Can't draw small circles?

[RadicalOne]

When I draw a circle below a certain radius, it will not remain, but rather disappear. Why, and how do I fix it?
I can't simply rescale the circle; the tool I'm using uses the initial shape.

[JBSimio]

I can't simply rescale the circle; the tool I'm using uses the initial shape.

The last part confused me a little bit... which tool would this be?

I've had a similar issue in GMAX, where circles or spheres simply don't like to be drawn smaller than a certain radius for some reason.  Usually, I just draw the circle bigger than I want it and then go to the measurements along the right side and manually re-enter the radius that I actaully wanted. 

JB

[RadicalOne]

The last part confused me a little bit... which tool would this be?

Loft.

I've had a similar issue in GMAX, where circles or spheres simply don't like to be drawn smaller than a certain radius for some reason.  Usually, I just draw the circle bigger than I want it and then go to the measurements along the right side and manually re-enter the radius that I actaully wanted.

I tried that, as well as manual keyboard entry. Neither worked. I have currently surrendered to using ellipses locked to circular shapes with the <Ctrl> key, but that is rather inaccurate as I can't snap it properly.

[RebaLynnTS]

What size circle are you trying to make?

[RadicalOne]

What size circle are you trying to make?

The smallest radius it will let me draw is "0.1". I'm trying for "0.02".

[vester]

Draw a circle with a bigger radius, then just change the radius afterwards.

Anything smaller than 0.1 would not show up in game.

[callagrafx]

What are your measurement units?

[RadicalOne]

What are your measurement units?

Meters, I would assume. When I first started this .gmax - a year ago - I seem to remember setting it to meters.

[RebaLynnTS]

I can draw a circle about .1, then make it .01, but as mentioned, when rendered it would not show up. Why do you want such a small circle any way? There maybe another way to accomplish your task.

[RadicalOne]

Why do you want such a small circle anyway?

I was making neon tubing, and the cross section was a small circle.

There may be another way to accomplish your task.

I'm currently using small ellipses, which I can draw. Additionally, they also show up in the preview render, in the fashion I expected them to.

[SimGoober]

For a "tube" this small, just draw a line, and under Mesh settings, click display mesh.  Then you can set the thickness to whatever you want, though .1 meters is about as small as you want, and have it still show up.  3 or 4 sides on it is enough as well; this will cut done on the poly count. When you have the shape done, use the edit mesh modifier, so it shows up in a render.

[RadicalOne]

For a "tube" this small, just draw a line, and under Mesh settings, click display mesh.  Then you can set the thickness to whatever you want, though .1 meters is about as small as you want, and have it still show up.  3 or 4 sides on it is enough as well; this will cut done on the poly count. When you have the shape done, use the edit mesh modifier, so it shows up in a render.

My ellipse method looks fine from the renders, but is its polycount too high?

[SimFox]

Problem with GMAX preview is that it does a bit of window dressing...

I mean things will NOT look as good exported as they do in preview. This is caused by the fact that for preview anti-aliasing is turned on and for the actual export it is turned off. And this is exactly the feature that is responsible for the quality of the smallest objects.

At Zoom5 scale 1 pixel is about 15 cm for vertical lines, and about 20cm for horizontal. With good anti-aliasing you can go as low as 1/3 of it, but without you should try to stay above those numbers.

I would also suggest to listen to SimGroober suggestion. The method he suggests is, in effect, same loft, but with much simpler interface and much more error proofed.

[SimGoober]

My ellipse method looks fine from the renders, but is its polycount too high?

The simplest answer is "maybe". Lol...  The lower the polygon count, the easier the model will render. But the number considered high depends on the machine you are using to process the render.  Newer, more modern computers can handle a lot more than older ones can. My computer is about a year old, with the basic bells and whistles.  For the most part it handles anything I make.  My older machine used to slow down significantly on higher poly count models.  A 30 or 40 story building used to take me 12 to 14 hours to render; now it takes 2 or 3.

Good rule of thumb is to just reduce the polys where convenient to do so, and keep in mind the finished size of your project.  On a large building (such as this), you are much more likely to run into a high poly count than on a small house or retail shop.   So plan accordingly.

[RadicalOne]

The simplest answer is "maybe". Lol...  The lower the polygon count, the easier the model will render. But the number considered high depends on the machine you are using to process the render.  Newer, more modern computers can handle a lot more than older ones can. My computer is about a year old, with the basic bells and whistles.  For the most part it handles anything I make.  My older machine used to slow down significantly on higher poly count models.  A 30 or 40 story building used to take me 12 to 14 hours to render; now it takes 2 or 3. Good rule of thumb is to just reduce the polys where convenient to do so, and keep in mind the finished size of your project.  On a large building (such as this), you are much more likely to run into a high poly count than on a small house or retail shop.   So plan accordingly.

I see. I know a few places where I can reduce the complexity without it being visible at all.