CompuServe Thread

Gary, >> [Outbreak type explosions] Are these generated by something like an IPAS but for what ever sys? << They can be done a few ways. You can have live action explosions filmed on 16mm/35mm or get stock footage of explosions. There is also custom software or custom Renderman shaders that companies write. Some are 2d effects, often layered, on "cards" and more recently there are some cool volumetric explosions available like the ones from Alias. >> Is there an IPAS for explosion? << sounds like "Inferno" (?) the next version of Lenzfx will have 2d explosions. Lenzfx already has fractal noise which can give this effect. There are also some canned live action fires/explosions available called "Pyromania" (volumes 1 and 2, I think) that have been used extensively in games and tv. They are great quality but volume 1 was Mac CD only, I think. If you have a network with a cd-rom equipped MAC then you're in business. >> Recently I played Mechwarrior2 for the first time…..there were some truley wonderful incendiary effects in the "movie" portion and action part of the game! << I'm not familiar with it unless it's the one that my good friend Alan Iglesias worked on. I'd guess that if you liked the explosions there's a good chance they were live action stock or custom. You mentioning "Mechwarrior" gave me an amusing thought. I imagined a game called "Code Warriors" where giants of the CGI software industry (based on members of the Yost Group, major IPAS developers, and other major CGI software developers) fought battles in a virtual world, armed only with the latest algorithms and hot C++ routines <G>. Come to think of it, it's already happening. Martin

Gary: The MechWarrior videos were down by DigitalDomain (same people that did True Lies, T2, Aliens 2, etc). It looks good because it was done by movie people – the camera angles and point of views were perfect. All that video was Smacked by the way – we wanted them to call it SmackWarrior. ->Jeff