CompuServe Thread

#animation software

19 messages in this thread
#178From: GILLES . JARRYOct 30, 1994 7:54 PM
Can you help me in finding an animation program to run FLI and such files?One program I have seen suggested is DTA (dave's Targa Animator). Thanks,Gilles
#180From: david masonOct 30, 1994 10:54 PM
Gilles, DTA is fine for building flic animation files, but it won't play them. I've got a player program called DFV which can handle FLIs and some other formats. The latest version is currently available over in GRAPHDEV. (This forum has an earlier version which I haven't gotten around to updating.) –dkm
#195From: David HofmannOct 31, 1994 3:32 PM
BTW, what did you change in the new DFV? Haven't looked at it so far, so if there is a whats.new file just tell me to RTFM <bg> -David
#207From: david masonOct 31, 1994 4:49 PM
David, If you already have 1.1.1, then 1.1.2 just fixes a bug that caused it to play 800×600 16-bit flics in 15-bit mode. The only other change is that I documented some undocumented features. (I had no reason to document 1-bit flics until I also uploaded a version of DTA that could produce 1-bit flics.) –dkm
#223From: Andrey ZmievskiyNov 1, 1994 12:10 AM
David, I tried using DFV on my new machine to view 24-bit flics and it refuses to work. Says it cannot recognize true color hardware. I have Diamond Stealth 64 with 2M of VRAM and it is VESA 1.2 compatible. Andrey
#232From: david masonNov 1, 1994 8:22 AM
Andrey, Could you run the VESAINFO program that comes with DFV and send me the resulting VESAINFO.LOG file? –dkm
#233From: David HofmannNov 1, 1994 8:35 AM
David, is it possible to do 16 color (4bit?) flcs? -David
#238From: david masonNov 1, 1994 9:08 AM
David, Not yet. Right now you can do 1-, 8-, 15-, 16-, and 24-bit. I've been thinking of adding 4-bit and 32-bit, though. How useful do you think it would be? –dkm
#285From: David HofmannNov 2, 1994 11:36 AM
I don't think it would be that useful. Imagine can (just like Polyray) output wire frame images and they are 16 color. So I thought I can make a 4bit fli from them, but then I never use wire frame rendering at all, so just forget about it 🙂 What would 32bit anims be good for? Oh BTW, just had to redo all the anims that I'm working on now and used the latest DTA you sent me to crop the images and it worked fine with /LR. -David
#288From: david masonNov 2, 1994 12:05 PM
David, 32-bit anims would be useful for storing individual layers with alpha information (for compositing). –dkm
#352From: David HofmannNov 3, 1994 12:52 PM
So it would be a temp anim only for further editing, not for play back? -David
#357From: Dan RichardsonNov 3, 1994 2:36 PM
The time's bound to come when video systems will be fast enough to play back 32 bit animations over other animations or stills, with appropriate transparency. Look to the future.
#366From: Brian ReedNov 3, 1994 6:59 PM
>The time's bound to come when video systems will be fast enough to play back >32 bit animations over other animations or stills, with appropriate >transparency. >Look to the future. I'll be writing a proposal for a kiosk that does this, soon, for a 95 production date. The plan is limit the complexity of the animation to stay within current P5 display bandwidths. The future you speak of is pretty much here (within limits). Bri
#422From: David HofmannNov 5, 1994 5:04 AM
Video is doing this since several years, no problem. Maybe this can be done completely in the video card. If they can do shading and rendering in the video card why not do these things, too. -David
#364From: david masonNov 3, 1994 3:18 PM
Yes, that would be its main use, though you could play it back too in 24-bit. –dkm
#302From: Dan RichardsonNov 2, 1994 5:23 PM
>>What would 32bit anims be good for?<< Satisfying the needs of empty hard drives.
#353From: David HofmannNov 3, 1994 12:52 PM
If I understand Dave right he ment it for compositing anims. Or was that composting? <g> BTW what happened to your 270mb monter image? Did you get your name in? -David
#358From: Dan RichardsonNov 3, 1994 2:36 PM
450 megs, and yes, TGAMIX worked great. The guy brought his Dell here, and we parallel port laplinked two images across, maybe a month ago. Haven't heard if he was able to print them.
#423From: David HofmannNov 5, 1994 5:04 AM
>> Haven't heard if he was able to print them. hehe, that's his problem! <g> -David