CompuServe Messages

David: I'll address your post only in part – The computer graphics industry is awash in endless literature. Much of it is about almost nothing. There are not many people prepared to write legitimate appraisals of 3-DS. For one to write responsibly about 3-DS they would need a thorough understanding of the core program, be comfortable in all 5 modules and have a strong basis in IPAS functionality. There are many writers who have written articles about 3-DS without the above knowledge, and to an experienced operator it comes across as drivel. Now I won't go on a tirade about irresponsibility in commercial publishing, but can tell you that I have read criticisms directed at 3-DS that were absurd. Several times I was actually moved to call a few publications, outraged. Where it is true that 3-DS does seem to generate a very passionate user group that appear to really feel there is much more here than a product being marketed, the ASOFT forum has given us all a place to solve problems and discuss shortcomings in the program. The nature of on-line BBs can unfortunately give highly aggressive individuals with unquenched needs to be very very nasty an opportunity to spew flame and vapor. Thankfully, this forum seems free of most of that, and flame and vapor is contained to their proper IPAS applications, besides they take too long to render (I am eagerly awaiting multithreading P6s). But don't think that there have not been some feisty discussions. There are things about 3-DS that bend me out of shape, and I have openly discussed them, and as a result received very interesting responses from other users, tech support and Gary, both on open BB and through e-mail. Frankly, consider the thought of this forum being blind a pretty good script for an animation, but far from fact. Jeffrey (grain of truth stuck on rose glasses)