##More wishes for Bob…
11 messages in this thread
Bob,
Wish list items … (Copy Mike Morrison's list here <g> (those were good!),
then add…)
More consistent support for keyboard coordinate entry. Some commands
accept input from the keyboard while others don't. Coordinates, Scale
factors, Rotations, Movement offsets, ALL should support the keyboard.
The ability to retrieve a color map (for use as a custom palette) from FLI
or FLC files. Kinda painful to go to AAPro, save the color map, then come
back…
Allow greater flexibility in using animated maps. Allow the use of every
'nth' frame. Also provide control over start and stop frames (ie at what
point in the KFer should the maps properties take effect), and behavior of
whether the maps should 'loop' or continue to use the last frame …
Also put the Render/Setup option as a button in the rendering dialogue box,
kinda like many apps have printer setup in the print dialogue box.
Ability to display information about selection sets, like how many face,
verities … Also ability to list properties of a chosen object like it
bounding box size, whether its mapped or not, location of it's local axis
…
Support for "Real Mode" compilers for IPAS (like Borland C++ v3.1!).
Text entry should allow multiple lines. Justification options would be
nice.
'Save Last' should save to a 'standard' file format (TGA, TIFF, PCX, BMP
…) selectable thru 3ds.set.
Should Create/Face/Copy (selected) be called Create/Object/From Selected
Faces? I don't know, but your not creating faces, your creating objects…
Keep "Safe Frame" on after you go back to a camera viewport. (If I switch
to Front then back to Camera, safe frame goes off). Maybe one global
setting for all Camera viewports…
Units in the KF should reflect the units set in the Units Setup (like
Position keys in the Key Info dialouge).
How about displaying architectural coords as 16'2-1/8" as opposed to
16'2"1…
Keep up the good work, I'll keep buying! Mark
Thanks for the wishes. They've been added to the list!
Phil,
at risk of having Gary "thrash" me with a virtual bat <G>, I'm going to
bring up an old wishlist item to have different faces drawn in the editor
with different colors.
If not on the face level, at least at the object level, specified in the
Object/Attributes settings. These color settings should follow into the
keyframer as well.
It seems to me that most 3DS users are using SVGA cards capable of 256
colors or more. Why can't they be applied by the user to items in the
editing, keyframer, shaper, and lofter screens?
This feature would *GREATLY* enhance the ability to work on large, complex
models, without having to "freeze" all the objects except the one you want
to work with.
-Jeff <ooH, aH, Ouch….not the face, Ouch, umPH…>
Thanks. I've added your colorful wish to the list. And I'll be sure Gary
can't find his baseball bat…
Phil,
I've thought a couple of other ideas; we need more functions for
manipulating paths in the LOFTER. i.e. a "linearize" segment or poly
function similar to the SHAPER.
As well, how about the ability to join more than one LOFT together in the
LOFTER. For example, importing a 2-D path from the SHAPER as a LOFT, and
merging a 3-D LOFT segment from the hard drive that would be connected to
the end of the 2-D portion. This type of function would allow generation
of complex camera paths much simpler.
-Jeff
Good suggestions. These would be really useful features.~ Color them
added to the list.
That sounds like an excellent idea. (If the 3DS data structure will allow
it) It sure would make viewing wireframe previews more interesting, too.
Great request! Why didn't I think of that… I've got some models where the
viewports are just a blob of white lines, even at 1024×768! I find myself
constantly selecting and deselecting items just to turn their wireframe to
red so it can be seen!
-MM
Gary, I've a big wishlist item….
I stopped by the Alias booth at SIGGraph. Their PC modeler has some *very*
powerful `dynamic editing features' we found when we were playing (the demo
person didn't even realize this!). Here's what we did…
Made a rectanle with a square and a circle enclosed within it's boundaries
(3DS shaper-like). Then gave it thickness (3DS lofter-like). So now we
had a mass with two differently shaped holes in it. Next, we shrunk the
size of the circular hole *on one side only* and the modeler made the hole
into a cone! Then, we moved that same circle to another location and the
modeler skewed the cone! All of this occured within one `module' there was
no changing `modes' in order to perform certain operations. This modeler
allowed for fast/easy changes to complex shapes…
This is an example of `DYNAMIC EDITING'. There is now no way to accomplish
this in 3DS (is there?). To approximate this in 3DS means jumping between
modules thereby inhibiting the creative process a great deal. While 3DS is
an awesome final presentation tool, I (we) find it difficult to use 3DS as
a concpetual design tool because of these types of problems.
I may be better able to discuss this via voice. If you are interested, let
me know and I will e-mail you my number. Or, (just thought of this) talk
to Kevin Blaker about some of these issues (we had a nice discussion
concerning 3DS and Architectural applications).
-Mike.
Mike, there are actually a number of ways you can accomplish what you
described while in the 3D Editor only. Using selection tools and vertex
and face modify commands, you could easily modify any aspect of the
geometry you need without having to go back to the Shaper or Lofter.
There _are_ a number of things you can do with a nurb-based system such as
the Alias modeler that you can't do with 3DS. However, there are quite a
few things you can do with 3DS that are incredibly difficult to do with the
Alias system. (for example, try sculpting a face with Alias… forget it)
– G
Good points Gary. I would like to add that no-one has as of yet created the
definitive 3D interface. 3DS is certainly simple and powerful and off that
I've seen, probably the most versatile. My recent messages make reference
to Hash's stuff. It is INCREDIBLE for animation of figures, but useless for
anything else. (like shining light through a window, etc…)