CompuServe Messages

>> Can anybody help me point out that Animator Pro is worth buying. What does it offer to .FLC files that 3DS can't do. Unfornatually I don't have the original project files to these animations. << Anipro and 3D Studio are apples and oranges. if your boss thinks one will do what the other does, your boss doesn't know one of them. for years these two packages have complimented each other. Animator Pro is a 2 1/2 D pixel-editing program. it deals with the output 3DS can generate. it also has the potential to expand 3DS's potential (such as through its ability to generate any of the map types). some (including me) see AniPro as a giant map-generating IPAS routine. <gg> AniPro is programmable (C-language). it is also a powerful scriptable playback utility which can exploit all system resources. it gives complete control over the palette of frames, and can help reduce your rendering times down to 1% of their original time on certain types of animation. the drawback/problem with AniPro (as it has been forever it seems) is that it works only with 8-bit images and animations. while these are sufficient for many applications, much the bulk work of 3D Studio output is truecolor (series of 24-bit TGA images). if you are using 3DS to primarily generate FLCs though (8-bit), AniPro is a must. the time it can save you, its ability to expand 3D Studio's capabilities, and the control it gives you over every frame's palette are invaluable. -dave