9

918 Glossary
Block/Style Parent
A Block/Style Parent is closely related to a
VIZBlock (page 3–1031) in that it is a compound
object similar to a nested AutoCAD block. Just
like the VIZ Block, it is used for organizing linked
data from DWG files. When linking DWG data to
3ds Max, you need to decide how the incoming
entities are to b e organized in the scene. Objects
in DWG files are commonly organized by laye rs,
blocks, and entities, whi le 3ds Max scenes are
organized by parent/child hierarchies of objects.
The m ain difference b etween a Block/Style Parent
and a VIZBlock is that a Block/Style Parent allows
for a parent/child hierarchy of “components,”
but does not display an y of its own geometry. A
VIZBlock displays its ow n geometry and lists a set
of “components,” or sub-objects.
Blur / Blur Offset
Top: Blur = 1, Blur Offset = 0
Middle: Blur = 10, Blur Offset = 0
Bottom: Blur = 0.01, Blur Offset = 0.2
The Blur and Blur Offset controls determine how
a 2D map is blurred, or how it is softened in the
rendering. You can’t see their effect in the viewport
renderer , only in the production renderer.
The Blur setting blurs the map based on its
distancefromtheview.Thefartherawaythemap
is, the greater the blurring. You should always u se
some blurring on your maps to avoid the typ e of
scintillation, or aliasing that can occur w hen pixel
details are reduced off in the distance. This effect
typically occurs when you use detailed bitmaps
viewed at a distance, and is particularly apparent
during animations. The Blur default is 1.0, which
is a good setting for most purposes.
Blur Offset blurs the map without regard to depth.
That is, all the pixels in the map are blurred
equally, regardless of how close or how far they are
from the camera.
Whereas the Blur value is primarily used to
avoid aliasing, Blur Offset is useful when you
want to soften, or defocus the details in a map.
It’s the equivalent of blurring the bitmap in an
image-processing program before applying it as a
material map.
Note: For bump mapping (page 2–1506),lowerBlur
and hig her Blur Offset values give better results.
Body Space
Abipedlimbcanbeputintothecoordinatespace
of the world or an object in the scene as well as
body space. Body space mov es the biped limbs
whenthebipedmoves;ifyourotatethebiped’s
hips,thefeet,inbodyspace,moveaswell.