Linking Objects to Delegates

You can link objects or bipeds to delegates to make them follow the simulated animation.

You can link objects to delegates with 3ds Max linking. Alternatively, the crowd system has a tool for automatically aligning and linking objects with delegates.

To use bipeds with delegates, you associate bipeds with delegates rather than link them. This approach enables the bipeds to use a motion flow network to determine their motion during the simulation. For an explanation of how to set up a biped crowd simulation, see Biped Crowds.

Procedures

To link objects to delegates:

1. Set up a crowd simulation with a crowd helper and delegates. See Creating Crowd Helpers.
2. Create a series of objects to follow the delegates.
   Tip: In a later step, you will align each object's local Y axis to point in its corresponding delegate's forward direction. For this reason, you should take care to make sure your objects' local Y axes point in the direction you consider to be “forward”. The easiest way to do this is to set up one object with its Y axis pointing in the forward direction, then clone the object.
3. Select the Crowd helper, and go to the Modify panel.
4. On the Setup rollout, click (Object/Delegate Associations).

   The Object/Delegate Associations dialog appears.

5. Under the Objects list, click Add to add objects to link with delegates.
6. Under the Delegates list, click Add to add delegates to link with the objects you added in the previous step.

   Each object in the Objects list will be associated with the delegate in the same position in the Delegates list. If necessary, reorder either list manually by highlighting entries and using the Shift Up/Shift Down buttons; these are the arrow buttons between the two lists.

7. Click Align Objects with Delegates to align each object with its corresponding delegate.

   The objects on the Objects list are moved and rotated to align with delegates. Each object's local Y axis points in the delegate's forward direction.

8. Click Link Objects to Delegates.
9. Click OK to exit.

To associate bipeds with delegates:

1. Set up a crowd simulation with a crowd helper and delegates.
2. Create several bipeds, one for each delegate.
3. Select the Crowd helper, and go to the Modify panel.
4. On the Setup rollout, click (Biped/Delegate Associations).

   The Associate Bipeds with Delegates dialog appears.

5. Under the Bipeds list, click Add, and choose the bipeds to add to the list.
6. Under the Delegates list, click Add, and choose the delegates to associate the bipeds with.
7. Turn on Set Delegates To Use Biped.

   This will turn on the Use Biped option for each delegate, which is a requirement for biped crowd simulations.

8. Choose Make Specified Associations to associate each biped with its corresponding delegate listed on the dialog. Alternatively, choose Associate Delegates With Closest Biped to associate each delegate with the biped nearest to it in the scene.
9. Click Associate to make the associations, and click Close.

   Unlike regular objects, bipeds are not aligned with delegates immediately. Each biped will align with its respective delegate when the simulation is solved.

   Note: In order for a biped crowd simulation to solve correctly, it must have a motion flow network for the bipeds to follow. See Biped Crowds.