General

In this rollout we define some general parameters.

Spline

A RailClone object requires a path to work, use the pick button to select a spline from the scene. When there is no spline assigned (or it's deleted), the plugin shows a "RC" icon in the viewport.

Realign

By default, RailClone links itself to the spline, so moving or rotating the spline will modify the RailClone object as well. If this alignment is broken (for instance, moving RailClone but not the spline), you can use the "Realign" button to restore it. If the "Auto" checkbox is enabled, picking a new spline will realign the RailClone object with it.

Length

Instead of using the full path, you can build RailClone in a piece of the spline. Use the Start/Length parameters to enter numeric values, or select the start and end positions using the "Pick" buttons and clicking on the spline.

Reverse

Reverses the direction of the path. This has the same effect as applying a "Reverse" command to an editable spline.

Ignore Z:

Enables building the RailClone object on the local X/Y plane of the spline, ignoring Z coordinates.

Style

RailClone allows you to define your own segments and Construction Rules, or select a predefined style from the Library. RailClone Pro includes more than 80 styles, such as Fences, Railings, Barriers, Traffic, Walls and others. See the Library Content to get a thumbnail view of all the included models.

When you select a style from the library, the plugin gets the following values from the selected style, replacing the current parameters in the RailClone object:

• The full list of Segments and their associated values, including the Randomness parameters.
• All Construction Rules parameters in the Geometry rollout.
• If the "Apply Material" checkbox is enabled, RailClone also assigns the material defined in the library to itself.

Build

By default, RailClone works in real-time, rebuilding itself when the spline or some of the objects used as segments are modified. If your RailClone object is complex, and it takes too much time to respond, you can disable the "Auto" checkbox and use the "Build" button to rebuild the object manually.

Display as boxes

Improves the viewport performance by drawing the segments as boxes. It has no effect at render time, RailClone always builds the full mesh.

Consolidate

Vertex Weld

Welds all vertices that fall within the threshold setting. It works like the Max weld feature, but much faster because it is applied only between adjacent segments.

Limits

Limits the maximum number of segments and mesh faces created by the plugin. It is used to avoid an overload of faces in the scene. The default value is 10,000 segments and 5 million faces. When this limit is reached, the plugin shows a warning message

Random Seed

This is any numeric value used to initialize the random number generator. This number affects the random transformations of the Randomness rollout.

Icon Size

When RailClone cannot create a geometry (because not all the required parameters have been defined), it is represented by a "RC" icon. This parameter defines the size of this icon.

Help

Loads the RailClone help reference from the Itoo Software website.

Update

Checks to see the latest available version and updates if needed. Besides using this button, the plugin checks for updates once a week automatically.