CompuServe Messages

Hello all: I'm getting a rendering error with Opacity mapping in 3D Studio r4c1, where the 0,0,0 area of the bitmap is not completely transparent. The only setting that seems to alter the problem, if not in the way I'd hoped, is the NEW-SUBTRACTIVE-TRANSPARENCY setting in the 3DS.SET file. If I use NEW-SUBTRACTIVE-TRANSPARENCY=ON, the black area is worse– it takes on the hue of the material's diffuse color, with a lot of saturation, and a low luminance. If I use NEW-SUBTRACTIVE-TRANSPARENCY=OFF, the black area is a transparent dark gray. The problem shows up both in the Material Editor swatches, and in final rendering. I've used the bitmap in several formats: GIF, JPG, TGA, TIF, and the black area is 0,0,0. None of them works! Help! It is soooooo frustrating, not to mention close to my due date. (The PRJ and map are uploaded as OPAC.ZIP in library4, Mesh/Project Files) Thanks! Eric Chadwick Mechadeus Cserve address: 75102,1575