Mesh Sequence Cache Modifier How do you use it?

Support Modeling
21

Hey Daniel,

If I understand your question correctly, you want to export both the mesh data and the associated modifiers, to then, upon importing, having the mesh data with the result of the modifiers cached with the modifiers list ? That is, to be able to import a mesh, with modifiers on it, but the modifiers are not run because they are cached. If yes then the Mesh Sequence Cache modifier will be useless as it writes only the final mesh data (and some custom attributes like UVs) but it does not write the list of modifiers.

I think the only way to do that would be to save a .blend file and using as a linked library, although I am not too familiar with that side of Blender.

22

Hi KWD.

Thank you for your prompt response!

I might not be understanding your explanation. When you say ā€œthe result of the modifiers cached with the modifiers listā€ I am not precisely sure what this means. To put it precisely, in the Blender GUI, if I make a mesh, I can click and add modifiers so that they are on the modifier list. I donā€™t know if they are cached or not, and I donā€™t see a ā€œcacheā€ button to click. (Note that in my use case, I donā€™t really need a full animation; I am just going to take the image from a camera at frame X and thatā€™s all I need.)

In Blender, I am familiar with ā€œcachesā€ when I use a cloth simulator, and I click ā€œbakeā€ to ā€œcacheā€ an animation, so that playing it in the Blender GUI is faster. However, that I use for debugging mostly. I normally use the Python API and step through frames one-by-one (and take the image at frame X), so I donā€™t know if a cache would be needed.

For reference, this was my original question about trying to do dynamic pinning and un-pinning of vertices of cloth at specific frame intervals:

https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/180199/pin-cloth-vertices-at-a-specific-set-of-frames-and-un-pin-otherwise-in-python

Then the StackExchange question I linked to in my previous post was my attempt at solving my original question. :slight_smile: I have yet to figure out how to do dynamic un-pinning and pinning of vertex groups (and it may be impossible to do in Blender), so my solution was to run a Blender Python script to save the cloth ā€œstateā€ (e.g., vertices), and then in a subsequent Blender Python script, load in that script with the same modifiers and do an action, then save and repeat. So one call to Blender does one ā€œaction.ā€

I skimmed the documentation for linked libraries, and it looks like that might be a way I can pursue my objectives, either in addition to (or in place of) the mesh cache modifier idea.

Thanks again.

PS: not sure if you are on the Blender StackExchange, but Iā€™ll upvote you if you wish to write something there.