This is an archive of CompuServe forum messages from 1985 to 1995, as saved in transcripts by John Foust.
Search Results (599 messages)
Cindy: Do you have the latest vibrant drivers from the library here? I believe the Stealth 64 DRAM is covered. – Bob Ritger
Garry: Lightscape has stated that they are working on a plug-in for 3DS MAX which will ship in the Winter of '96. Lightscape is a radiosity based renderer and will soon be available as a stand-alone product for NT. You would be able to input the photometrics of any real…
Anselm: I'm glad the world is working out your way. Atmospheric fog nor layered fog are going to get you that atmospheric fuzziness around your earth. You may want to just enclose your globe inside a semi-transparent larger globe which is mapped with a material of the proper color and…
Wade: >> Can you say Waikiki?
Darrin: Wireframe data in a .dxf file will usually be fine for importing into 3DS. However, .dxf files are written in a number of ways from many different programs. They don't all adhere to the standard which causes some anomolies. Another thing to be wary of is 2D .dxf files,…
Larry: Thanks for uploading the files, it should be very useful. – Bob Ritger
Tyler: I wasn't trying to imply that you could do all objects at once with the 'H' key. I've gotten pretty used to toggling to do a bunch of operations in a row. Some things are easier to go about selecting with various mouse clicks but with a decent naming…
Ben: Mouse speed is set in the 3DS.SET file. – Bob Ritger
Chris: To lighten up your shadows you can decrease the intensity of the shadow casting light source, add other light sources to your scene or increase ambient light levels. There is a lot of room for experimentation here but these are some ideas for you. – Bob Ritger
Anselm: Your methods seem proper. Perhaps on the 'normals' question you could just live with rendering two-sided ON? It will be slower rendering but may save you from individually flipping some faces. I would try a few different settings for the autosmooth angle if you aren't getting decent results. -…
Terry: The "invalid ratnest" errors on .dxf import were explained here a long while back. Maybe Jonas can dig up something as I have just vague recollections. I know that I had some problems with these same errors myself a while back. The best results I got were without automatic…
Ken: If you can save your model in .dxf or .3ds format you will be able to import your meshes into 3DS. No parametric data will make it through the conversion process. You will have parametric control in the upcoming 3DS MAX but there are no specific details on format…
David: >>> This is true as long as no object or light moves. Only the camera can move, which essentially leaves flythrus as the only application for this "real time speed-up".
Dave: Thanks, you save me some digging. – Bob Ritger
Paul and Jeff: Thanks for the info, I'll see what PC Connections has to offer. – Bob Ritger
Tyler: I usually do this with the 'H' hot key. – Bob Ritger
Neil: Just flip the normals after you mirror your objects and you should be in business. – Bob Ritger
Rick: I like bustin' the chops of a dealer/vendor now and then . Actually, I tend to buy most of my 3DS stuff from the dealers who frequent this forum. A few of them really go out of their way to offer assistance and to send them my business is…
Dave: Yep, Lightscape for NT should be very helpful in our endeavors to maintain our sanity. It looks like a major step forward in computer tools for architectural design. – Bob Ritger
Paul: Thanks for the timely post on the JAZ drive. I'm looking to pick up one when they are available. – Bob Ritger
Judy: Perhaps you know a method to see RAM above 64 megs without using QEMM or other memory manager. If it can be done with EMM386 then please post it here as this question comes up all the time. There are a lot of animators out there relying on QEMM…
Bob: I saw a few on shelves in electronics stores which mostly push stereos and TV's. Nobody Beats the Wiz here on the east coast has them in a couple of stores. If you've got a retailer like this nearby you might get lucky. Just an idea. – Bob Ritger
Steve: Thanks for the info, I was hoping for a JAZ drive for XMAS. Maybe Santa will come early this year. – Bob Ritger
Wade: >> Hopefully we get a client in Hawaii; I'll volunteer to do the install.
Mike: I'd try a QEMM setup without the Stealth feature as a possibility to get you network rendering. As far as DPS goes they do not have a forum on Compuserve but they are always part of several discussions here as you have seen. They do have a BBS (416/754-8368)…
SW: Previews in the next release of 3DS (MAX) will be done in real-time. – Bob Ritger
Mike: >> I'd like to know from an Autodesk representative exactly what the functionality of 3ds r4 is under windows '95 on a Micron 90 with 64 meg of ram and a Diamond Stealth 64 video card.
Greg: I haven't checked out your file yet but have you tried an AUTOMATIC FLAT MIRROR REFLECTION on your cpu base? This would be RAM intensive an is spelled out in the manuals. If you can get away with it you might try applying a bitmap as an added texture…
Martin: Wow! I knew that I chose SCSI for a reason but I never thought that it would be so much quicker. Thanks for posting those numbers. – Bob Ritger
Kevin: Thanks for the MARS information, hopefully Ed will pick it up. – Bob Ritger
John: >> (Now if only they would make a PC that could handle radiosity calculations at under 15 min./frame….)
#JAZ drive
Message #193660
Anybody know if the JAZ drive is out yet? Any idea where to grip one? – Bob Ritger
Murph' >> http://www.microgreen
Yo' Wade: FWIW, my CIS id changed a few months ago, your message is to my old address. "No Ram For Bitmap" can mean that in loading the maps required to render a scene you have already run out of RAM. You didn't even get to the point where you'd…
John: Thanks for taking care of the flic to .exe question with the headsup on BLDSV.ZIP. I'm with you on the trend to complicate software packages, also seems to be a contest to clutter the screen with the most floating palettes, menus, buttons and icons. – Bob Ritger
John: Thanks for posting the heads up on BLDSV.ZIP for our visitor. I just checked, it's found here in Library 7. I never knew it existed, doh. That Dave Mason seems to have eyes everywhere, I bet he's already caught this thread. – Bob Ritger
Helen: Alright, hope it all works out for you. FWIW, I had wished that this quaternion behavior could be toggled on or off for user control so I sympathize with your plight. I don't know if I mentioned another choice but you could leave the camera in place and animate…
Albert: My home state of New Jersey is in the process of stringing fibre optic cable all over the place and the whole state will be ready soon for some high-speed data transmission. I have no idea what the schedule is, maybe they'll be done in my lifetime . -…
Rick: >> I don't think there are any rules against giving out vendor names and contact info on this forum.
NICE BOOKS
Message #193470
Eduard: There is a compilation of books in library #9 called REFBOOKS.TXT. I'm not sure if the list includes books about modelling architectural structures specifically but it is worth the download. Most people who do architectural modelling tend to use their CAD software to achieve this goal and then render…
Helen: No problem, keep me posted as to your success. There is a longer description of Quaternions but it makes my head spin, no pun intended. – Bob Ritger
Anselm: Your description of your work is quite interesting an your english is not that bad at all. Could you break down your continents into smaller pieces in order to get the detail into the masses as you desire? Once you have created the objects you could link them together…
Anne: .000 can be appended to downloaded files when using several software packages. I've had it happen in GoCIS as well. I usually do as you said, rename the file to have the proper extension. Often the file is a .zip file, txt or a .gif. – Bob Ritger
Paul: The most current Vibrant drivers are in the library here, have you tried them out? The file is VIB3DS.ZIP in Library #3. >> Update to the Vibrant Graphics drivers which shipped with Autodesk 3D Studio R4. Fixes MGA Impression and other bugs. Supports the same cards as v1.0.6.p4. Caution:…
Michael: Yep, its getting tougher 🙁 One thing I know nothing about is Lantastic, we may need a Lantastic opinion to verify that part of your system. I think you can discount QEMM 7.5 as a problem, I've been successful with it as well as a bunch of other forum…
John: No sweat, post any question you'd like. It appears that for every hardware question posted there are several lurkers here that benefit from the answer. >> I'd converted my flics to self running .EXE's to make life easier and the self runner only works in vesa mode.
John: I checked for 28,800 nodes in states neighboring NJ and came up blank for now. I guess it's just a matter of time before a 28,800 or higher node shows up near me. I didn't check for 57,600 or v120, I'll have to check again soon. – Bob Ritger
Ed: I'm not sure how anyone got the impression that talking about video cards would upset anyone. You are correct, the hardware/operating system/video section of this forum is for any topic pertaining to optimizing one's environment for running 3DS, AAS, etc. One can often get quicker and better tech support…
Anne: I noticed yesterday when you GO PHONES there is even a category for 28,800 baud nodes not just 2400, 9600, 14,400. I couldn't find a single active node but it looks like progress. I saw a higher speed category, too. The future of CIS looks pretty quick. Pretty soon…
Ed: There's a review in lib #6 of the MAR board called MARSRV.TXT. I am not sure for which model it is for but it could give you some good info. One thing to check between the two cards is whether you can render directly to them via 3DS as…
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