CompuServe Thread

This message kinda got off track from ILM, so I renamed it. Larry, About modeling in Play or PRO- if all you want to do is model, Play would probably be good enough. I'm not sure how much more features PRO has, but it might not be worth the extra money (for just modeling). If I had the cash, and were looking for just a good modeler, I'd look at MacroModel. It is probably a better, all-round modeler, compared to Play. (Although I can do all the things that I see in the ad- bend/taper/etc. in Play.) The interface is probably more polished, and might have other features that differ from Play's. I do like (love) splines though. I know that if I had both, I'd use Play over 3DS modeling for some things. It's alot more like freehand than CAD. (I both like and dislike this.) It is a bit different than 3DS though. I also think that MacroModel comes with Renderman. That will be neat for any still images you might need. MacroModel, obviously, does not animate. I really want some form of surface control to my textures. Bump mapping is really not that impressive, when compared to some Renderman shaders. Some of those are really incredible. Chips, dents, cracks, you name it. About Real 3D- I know that a Windows version is coming out, but know little about it. (other than the little I know about the Amiga version.) It may be a consideration, but I can't really comment on it. I guess the big advantage about using an integrated modeler (one like Playmation's) is that you can easily go back and change something, and update it. I run several modules at a time, and I switch back and forth- changing anything I need, save it and then go back to the direction module and update the character. It's really easy. I've done this with textures often. Also, you can have more than 1 instance of the module running at the same time. This is comes in handy when modifying several things at once. Anyways, look around and check everyting out. If you want to get a basic overview tape of Playmation, call them and get it. (I think it's $8 or something like that.) It has an animation (that lipsync's), some still's and a good overview of the program and it's modules. The production quality of the tape is terrible (nothing like R3's really nice demo), but it's worth the money if you are really looking to spend any kind of money for a program. I got the tape, and it convinced me to get it. It was the software that sold me. Please remember that software is really a personal thing, and some really don't like Playmation. They find the interface strange, and don't like this or that. You may, or you may not like it. It does have alot of powerful things that 3DS does not have. (PRO has even more) Some things can't be found until you reach SGI software. But it has it's cost. The program has crashed on me for this or that. Sometimes because I did weird things, and sometimes I had no clue why it crashed. But it does. 3DS is *tons* more stable