Page 1 of 1

Manual control of triangles?

Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 12:03 am
by sdlawrence
What I would like to see is simple (for me to visualize, at least, I don't know about implementation):

We already have the ability to delete a "grouping" line between dots. I would like that same ability with the actual triangles: to delete, move, create, reassign or otherwise manually edit morphing control triangles at will.

For example, let's say that I wanted an image with a giant triangle area in the center, one which is frozen completely or else morphs only as dictated by the three lone dots which make up that single giant triangle. I can't do that now, because as I add more dots around the perimeter of the triangle, more triangles are opportunistically assigned, some of which will invariably intercept or cross over into the large centered triangle that I didn't want violated by anything else. Since I can't delete or reassign triangle lines, the only workaround I have at this point, which isn't anything close to perfect and is extremely dot-consuming and tedious, is to just keep adding more dots in an attempt to create an area that isn't touched by anything else. That's a runaway spiral, given the number of dots needed to freeze a single area increases with the number of dots I add anywhere near the outside of that same area.

Consider please? Manual triangle control would GREATLY increase the morphing efficiency of my work.

Re: Manual control of triangles?

Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:07 am
by fantam
Manual control of triangles, we actually have the same desire! However, the editing process may be complicated. We'll try to find an easy and intuitive way to implement this idea.
Thank you!

Re: Manual control of triangles?

Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 6:28 pm
by sdlawrence
So relieved to hear that, thank you!

Even if you had a beta feature check box option with a warning that stated "FOR EXTREMELY ADVANCED USERS ONLY -- USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!", that would be very cool. You would have beta testers (like me) giving feedback while putting it through its paces, with no complaints if anything goes wrong.

In one of the other (lesser, horrible, inferior, which shall-not-be-named) morphing programs, shapes are implemented as autonomous morphing areas. Dots outside a shape can attach to a shape's external vertices, but won't intrude on the shape or affect the inner part of it in any way. With that feature a shape can even morph separately, over the top, almost like a separate layer.

IDEA: Define "hard" areas, or freeze/unfreeze triangles, and differentiate between dynamic dots and fixed dot 'shape' sets?

The way it might work: Dynamic dots would just be dots as they are now, with interconnecting lines/triangles automatically determined by existing algorithms. A set of "fixed shape" dots, however, would form a fully enclosed shape made up ONLY of lines between other fixed dots of that same "shape set" (which could be defined, btw, by your existing 'shape joining' lines feature). A fully enclosed shape, once created or defined, then becomes an autonomous region, the inner lines of which are off limits to, and cannot be intersected by, any dynamic dots. Dynamic dot algorithms could assign lines to any shape, but only to its external vertices.

I know, easier said that done - just throwing it out there as a brainstorm.

Re: Manual control of triangles?

Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 3:38 pm
by austing
Would be nice to have this one considered already. Manual control of these is much of a convenient.