Ok i am having a problem with linking objects in max 2009. i have a parent dummy that i want to use to animate the visibility of a number of objects following different paths. When i link the objects to the dummy the objects are moving . my dummy is not keyed to move anywhere ..only the visibility track is keyed.

I have reporduced this with path constraint controller, path deform modifiers successfully like below.

1. create a simple path (point to point spline)
2. create any object to follow the path
3. add the path constraint controller to the objects position controller to follow the path
4. create a dummy anywhere in the scene
5. select your object following the path
6. link that object to the dummy and watch it jump… it even modified the keys put in by the path constraint controller

i have noticed that the results are different relative to the position of the parent when you link it. also it jumps even more or less depending on what frame you link on. i have also noticed that if you keep linking on that specific frame there are no issues with linking to a new dummy but if you change the frame and relink it will jump again.

Found More Bugs with linking :(

more than 1 objects sharing a position controller ( instancing the position controller) will jump around if one of those objects gets linked to a dummy. this is truly wierd and making me HAVE to revert to and earlier version of max to make changes to projects. You can recreate this effect below

1. create 2 objects
2. open the trackview and copy/paste the position controller from one to the other as an instance.
3. create a dummy in the viewport
4. link one of the 2 objects to the dummy and whatch the linked object jump

its funny even though the 2 objects are sharing a position controller they are in different areas of space… it has never done this before in max for me until version 2009.

Re your 1st post - Yes, it does what you suggest. It does “jump” (by different amounts depending on the relative positions of the Follower object and the dummy).
Problem is - it does exactly the same in Max7, 8, 9, 2008. So while it may well be considered a bug, it’s nothing new.
Your “visibility track” would appear to be a red herring - immaterial to the point you’re trying to make. I had no visibility tracks at all, yet I see the same thing happening in all versions.
On top of all that there’s a simple workaround. Select-and-link the Follower object to the Dummy before adding the path constraint. Someone, somewhere in these Max forums, made a post explaining why changing the “initial conditions” of a Path Constraint can screw with the animation - changing the number of frames for example. Unfortunately I cant find the post or I’d link you to it.

Max 4.2 through 2013.
XP-64 (SP2)
NVidia 9800GTX-512 (Driver 266.58).
Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz, 8Gb Ram, DX9.0c.

i just tossed in the visibility info in there to validate the reason for rigging it the way i did. a bit of a preventative measure for the posters who like to say why would you want to do that ...lol. Im suprised you were able to recreate it in earlier versions cause im working in 2008 with no issues like that ATM.

the work around you posted is ok but… if at any point you have to change the parent to anything else the relinking/unlinking results in the same effect which in turn defeats the whole purpose of linking being a time saver. Hopefully this will get noticed once and for all since you have seen it before.

thanks for the input :)

I guess you could avoid the select and link completely by using Parameter Wiring instead. Bit more messy though (I just tried it).

Max 4.2 through 2013.
XP-64 (SP2)
NVidia 9800GTX-512 (Driver 266.58).
Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz, 8Gb Ram, DX9.0c.

I have trouble with visibility track (with OnOff controller), too. But i can’t reproduce it in a new scene.

I can check the object properties and see the visibility is 0, but if i render the scene the object is there :(

EDIT: I find the real problem: The visibility value would be overwritten from the parent object. This seems not a bug, i found this in the docs:

Groups and Visibility

All members of a Group inherit the visibility of the parent when a visibility controller is assigned to the parent. Transparent materials and hidden objects have no effect on this function.

Scanline or Mental Ray? MR ignores the visibility, you have to use the opacity in the material applied to the object.

Max 4.2 through 2013.
XP-64 (SP2)
NVidia 9800GTX-512 (Driver 266.58).
Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz, 8Gb Ram, DX9.0c.

Steve Curley 03 September 2008 09:50 AM

MR ignores the visibility

This is not really right. MR interprets a visible value as an OnOff value:
>0 -> On
==0 -> Off

True - my bad. I was thinking of gradual changes in opacity - which do not work in MR, but work fine with Scanline.

Max 4.2 through 2013.
XP-64 (SP2)
NVidia 9800GTX-512 (Driver 266.58).
Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz, 8Gb Ram, DX9.0c.