my pets with nefarious types in Russia? China? North Korea? Hoboken NJ? Etc. etc. Well, for starters, first most companies need to provide minimal protect for you so they can get more money from your wallet. So trust that they *initially* have your good interests at heart.. Trust but verify thereafter.

 

Where is all of this going? I dunno.

I guess I'm just saying that I think most problems faced on a computer can be fixed without resorting to formatting harddrives.

I'm a bit old fashioned and naive in this but the first option I go for has never been and suspect never will be to reformat my harddrive.

Although, I suppose I'd consider that option if I just happened to have just bought a new harddrive and was already planning to start from scratch..

 

Sorry if this is off topic... um.... Rusty changed the topic!

 

 

Disclaimer: I've dealt with a problem similar to Rusty's experience on several occasions and (in my estimation) the true/underlying fix to the most recent was updating my (Chrome) browser (which was locked not to allow automatic updates... although I wanted automatic updates... did the malware do that too? Probably not.). It was a little more complicated than space here (and a imperfect recollection) will allow but... the final results (defeat of very persistent and well programmed malware) was what mattered.

 

Note1: Historically, most antivirus software has been worse for your computer's operation than the viruses they claim to prevent. For this reason I tend to recommend temporary installation of antivirus software over permanent installation. Install it. Uninstall it. Press on. Of course, don't invite trouble. Use your operating system and browser default protection at all times.

[Fuchur]

The problem with all those other solutions is, that you really do not know if there is something on the computer left, which will infect you again in 2 weeks or which is really only active on certain occasions or which is just logging your creditcard informations right now or which is even doing harm unnoticed somehow else. Virus scanners do not find everything and if the virus/trojaner is a smart one you are doomed. In general you do not know which are really on your computer... 3 can be found, 1 is not... the 1 which is not is the hard and serious one in general because someone has gone through the trouble to make it much harder to find for a reason.

 

There are viruses which install other common and known viruses / trojaners for the only reason to give you the false feeling that your virus detection software is working great...

There are viruses which just shut themselves down if they notice a virus scanner is close to finding them.

There are viruses which install themselves to new, random locations after a short period of time and delete themselves at the first location.

There are viruses which install themselves on USB-drives and delete themselves after that.

 

If you want to become frightened, read further on:

There are viruses which use security holes in the UEFI-bios of your computer to put themselves in the BIOS-memory. This means: They will be there even if you format your hard-drive.
In laborartories there are even viruses tested which can copy themselfs to computers which are not even connected to eachother because of speakers in your computer. (these are not known to be a problem for private users for now... but who knows what happens tomorrow?)
If we are talking in direction of intelligence services it even can be worth... some of them force hardware manufacturer to include stuff in the hardware...

You can of course try to eliminate the viruses and trojaners but in the end, you are never sure if you got them all or if some of them are just hiding better. In general the aim of a virus today is not to kill your computer. Real worm-viruses are very rare today. That is because it is not helping the programmers of those softwares to kill your computer > no financial interest there. In the earlier days it was fun for them to just delete important files and stuff like that. Today it is all about getting information or use your computer to attack other, more valuable servers/computers (= bot net approach) and in that case it is often good for them to be just not noticeable... and there are just many different tactics to archieve that.

 

I am system admin at my agency (which means I have come in contact with that stuff quite heavily) and I have had several courses (Information Security I - III = 3 semesters) on the university about that stuff...

I may be a little paranoid like that... but I think this is something you can not be too lazy about.

 

The problem with all of this is, that you can not be sure at all (even if you did not have a noticeable infection).

Maybe there is already one hiding quite well... but the properbillity of that is smaller than that after a heavy infection there isn't something overseen by the virus scanners. I know it is troublesome but most security experts do just recommend to restart fresh after such an outburst of infections. That is like that just because they first have to find one or even a certian combination of open doors somewhere to get a high-level of user right on the computer before they can do harm or copy themselves, etc. Once they have that... it is over. (it does not have to be over, but you just don't know)

 

If you do not want to do that, that is your decission, but especially if you are not very aware of what you are doing very well (security vise) and you are not running a firewall (no, the default windows firewall is not the one I would trust here) with logging of any network traffic, port-blocks and application-filters (and you looking from time to time what is going on in the logs), just reinstall your computer and be more careful what you install and which pages you surf on next time. Since you will very likely copy files to external devices first, you are still not 100% secure, but at least it is much less likely that you copy one of the infected files and maybe tomorrow, when you are trying to copy the file back, virus scanners have updated too and will be able to get rid of it for you.

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[Rodney]

As I said, there is a big difference between malware and a virus.

The vast majority of issues we face are more akin to malware than virus.

 

you can not be sure at all

 

it is possible to create a completely secure environment... that absolutely no one can use.

Not much sense in that.

 

 

If you want to become frightened, read further on:

There are viruses which use security holes in the UEFI-bios of your computer to put themselves in the BIOS-memory. This means: They will be there even if you format your hard-drive.
In laborartories there are even viruses tested which can copy themselfs to computers which are not even connected to eachother because of speakers in your computer. (these are not known to be a problem for private users for now... but who knows what happens tomorrow?)

 

 

 

But reality shouldn't scare us. It should enlighten us.

It's good not to trust computer security. Ashley-Madison anybody?

If you think you are safe... you are in fact not.

But again... the trade off... perfect security vs ability to freely operate.

 

There are some persistent viruses out there that are hard to stop and if in contact with a system will 'do something' but most (smart) virus creators (there are many I'm told) don't want to destroy your computer. If they did that they wouldn't be able to accomplish any other goal... so many viruses don't do much if anything at all. They sit there... trying not to be noticed... one little piece of a much bigger puzzle. (The author) hoping no one will discover them. (The author) hoping the code isn't superseded and made useless by one of an endless march of installations/updates. For better or worse, installation of Win10 left a lot of old code in the digital dust.

 

Storytime

I recall my first encounter with a 'real virus' (back in the DOS days) and I managed to open it in a text editor and discovered it was pretending to be one virus but was really another. I was all happy and excited and printed the code and took the pages to the real computer people that were paid to know what was going on. They weren't interested. Even less interested when they noted I wasn't certified in their craft. About the same time someone else (in proper reporting chain) reported the true nature of the virus and the powers that be issued an antivirus update/operating system patch. The message went out, "Use this." My response, "Thanks." Bottom line here: Most people don't care about the nature of a problem. They don't want to study the problem. They don't care about the source of the problem. They just don't want the problem.

 

This is like the illustration of taking your car in to have the engine worked on. It's generally not a good idea to let the car's owner see the mechanic rip wires and parts out of the hood and go through the process of 'fixing the car'. They just want a fixed car. If they see the process with all its gory details laid bare they will very likely be traumatized. "What are you doing to my car?$&!"

 

be more careful what you install and which pages you surf on next time.

 

 

This is important. It's amazing what can get installed on a computer without even knowing it was installed. For the longest time my dislike of Chrome intensified because it allowed extensions to be installed without my knowledge. I've been a long time user of Chrome and I almost moved away from it when finally they shifted their strategy to more properly exclude extensions by default. But Chrome isn't the problem. Don't surf porn sites. Be wary of most download sites. Fact: If you surf carelessly you will get malware/viruses (or a reasonable facsimile thereof). If you are an at risk computer user... know what you are getting into... and then inoculate yourself with common sense, proper protection and follow up processes. After you've installed a new and fairly unknown program... does everything still work optimally?

 

Slight change of subject: We have moved into a very new realm of information warfare and it can be hard to tell whether code on your computer is put there by the good guys or the bad guys**. The only thing you can count on is that the code s already there without your knowledge (5th Generation Warfare) so you look for clues that belong to a bad guy. A core tenet of invisible warfare is that the circumstances will dictate. A process that is "deleting all my files" can then be treated differently than one that is "making me install a program I don't want".

 

I haven't vetted this fully but I'd say that as a general rule of thumb; given a choice between an IT guy helping to fix my computer so that it will operate 'optimally' and a virus being installed on my computer, 9.9 times out of 10 I'd prefer the virus.

 

 

 

**Most malicious code is put in place by 'the good guys' although they very likely didn't mean to put it there for nefarious purpose; the program is simply not operating as intended/required/authorized. This is why many/most companies screen their software first before allowing use by employees. If malicious code is placed purposefully (especially with intent to do irreparable harm) the effect should be obvious.

[rusty]

PC all fixed...or at least it appears to be working fine. I've never had to reformat/reinstall the OS for any particular virus or malware but on occasion I've done this to just to clear out the accumulated gunk. I had to take it to the geek squad to uninstall the reinstalling programs and they used a trial copy of Malwarebytes which they say catches a lot of small stuff other programs miss. I also ran Windows Defender and Uniblue tune up suite which caught other parts of the invasion. I do not think it had anything to do with the Hash forum site.

[rusty]

Back to the original topic...I tried again to create one model...same old same old. These models are VERY complex much of which I suspect is due to my own lack of expertise...I have dozens of constraints just to keep the shirt buttons in place...the eye lashes in place...etc. What happens when I try to export a single model from the chor is I lose constraints within the body rig and 3D face controls...so many that it is not worth it.

 

Accessing action items in the chor to animate is something I've not tried in half a dozen versions but I had problems there as well...I think you lose access to all the model's pose sliders.

 

Finally, and perhaps this should be a separate post...maybe a bug report but, when I constrain the head to the body in the chor I lose these constraints each time I exit AM. Two constraints vanish, the other four remain but do not work. This situation can't be reproduced using simple models or I'd turn in a bug report. I have to assume it has something to do with my overly complex models. Each time I open the project I have to remove and redo these six constraints for each character model...a real pain in the ass if the scene has several characters but that's just life. Otherwise the models work, which, for myself, is a huge deal so I have no wish to redo the models again (which I've done for years for one reason or another).

 

Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

Cheers,

Rusty