#Confused, 3ds.set
7 messages in this thread
First let me say I am one of those folks who gets up each day
and prays "God give me patience, now".
#1 Question
After 2 weeks with 3DS, its manuals and now "Inside 3DS" I am
confused about the 3DS.set file. The heart of this question is: which
*-path statements can have multiple arguments _and_ can they read
*-path = "E:\" , ie root directories. I want to be able to have files
on drives D (SCSI hard drive), drive E (magneto-optical) and drive F
(CD-Rom) and in the future, other drives.
#2 Question
This is probably in the manuals but I don't know where. I want
to import files as the background, rescale them to fit (vs tile,
these are up to 28 MB files from research microscopes) yet retain the
aspect ratios. I can change the file size with a resample routine,
such as in Photostyler . . . . is that the only way? I sure would
like a rescale button that retains aspect ratios. On the other hand,
maybe blood vessels really look like this after being scaled to fit
<DBG>.
#3
Okay, I have had 3DSr3 for 2 weeks, when CAN I get 3DSr$(4)? I know that
the folks at Autodesk are smart, so some of this stuff has been changed and is
easier! I heard major rumors about animation changes and I'll bet I am spending
time learning to do stuff that has changed (hey Lord, please, now!?).
Thanks, jhg
John, If the files you want to locate through path statetments are
texture maps (image files) and the like, why not just place them in
the "map paths" (SHIFT-8) and start saving project (.prj) files
instead of .3ds files. By saving a .prj file 3DS will "remember"
where it last found and image and its path.
Question #2 No idea
Question #3 Release 4 is supposed to ship @Oct. 15-17. Fear NOT!
Everything you are learning is probably fundamental to the changes in
R4. Yes, somethings are easier, but you have to know how do it the
"old" way first. As far as animation goes, the biggest improvement is
arguably the inverse kinematics. This is a significant improvement
for character animation. The second feature you may be interested in
the keyframe scripting language. Forensic animation will benfit
greeatly from this new feature.
As far as the upgrade goes, if you just bought R3 from an Authorized
dealer just a couple of weeks ago, you should be getting your upgrade
to R4 for free. Contact your dealer.
If you have a large bitmap you want to use for an animation rendering
I would suggest rendering it once, first, to the output resolution
you want your animation to render in. Do this by turning on the
rescale in the render menu display. Once this new file is rendered
and rescaled you can then load this new bitmap as desired in your
animation. Now your animation will render much faster.
Please take the next 40 hours of your time at your machine to do
every tutorial and to read the manual cover to cover. These will be
the 40 hours that you invest that will elevate you very quickly into
productive modeling and animating….please.. too many skip this and
spend frustrated uncountable, expensive hours later..:-(
<< This is probably in the manuals but I don't know where. I want to
import files as the background, rescale them to.. >>
Load the image as a background and render to a different resolution.
If you know the original aspect ratio, you can maintain it. See the
Render Option section of the 3D Editor section of the Reference
manual.
Jonas,
I have not ignored the manuals, I am about 2/3rds the way thru the 3DS
tutorial and 1/2 way thru Inside 3DS. I also understand that explaining
software via text manuals is difficult because of the unknown reader and often
terms can have more than one meaning. For example, e:\ is a path statement to
the root but I did not see in the manuals (tho I may have missed it <G>) where
I should use e: instead, btw I did not see it in Inside 3DS either. However,
after 3/4ths of a day of error messages going by on startup and system lockups
I decided it was time for alternative actions and as always, found help here.
Adesk has a great service here, it sure beats me paying the $1,500/year
the local dealer wants from me to ask questions!
. .. and I also know I lack patience <BG>
>> can they read *-path = "E:\" , ie root directories.
Be careful not to use a trailing backslash for root directories (ie, use "E:"
rather than "E:\").
Regarding paths: as far as I know, only MAP-PATH may be assigned multiple
directories. They can't be placed on the same line like a DOS statement. You
must say MAP-PATH = "d:\pathname" on a separate line for each one.
#2: BGND-PRESERVE-RATIO = ON. (If you want to rescale it to a new file, load it
as a background, and render with no geometry at the desired res to the new file
name.)
David,
Thanks for the help. I was using E:\, using e: solved that problem. Also
thanks for conformation that only map-path can have multiple arguments . .. I
was reaching that conclusion thru trial and errors, and you saved me wasting
time on several more errors <G>
jhg