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Animation Vendor A Forum · Hash, Inc.

#File Conversion

14 messages in this thread
#2427From: Rico C. AlexanderDec 13, 1994 10:12 PM
3ds support would be great in the future. Its becoming the standard 3d format on the PC. There is a toolkit available from autodesk on the format for about $200. Many 3ds users are looking for an organic modeler after the 3ds R4 disappointment, and Playmation would be an incredible alternative with 3ds file support.
#2437From: Richard CliftonDec 14, 1994 2:10 PM
More import formats for Animation Master would certainly make things easier, but they also need to import more intelligently. DXF imports are very awkward to work with at the moment because they are polygon-based and end up with too many control points. There needs to be a converter which skips points while preserving the intended shape, roughly anyway, as a spline. (Easier said than done I know). Most people who do 3D modelling like to borrow other people's datasets to work from, or sometimes use commercial sources to avoid re-inventing the wheel. A spline-based modeller like AM is a bit cut off from the mainstream polygon world. Or is there a source of good ready-made spline models I don't know about?
#2438From: Steve/HASH, Inc.Dec 14, 1994 2:32 PM
Our DXF output comes into 3DS marvelously! We have many users who export organic models to 3DS for effects purposes… Look on 3DA #16 for a great example. Steve, Hash Inc.
#2441From: John StetzerDec 14, 1994 4:35 PM
>>Our DXF output comes into 3DS marvelously! That's what I'm considering it for; another quick question. A:M 3.0 is coming soon. Will Play. be upgraded as well? and what will be the diffs. in Sculpture 'twixt the two, if any? John Stetzer JWS
#2452From: Steve/HASH, Inc.Dec 15, 1994 3:33 PM
No differences… Steve, Hash Inc.
#2453From: Christopher HoffmanDec 15, 1994 4:45 PM
Hey Steve, When I tried to bring over a PCX file from PaintBrush 5+, I kept getting Windows Module errors that would lock the system up… I tried the other Decal format conversions and got the same thing… The ONLY conversion that would work was Converting to an IFF file… Then I was able to paste properly… Is this my system? By the way, What settings in Windows does A:M prefer? I am currently at 800×600, should I switch down to 640×480 or does it matter…? The only thing I could think would cause the Module failures would be some disparity between A:M and possibly one of me drivers, possibly the Vid driver…? Any thoughts on this? BTW, My Vid card is a STB-VL card… I can change the options from 640-480 to 12??x1024… Thanks! Christopher Hoffman
#2468From: Steve/HASH, Inc.Dec 16, 1994 12:46 PM
WOW! very strange…. A:M shouldn't accept an IFF file at all! I would guess that the problems you are experiencing are video card related…. A:M really pushes Video cards, especially in the Decal module…. resolution shouldn't matter, but I've found in some of the cards that have problems, switching to true color mode will help beleive it or not…. Steve, Hash Inc.
#2469From: Christopher HoffmanDec 16, 1994 4:11 PM
True color mode being 65,??? colors?? or in the millions…? Decal accepts IFF files, I went through Decal's list of possible files for input and converted my PCX file to each one of those, IFF being the only one that worked… I believe the others I tried were GIF, RGB, and of course the PCX version… I will try the True color mode, and try bringing the resolution down… Is there maybe, a limit on the sixe of Decal that I can import to A:M??? Thanks for the Reply… Christopher Hoffman
#2474From: Richard CliftonDec 16, 1994 6:27 PM
I don't know if this is relevant but I've been having problems with the TEMPLATE feature in A:M SCULPTURE on my PC but I fixed it. Template is a brilliant idea in which you import an image to trace in 3D. Unfortunately it has trouble with 256-colour modes. I find if you switch to 800x600x65000 (or whatever it is above 256) it works fine, so long as the imported image isn't too wide, otherwise you get skewed pictures. 188 pixels wide works OK.
#2485From: Christopher HoffmanDec 17, 1994 2:54 PM
Thanks Richard… I'll try it…! Gonna be another rendering weekend…<G> Christopher
#2508From: Steve/HASH, Inc.Dec 19, 1994 1:27 PM
Thanks for the info! Actually we hadn't played with the width too much, and it's nice to have a definite size limitation. Hash Inc.
#2507From: Steve/HASH, Inc.Dec 19, 1994 1:25 PM
It may be a size limitation… The size allowed is dependent on the amount of RAM you have… True color is 16.7 mil colors… Steve, Hash Inc.
#2454From: John StetzerDec 15, 1994 6:06 PM
Thanks again, sir :^). John Stetzer JWS
#2458From: Rico C. AlexanderDec 15, 1994 9:25 PM
The only problem with dxf output is the lack of details such as textures, lights, and camera support, so you would have to do all of this in 3ds, but I was only making the suggestion of 3ds support because it didn't seem very difficult to do. If it is then spend programming time on more important things like glow effects and other things.