This is an archive of CompuServe forum messages from 1985 to 1995, as saved in transcripts by John Foust.
Search Results (113 messages)
Hi Again, Of course all your points are valid. I was imprecise in my use of the terms 'approximation' and 'valid at'. Thanks. We expected that you would be stronger in mathematics than those of us who are 'home grown', and it's been a LONG time since I actually had…
Hi Aleksey, Thanks for the thanks. We knew YOU would be able to handle the math, fer cryin' out loud. I mean, you probably had calc in grade school, right? 😉 OK, OK, so maybe middle school…. -Eric
Thanks Lee, There's a reason why freeware SXPs aren't very common – except for some of the swirly colors Pointer has done – and that's that very few people know how to handle the bump mapping portion. The math involves some differential calculus. Autodesk is so busy with MAX they…
Howdy, With respect to your question about better-than-automatic reflection mapping: ANY textured coloration, controlled opacity, refraction and et cetera in 3D Studio (up 'til R4) MUST be done with mapping. It's not a raytracer, as you already recognize, so anytime we want to accurately see THROUGH something or OFF something…
>>high school….rich and successful ones today
Hiya – Computer nerd, graphics geek, pocket-protector engineer, and dweeb mathematician: I'm afraid I'm all of the above, with the paper to prove it… Fortunately, it's people like us who really run everything. 😉 Eric
Good Morning Jonas, My, you're working early this glorious Sunday morning. I will write up a little description of how the math works and post it here, and Audrey will generate a very simple bump mapping example in SXP source code. We haven't forgotten we need to get you the…
#SXP inner workins'
Message #195426
Hi Jonas, We figured out exactly how SXP bump mapping works. Please scratch the request for detailed technical information. Would you like a text file explaining the spatial gradient function operation posted? It has to do with point multidimensional gradent vectors evaluated across a spatial magnitude function. Some routines, like…
Greetings. Saw your note. Unfortunately, LenzFX's flare utility is incompatible with any AXP that uses world coordinates, including not only Yost Vapor and Flame, but also our Make Tracks and Particles II. We think this is due to the flare utility basing on lights rather than objects, and lights don't…
Ah. Found this msg again. I read it the other day but couldn't 'reply' 'cause I was on a comm program and not CIM; then I couldn't find it later. Anyway, thanks for responding, and I see David himself has already updated your info. -Eric/SisyphusSW
Right. Got it. Thanks. -Eric
AHHHHH! Thanks for the info. Well, there's no address in the book, and nothing comes back from 'search membership' dialog, but I'll keep trying now. -Eric
Hmmmm… there's no listing for 'David Dtinnet' either. Thanks again.
Thanks for the info. Will proceed. -E
Howdy, On booleans: Ah, I had missed this thread! Of course, now that I search thrice daily for messages to 'Peterson' I'm bound to come across yours, too. I never get the 'Please Adjust Geometry' message anymore. Here's why: First, when you boolean objects with the 'Weld Vertices' option ON,…
#Looking for Blur Studio
Message #194403
Maybe someone can help me find somebody. We got a registration card back from 'Tim Miller' at 'Blur Studio' in Venice, CA, but when we sent our newsletter and discount certificate out to him, it came back 'Forwarding Address Expired.' We hate having a customer take the time to send…
Greetings! You raise valid points. I have just learned in the past two days that Win95 and WinNT are at least supposed to support the same code, with WinNT being the more powerful for supporting multithreaded apps. Thus, what you say makes sense. Perhaps we've been blinded by the marketing…
>WinNT with the Windows '95 interface..< Yah, I think that's what Autodesk was running at the big pavillion at SIGGRAPH, wasn't it? Being the plodding c-prompt nerd that I am, I didn't know enough to notice, but that's what they tell me… Of course, this is only REALLY significant for…
Thanks for the comments. We understood that NT was 'serious' software. Else all the serious graphics developers wouldn't be using it. I had heard that before, that Bill the Gates wanted everyone to use NT at work and Win95 at home. But, in the words of my lovely wife, 'WHERE'S…
#Win95 vs WinNT
Message #194015
Greetings! On Win95 being a small step on the way to WinNT: If that's the plan, then why doesn't Microsoft SAY SO? Furthermore, won't any system that supports Win95 ALREADY support WindowsNT?? I agree with you that the vast majority of systems out there would support Win 3.x but NOT…
#Diamond Stealth Boards
Message #193515
Greetings, Sorry – poor choice of words. I tried to get the point across that I upgraded FROM one board TO another, and that I didn't make changes to a specific piece of hardware. I guess I failed. This plodding engineer, like most of his breed, is a poor communicator.…
Greetings, I could never get Animator Pro to work with my DS64 2Mb. Nor would it work with the replacement 4Mb. Nor will it work with the DS64 4Mb Video. I tried various versions of UNIVBE, some other BIOS utilities, and a few creative solutions. I never had any luck.…
Nope, no Windows 95 version. Windows NT only. Blame Microsoft, not Autodesk. Unless you can tell the rest of us WHY Microsoft needs to sell TWO 32-bit, pre-emptive multitasking, windows-based OS…. Eric Peterson Sisyphus Software
HI, You must not have seen my message, and I didn't see yours. First, if you have an older non-Video VRAM get the new Vibrant drivers from the Studio library, Second, if you have a newer Video VRAM get the newest drivers straight from the Vibrant BBS. I've got machines…
Greetings! AH, the Vibrant BBS. Actually, I'm pretty close to them and I know some guys over there. Maybe I can get the files directly. I will one way or another. Thanks for the tip. Other Topic: Your copy of Make Tracks shipped today via priority mail. Had to find…
#Diamond Stealth Vid VRAM
Message #193263
Howdy, Are we going to see another set of Vibrant drivers soon? I've upgraded from a Stealth 64 PCI 4Mb VRAM to a 4Mb Video VRAM, and the old drivers (the ones posted 7/11) don't support it properly in Rel 4. On the plus side, of course, the older card…
Commercial Use of Mesh
Message #192524
Howdy. I think your image using my mesh looks pretty good, but if you had read the text file with the mesh, you'll notice that I posted it with a non-commercial only license. I probably would have said OK without a moment's thought, but asking first would have been nice..…
Greetings, Nothing developed for Rel 3/4 will work with MAX. Everything will have to be rewritten. Since you asked I think it's OK to tell you – Make Tracks costs $70 plus shipping, handling, and tax. Our vendors are listed in a file called 'SISYPHUS.TXT' over in Take 5/Want Ads.…
No no no. I replaced the whole card with a newer version of the same card – moving from the 4Mb VRAM to the 4Mb VRAM Video, the one with MPEG built-in. I had the very latest drivers for BOTH, but the established card – the one that had been…
You realize that there's a free Viewpoint dumptruck on the World Creating Toolkit, don't you? I've used it myself in a forensic piece. Also, since you do forensic work, let me pitch our new product for forensic animators. Tired of doing animaps for skid marks? Our new product, Make Tracks,…
Hi Dave, Just thought I'd give you an update on my use of AS. I upgraded my 4Mb VRAM Stealth 64 PCI to a 4Mb VRAM Stealth 64 PCI with hardware MPEG – the 'Video' version that's maybe two months newer? AS works FINE now! It had problems with the…
Um, sorry about that again Todd.
You might also try the Syndesis 3D-ROM Vols I and II and the Autodesk 3D Props CDs. They're not free, but that'll get you a pile of tree meshes. Also, Jim Lammers' Rendering Plant BBS has some awesome trees with very simple geometry but with very complex mapping that render…
#Cadkey Users Unite!
Message #191349
AND YET ANOTHER CADKEY/3DS USER! I've heard from three today! That must be just about all of us! Yes, I know about the Omnikeys with dual function keypads, but as long as the scavenged 85's work the $$$ are better spent on RAM. I suppose if I had to I…
Actually, (Sorry Autodesk) I use Cadkey more than I use ACAD. In all fairness, ACAD is a far, far better DRAFTING tool, but there's no beating the speed of Cadkey for flat layout because of that tree-structured hotkey menu system. Of course, this assumes the use of an old 85-key…
Actually, I just do the blueprint flats in CAD and then import the sections, loft paths, profiles, and plans into the Shaper. But there's still no replacement for CAD to get the accuracy into a mesh. I would estimate, during the course of the development of a model, that perhaps…
Re: Updated Demos: will do. We were concerned about taking up too much space. BTW: We've gotten our care package, but we've got no formal notice and no one's told us our 'Developer Number'. We've got e-mail out, but I guess you guys are real busy right now… BTW II:…
We'll upload some new ones. ADESK thought it'd be worthwhile too. -Eric
Greetings! Just thought I'd take the opportunity to straighten things out. Sisyphus supplies two packages right now: Solids Completer and Particle Pack #1. Solids Completer is a collection of eleven 'extended primitives' that Studio can't make in one pass plus a routine to apply lofted mapping coordinates to ANY box…
Good Morning! Super vary is supposed to hold the color selected for the range you specify. It interpolates between colors in the frames between the end frame of one color and the start frame of the next color. That is, if you specify red for frame 1 to 5 and…
Greetings, Good news and bad news: the new Diamond drivers fixed the little glitch. Animator Studio still locks up. Location is Graphics Vendors B, Diamond Multimedia -Eric
Greetings, I know about the Diamond forum. I'll try. No, no way to swap video cards. The code development machine's a VLB, the server's 8-bit VGA, and this one's PCI. I'll try revised drivers, if I can find 'em, and report back. Thanks. -E
Greetings, Thanks for the reply. Um, I couldn't figure out how to attach the files to a mail message. No, since we wiped Access the machine's been good with everything. I do have a little glitch with returning to Windows from a DOS shell (the screen goes a little haywire)…
Greetings! Oh yes, it's hardware for sure! We tried it on the 486DX2-80 and it runs just FINE, thank you, but I need it on MY graphics machine, not on Audrey's code developer! I tried all other possible rezes and color depths. None worked. I've got nothing in StartUp, and…
Greetings, Thanks for the answer. I am running standard VGA; I switched down to that first. Also, this Micron P90 is one of those machines which has problems running Windows with the DOS mouse drivers installed, but I had forgotten that. We're only running the standard MS logitech mouse driver,…
#Animator Studio Lockup
Message #188254
Greetings, We just loaded up Animator Studio on the Micron P90 (64Mb/DS64PCI4MbVRAM) – and it loses the mouse every time it starts. Both Animator Studio and the Player were crashing but good with GPFs until I stripped out MS Access, which seemed to be playing merry heck with most Windows…
Hi — Hey! Be gentle with 'em! We wouldn't want to have to write hirez, truecolor drivers for a thousand different cards, when the chipsets change every two months for the hardest ones! Given how fast graphics technology is changing (who dreamed two years ago that truecolor 1280×1024 displays would…
Hi Lee, Thanks for the info. We posted it so that anyone with an interest could see it. It's important to us because it means that Particle Pack #2 and Make Tracks are likewise incompatible with LenzFX 1' s flare utility. Could you pass it along to anyone over there…
#IXP Light Locations
Message #187259
Greetings, We believe we know what causes the problem with LenzFX failing to track lights with the flare utility when there is an AXP that uses secondary motion data. The problem is not with LenzFX, exactly. It has nothing to do with secondary data, per se. Lights don't show up…
Good Evening Jonas: Thanks for your comments. I think Audrey is going to develop the test routine to track light location data. We'll run it with and without vapor or flame. -Eric
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