This is an archive of CompuServe forum messages from 1985 to 1995, as saved in transcripts by John Foust.
Search Results (42 messages)
FLAT POLISHED METAL???
Message #195840
Thanks Pete, I feel better now. I too feel that only an idiot is one that believes he has all the answers. At least it's confirmed that these finishes ARE possible and it's only my own inability to create them. That's OK. I'll get it. Believe me, you'll see my…
Pete… I've been humbled (egg on face, feels like Ostrich eggs, too) and promise not to shoot my mouth off so quickly. When I asked about this same subject a while back, most responses were on how to generate a basic flat mirror, which isn't what I wanted to know.…
Al…boy do I wish I hadn't shot my mouth off! "Impossible" was obviously the WRONG word to use, and got more of the usual "ah..your full of s_ _ _ messages"! Not believing the "world" is wrong and I'm right, I stand corrected with egg on my face. After sending…
#FLAT POLISHED METAL???
Message #194509
Al… I took a look at the file you uploaded. Though it's a very nice finish (and at the risk of sounding like a jerk), I don't see the polished metal part. Still looks kinda like a satinish aluminum, which is what I think all "flat mesh" metals in 3DS…
Al…sounds great. Like I said, I'm all ears. The refract mapping is really top notch, isn't it? Gotta do some reading to find out exactly what "refract" mapping is. The two demos in the forum sold me, as the default glass material blows. 'Course you already know that. Like I…
Mike… Yeah, I was lookin' at the Digimation demo. Very nice, indeed. Seems to be geared for animated maps. Is this true? Or is it great all the time vs. a ray trace? This routine isn't in my Digi catalog, obviously it's gettin' a little old or I'm blind. Looks…
Addendum… Hey Al, was checkin' out refract map demo. Quite nice. Not in my Digimation cat., must be old now. Gotta get some info on World Builder so… I still need to be conviced about metals. SeeYa…Kev
Al…you're probably right, but I'm not convinced, yet. I'll certainly mess with your suggestions…but I still don't recall ever seeing a "good" example of i.e. a chrome plated flat generated in 3DS. Not to say they don't exist, just that most flat reflective type metals I've seen don't look "real"…
Greg… I'm no expert like some in the forum, however, I believe what you're looking for isn't possible with 3DS. One can use flat reflect maps, etc., but I assume you're trying to get a high end "Silicon Graphics" type metallic finish like we see on TV. 3DS seems to…
Reread your message. Never mind. Kev
Mark…Hello again from Kevin. Could you upload a still of a "Worldbuilder" example? I've been kickin' around buyin' this one, would like to see what it can and can't do. Thanks loads…Kev
Mark… Is there a Nasa type forum? I don't have a scanner so I need a flat moon "photograph" I can use as is. I've looked in "space" and "astronomy" forum stuff. Thanks…Kev.
#Shadows
Message #190850
Howdy! How does one create more shadow contrast? I'm currently using a .25 Map Bias with a default sample range (3). Shadows are OK, however I'd like to see more black vs. grays. I'm afraid that increasing lighting (which may not do what I want anyhow) I'll start washing out…
Mark… There are two explodes…one by Yost, the other by Schrieber. The Yost Particle System "explodes" faces ONLY, into flat triangles. Very easy to use…usually, tessellate a target object to get enough faces, then explode or implode, whatever. That's optional though. If you do a box, it would explode into…
Jason… Are you checking for "secondary motion data" being created before rendering? One has to go into object attributes, then flame dialog box, then exit to create secondary motion. This may not be your prob,…but it seem a lot of people forget it. Hope it helps…Kev.
Cindy… For what it's worth and I'm sure you've figured this out, is to view animation every X number of frames. If animation is 100, do a quick "pre-render" in a smaller resolution, look, do another, then piece together in your head. Not exactly what you wanted to hear but,…it's…
P.S. What IPAS are you referring too? Kev
Greg…thanks for the info. You seem to be referring to redraws within Editor (or wherever), but what about rendering times? Are they affected also? For a couple hundred bucks, it should. Kev
Mark, I placed an antivesa statement into my .bat file used for 3DS startup. All I got was a weird message that VESA is not present,bla,bla,bla, on an ATI DOSlike "window". So, I removed statement. That's where it stands. What gives? I assume all these cards are PCI-based, if that…
#Moon Map
Message #190528
Howdy! Does anyone out there have or know of where I can locate a decent moon map? Thanks…Kev
Mark… I added vibrant files and antivesa (the latter in my bat file for 3DS start). I got a wierd error message in ATI DOS "window" about VESA not present,…bla,bla,bla. OK. So I deleted antivesa from .bat file. My card's a 2M, but I find it hard to believe there's…
ATI Mach 64 with 4 meg
Message #190384
Thanks Larry…easy enough. Kev
#Liquid Speed
Message #190315
Howdy! I've have P90's with 32M RAM and ATI Graphics Pro Turbo cards ( 2 & 4M). My question is this: Can Liquid Speed's performance justify cost with the machines I have or is this product geared more toward 486 users with slower video cards? Any comments are appreciated! Kev.
Mark…Thanks for the fast reply! Duh!…found the antivesa file after sending message to you…but not sure how to load TSR (don't use TSR's very often) and no info in .TXT file. Can U help me out? Thanks, again….it's great these forums even exist! Kev
MARK… Saw your comments re:ATI cards. Where are the "newer?" Vibrant drivers and antivesa routines located for downloading? I agree with many that ATI makes great cards… thanks, kev
Dorel… I saw your message (though not the original question) re: Win 3.1, ACAD, & ATI. I'm not sure I can help, but I have all that plus 3D Studio on my machine and they work great. Also, which 64 bit ATI card do you have? I believe ATI has…
Paul… Saw your message re: CD burner. I need one also… I read an article on the Pinnacle in Multimedia World Mag when it first came out. They gave it pretty good marks, but they are only $2K or so. I understand it's a "smaller" unit, but are they really…
Dan… 3d Studio is usually $2995 from any Autodesk dealer in your area. Kathy gave you the 800 number to find one. It's a fantastic program. Somewhat high learning curve, but worth the effort and the money!
Vicki…(or is it Dano? You're not the guy from Hawaii 5-0 are ya?) No doubt Brian knows his stuff, however, I sometimes have the prob too as I said and I know I don't have "power.exe" or any TSR's on my machine, so it looks like we're back to square…
Vicki… That same little box pops up once in a while for me also, and you're right. It's a pain in the butt! Only happens to me on frame 999 of 1000 frames (Murphy's Law). Sometimes it happens on a specific file, but then never again. Unfortunetly, I don't really…
Craig… In the keyframer, use the "hide" keys (a bunch of times) for the object your using for the lights. In other words, hide, then unhide, hide, etc. If you're still confused, call me back. Kev
Write Error on File
Message #181485
Mark… This has happened to me also. My models are very large and I freaked out my first time. This is what I did to save my files. If I'm not mistaken, when I got an error, I rebooted my machine. 3DS saves the file as 3DS.BAK. Rename file 3ds.3ds…
Phil… I have a P90 with a PCI Graphics Pro Turbo (64) w/ (sigh) 2M. I haven't encountered ANY problems what-so-ever. I've been reading in the forum that R4 gives some people driver problems with different cards (Matrox, Diamond, etc.), but fortunetly not me. If you were a little more…
#Mirrors
Message #144140
Hello All… Can someone help me create a mirror? I don't have a problem creating flat auto reflection maps…but I can find a suitable "texture" or color for a mirror (the type in ones' bathroom, for ex.). Silver doesn't cut it, and I can't create a metallic, chromey look on…
Animating
Message #143726
Jon…Great! It makes me happy 'cause maybe I'm gettin' to know 3DS better than I think since I've been messin' with this only since July (about 18 hrs. a day, though). I've read alot of answers and some just don't sound right. Anyway, if I can help latter, give me…
Camera Perspective
Message #143228
Please see my question under IPAS Usage. Sent it there by accident and don't know how to move it. Thanks, Kevin.
Jon, I've run into this prob, I hope my answer helps. I think the other answers aren't quite correct. I don't think your prob is tension, etc. For example, let's say you go to frame 10, to start moving your snowman arm. At frame 20, the hat starts to move…
Paul, I've run into this "material limit" problem myself when trying to merge several larger files. Frustrating, since my 3DS savvy isn't quite there yet. If you find an answer, perhaps you could fill me in also. Thanks, Kev.
"Screenshow"
Message #138577
I am interested in the above. Is it still available? Can't reach you by phone for some reason. Thanks, Kev.
Scott, I have explode also, but I must, limited experience. All the times I've used it I have the same result. I was expecting small polygonal shapes, similar to the effect in "Seed of Life" clip on "Beyond the Mind's Eye" video (if you've seen it, assume you have). I…
#Mapping
Message #134481
I'm new to 3DS (6 mths, approx. 24hrs a day) and cranking out some stuff I consider pretty nice. I've been working with some architectual models lately, but having trouble appyling textures to the exterior walls that look nice. My models are done in arch. program (working inside ACAD12) and…
Jeff, I'm a new guy to 3DS and the Forum. Your response to Brian Rudolph concerns me. I currently have R3, awaiting an R4 upgrade. My system utilizes an ATI Graphics Pro Turbo (64) card. Are you saying I'm going to have problems with this card w/R4? By the way,…