#Some sensible wishes…
38 messages in this thread
The following is a list of wishes that would benefit everone from the
3D amateur to the corporate developer.
1). A CD Player PXP w/ clock.
2). Getting rid of Liquid Speed.
3). A cool 3DS mouse pad or coffee mug that came with r5.
4). Make the cursor have nifty little animations.
5). Not believing that Microsoft will acually have Win95 working to run
all future software for the entire planet.
6). Don't mess-up 3DSr5 like you did with AAS.
Now, I know what you're thinking, 'Why didn't we think of this before?'
No need for embarrassing idolization, I'm merely providing a service, if not
for you, for the world.
Thank you for reading my infinite words of wisdom…
Juan
P.S. – Acually, I'm only kidding, don't freak-out on me. I just
wanted someone to write a CD Player PXP. That, and to express my concerns that
making R5 for WinNT might be a mistake.
<< ..don't freak-out on me…wish >>
got it. No problem.
jonas[adesk]
Hi Jonas,
I haven't heard from you in a while…I've been noticing some pretty
obscure wishes lately and I thought I'd contribute to the mayhem. 🙂
Acually, Jonas, this might sound wierd but will there only be a NT
version of r5?
Thanx,
Juan
<< but will there only be a NT version of r5? >>
Is this a wish? If so… got it.
If it's a question, then please stay tuned for more details during the week of
August 6th.
Oh, sorry…:)
Juan
<<3). A cool 3DS mouse pad or coffee mug that came with r5.
Id rather have a T shirt (G)
Ed
I was thinking of that, acually along with the IPAS thermos and collectible
drinking glasses…heh,heh 😉
Re: #6…
We had nothing to do with AAS.
– J
>>We had nothing to do with AAS.
Unfortunately.
Now, now… let's not get crazy here… It's all in good fun…
I know you guys had nothing to do with it and I'm sure this problem will be
handled soon. 🙂
But I still think a CD PLayer IPAS would be cool!
Juan
Juan,
<< I still think a CD PLayer IPAS would be cool! >>
I'm curious, what would be the point of a CD player ipas? You wouldn't be able
to work while the the CD is playing. FWIW I don't know if you know it or not
but 3DS is moving to Windows NT. You could have 3DS and the Windows NT CD
player going at the same time.
Mark
Hey, yeah… you're RIGHT!!! I never even thought of that!! WOW, the miracle
of technology. Will wonders never cease?
Oh boy, all that for nothing … I still can't help but laugh… Gosh, Mark,
you sure are smart 😉
It was just a goofy request, anyway. You gotta' read the whole thing from the
beginning, though. It's histerical! I think Jonas is ready to kill me…
Signing off…
Juan
>>We had nothing to do with AAS.
>> – J
I think you're time was better spent else where <bg>.
– Phil
J-
This is probably true, however, Autodesk embraces this program, like its own
child. As animtors, we look for the best in software programming and that is
fast and reliable software. Many small time animators need to squeeze as much
as possible out thier systems. Computer animation is one of the most exciting
experiences; one can create and explore a new world of the mind. Also, people
are making money and companies are fully reponsible for products with
problems!?
Peace, Manuel
>>to express my concerns that making R5 for WinNT might be a mistake.
And you would suggest what, sticking with DOS? In order for 3DS to continue to
grow, a more capable OS is needed. NT is very capable and very stable. It is
the logical direction, IMO. Of course, if you are really against it you don't
have to upgrade.
Take a second and put yourself in Yost's and Adesk's positions. If you were in
charge of 3DS, what direction would you take it? This should be interesting…
>>Take a second and put yourself in Yost's and Adesk's positions. If you were
in charge of 3DS, what direction would you take it? This should be
interesting…<<
Hmmm… I think a full Commodore 64 conversion is in order!! (with the 128k
expansion cartridge, of course).
Only kidding…:)
Seriously, you're right there. I'm not saying that they shouldn't, it
just worries me. If WinNT can handle the speed then great! It's just my past
experience with Windows haan't been a good one. Everything now is being
converted or developed for Win95, anyway. All the high-end 24-bit
drawing/animation packages are for Windows, as well.
I don't want to start the Win/DOS Wars, either. Acually, I'm surprised
you're taking this so seriously. My statement is mere opinion not the voice of
God. I imagined steam coming out of your ears and talk of legalized stoning.
If I said that the Yost Group was single-handedly responsible for global
warming and heart disease you'd believe that as well?
I'm sure Autodesk will do a great job on what ever OS they put it on.
Hey, they never steered us wrong before!
My goodness, I'd never have thought I'd stir-up so much
controversy…I'm quite proud of myself. How did this all begin, anyway? Oh,
yeah… I made a CD Player IPAS wish.
Keep smiling…
Juan
P.S. – I'm probably gonna' hear hell from Microsoft with bogus wish #5.
Bye, bye.
FYI,
Although we don't expect the transition from 3DS/DOS to 3DS/NT is going to be
easy, there's a huge mitigating factor… 3DSr4 and all the IPAS routines that
are out there now. As our new 50-minutes-of-killer-work Siggraph reel
demonstrates, you can do 90% of the work that the SGI-based 'big boys' are
doing on PC's with r4/IPAS, which allows our new NT 'baby' to mature while
you've got a huge (and very familiar) safety net.
Once you see the direction we're going in, I think you'll find it very exciting
to have both the current (tried-and-true) 3D Studio and the new
(100%-potential-to-be-realized-over-the-next-7-years) 3D Studio… BOTH,
running together, in your facility. For those folks who enjoy change, this
will be an exhilarating time. And for the folks who don't, they can stay on DOS
for awhile, until their comfort factor comes up high enough.
– G
Dear Big G,
I couldn't agree with you more. Now enough, I grow wiery of the issue.
Signing off…
Juan
G-
Is it true, a version of R5 will be running in DOS?
Manuel
Hi Manuel,
>>Is it true, a version of R5 will be running in DOS?<<
That's probably a definate no. They're probably making it exclusivly
making it for Windows NT.
>>AAS…People are afraid of critically speaking of this product. Big A is
watching.<<
I hope there watching!!! Acually, Manuel, a black van with tinted
windows just parked in front of my office with a big 'A' on the roof.
Uh..gotta' go… 🙂
Juan
An animator
I assume that r5 will have a decent export feature to r4? That way, one could
start using r5 one projects that will be network rendered on DOS machines
incapable of handling NT overhead by using r4. Not to mention IPAS routines,
also. I assume r5 will have improved it modeling and mapping to the point
where using it to create and map objects will be worth having it around the
house alongside r4…
Hi Jerome,
<< ..I assume that r5 will have.. >>
Just a few more weeks..
jonas[adesk]
>>Just a few more weeks..
'Till we find OUT, but I wonder just how long until we can GET r5. Last year,
r4 didn't come out for a few months after the GRAPH. Has there been any info
released on rough release dates?
I believe that when Bob Bennett's note was first posted in March, he said
'around the end of the year'. As far as I'm concerned, that could be anytime
this winter. <g>
Heck… it hasn't even been a year since r4 shipped!
– G
>>Heck… it hasn't even been a year since r4 shipped!
Can't blame a guy for enthusiasm, can you? <g>
Anyways, I'm looking forward to some improvements that will save a LOT of time
(i.e. automapping, booleans that work)
>I believe that when Bob Bennett's note was first posted in March, he said
'around the end of the year'. As far as I'm concerned, that could be anytime
this winter.<
Winter is the perfect time to learn new software, being snowed in and all. I
notice 3DS'ers don't get cabin fever or suffer from seasonal affective
disorder.
Hi Jerome,
<<..Has there been any info released on rough release dates?..>>
Please download…
File Info for 3DNT.TXT
Section: Autodesk 3D Studio Contributor: 74601,3525 Size: 5338
Submitted: 4/11/95 Type: Text Accesses: 836
Title: Autodesk Announces Windows NT Direction
Keys: AUTODESK PRESS RELEASE MULTIMEDIA NT 3DS 3D STUDIO ANIMATION
4/10/95 – Autodesk Announces Windows NT Direction for 3D Studio–Leading
Professional 3D Animation Software to Move to Next Generation Operating System
Where would I take 3DS? Personally, I would consider doing a compile that
would also work on OS/2, and putting both versions on a CD. Then you could see
where the market would take things. NT is a world above DOS, but, personally,
if OS/2 ever gets its act together, I would rather see it win the OS war than
NT. Of course, that's an awfully big "IF". Personally, I'm excited to see 3DS
on a REAL and multi-platform OS. Now if they'll just do something with
modeling accuracy and automated mapping… <g>
>>I would rather see (OS2) win the OS war than NT.
I can't say I disagree with you there. I would have no qualms about 3DS ported
to OS2 if I had a general feeling that was going to be around for more than a
couple more years. Unfortunately, I think it will choke to death in the dust
of 95 and NT. I'm no Gates & Co. ally, just a realist.
-Tyler Colwell
>> Unfortunately, I think it will choke to death in the dust
of 95 and NT. I'm no Gates & Co. ally, just a realist.
I, as well. I would like to see the field open to more than MS, but MS has the
power, money and support. Only if OS/2 were fully functional and tweeked
presently could it hope to compete. I believe it's the better conceived OS,
but it's past success was primarily due to lack of true multitasking and
people's disgust with DOS. Now that DOS is soon to be a thing of the past,
OS/2 will have to pull a big rabbit out of its hat to prosper. I wonder just
how well 95 will handle ALL DOS programs, with all their unqiue drivers, etc,
or is there a GOOD reason to keep our old DOS partitions around for a while?
NT itself won't run a slew of stuff that will runn under DOS. I wonder about
95's handling of things like Razor, DOOM, other protected mode games, and many
others.
>>is there a GOOD reason to keep our old DOS partitions around for a while?
My opinion is that this would be a very wise move. I will probably continue to
run FAT on my hard drives and a dual DOS/NT boot for at least two more years.
>>NT itself won't run a slew of stuff that will runn under DOS. I wonder about
95's handling of things like Razor, DOOM, other protected mode games, and many
others.
I can't speak for the games but I tried running Razor under beta 95 (build 390
I think) and it didn't work at all. The only consolation was that lock ups are
a little more pleasant under 95 than 3.x.
>>I can't speak for the games but I tried running Razor under beta 95 (build
390 I think) and it didn't work at all. The only consolation was that lock ups
are a little more pleasant under 95 than 3.x.
That's the problem with such things as 95. Not 100% compatability at all. I
hope that RAZOR makes some fixes that will enable it to run under 95 or
hopefully NT. At the price of upgrading current RAZOR to the NT version, it
will be a while before I ever upgrade it, if I ever do (depends on other
products like premeire, if they develop PAR NT support).
>Where would I take 3DS? Personally, I would consider doing a compile that
would also work on OS/2, and putting both versions on a CD.<
OS/2 version wouldn't be a compile and probably never got more than a second of
thought. OS/2 will continue to straggle along for a few more years.
>Then you could see where the market would take things.<
Isn't that what is happening now? You think 3DS would save OS/2?
>NT is a world above DOS, but, personally, if OS/2 ever gets its act together,
I would rather see it win the OS war than NT.<
Thank God OS/2 will never get its act together. I have both NT 3.5 and OS/2
Warp Connect, dare to ask which is currently installed on my computer?
I wish I saved a post from a few months ago after Gary Yost posted the NT
decision. After listening to griping from some users Gary posted a message
about his evaluation of future 3DS OS's and an ex-Wavefront bigwig that left to
join Yost Group. Until that point I was skeptical, I had only used NT3.1 at
that point and it wasn't that great. Now I'm running NT for all my apps except
a dual-boot to use 3DS (and FXFighter).
>Now if they'll just do something with modeling accuracy and automated
mapping…<
Get CAD for modeling accuracy, 3DS is a visualization tool. If it looks right,
it is right.
>>If it looks right, it is right.
Yup. That's what 3DS is all about… building empirically-correct worlds! Very
well said, Tim.
– G
>>Isn't that what is happening now? You think 3DS would save OS/2?
heh – no, not quite what I meant. I'm just saying that if OS/2 ever caught on,
or if 3DS users preferred the OS/2 version, then the future releases would know
where to concentrate support.
It's just i thought OS/2 had (note past tense) some real hope, and was a
well-conceived OS, just with a lot of rough edges. Indeed, I thought it was
better conceived than NT, it's just NT is much more thoroughly developed and
worked out. I would have liked to see a non-Microsoft OS get a shot at it, and
I guess I still have a taste of that wish in my thinking.
>>Get CAD for modeling accuracy, 3DS is a visualization tool. If it looks
right, it is right.
That's why I've switched from considering the lack of accuracy in 3DS one of
the most important features to improve, to feeling that mapping routines and
booleans that actually work to be the most important features for my type of
work. It still would be nice to have a LITTLE accuracy and numerical input in
the shaper and 3D editor, however – 3DS is a little TOO freehand. You MUST
invest the Xtra money for Autocad or Microstation to do serious work, but the
fact that Acad is finally becoming compatible with 3DS is the greatest thing
that could have happened in this respect.
Mapping and booleans remain large problems, however. Booleans fail more often
than they work, and when they work, you have to work for hours to get them to
succeed. I've also come across a couple models that took 12 hours +/- to
create, and practically a work week to properly apply mapping coordiates. And
if you need to EDIT the mapping, you must detatch the faces into another object
once AGAIN, edit, and re-attatch. This process takes far more time than it
should.
Sure, there are other features to talk about, but 3DS is well on its way in
most other features.
>Mapping and booleans remain large problems…<
MeshPaint can solve many mapping problems. Booleans in any program that I have
used takes much trial and error to figure how they work, then they still don't
work 100% of the time. I'm using Acad13, Designer, AutoSurf, and AutoVision I
still have problems converting models that seem simple.
>> Booleans in any program that I
have used takes much trial and error to figure how they work, then they still
don't work 100% of the time. I'm using Acad13, Designer, AutoSurf, and
AutoVision I still have problems converting models that seem simple.
Yes… to model, even things that don't need CAD accuracy, you need AutoCAD and
Designer or, at the very least, r13. The problem comes in that even in r13's
export to 3DS format, almost every mesh has 10% or more of the normals flipped
around. I can understand how this would be a problem with DXF files, but why
does this happen with r13's
3DS export function? I tried some models that were comprised of repeated
blocks, and some of the blocks turned out OK, some did not. Hence, it was not
a problem with the way ACAD had the faces turning. Why, then, did ACAD flip
some of them around in the 3DS file?
As for booleans, I still belive that the best answer is to have a function that
can generate a solid CSG or BREP shape out of an object's faces and verticies.
Some people have claimed this is impossible, but I've looked at the math
required to do this – and it's not all that difficult. you jusst have to build
in a lot of user-definable tolerances to make the majority of meshes solidify
properly. If such a routine were written, almost all meshes that were a
REASONABLY closed 3D surface could be solidified. The nice thing about this is
you wouldn't always have to use it, but when booleans just won't work by the
face method, you can have the option of having the program automatically
generate a solid out of each of the two objects being operated on, perform the
boolean flawlessly using 3D solid calculations, and export the resulting object
back to 3DS as its native faces. one nice thing about this is the resulting
object would be perfectly "clean" – i.e. no unwelded verticies, no coincident
verticies, no duplicated faces.
Such a routine could work well as an IPAS or built into 3DS. This is another
one of those IPAS routines that if ssomeone wrote it, I'd buy it in a heart-
beat. Indeed, I would susppose 1/4-1/2 of all 3DS users, if not more, would
buy in in the first couple months in was out.
Make you wonder why no one's ever done it, eh? <g>
Juan –
Funny that you have mentioned AAS on the wishlist. People are afraid of
critically speaking of this product. Big A is watching.
Manu
l