#ipas programming
25 messages in this thread
Hello Jonas! I'm making a pxp and kxp program with Watcom c 9.5b , IPAS3 and
3ds3. I'd have more questions about ipas programming.
1)
When I have compiled my _xp program I have to run ipasfix, or 3ds pages to disk
as soon as I start my _xp program. I make compile and link process as it is in
IPAS manual.
Why I have to use ipasfix.exe to avoid paging ? Is any other method to avoid
paging to disk?
2)
When I have to use kxp_prep_node , kxp_update_pahts and kxp_fi- nished
functions and what do these exatly do?
Is perp_node used always before every create_key or only first create_key of a
object, is update_paths used always after create_key or only after last
create_key of a object?
4)
I create rotate and position to every object in every frame. Functions
kxp_create_key speed slows down dramatically during creating keys in frames.
(Example I have 20 objects and 400 fra- mes, is is wery slow in the end
frames.)
Is there any method to avoid this speed decreasing? Can I define more than one
position or rotation key at same ti- me?
5)
I read from ipas3q.zip something about wavefront ipas. Could you tell me what
is its function, and what are its features ?
6)
Is there any problems with memory handling? I made a pxp, where was float
variable[2000], and always when I usen a pxp_ function 3ds made a memory
protection fault. Now i have made it like, variable=malloc(2000*sizeof(float))
, and it works.
Where stack and heap sizes are defined, and is there any limita- tions for
stack and heap size?
Mika Laaksonen
100424,2004
Hi Mika,
<< Hello Jonas! I'm making a pxp and kxp program with Watcom c 9.5b , IPAS3 and
3ds3. I'd have more questions about ipas programming. >>
I sent you mail yesterday, two messages. Did you get it? The first was short
and the second was a zip file of questions and answers. If you got this file,
note that many of your questions were covered during the last year.
jonas[adesk]
My company makes InterChange, a program that translates between many
3D file formats. We're developing IPAS versions of each of our
translators, including a Wavefront importer / exporter.
I am having difficulty transferring geometry from 3DS to SG Alias and back via
DXF. Many surfaces are not translated correctly. Will your InterChange help?
If so, could you please email purchase information? Thank you.
DXF isn't the best format to use for model exchange. InterChange does
handle Alias's "polysets," which do carry basic material info.
InterChange doesn't translate things like UV mapping coordinates,
though.
<DXF isn't the best format to use for model exchange.>
What is the best format to exchange .3ds to Alias format?
Andrew
DXF is ….. we do it all the time without any problems. If you're
going to go any other way then you need to find a good intermediate
format.
Acuris has been developing a set of translators for the SGI machine to
exchange models between formats. It appears that they used open-model
to write the translator, so models from 3, 5, and 6 should work fine.
We regularly move extremely complex geometry between 3DS and Alias
and the standard DXF out from 3DS works well.
If and when Acuris releases their translators, they'll be given away with
Inventor.
(P.S., your name on the forum is missing your full last name.)
Thanks, I actually knew that. 🙂
We've had a closeup look at them and so far so good. I've seen the 3DS, Iges,
Dxf, Alias, Obj, and Renderman ones. The fact that they'll be given away sounds
like a great thing for the SGI crowd.
I purposefully left my last name off. I like it that way. That way it's just
me, joe normal lurker on the forum.:-)
Paul
I think there's a full-name policy in this forum, isn't there? And besides,
lurkers aren't supposed to say anything, especially about beta, unreleased
software that competes with mine… 🙂
Actually there isn't a full name policy that I'm aware of since a quick scan
reveals at least 30 forum regulars without last names. Jonas would've surely
mentioned it since he noticed my new name months ago. 🙂
Secondly please, please, please, please, please Don't screw up my karma by
trying to limit my speech or get me into a negative thread. I'm working hard at
keeping everything possitive.<BG>
Thirdly, unless you have an SGI based translator, I don't see any competition.
I haven't seen any non-Amiga based translators from your company. You know I've
been looking for well over a year now. 🙂
Fourthly, since SGI has publicly announced the development of the translators
many many moons ago, and has solicited beta test sites extensively across the
Internet by cross posting to tons of newsgroups there's no big secret about the
product and it's immenent release. I'm not beta testing it. I just said I had
seen it, along with half of the world.
Finally, as an individual who has several copies of both PowerAnimator and 3DS
and enjoys possitive relations with both companies, I feel obliged to help
anyone/everyone with problems integrating the two together. As soon as I see
your software on the market, I'll buy a copy and if it works well with Alias
files, I'll be more than glad to recommend it, hype it, shout it from the
rooftops, etc. There are definate needs for powerful translators and I
generally buy everything like that if it's useful.
Why not take this opportunity to let us know about your product? Does it
support V6 files? Does it translate between V3, V5, and V6? Does it only work
with polysets or does it translate NURBS surfaces for other NURBS based
packages? If so give me a price, I'll more than likely take one now.
Thanks, Paul
P.S. – I sincerely apologize if it seemed as though I was trying in anyway to
push anyone away from your software. I was simply trying to help a fellow
asofter become more knowledgeable about the translations between the two
programs. Since I obviously have no vested interest in either translation
program, I honestly hope that you will fully realize that my purpose was to
help and inform, not to negatively affect anyone's product.
I do hope to get an SGI version of InterChange together, too. We've got one
in-house now with the developer kits. I look forward to the SGI version
because it'll let us access formats (like Alias's Open Model, GIG, Softimage,
etc.) that are only available as link libraries for the SGI. The rest of our
code is portable. The "work" involves the user interface.
SGI came to us, too, when they went looking for those Inventor translators. We
were one of the last contenders standing in this "request for proposal," so I
know the ball-park of what they were paying, and what they asked for. I refuse
to work for that little money… they wanted unlimited (and undetermined)
distribution, rights to the source code, quarterly updates and improvements,
10% maintenance, and eight translators including DXF and IGES. So you tell me
how many man-years of coding you think that is, and I'll tell you how much
money they had to play with. And on top of it, this was money earmarked for
*marketing*, and managed by the marketroids, so you tell me if you think
marketing types should be dictating and overseeing and spec'ing software
development.
I'm not so worried about your mention of those "other" translators… if your
point is that InterChange for Windows or IPAS hasn't shipped, and that Acuris
hasn't shipped theirs either, well, then there's not much to go on. 🙂
I do appreciate the help you gave on the Wavefront IPAS converter at one point.
I did figure out the problem with the thrashing… it's the inefficiency of
Metaware's malloc() and free(). It can be "solved" with the application of
cold cash in the form of a replacement memory manager.
So I'll bet you a trade-show sandwich that InterChange for Windows ships before
SGI ships Acuris' translators. And if Acuris goes out of business or is bought
out before then, you owe me a soda, too.
We know the DXF exchange between 3DS and Alias is horrible. The question is,
will InterChange do a better job? Can you tell me, relative to DXF, what its
strenghs and weaknesses are? If it does a better job at transferring geometry
cleanly, how do I purchase it? (Mapping coordinates and materials don't matter
to me – I'm primarily interested in the geometry)
What type of problem do you have transferring geometry to Alias via
DXF? After moving well over 200 different files over during the past
year without a hitch, I'd like to find out what kind of problems
exist. I just moved a huge file (400,000+ verts) over a few minutes
ago and everything was fine.
Alias allows you to set scaling factors, input units (9 choices),
everything. It works great.
Other than the standard problems with the DXF format (phenomenal file
sizes), I've never had a single problem arise. As a matter of fact,
it works so well for us that we often bring models into 3DS and then
export them via DXF to Alias.
3DS does a great job of exporting the geometry to DXF and Alias does a
great job of importing it. As a matter of fact we've pulled DXF files
into Alias from alot of programs on PC's/Mac's/and SGI's without a
single problem.
Since alot of people use 3DS and Alias both, we'd like to hear about
any problems and see if we can't work with Alias to fix any problems
that arise.
I have had object come to 3ds via Alias/DXF with missing faces and
extra faces. The most recent was an object which had face extending
thru where holes should have been. In addition, some surfaces came
in as multiple concurrent surfaces. Finally, many face normals were
inconsistent. This is an object which rendered correctly from within
Alias. This may, however, be operator error, since the modeler just
recently began using Alias.
Do you have a favorite recipe for DXF between the two programs that
you might share? PS. Did you ever get a chance to put together the
things you promised to send me?
Aha ….. it could definately be operator error, The tools in Alias
are extremely powerful but they also have a fairly intense learning
curve. Have you done tests on various export levels to try to
alleviate the problems? Creating polygons from NURBS is a task unto
itself, first of all you need to make sure your Alias model is well
constructed and that you properly set all of your levels, i.e. – if
you're creating polygons from NURBS surfaces, you have to pay really
close attention to thresholds, tolerences, subdivision type and
levels, direction, etc. Then when you export to DXF you need to check
your rebuild tolerences, scaling factors, significant digits, etc.
As you can see, it's not quite as simple as clicking on an "export
dxf" button. 🙂 In Alias V6 there are even more options so you have
even more control over the process. I can tell you that we've never
had a problem moving the models back and forth, and we move some
pretty complicated stuff. We've also DXF'd into Wavefront and
SoftImage as welss as 3DS.
Additionally the Alias model format has changed in V6, so if you get
ready to buy an external translator, make sure it supports V6.
Otherwise in 45 days, you'll have a useless translator. If you use an
SGI based translator that was written from the Openmodel Toolset then
you may be O.K., but Even Alias doesn't directly support one format
to the next when they release new versions. You have to run your old
models through Alias provided converters to bring them into the
latest versions.
Thank you, I'll relay your message to the Alias guy.
Would you have time to give us any advice such as starting points for
some of the parameters you mentioned (thresholds, tolerences,
subdivision type, levels, direction, etc.)? Perhaps just the
parameters from one of your typical model exports would give us a
point of reference.
Unfortunately, the machine is in an area such that my access for
"play" time is restricted. (meaning I don't have it at home and I
actually have to go to work to use it. Ack!) The 3DS machine is at
home, so experimental transfer cycles are time consuming.
Sure I'll give you some reference points. Let me go back into Alias
and make a list then I'll email them to you. I didn't realize that
your computers weren't networked together. 🙁 How are you
transferring your geometry? Disks, tapes ? It's pretty easy for me
to experiment because my SGI machines and my PC's are all of 8 inches
apart and networked together. Keep an eye out for an email. 🙂
The SGI at the lab is networked to a bunch of Suns and several PCs, none of
which have 3DS. They can read & write PC disks so tests with small geometry
are no big problem (besides the 40 mile drive <g>) I also have a 1-gig optical
drive here in my dungeon that I use when files get large or when I have many
megabytes of images to carry to work. Some day we'll have a high-speed digital
link…
Thanks for your help. I'm hoping the DXF link will save me from rebuilding a
lot of geometry.
JKJ
With InterChange, you'd convert directly between .3DS files and Alias
"polysets," a quad- and triangle-based format that does carry some
color info as well as sub-objects and hierarchy. We're close to
release on the Windows version of InterChange. By now, I'm sure
you're on our mailing list, and we'll be doing a big mailing as soon
as InterChange for Windows is shipping.
I would like more information on Interchange. How do I get on the mailing list?
Thanks,
Don
OK, I'll assume the 3DS->Alias and Alias->3DS features of InterChange are in
fact functional. You mention a "close to release" Windows version. This may
be nice, but do you have a non-Windows version shipping now? If so, my
question remains: how much and how do I order it? Could you please email or
ground mail a feature list and a price? Note that this would take some weeks
to get thru our purchasing department so I need order info as soon as possible.
If you do not have a currently shipping version of InterChange available, and
the Windows version is imminent, perhaps our PO would reach you at release
time. Thank you.
JK Jordan, 103 Elliott Circle, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
The Windows version of InterChange is the first release on any
platform that includes the Alias polyset converter. Please feel free
to call (414) 674-5200 to get the details on how to send a purchase
order.
Thank you – all is clear now. I'll call tomorrow.