3dsmax mesh, patch, poly question

[3dsmax5]

You should read the User Ref...

Taken from the User Ref:

An editable poly is a type of deformable object. An editable poly is a polygonal mesh; that is, unlike an editable mesh, it uses more than three-sided polygons. Editable polys are useful in that they avoid invisible edges. For example, if you use a cut-and-slice operation with editable polys, the program doesn't insert extra vertices along any invisible edge. You can convert NURBS surfaces, editable meshes, splines, primitives, and patch surfaces to editable polys.

An editable mesh is a type of deformable object. An editable mesh is a trimesh: that is, it uses triangular polygons. Editable meshes are useful for creating simple, low-polygonal objects or control meshes for MeshSmooth and HSDS modelling. You can convert NURBS and patch surfaces to an editable mesh. Editable meshes require little memory, and are a natural method of modeling with polygonal objects.

A patch is a type of deformable object. A patch object is useful for creating gently curved surfaces, and provides very detailed control for manipulating complex geometry.
When you apply an Edit Patch modifier to an object or convert it to an editable patch object, the software converts the object's geometry into a collection of separate Bezier patches. Each patch is made up of three or four vertices connected by edges, defining a surface. Patches also have interior vertices that you can control, or let the software control for you.
You control a patch surface's shape by manipulating the vertices and edges. The surface is the renderable geometry of the object.

Sometimes you wouldn't want to collapse the mesh when you have a complex modifier tree. Because you might want to edit the original primitive/boolean etc. So the EDIT mesh/poly/patch is really useful but eats more memory than the EDITABLE mesh/poly/patch.

[erilaz]

It really depends on your version of max.

Version 5 of max has little difference between poly and mesh, however, for 4.2 and under, many scripts and tools handle in poly-mode rather than mesh mode.
As for patch, I don't use it much, so I'm not sure of the diff there.
Generally, it's easiest to to go with editable poly.:D
This is just my opinon though...

[k r i p]

thx guys, that more than explains and answers my questions. i looked throught the help but i couldnt pinpoint the info i needed. thx again

[jpgauvin]

Hi

I using 3d max 4, and I used often the editable poly when building a spaceship.
here's an example of a poly ship (http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34280) I made :

With editable poly you can add directly a nurms subdivision.
Try it with an iterations of 2

With editable mesh, you need to add a meshsmooth to get the same result. Of course this is when you want to model a smooth object

For the ship, I used 160 vertex in the editabe poly mode and I was able to see the smooth result while working with the vertex.

With Editable Mesh, I would used also 160 vertex, but the result will be a rought ship, and then I would have to add a meshsmooth to it. So if I wanna change a curve of changing a part of the ship, I would have to play in the stack between the edit mesh and the meshsmooth. I could also add an edit mesh to the stack over the meshsmooth, but then I'll would have to work with more than 1700 vertex.

[k r i p]

thx for takin the time to reply back to me.

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