CompuServe Messages

Steve, Here are some things that I have found that would help me with certain projects: JPEG file format for mapping and backgrounds. SCULPTURE Translating or rotating a group of selected points by any single control point in the selected group. For example, if I wanted to move a cube in x, y, and z, I could selected the whole cube and then target one of the points as the one that would be used in typing in a value for translation or rotation. A Mirror funtion similar to cloning, but creating a mirror image across x, y, or z. A Save Selected Group function like the one in ACTION. Seeing the floats in the numerical windows of x, y, and z. ACTION This is a little hard to describe. A while back, I told you about a rubix cube type of anim that I was doing. Well, with the Ball & Socket movement in ACTION, setting up actions to scramble and then unscramble the cube were so complex that I bagged it for the moment. What would really help for an anim like this and probably a lot of others, would be the ability to select two or more segments and then group them temporarily as one single unit to be translated, rotated, or morphed. Then they could be ungrouped, and used as part of another grouped action. Using the rubix cube as an example, I could select all nine segs on the left side yz plane and then rotate them as a group in a +/- direction around the x axis. Then after deselecting them, I could select the segs that make up the center xz plane, group them, and rotate them around the y axis. These actions could be saved as Group Actions, eliminating the need for applying one action to two or more objects in DIRECTION as well as greatly simplifying the creation of some kinds of motion in ACTION. And if this were a feature, then a Save for segment groups would be in order. DIRECTION The wireframe anims seem to be saved in a proprietary format. It would help alot if they also could be saved as .FLI or .FLC files so that the multiple wireframes that make up a big anim could be joined into one long wireframe of the whole animation. There is also an effect that I would like to use that would be a split screen animation of objects that are half rendered, half wireframe. I've also found that there is a limit to the number of projects that you can list in the projects.hsh file before they quit showing up in the selection windows. Is there a way out of this? Thanks for your time. Michael S. Flynn