CompuServe Messages

Scott, The old animator V1.01 is now part of a package called mutlimedia explorer. It only supports VGA in "low res" 320×200 x 256 colors. It will NOT work on EGA. Animator Pro is a higher end product that allows any resultion your card is capable of as long as a driver is available (Super VGA drivers are included for resolutions exceeding 1024×800). Animator Pro is only sold through special dealers for Autodesk and you wont find it discounted any from its $795 price. Anyhow, the point is moot since it wont support EGA. Both packages are 2D. The autodesk product that does 3D is called 3D studio and is sold through the same dealers (i.e. never discounted) for $2995! Unlike animator and animator pro which only use 256 colors on the screen at one time, 3D Studio is capable of truecolor output (i.e. 16 million colors, though this requires a very expensive video card). I just went through the mental excercise you are about to undertake. There is NOTHING out there for a PC that even comes close to even the low-res animator. For the advertised price you'd be getting a deal but would still need to invest in a VGA card and monitor. After a few weeks of using animator I hungered for the extra resolution and took the plunge for animator Pro. Maybe these are not the products you were looking for, but there is nothing cheaper nor better in the same price range. In other words, animation on the PC is rather expensive. Good Luck Ray Abadie