CompuServe Thread

#DMM vs KeyFactory?

3 messages in this thread
#187569From: Ronald K. LussierAug 27, 1995 11:54 PM
Is anybody using DMM willing to discuss some of the abilities of each package? I use Key Factory a bit and though it works great for most simple situations, I have been disappointed when I get to trying something complex. I looked at the new file uploaded to the IPAS lib. of DMM dropping "complex" objects down ramps like the KF demo and was not impressed by the motion at all. But I was convinced KF could do the same. It did, with a more realistic result, and the file is there if you wish to look at it. One thing I noticed is that DMM does it's rotation properly for use with motion blur. Key Factory use some strange calculation type for it's rotation so that objects spin almost 360 degrees (on some strange axis) between most frames. No good for motion blur! If anyone has used both packages, I would love to hear from you. TIA – Ron
#187607From: LEE STEELAug 28, 1995 6:21 AM
One main feature in the DMM vs. Keyfactory debate would be that DMM does not limit you to the number of groups of objects and in Keyfactory you are limited to only 4. Keyfactory has several more features though which DMM does not like the preset for exploding a group of objects and their online help. DMM is very fast and efficient at doing gravity/motion but Keyfactory seems to have more features. I have just read that Positron has just shipped V1.1 of DMM with some new features included. Since I haven't seen it, I can't comment on what the new features are. Lee
#187683From: Kurt McKeeverAug 28, 1995 1:43 PM
I agree with you. I downloaded the DMM demo and took the same file and applied Keyfactory to it. I agree that I found that the motions to be more realistic in Keyfactory. Unfortunately we do not know all the facts (ie: what the parameters for their software we set at), so our tests may not be fair. I have not used DMM, but I wish I could, just to make a fair comparison for myself. The only problem that I ran into with keyfactory with large scenes is the speed issue. From my limited experience, most collision detection programs when you deal with hundreds (even thousands) of objects can be slow and tedious. Even collision programs on SGIs. I think for a fair test, we need to find out what the settings DMM was and apply this to Keyfactory, just to see what the results are to best determine the better or more feasible software. Christopher Ryan Metrolight Studios