CompuServe Messages

<< Now I'll have to admit I don't own it, and I only played with it for 15 minutes, but the kind of push and pull flexibility that Animation Master showed, I could make great use of. >> I think "only played with it for 15 minutes" is key here. I've used it, as well as most EVERY modeling system on EVERY platform for quite a while. And I'm just trying to be helpful in pointing out (from experience) that AM nor a B-Patch Modeler is going to change your life. There are 2 issues here: A GOOD patch modeler is just another welcome tool **IN** a complete modeling environment, but it's limited in usefulness, just as AM is. Fun to play with if you've never used that type of modeling, difficult to use for flexible & complex object construction. << But I have a real hard time thinking in slices. And for the amount of time I've put into trying to create humanoid figures with the lofter, deform, skin, and slice, I really do wish I could grab part of the mesh and just pull with some control over tension and affected size. >> Unfortunately, until you are able to better visualize an object's contour lines (related to "slices"), it's going to be awfully tough to model humanoid figures in ANY modeling system. With a B-Patch modeler (only), just a detailed human head would likely require DOZENS of tiny patches, concatenated together & with some real problems arising with blending at the perimeters. Now imagine…..does that sound EASY (or EASIER ?) ? The most efficient approach is to define the contours of the entire object, and then tweak the CV's for fine detail. This is the method used in the best modelers on the planet, working with isoparms (contour lines). What some people don't realize is, the method is very similar with 3DS's tools, and with Skin.axp, the amount of CV's required is greatly reduced & manageable. The big difference of course, is that ultimately you are working with polygons, and you can't see the Skin-implied surface contour wireframe. There are of course, other differences, but I hope you see my point. Of great signifigance in any modeling environment is the ability to quickly & easily isolate vertices and manipulate them. And 3DS is very, very good at this. Trying to work fine detail with THOUSANDS of vertices & polygon-related tools IS overwhelming. But using the native tools to construct low-vertex count lattices for Skin, is not too bad at all. I can only refer you to my Cowboy Head upload, or the Female Torso upload here. They only used about 700 & 2000 vertices respectively, yet have a good bit of detail. And then there's the question: Why was it not included if it was really a very useful addition at the time of release ? I can't answer that personally, I do beleieve it's been addressed, and why on earth would you think that AD or YG would want to "cheat you" out of something beneficial to the modeling environment ? As far as the announcement of the modeler, and then pulling it, well….that's unfortunate. Perhaps they would have even more disgruntled user's had it shipped ? So, that's my 2 cents worth, FWIW.<g> BILL