The MassFX submenus provide access to most MassFX tools and interface elements. There is a submenu for each subset of MassFX features. Most of these commands are also available in other areas of the MassFX interface.
Rigid Bodies
A rigid body is an object in the physical simulation whose shape and size cannot change. If you make a cylinder in your scene into a rigid body, it can bounce and slide around but never bends or snaps, no matter how much force is applied. Rigid bodies can be:
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Dynamic: The motion of dynamic rigid bodies is controlled entirely by simulation. They are subject to gravity, force space warps, and forces that result from being struck by other objects in the simulation, including cloth objects.
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Kinematic: Kinematic rigid bodies can be animated using standard methods, but they don't have to be; they can simply be stationary objects. Kinematic objects can affect dynamic objects but cannot be affected by them, and they can become dynamic at any point during the simulation.
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Static: Static rigid objects are similar to kinematic objects but cannot be animated. Unlike dynamic and kinematic objects, they can be concave. They are useful as containers, walls, obstacles, etc.
- Set Selected As Dynamic Rigid Body
- Applies a non-instanced MassFX Rigid Body modifier to each selected object, with Rigid Body Type set to Dynamic, and creates a physical shape for each object. If any selected objects already have a MassFX Rigid Body modifier, the existing modifier is changed to Dynamic, not reapplied.
- Set Selected As Kinematic Rigid Body
- Apply a non-instanced MassFX Rigid Body modifier to each selected object, with Rigid Body Type set to Kinematic, and creates physical shape for each object. If any selected objects already have a MassFX Rigid Body modifier, the existing modifier is changed to Kinematic, not reapplied.
- Set Selected As Static Rigid Body
- Apply a non-instanced MassFX Rigid Body modifier to each selected object, with Rigid Body Type set to Static. A physical shape is created for the object. If any selected objects already have a MassFX Rigid Body modifier, the existing modifier is changed to Static, not reapplied.
- Create Dynamic Ragdoll
- Sets up the selected character as a Dynamic ragdoll. Its motion can affect and be affected by other objects in the simulation.
- Create Kinematic Ragdoll
- Sets up the selected character as a Kinematic ragdoll. Its motion can affect other objects in the simulation but cannot be affected by them.
- Remove Ragdoll
- Removes the selected character from the simulation by deleting the Rigid Body modifiers and the Ragdoll helper.
mCloth
Use these commands to apply the mCloth modifier to an object or to remove the modifier from an object.
- Apply mCloth
- Applies a non-instanced mCloth modifier to each selected object, then switches to the Modify panel for adjustment of the modifier parameters.
If the object already has the mCloth modifier applied, this command simply switches to the Modify panel if necessary.
- Remove mCloth
- Removes the mCloth modifier from each selected object.
Constraints - MassFX
- Remove Constraint
- Removes the constraint applied to the selected object.
The remaining commands on this submenu create different types of MassFX Constraint helpers. The commands differ only in the values that are applied as reasonable defaults for the type of constraint you use.
Before using a Constraints command, select one or two objects to represent the rigid bodies to be affected by the constraint. If you select one object, it acts as the child of the constraint, which "pins" the object to its location at the start of the simulation. With two objects, the first object you select acts as the parent of the constraint, and the second object as the child. The parent must not already be a Static rigid body, and the child object must not already be a Static or Kinematic rigid body. If either selected object does not already have a MassFX Rigid Body modifier applied, a confirmation dialog opens offering to apply the modifier to the objects.
After invoking this command, move the mouse in a viewport to adjust the size of the constraint and then click to set the size. The constraint is created and linked to the parent object, if any.
Simulation - MassFX
- Play Simulation
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Toggles execution of the simulation in the viewports.
- Step Simulation
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Executes the next frame of the simulation.
- Reset Simulation
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Restores the simulation to its starting state.
- Bake All Objects
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Resets the simulation and then executes it while storing transforms for all Dynamic objects as animation keyframes. When baking is complete, MassFX converts all Dynamic objects to Kinematic status. Also sets an internal "baked" flag for the rigid bodies for unbaking.
- Bake Selected Objects
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Similar to Bake All Objects except that the baking is applied only to selected Dynamic objects.
- Unbake All Objects
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Deletes keyframes for all objects set to Kinematic status by baking (see preceding) and restores them to Dynamic status.
- Unbake Selected Objects
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Similar to Unbake All Objects except that the unbaking is applied only to selected applicable rigid bodies and mCloth objects.
Tools - MassFX
- Show MassFX Tools
- Opens the MassFX Tools dialog.
- Open Dynamics Explorer
- Opens the MassFX Explorer dialog, where you can use Scene Explorer-type tools to view and change simulation settings.
- Validate MassFX Scene
- Ensures that various scene elements do not violate simulation requirements.
- Export MassFX Scene
- Exports the MassFX scene.
- Capture Current Transforms
- Sets the initial transform for each selected dynamic rigid body to its current transform. Subsequent uses of Reset Simulation return the dynamic objects to these transforms.
You might use this if, for example, you want to start with a stable pile of bricks. You could create a bunch of bricks in the air, run the simulation, wait until everything settles, select all the bricks, and then invoke this menu command. Thereafter Reset Simulation would always return the bricks to their new, piled-up locations.
- About MassFX
- Opens a dialog with technical information about the MassFX software.