Via a tech-artists.org tweet, I came across some MAXScript for randomly selecting a specified percentage of mesh elements (for example, give me a random selection that includes 35% of all vertices).
I converted it to Python in Softimage. Note that I don’t really shuffle a collection: you can’t set items in a collection, so there’s no way to swap items. Instead, I put the collection in a list and shuffle the list.
Shuffling actually makes this harder than it has to be. Check out Alan’s nice script for a better way to do this.
si = Application
log = si.LogMessage
sisel = si.Selection
#http://creativescratchpad.blogspot.ca/2011/06/select-random-elements-by-percentage.html
import random
#
# Return a list that includes a randomly selected
# percentage of the items in a collection
#
def get_random_percentage( collection, percentage ):
v = [x for x in collection]
# random shuffle
for i in range( len(v) ):
j = random.randint( i, len(v)-1 )
v[i], v[j] = v[j], v[i]
# select by percentage
step = 100/percentage
w = []
for i in xrange( 0, len(v), step ):
w.append( v[i] )
# print len(w)
# print (percentage/100.0) * len(v)
return w
Application.SelectObj("torus", "", True)
# Select a random 50% of the vertices
x = get_random_percentage( sisel(0).ActivePrimitive.Geometry.Vertices, 50 )
si.SelectObj(x)
print sisel(0).SubComponent.ComponentCollection.Count
# Suppose you had 2000 cubes.
# Select a random 25% of those 2000...
Application.SelectObj("cube*", "", True)
x = get_random_percentage( sisel, 25 )
si.SelectObj(x)
I learned a couple of things about MAXScript:
- MAXScript arrays are 1-based
- In the MaxScript docs, there aren’t any function/method reference pages. You have to go to a “value” page (eg Number Values) and there you’ll find all the methods. That’s fine once you know, but it was confusing at first when I didn’t see anything in the TOC for Functions or Methods.
eX-SI 
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With all due respect, you are going a very convoluted route with all this. You can do:
def get_random_percentage(iterable, percentage):
amount = int( float(len(iterable)) * (percentage/100.0) )
return random.sample(iterable, amount)
Check out my neat version of your example here:
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randomXSISelectionsExample.py
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Yes, now that I look at it, my literal conversion of that Maxscript isn’t pretty. I remember I was more focused on figuring out what that Maxscript actually did.
No offense, but “with all due respect” always makes me think something like this 😉
haha, well I didn’t really mean it that way. 😉 keep up the great blog! I read it every week.