Civil View features its own method of referencing different types of object in 3ds Max.
This approach helps to organise the contents of a civil engineering visualization model into an easy-to-manage hierarchy. The Civil View Explorer Panel and Civil View Object Properties Panel make extensive use of these categories.
There are currently 16 Civil View object categories:
| Civil View Creation Method | Civil View Object Category and Description | Further Information |
|---|---|---|
| Civil View Geometry Import Panels | 1. Imported Alignments | Imported alignments can be used as reference paths for other objects created in Civil View. Permanent links are retained to the source data. Imported alignments contain station-based geometric data. This data relates to the horizonatal and vertical profile entities that were used to design the path of the alignment in the source civil design application. Source file type: VSP3D file |
| 2. Imported Shapes | Imported shapes can be used as reference paths for other objects created in Civil View. Permanent links are retained to the source data. Source file type: GENIO, MX ®, 12D ®, VSP3D, LandXML, or DXF ™ file | |
| 3. Imported Surfaces | Imported triangulated ground surfaces can be used as underlying ground surfaces for visualization models. Permanent links are retained to the source data. Source file type: GENIO, MX, 12D, VSP3D, LandXML or DXF file | |
| 4. Imported Pipe Networks | Imported pipe networks serve as a container for managing imported pipe objects and structure objects. Pipe networks can be used to model underground services such as sewerage and water-supply systems. Source file type: VS3PD file | |
| 5. Imported Points | Imported points can be used as reference points for placing other instanced objects created in Civil View. Permanent links are retained to the source data. Source file type: VSP3D file |
| Civil View Creation Method | Civil View Object Category and Description | Further Information |
|---|---|---|
| Object Placement Style (OPS) Editor | 6. Vehicles | Static vehicle mesh objects with built-in material channel IDs for every face, allowing automated material placement. A random body color is applied to every vehicle created in Civil View, and simulated vehicle headlamps can even be controlled. Source file type: Civil View Object INI file |
| 7. Furniture | Either static or parametric objects with permanently editable parameters. Source file type: Civil View Object INI file | |
| 8. Trees | Using a Civil View tree object plug-in and diffuse/opacity bitmaps, trees can be modeled quickly and easily. Source file type: Civil View Object INI file | |
| 9. Signs | A parametric Civil View sign object plug-in can be used for a variety of sign and post configurations. Road-marking symbols are also categorized as road signs in Civil View and can also be modeled quickly and easily. Source file type: Civil View Object INI file | |
| 10. Civil View Cameras | Civil View Cameras can be smoothly and easily animated for the production of drive-through or fly-through animations. The direction of the camera is locked in the direction of the path, but can also be panned in any relative direction. Source file type: Civil View Object INI file | |
| 11. Civil View Primitives | 3ds Max primitive objects (cylinders, boxes, pyramids, and so on) with preassigned material assignments. Source file type: Civil View Object INI file |
| Civil View Creation Method | Civil View Object Category and Description | Further Information |
|---|---|---|
| Swept Object Style Editor | 12. Swept Object Style Editor | Swept objects can be used to generate a range of surfaces "lofted" or swept along one or more reference shapes. Source file type: Swept Object Style |
| Road Markings Style Editor | 13. Road Markings Style Editor | Road marking "ribbons" can be draped along existing shapes. A wide range of parameters associated with these road-marking objects can be changed at any time. Source file type: Road Marking Style |
| Create Forest option on main Civil View pull-down menu (Only if you install Forest Lite or Forest Pro) | 14. Forests | A way to create thousands of tree objects with little impact on scene complexity. Only available when Civil View is used in conjunction with the Forest Pro or Forest Lite plug-ins from iToo Software. |
| Rail Object Styles (ROS) Rollout | 15. Rail Objects | Special Civil View parametric rail objects. Useful for modeling highway guard rails, fences, noise barriers, and railway tracks. Source file type: Rail Object Style |
| Building Object Style (BOS) Editor | 16. Building Objects | Special Civil View parametric building objects. Useful for modeling simple 3D textured building geometry from imported floor area shapes. Source file type: Building Object Style |