Description
SymmXMirror is a symmetry correction plugin for LightWave 3D.
There are still certain modeler tools that break symmetry or doesn’t respect the symmetry mode. That’s when this plugin comes in handy, quickly correcting those problems.
The idea of this plugin is based on Kevin MacPhail’s pmirror.p plugin released a few years back.
I used that plugin all the time, unfortunately it’s only available for 32-bit LightWave, when I made the switch to 64-bit, this was a missed gem for me.
So I wrote my own version, which should work on all current LightWave 3D platforms.
Usage
SymmXMirror automatically corrects symmetry errors in an object with a brutal technique. Basically the plugin selects the -X side of the mesh, flattens it, deletes it, mirrors the +X side and merges the points, which is a quick way to restore symmetry in an object if it gets broken.
I added an extra method that tries to intelligently find the center through the object if it or some points has moved away from the 0 position. This is pretty common for instance in situations where the object has been brought to ZBrush and back.
The tool is designed to be used in the initial stages of modeling when symmetry is wanted, when you get into the phase of adding vertex maps, UV maps and such this tool shouldn’t be used anymore as it might destroy some of those maps if they are unique on each side. For those occasion you might want to give my Fix Symmetry tool a spin.
Demonstration Video
Download
Available downloads for the SymmXMirror tool.
Latest Release
Older Releases
Installation
- Copy the JS_SymmXMirror.lsc to LightWave’s plug-in folder.
- If “Autoscan Plugins” is enabled, just restart LightWave and it’s installed.
- Else, locate the “Add Plugins” button in LightWave and add it manually.
My advise is to add the tool to a convenient spot in your modeler’s menu. Then all you have to do is press the button to let the plugin do it’s “magic” when the symmetry gets lost in an object.
Compability
SymmXMirror has been tested on LightWave 3D 9.5 / 9.6, win32 and win64. As far as I know it should also work fine on the Mac.
Changelog
The development history of SymmXMirror.
Version 1.1 – 4 Jul 2008
- Added a Progress Monitor when processing dense high polycount meshes.
- The script can now be safely aborted while the progress monitor runs by pressing ESC.
Version 1.01 – 28 Jun 2008
- Minor Update, changed the internal name of SymmXMirror to include the prefix JS_.
Version 1.0 – 17 Feb 2008
- Initial release of the plugin.