#Key Factory IPAS
29 messages in this thread
Schreiber Instruments, Inc. is pleased to announce the immediate availability
of Key Factory the physics and dynamics plug-in for 3D Studio. Key Factory
brings the laws of physics to 3D Studio Release 4. Mesh objects in your scene
respond to collisions, gravity, wind, and many types of applied motion, while
honoring physics based upon the objects mass and elasticity. Mesh objects have
physical properties:
Mass
Each individual mesh object may be assigned a different mass. Masses may range
from weightless to planetary.
Elasticity
Each individual mesh object may be assigned a different elasticity from
inelastic to super-ball. Objects bounce differently from the carpet than the
concrete floor.
Drag
Drag may be assigned on an object basis. Each object may slow down
accordingly. Need acceleration? Use negative drag to reach hyperspace.
Friction
Objects roll upon striking a surface. Adjustable friction allows control of
how fast objects spin up to speed.
Axis of rotation
Objects normally tumble about their pivot points when hit, but if you need a
specific rotation axis of an object, you may specify a different axis for each
object if needed.
Axis locks
Any motion may be constrained along specific axes. Need a planar explosion?
Simply lock one axis.
Start frame
Trigger any effect or force based upon the objects start frame. Randomly drop
leaves from a tree by having gravity or wind turn on at a different time for
each leaf.
Collisions
Optimized collision detection provides for fast trajectory calculation of
complex motion. Key Factory provides accurate key frame calculation for
systems vastly too complex to keyframe by hand. Several different methods of
collision detection include from face-level collision to accelerated methods.
Collisions correctly take into account object mass, elasticity, drag, friction,
lateral and rotational velocity, and momentum to correctly calculate
post-collision velocities and rotations.
Tumble
Objects tumble based upon collision dynamics.
Roll
Objects roll as they impact a surface obliquely
Types of motion
Each of the following types of object motion are supported within Key Factory.
No initial motion
Pre-existing
Linear
Random Linear
Random Random
Explode / Implode
Orbital
Brownian
Helix
Types of forces
Gravity
Gravity may be independently applied to sets of objects in the scene.
Wind
Wind may be independently applied to sets of objects in the scene. You have
complete control over wind speed and direction and which objects are affected.
Rotation control
Sets of objects may have rotation applied to them with independent control over
object rotation speed and axis. Rotation axis may specified on an individual
object level.
Dialog box preview
All motion may be viewed in a rendered preview window right in the dialog box.
The motion may be recorded on a preview tape deck for frame by frame analysis.
Segment control
Key Factory may operate on any frame segment, allowing you to build each
segment on previously computed or keyframed motion.
Keyframe utilities
KXP utilities are included to assign object properties (mass, elasticity, etc.)
and to manage keyframe data (copy, delete, reverse, expand) existing keys.
Conclusion
Key Factory brings the reality of the physical world to 3D Studio. All in one
package complete with over 230 pages of fully illustrated documentation
including 27 tutorials. Full render preview and a host of Release 4 interface
goodies. Key Factory is state of the art 3D Studio applications software. A
demo is available IPAS Lib #1 KFACTDEM.ZIP
Key Factory is a trademark of Schreiber Instruments, Inc. 3D Studio is a
registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc.
Is there a network version, or does the regular version work for networks?
Mike "I won't get burned again" Kelley
is it locked , or do we get it … so we can run it on a net work ?
First it is a KXP and therefore only needs to reside on your editing machine.
Key Factory is not locked as are all of our products for 3D Studio.
Scot
-Schreiber
>First it is a KXP and therefore only needs to reside on your editing machine
Normally I would agree with you, but my understanding of Key Factory (or,
indeed, of the competition) is that it may very well take several hours or more
to calculate keys. If I can only run it off my main editing machine, I can't
buy it, because that would tie up that machine needlessly.
It sounds like I need to check out the competition and see if they allow it to
run off more than one machine. These are exactly the kinds of routines that
need to be able to run on any machine in the network.
>>…may very well take several hours or more to calculate keys. If I can only
run it off my main editing machine, I can't buy it, because that would tie up
that machine needlessly. It sounds like I need to check out the competition and
see if they allow it to run off more than one machine. These are exactly the
kinds of routines that need to be able to run on any machine in the network.<<
Huh? Geez, it's not enough that it does all the things you want, but now you
want multiprocessor multithreaded cooperative KXP computation??? What other
IPAS do you know of that can do this?
Jim
>Huh? Geez, it's not enough that it does all the things you want, but now you
want
>multiprocessor multithreaded cooperative KXP computation???
Hey, you're making this thing WAY too complicated, Jim. All they have to do is
allow me to run this on more than one of my machines, and I'll be just fine
with it — in other words, drop their copy protection (yeah, I KNOW the can of
beans that can open on this thread, so forget I mentioned it).
And besides — who said it did all the things I want? Just to keep the record
straight, I end up buying just about every IPAS that ever came out, so you can
hardly say I'm not a good sport. I'm just getting very tired of the "you can't
trust him" sort of syndrom that keeps an IPAS like this from being as useful as
it should be. Do YOU want to tie up your editing machine for hours?
And the bottom line (ironic as this might seem): I'll probably buy the damn
thing anyway (because I'm a good sport, etc.) But I hope that the competition
(isn't it Positron Publishing with their Dynamic Motion Module) has a better
solution.
Dear Mike-
I see that you mentioned that you have purchased most all IPAS and all Plug In
developers are happy to hear this type of comment. However I am not sure what
point you are driving at when I have mentioned in this forum several times that
the software is unprotected and you can move it between machines at your
leisure. Which ever machine in our office you would like to edit on! No strings
attached, no dongle, no software protection, just install it and run it!
Key Factory is highly optimized and computationally fast. I am sure that you
will find it to be a superior product with a 230 page manual, 27 tutorials, and
more. A great product should you decide to purchase it!
Scot
-Schreiber
Scot,
Go easy on him, it's gonna take a long time to undo the old common knowledge of
your previous protection polocies and get the word out on the new arrangement.
Many still associate your company with protection nightmares from horror
stories of the past. You guys need to do a better PR job of getting the word
out about how you've seen the light and made your software easier to deal with.
Best wishes for continued success,
Bruce N. Goren
Thanks for the reminder about the removal of the protection. We
believe that the piracy issue is not worth the time to discuss as it
always will exist. Focus on product quality and not putting anything
in the way of a clients success with a product.
>>Thanks for the reminder about the removal of the protection.
This reminds me –
I have an older version of Imagine FX that has the old protection on
it. Someone mentioned that I can get the new software so I don't
have to worry about losing it if my drive crashes. What do I need to
do to get the newer version without the keylock system?
Call our office at 303-759-1024 and ask for an upgrade to the
unprotected version. We will mail you one out the same day. That goes
for all of our IPAS products BTW.
[PMFJI] I also wanted to say is your common sense should tell you if
you pirate the software, you are the only one too loose since your
competition will have it for free. Mike White
Thanx Mike
Scot
-Schreiber
>Huh? Geez, it's not enough that it does all the things you want, but now you
want
>multiprocessor multithreaded cooperative KXP computation???
>>>>Hey, you're making this thing WAY too complicated, Jim. All they have to
do is allow me to run this on more than one of my machines, and I'll be just
fine with it — in other words, drop their copy protection (yeah, I KNOW the
can of beans that can open on this thread, so forget I mentioned it).<<<<
I didn't realize you were talking about copy protection. By your comments, it
sounded like you wanted slaves to assist in KXP calculation. I thought they
already had said it was not dongled or anything. I agree that I hate dongles
and the other methods that seem to punish the owners and provide a fun
challenge for pirates (whom I've never seen fail at their objective).
Jim
Just had to jump in here. I totally agree with you Mike. I think it
should be a policy of Autodesk's that all IPAS routines operate on
any network machine. If 3DS can do it then so should the plug-ins.
Sometimes I can't even believe this kind of thing is allowed to
exist. It's just plain wrong. Just my opinionated .02 worth.
Thanks, I think more and more people agree with that as well — just
witness the uproar over the first version of LensFX.
Anyway, I was wrong in this instance in that I guess Scribner has
listened to reason and has dropped copy protection. And they lowered
prices on KUB!? I guess I'll have to spend some more money
tommorrow.
>> Thanks, I think more and more people agree with that as well — just
witness the uproar over the first version of LensFX.<<
We learned our lesson about protection the hard way. As an
application developer Schreiber understands the key element for
success is to provide the customer with enabling technology. ( Not a
disabling technology like locks. ) Key Factory is a new beginning for
Schreiber as it contains all the protection we need in excellent
documentation and intuititive software.
>> Anyway, I was wrong in this instance in that I guess Scribner has
listened to reason and has dropped copy protection. And they lowered
prices on KUB!? I guess I'll have to spend some money tommorrow. <<
Yes we dropped the price on The Script Extension to $200. The Script
Extension is an important tool and we wanted to make it more
accessable.
Your comments prove out the philosophy of no locks just excellent products and
support. We welcome you as a new customer.
Scot
Schreiber
> We welcome you as a new customer.
Well, an old customer. I've owned MetaReyes for a month or two now.
And we bought Key Factory (it's stupendous — wonder how I did
without it!) and we'll buy KUB this week (we have to keep our toys
down just slightly or we'll never have time to play with them all —
still haven't done NEARLY enough with MetaReyes, although over the
weekend I made an animation that used Key Factory to animate some
MetaBalls bouncing down a ramp. Very interesting).
Thanks to you guys for great products and good policies.
>> Well, an old customer. I've owned MetaReyes for a month or two
now. And we bought Key Factory (it's stupendous — wonder how I did
without it!) and we'll buy KUB this week (we have to keep our toys
down just slightly or we'll never have time to play with them all —
still haven't done NEARLY enough with MetaReyes, although over the
weekend I made an animation that used Key Factory to animate some
MetaBalls bouncing down a ramp. Very interesting). Thanks to you
guys for great products and good policies. <<
Thanx for the bandwidth we are really working to maintain this type
of rep.
I am not sure that you read our answer? Key Factory is unprotected so you could
move to another machine if you wanted. We have no hardware or software
protection on this product.
As always we highly recommend that you compare competitive products. User
interface, computational speed, and a bucketfull of features make Key Factory
the fastest and most flexible IPAS yet.
Scot
-Schreiber
Thanks, Scot. I've already decided to get Key Factory — it's a definite plus
that I can have one of my machines calculating the keys while I edit on another
(thanks!).
Can hardly wait to spend even more of my life playing with 3DS than I already
am!
At the NAB convention in April, I attended the Autodesk press
conference/hospitality suite in the Las Vegas Hilton. After Autodesk's
presentation I approached your demo station and got a run through of Key
Factory. While discussing the program, I asked your employee giving the demo if
the friction being applied to objects was like that in the real world.
He told me that it was not “true friction'' but an “animator's friction'' and
that true friction would be too diffiult to implement. Your press release
flatly says that “Key Factory brings the laws of physics to 3D Studio Release
4.'' It also says that you have friction.
So which is it, “true friction'' based on the laws of physics or your
“animator's friction'' that isn't based on true physics?
-Chris
Chris,
>> So which is it, “true friction'' based on the laws of physics or your
“animator's friction'' that isn't based on true physics? <<
I think of it as "broadcast-quality friction" <g>.
I'll leave the non-sarcastic response to Schreiber <G>.
A word about friction in Key Factory:
Real physical friction is divided into two types :
1)Drag due to friction (which slows linear motion)
2)Rolling friction (which controls how fast rolling
objects spin up to speed).
The "Friction" setting controls the rolling friction and the "Drag" setting
controls the frictional drag (this may be air resistance just as easily as
surface friction). These were separated to give the animator more control.
Is this enough ?
Scot
-Schreiber
We've been using key factory at MetroLight for a while now and must say "how
did we ever manage without this?". It's extremely extensive and powerful, but
also intuitive with cool shaded previews (wire, flat or gouraud). On-line docs
and tutorials are augmented by good quality printed docs.
Although, we've only scratched the surface we are using it in broadcast
production already.
Yes that's the truth. It's a pretty powerful routine. So much to do.
Mike White
WOW! WOW! WOW!
What more can I say.
When will it be available and houw much?
Zac (AZ-TECH)
Berkeley
-Zac Rymland (AZ-TECH)
It is shipping right now and has the full doc's and software. Avaiable
from a host of Multimedia dealers across the country. You are in
Berkeley right? Richard Winter at DiaQuest is your local dealer
there.