Plain effector not working as expected

[archz2]

The object on the left is a modified version from a tutorial file. The object on the right was made by me from scratch. The box field is not becoming active in a specific portion and is affecting a large area despite its small size. What should I do to get the exact results like in the left part?

Puzzle_INVESTIGATION_AJ.c4d (1.5 MB)

[Cinemike]

Use “Explode Segments” instead “Explode Segments & Connect”.
Your object “Cube” is perfectly split up in single polygons that all share their point positions with the neighbouring polygons, so the “Connect” part effectively cancels this “made of single polys” and connects them all back to one happy big object.
If you want to check this, select all polys and “Normal Scale” them, now both modes work the same.

HTH
Michael

[archz2]

Use “Explode Segments” instead “Explode Segments & Connect”.

Wow. Thank you so much! That worked. Pasting screenshots for notes to myself.

Your object “Cube” is perfectly split up in single polygons that all share their point positions with the neighbouring polygons, so the “Connect” part effectively cancels this “made of single polys” and connects them all back to one happy big object.

Isn’t this also happening with the other object i.e. ‘Divider.1’ ?

If you want to check this, select all polys and “Normal Scale” them, now both modes work the same.

How to do that? Also, the concept of ‘Fracture Object’ and its different modes is hard to understand. I searched on YouTube but I’m getting C4D tutorials for breaking objects as in real life, like literally fracturing them instead of the fracture feature of C4D. Please share any relevant content if you know of.

[Cinemike]

“Split perfectly” wasn’t quite true, but an “optimize” still finds enough overlapping points to make the mode “Explode Segments and Connect” less effective (up to ineffective).

When you disable all generators and effectors, so just the bare geometry is still active, you can try the following:
Select “Cube” in the Object Manager. In Polygon Mode, select all polys. Change to the “Normal Scale” tool (you could press M and then -, for example) and scale all polys a little bit smaller. Now the modes work the same.

So, what are the different modes?
You have a group of objects. You don’t want to use a cloner on them, but yet a random effector. To tell C4D your objects are now a kind of a clone, you put them in a Fracture object with the mode “Straight”. Now they will behave like Clones (and you can use effectors on them).
“Explode Segments” is similar, except it does not work on whole objects. If you split your mesh in parts (single polys, poly groups, a mix, whatever) each of these “Segments” will be treatged as “pseudo clones”.
Forget about the mode “Explode Segments and Connect”, you will most likely not need it.

[archz2]

When you disable all generators and effectors, so just the bare geometry is still active, you can try the following:

Select “Cube” in the Object Manager. In Polygon Mode, select all polys. Change to the “Normal Scale” tool (you could press M and then -, for example) and scale all polys a little bit smaller. Now the modes work the same.

Yes! That worked!

So, what are the different modes?

You have a group of objects. You don’t want to use a cloner on them, but yet a random effector. To tell C4D your objects are now a kind of a clone, you put them in a Fracture object with the mode “Straight”. Now they will behave like Clones (and you can use effectors on them).

“Explode Segments” is similar, except it does not work on whole objects. If you split your mesh in parts (single polys, poly groups, a mix, whatever) each of these “Segments” will be treatged as “pseudo clones”.

Forget about the mode “Explode Segments and Connect”, you will most likely not need it.

I see. Now I have understood completely from the absolute fundamental level. When I was learning about effectors, all the tutorials used cloners. Now I understand that the plain effector doesn’t work on a group of objects, not even a single object. It has to belong as a set of ‘fracture’ or ‘cloner’. Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation.

Adding this for a note to myself.

[Cinemike]

You are welcome.

“Now I understand that the plain effector doesn’t work on a group of objects, not even a single object. It has to belong as a set of ‘fracture’ or ‘cloner’.”
I can’t let this stand without adding a bit to the confusion Play the attached scene, here the Plain effector is set as a defomer and does not need a cloner or fracture object. It’s all mad

plain effector as deformer.c4d (200.9 KB)

PS

If you set it from object to polygon it will look even nicer.