Booleans

[Meurig]

I realise there aren't many people here who use Maya but I might get a lucky answer.

Does anybody know how to stop the maya boolean tool from just deleting both the objects it's running the operation on and giving me no usable output? I'm making smashed windows, bits of sharp glass sticking out of half splintered window frames. Making a craggy shaped object and booleaning it through the window PLANE appears to be too much for it.

Is there some hidden knack that I'm missing here, or is it just an accepted and inescapable fact that the maya boolean tool is completely ****ing useless?

[darthviper107]

I don't know about Maya but in Max you have to make sure that the object you're performing the operation on is solid, without holes.

[McC]

DarthViper's right. Maya just doesn't operate on non-3D objects. Extrude your planes slightly, then re-run the boolean, and it should work.

To answer your original question, no, there isn't. ;) If the boolean operator runs into issues, it just nukes both pieces of geometry. I think this relates to how the boolean algorithm runs -- it deletes the source objects once it's done the boolean op to create the new geometry. Even if no new geometry is output, the delete is still performed.

[Meurig]

Nah I tried giving them depth and it still just deleted both objects and gave me nothing usable. Thanks for the suggestion though, it did sound promising ;)

In the end I just ported the windows to LW, booleaned them there and ported them back :/ Fart-arse way of doing things but at least it worked.

[McC]

Just because I hate an unresolve issue, are you certain you had no unwelded points? No holes in the geometry? I doubt you would ;) but it never hurts to ask.

[Meurig]

No holes and nothing unwelded. It only seems to like booleaning a box out of a box, which isn't all that helpful in the real world :)

[Mook]

I hate to be the one to say it, but Maya's boolean tool really is effed. It does what you described quite a lot for no good reason, and generally I have to flick it to LW, boolean it there, and then flick it back again, just like you did.
Blowed if I know why though.
One way I found of fixing it (sometimes!) is changing the tolerance on the boolean node in the history. Be careful though, because sometimes this removes polys from nowhere near the boolean. Better just to use LW for booleans, methinks.

[Paintpapers]

Tis true. Maya's boolean is far too fussy. Doesn't like holes, non-merged vertices, or hidden edges.