xyz transformation
 

I didn´t know in which section to put this exactly...


have one big problem with vertex coordinates.

whenever a vertex is moved, XYZ coordinates represent that movement. the only exception is the softModificationTool. it somehow groups the selected verts and transforms the group instead of the single vertices which don´t receive any XYZ transformation at all.

it is important to me for snapping verts back to zero on X-axis pretty often while modeling with softModTool. I wrote a little script that for but it won´t work cause of wrong vtx.xyz coordinates.

also I tried to lock vtx.x But locking just one axis doesn´t work either. it happens to lock all three axis at once...

could there be any workaround?

Nothing happens randomly or uncalculated in maya. I dont know what your trying to do exactly, but if your using the soft mod tool you may want to reconsider. try something more specific like the translate tool.

why do you need the soft mod tool?

what type of modeling are you doing?

what surface type are you using?

while modeling I´m constantly switching between poly and subD. I have to model about 20 "photo-realistic" heads out of one base mesh cause of weightMap transition purpose. so, if I´m not allowed to change geometry I work with it like clay - just moving topology around. this is where the softMod tool comes in handy cause at first I need to make big topology changes in the face. when smoothing topology later on with the sculptPoly tool verts from the seam (halfHead mirrored around X) tend to flow away and aren´t aligned to X-axis anymore. that is why I wrote that little script which aligns those nasty seam vertices back to the x-axis. but as said, it doesn´t work if a vertex doesn´t inherit a constant and globally updated coordinate system.

hope I could make my intention clear now. (sorry for my poop english!)

I also thought about switching to XSI cause there is a cool tool which works like a soft selection but you can move a group of verts instantly without draging a selection first. like painting around the vertices or like the nudge tool in photoshop. it is a more interactive kind of softModification tool which I lack in maya...

is there maybe a plugin for maya or something...?

what about the artisan tools?

well, I do use some of them, but this specific feature is not included with artisan tools. you can even paint scripts and what not...