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Intersections

Intersections = multiple PathSplines​

Errant Paths doesn't have a separate type for intersections. What we call "intersections" are Paths that have more than one PathSpline. Users may add secondary PathSplines by adding a new Path Spline Component in a PathTemplate blueprint or by duplicating an exisitng PathSpline component.

End points of each PathSpline serve as attachment points for other Paths to connect to.

Deformation Mode​

The second difference between normal Paths and intersections is their Deformation Mode. That mode can be set in Path Description and can have two values: Stretch or Repeat. Intersections use the Stretch mode, while normal Paths use the Repeat mode.

In Repeat mode, multiple PathTemplates are spawned along a Path to fill its entire length. In Stretch mode, a single PathTemplate is spawned and it gets stretched to fill the Path's length (only along the MainPathSpline for now, ignoring the secondary PathSplines). The difference is shown in the video below.

Managing multiple Path Splines​

What's important, the shape of the spawned PathSplines stays unchanged, even after a PathTemplate was modified significantly. We also never remove spawned PathSplines after a PathSpline component was removed from a PathTemplate. This is to prevent accidental data loss when modifying PathTemplates. In order to restore PathSplines to the state from a PathTemplate you need to select a Path and click the Reset Path Splines button.

If the PathTemplate has fewer PathSplines than the Path, the tool will ask whether it should remove the redundant spawned PathSpline from the selected actor. It's also possible to reset only the selected PathSplines (if they are selected in the list of spawned components).

Deformation from secondary Path Splines​

Currently Paths adjust their shape to match the MainPathSpline. Secondary PathSplines can also affect the shape of the Path, but we lack proper tools to manage how multiple PathSplines affect meshes in different parts of an intersection. Improving this aspect is an important point on our roadmap.

You can enable deformation from a secondary PathSpline in the PathTemplate by selecting that PathSpline and enabling the "Affects Components" option.

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