CompuServe Messages

Hello everyone, I just got in from Orlando, and wanted to share some impressions I got from the show for those who weren't fortunate enough to have been there. The Sunday night ASOFT party had over 50 attendees, and everyone seemed to have a good time. Autodesk and Yost group dignitaries (glowing from a sucessful booth set-up) showed up to mingle with ASOFT folks from far and wide. People were able to speak casually and personally with each other face-to-face, and I felt the reason for having this get-together was served (I hope!). Many of us went to Pleasure Island after and I think I had a pretty good "dose" of pleasure there. Thanks to MartinF for making sure I got back to the hotel OK!<g> Those of you who couldn't make it were sorely missed, and I hope many more of you can show up at next year's show in LA! Obviously, the biggest news (and suprise!) for many of us is the announcement of 3DSr4. The Monday night news conference at Disney/MGM studios was a great time, and the news was sprung that r4 was on the way. Suddenly, 3dS users could look forward to full-featured IK, Bezier-Patch modeling, Keyframe scripting, and fast-preview rendering features much sooner than the usual 18-month release cycle. Bob Bennett's demos at the press conference were informative and entertaining, and everyone pretty much soaked it up. Tom Hudson received some much-deserved recognition, and folks went on to preview the 3DS Siggraph reel (stunning!), and enjoy the refereshments and the rest of the park's amusements. Tuesday marked the first day of exhibitions, and many people watched as GaryY, JackP, JonasR (that's pronounced YO-nas!), BobB, and others demonstrated r4's new capabilities. Digimation (Mirage looked great!) and the Schreiber folks (Motion-Capture for 3DS!), also showed their newest Plug-Ins. Glen Melenhorst and Martin Foster's work was used to demonstrate the latest YG IPAS Boutique routines. The reel looked great on the super-bright screen, and it became obvious that no longer could the work-station crowd claim exclusivity to many of the industry's most exotic and sought-after tools. The Wednesday night Adesk party was much fun. I remembered *not* to eat first, and the grilled chicken – well – tasted like chicken!<g> Seriously, the two big screens with GREAT sound systems showed off the reel wonderfully. David Stinnett's whale piece actually started spontaneous applause! (great tail fin shot, David!). The "French piece" had more emotion than a whole season's worth of Bravo programming, and the over-all rendering quality of r3 helped make the reel the best ever. The rest of the show had a nice, open quality to it. DPS showed new software for the PAR (yeah!), and there should soon be a Kai's Power Tools Plug-In for 3DS. The Matrox MAX seemed to have top-notch image quality. The bottom line is that more and more, you don't have to have a major trust fund to do great 3D work. The Yost group and Autodesk seem to be working together to provide us with awesome tools at a "human" price — and I, for one, am extremely glad they are. Thanks, everyone for listening, -Alan Iglesias