CompuServe Messages

About two weeks ago, Autodesk made a public announcement concerning the demise of the Bezier Patch Modeler Plug-In for 3D Studio Release 4. Since then, there has been a great deal of speculation regarding this decision as well many as questions about the fate of the modeler. I think a little clarification is in order… I'm the president, head developer, lead animator, chief bottle washer, and cook for Details Inc. and I created the Bezier Patch Modeler, under contract to Autodesk. Contrary to some messages which appeared here in the forum, the modeler was NOT pulled due to excessive instability, lack of features or limited functionality. Nor was it full of "roaches". From the beginning of the patch modeler project with Autodesk, one of the primary criteria was that the user interface of the modeler reflect the look, feel, and functionality of 3D Studio's 3D Editor module in every way possible. For the most part, we were able to achieve this goal. (As those of you who saw the Phil Miller's demonstrations at SIGGRAPH know.) Unfortunately, it was technically impossible to duplicate EVERY nuance of the 3D Editor within the confines of the IPAS environment. This is not to say that the IPAS SDK is limited in any way. Of course, those features whose functionality or interface could not be made to match the 3D Editor's could have been built differently. However, Autodesk felt that this could cause user confusion or frustration. Rather than taking the risk of compromising the overall quality standards of 3D Studio with a product that behaved differently from the internal modules, Autodesk made the difficult decision to cut the product from Release 4. Throughout the development and testing process with Autodesk and beta sites, there has been a great deal of enthusiasm for the capabilities and potential of the Bezier Patch Modeler. Due to this, I felt that the modeler deserved a "second chance". To that end, I have spent the last little while negotiating with Autodesk to get the rights to the Bezier Patch Modeler. I'm now pleased to announce that we have come to an agreement and I have acquired the rights to the Bezier Patch Modeler. My immediate goal is to put in additional features and functionality which I feel will add even more power and flexibility to the modeler. Once completed, the Bezier Patch Modeler will be released. I'm aware that many people believe that the modeler should be offered free of charge by Autodesk, or that it should be posted as a public domain IPAS here on Compuserve. Unfortunately, that will not happen. The reality is that Autodesk pulled it and I had no control over that. I have to recover the cost of acquiring the rights from Autodesk and I've spent too much money, effort and time away from my wife and kids to simply offer it for free. I believe Bezier Patch Modeler is a powerful addition to the 3D Studio user's list of tools. It gives users a new way to create models in a more intuitive and productive way inside 3D Studio, adding the smoothness of spline-based surfaces and wrapped materials to 3D Studio's polygon-based modeling system. It may be a bit longer arriving than any of us expected, but I think it will be well worth the wait. Sincerely, Danny Mercurio Details, Inc.