CompuServe Thread

#3ds2 to RIB converter

5 messages in this thread
#103533From: James HustedMay 23, 1994 5:30 PM
Does anyone know of the location of a convertion file that would convert .3DS files to RIB files that I can render with AutoShade/Renderman. A friend with 3DS2 says a readme doc mentions that a prgm like that is out there somewhere but I can't seem to find it. Any pointers to it would be helpful. I can also be reached at jhusted@halcyon.com also.
#103675From: Brian Rudolph [Adesk]May 24, 1994 10:35 AM
While the readme file did indeed mention that we were working on such a translator, it was never completed or released to the public.
#104100From: SyndesisMay 26, 1994 11:05 AM
We will eventually add support for exporting Renderman files to InterChange, my company's 3D file format conversion program. We've avoided it for several reasons. Most importantly, Renderman is NOT a speed demon when it comes to rendering triangle-based models with thousands of polygons. Even if we could perform the conversion for you today, you may not be happy tomorrow when your rendering is only 2 percent complete. 🙂 On the other hand, if you have any comments regarding how you'd like to see 3DS materials and sub-objects mapped to Renderman, please forward these ideas to me, and I'll add them to the "request list" for this converter. So far, we've found that a lot of hard-core Renderman users do a lot of hand-tweaking of their scenes in text editors. Is this true for you?
#104193From: Ian ChristieMay 26, 1994 6:30 PM
How 'bout converting the other way? I'd sure love to import Typestry models into 3DS. Ian.
#104204From: SyndesisMay 26, 1994 8:24 PM
In theory, it's possible. However, like translating generalized EPS or PostScript into other formats, it would require a full parser for the language. In this case, Renderman. It would be much easier for Pixar to add some kind of 3D export to Typestry, but they must have some reasons to avoid that.