CompuServe Messages

Wayne, I'll try using the high tension at the minimum points, as you suggested. In reality, after a few days experimentation, I think I'll just make keys at every 45d, and tweek the tension on the rods to get close; I'll parent the pistons to the cylinders and adjust the tension to approximate the rods' motion. On a real closeup, the thing won't look real good (the rods and pistons will look loosely connected), but for the angles and transparencies I'm rendering at it should be hardly noticable. The training we're doing is for control room operators, and not the mechanics, so it won't be a big problem. Since this is a pretty complex machine, they'll still get more from 5 views at ~3 sec. each than they would from a 'whole batch of drawings and written descriptions. It's a lot of work, but well worth it; when they say "wow, now THAT makes sense", you know they'll be able to operate it right. Do you know of anything else, Amiga or other, that is capable of these things? For me, having the ability to have one end point of an object parented, and another point path-restricted (or fixing a plane of movement, or even targeted to an infinite-distance point, like a light source works), would let me do just about any kind of mechanical system that I could think of, without the heavy use of trig. (My TISR51A is dusty. :)) BTW, between the advice of Aki Rimpilainen's Email and David Hopkins' atricle (in the latest VTU), I've taken a look at using an editor to modify (cut & paste, etc.) the LW Scene files; this looks like it'll save a lot of work. Thanks for the advice. In fact, <picture kinda guys> like you are the reason I got hooked on this stuff in the first place! If it comes out OK, I'll UL a frame to the AArts Lib. for 'yall. … Nate 8-{ E.V. *** 3D TV! ***