Hello; I finally finished work on a new plugin to support symmetry, which can be purchased here (currently Windows only):
https://gumroad.com/l/colliesymmetryhelper
Q&A...
Why did you feel the need to write it? -- Constructing a symmetrical object is easy enough with a symmetry object. However, once you intend to weight, rig, and texture the object, you need to dissolve the symmetry object, which makes it difficult to change point positions afterwards while keeping it symmetric.
There used to be tools around for symmetry handling, but several of those are no longer compatible with newer C4D versions and / or have disappeared from the market.
How does it work? -- CollieSymmetryHelper creates a mapping of "right" and "left" points internally by comparing the geometric positions at initialization, and then applies positional changes from one side to the other. This allows me to correct points after the symmetry object itself is gone. I can swap the active side, and work with selections and even UV maps in a symmetric way.
The plugin can work in realtime, automatically applying all changes to the reverse side for a better view of the whole object, or it can delay the symmetricization until you press a button, for better comparison of old/new look.
How is it limited? -- Due to the mapping approach, currently the plugin doesn't support adding or removing points through tools - this destroys the mapping, since Cinema re-numbers all the points. You can still switch the tag off, modify the object on both sides, and re-initialize, though. Added points can be symmetrized after that, so you don't need to work numerically perfect.
However, this form of implementation also ensures that you can apply any tool and script that changes point positions, with no need for special messaging or more administrative layers.
So it's not a complete symmetry system? -- No, as the name says, it's a helper. A full-scale symmetry system with all the bells and whistles as I imagine it would need to be implemented at the core level of Cinema 4D and must be supported by all tools. While I am investigating possibilities to expand the functionalities, there is no guarantee that an implementation on plugin level is even possible (talking with Maxon developers revealed that internal messages that I used back in release 8(!) for similar purposes are no longer supported).
Why should I buy it then? -- Imagine the last time you were doing character work, and you just had to adapt a few points at the elbow to improve on the deformation... and when you just finished the right elbow, you remember that you have to do it all over again on the left... what a waste of time.
Does it work with render farms? -- You can just delete the tag before sending the scene to the render farm; it is not required for rendering.
Does it work in creating pose morphs? -- My beta tester says it does.
Does it slow down the scene a lot? -- I didn't notice, but when you experience delays, you can always switch off the tag while you are not working on the object.
What about the UVs, I have maps where I split the object in the middle... -- UVs require some care in setup, because in general the geometric symmetry is not necessarily also the UV symmetry, but if you set up symmetric UVs with this tag, it needs to be. The plugin provides a center functionality for UV islands and a special handling for middle points that allows splitting or centering or ignoring.
Can I symmetrize a spline? -- Yes. (Obviously, no UVs are possible here.) Also FFDs, since these are internally also point objects.
Do I need to subscribe? -- NO! 🦊 One-time buy only.