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3D Studio Listserv FAQ version 1.5.1
------------------------------------
changes, suggestions, and additions
should be mailed to gandalf@armory.com
Disclaimer :
All copyrights and trademarks are held by their respective companies.
Products mentioned are not necessarily endorsed. This FAQ may, and should be
freely distributed (no charges should be made or fees taken for use or
viewing of this document).
FAQ History
--- -------
v0.5 First post to list, partially complete.
v0.6 Spelling corrections.
v0.7 Additions from Jim Lammers, et al.
v1.0 Released February 1, 1995 to Listserv.
v1.1 Released February 27, 1995 to Listserv.
v1.3.1 Released March 13, 1995 to Listserv.
v1.3.2 Released March 27, 1995 to avalon.
v1.4.1 Released April 10, 1995 to avalon.
v1.4.2 Released April 24, 1995 to avalon.
v1.5.1 Released May 8, 1995 to avalon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dates for future releases
----- --- ------ --------
(every other monday, unless otherwise specified)
May 22, 1995
June 5, 1995
June 19, 1995
July 3, 1995
July 17, 1995
July 31, 1995
August 14, 1995
August 28, 1995
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contents
! I. FAQ info
II. What is 3D Studio
III. The Listserv
1. Definitions used on the list and in the FAQ.
A. Inverse Kinematics
B. IPAS
C. Field Rendering
D. Gamma Correction
E. Alpha Channel
F. Aspect Ratio
G. Radiosity
2. List of 3DS-related books/magazines
A. Books
a. Inside 3D Studio Release 3
b. 3D Studio Special Effects
c. 3D Studio Tips & Tricks Series
d. Fallingwater in 3D Studio
B. Magazines
a. Computer Graphics World
b. Computer Artist
c. PC Graphics and Video
d. NewMedia
e. Pixel Vision
f. 3D Artist
g. Computer Animators News
h. Planet Studio
3. Output Methods
A. Single Frame Output
B. Disk recording technology
a. DPS PAR
* b. Matrox animation eXpress (MAX)
* c. FAST VideoMachine Non-Linear
* C. Film Output
a. Slides, 16mm, 35mm
* D. Printed output, transparencies
4. Educational Purchasing Information
A. Authorized Resellers
5. Computer Animation Schools
6. Rendering Engine Information
* A. Scanline renderer
B. Z-Buffer/A-Buffer
a. Getting Z-Buffer information
7. IPAS
A. IPAS Programming
a. IPAS Development Kit (SDK)
b. Compatible Compilers
* c. Dialog Editor (3DE#..ZIP)
B. Companies that make IPASs
* a. Yost Group
b. Pyros Pictures, Inc.
* c. POINTER
d. Digimation, Inc.
e. Schreiber Instruments, Inc.
f. Animagic
g. Keyscript Co-Op
h. Animetix Technologies, Inc.
+ 8. 3DS sources
A. FTP Sources
B. Bulletin Board Systems
a. The Rendering Plant BBS
b. Other BBSs
! C. Web Sites
9. Graphics Viewers/converters/utilities
A. CShow
* B. Graphics Workshop
C. Display
D. Qpeg
E. Image Alchemy
* F. to/from RIB
G. to POV
* H. to/from DEM
I. DTA (Dave's Targa Animator)
J. DFV (Dave's Flic Viewer)
* K. Importing from ACAD tips
L. GDS
10. Using Operating Systems other than DOS
A. Windows 3.x
! B. Windows NT / 95
C. OS/2
11. Related Lists and Newsgroups
+ A. Lists
+ B. Newsgroups
12. Other related products
A. Liquid Speed (r3)
B. Smacker
C. Fractint
+ D. Vivid
+ 13. Contacts/Phone Numbers at Autodesk
+ 14. Listserv Users
+ 15. Autodesk press releases
! A 4/25/1995 Autodesk Ships Animator Studio
B. 4/10/1995 Autodesk Market Share Increases 50%
C. 4/10/1995 Windows NT Direction for 3DS Announced
D. 3/1/1995 3DS SGI Renderer Avalible
E. 11/1/1994 Cyberspace Dev. Kit Grant Program
F. 9/20/1994 Autodesk Ships 3DStudio Release 4
+ 16. 3DS Version Feature Lists / Bug Reports
A. Release 4
! a. Field Order Bug
* 17. Common Problems
A. Invalid Normal Array
B. Randomly Exploding Meshes
C. Listserv Piracy Discussions
! D. SentinelPro Error
! E. Wavering/Dancing Shadows
18. Tips, Trics and Miscellaneous
A. File format information
B. Saving the 3DS screen
C. Using Corel Draw and 3DS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
---
---I. FAQ Info
---
FAQ is an acronym for Frequently Asked Questions. It is a term used
throughout the Internet in many areas. Most Newsgroups have a FAQ,
and there are many others. If you'd like to check out FAQs for other
topics, you can find some by FTPing to the site rtfm.mit.edu. This
site conatins the majority of FAQs for Neewsgroups.
This FAQ was assembled (I say assembled, rather than created,
because I did not do this alone) by Eric Vitiello Jr.
(gandalf@armory.com). The thought of having a FAQ for the 3D Studio
Listserv has been floating around for as long as I can remember.
I decided it was time to make one.
This may not have everything in it (and if there is something you
want to add, mail it to me), but I believe it is a good shot at it.
I've attempted to cover all areas and, hopefully, it will serve its
purpose. I've tried to credit those who sent in information, and
quote them as well as possible. If you feel that you were misquoted,
or need credit, mail me and I'll be glad to fix it. This FAQ is here
for you - the 3D Studio user - and I'd like to make it the best. Also,
if you are quoted in here and would rather not be, mail me and I can
replace your name with another source. I would also like comments on
the layout and general look and feel of the FAQ. If you know of a
better way to lay it out (i.e., more readable), tell me.
In the FAQ, some conventions have been used:
-- Version Naming:
1.1.1
^ ^ ^
| | +---Number of release for the month
| +-----Month of year/Issue number
+-------Volume number
-- before the title in the contents :
* I have no information, need information to complete section.
+ I would like additional information on this item.
! An item which has been added or changed since the last revision.
-- Where can I get the FAQ?
It seems odd to me to put this in here, because you obviously found the
FAQ... =) The official release site is the avalon FTP site. It is
also in interactive format at http://www.armory.com/~gandalf, and can
be downloaded as a text file from here as well.
-- miscelaneous
3D Studio is sometimes referred to as 3DS.
avalon usually referrs to the Internet FTP site avalon.vislab.navy.mil
---
---II. What is 3D Studio
---
3D Studio is a 3D modeling, rendering and animation package from the
makers of AutoCAD, Autodesk, Inc. The software runs on the
IBM/compatible platform. The 3D Studio software allows users to
create three-dimensional, photo-realistic images for a variety of
purposes.
(taken from the welcome message on the listserv)
---
---III. The Listserv
---
The listserv itself is sponsored by Autodesk.
To subscribe to the list, send mail to majordomo@autodesk.com. In
the BODY of the mail, put the line:
Subscribe 3dstudio <address>
The <address> section is optional, and should not include the <>.
To unsubscribe from the list, mail to majordomo@autodesk.com, with:
Unsubscribe 3dstudio <address>
in the BODY. The subject lines are not checked, and do not have to
exist. Posting to the list is done by sending mail to
3dstudio@autodesk.com.
---
---1. Definitions Used on the list and in the FAQ.
---
--
--A. IK (Inverse Kinematics)
--
Well, a great source of info on Inverse Kinematics is...yourself.
Especially those parts of yourself hanging from your shoulders. IK
is the process of defining a structure; a skeleton, for example. The
joints of the structure have various attributes and limits - so your
elbow only rotates on one axis, about 150 degrees. Your shoulder can
rotate in all three axes. Without IK, you can define a hierarchical
structure, but in order to move a hand you would need to rotate
the shoulder then the elbow, then the hand. Otherwise, the hand would
just move away from the wrist. With IK, the limits are defined for each
joint, as is a sort of "tense limit" at the ends of the range of each
rotation - you can bend your wrist down easily to a point, after that
there is some tension, then pain. Also, some joints are more easily
moveable than others, so the IK module has a "precedence order"
so the wrist might be more likely to rotate than your much heavier
upper arm and shoulder. (chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu)
--
--B. IPAS
--
IPAS routines are 'plug-in' routines for 3DStudio. They come in a
variety of flavors:
IXP Image Processing external process (like Stars). Accessed in
- Keyframer Video Post. Acts on images after rendering. These can
be thought of as intelligent 2-D processes. They act like a paint
program that knows what to paint, and where after the frame has
been rendered. Glowing rockets and blinding lens flares are
animated using IXPs.
PXP Modeling External program, (like Silicon Garden). This external
- system allows third parties to write programs that make objects
or object modifications externally and then put the results back
into 3DS. Try using Ripple or Wave to get the idea of the
seamless integration.
AXP Animated Stand-In Object external process (like Tornado).
- Accessed in Modify Object Attributes. These are quite unique in
that they allow a dummy object (like a cube) to be used for the
animation of a more complex thing, usually a particle system.
Tornados, rain, snow, fire and other tough-to-animate things can
be tackled this way.
SXP Surface procedural routine (like Dents). Accessed in Materials
- editor in Texture Map or Bump Map filename. They exist because
sometimes mapping a 2D image over a 3D object looks unacceptable
(lots of streakiness over areas perpendicular to the mapping
normal). SXP's are procedural textures. When invoked, the surface
color or surface normal is created with a formula that is truly
three-dimensional, rather than just wrapping an object with a 2D
picture. They use the 3D coordinates and a mathematical algorithm
to procedurally create the color or "bumpiness" of the object they
are applied to. Often, a much more realistic image can result from
effective use of SXPs.
BXP Bitmap xeternal process (like Checker). With the advent of release 3,
- a new IPAS type was introduced. This type allows third parties to
create new types of files. The sample BXP included with release
three allows you to create a .CHK file, creating a simple checker
pattern.
KXP This is another new type of IPAS with release 3. The KXP IPAS is
- invoked only in the keyframer, and it allows keys to be altered
or created. Typical applications include physics, fractal motion
(for jittery objects) and other complex keyframing jobs. Release 4
included a very exciting KXP called SCRIPT.KXP that allows any
user to write their own KXP IPAS directly from within 3D Studio.
(unknown author, additions by gandalf@armory.com)
--
--C. Field Rendering
--
...field rendering takes into account the fact that NTSC screens
actually display 60 fields per second, not really 30 frames per second.
Field rendering takes this into account, allowing you much smoother
motion. The human eye can differentiate up to about 48 frames per
second, so going from 30 to 60 is a major improvement.
Tape output and PAR output both can take advantage of this - just
don't turn it on for computer flic playback! (gpyros@pyros.com)
NTSC and PAL television systems both use interlaced monitors. This
means that each frame you see on the screen consists of two fields.
Both fields contain half of the scanlines (vertical lines that contain
the colour information) a complete frame has. One field has the even
and the other has the odd scanlines of a complete frame.
The television screen shows each frame one field at a time, which
effectively doubles the refresh rate of the screen. NTSC systems show
60 fields (30 frames) and PAL systems show 50 fields (25 frames) per
second.
3D Studio takes advantage of this fact. If you turn on the field
rendering, for each frame, 3DS first renders half of the scanlines, then
does all pre-rendering processing again (moving objects etc) and then
renders the other half of the scanlines, ie, the other field.
While field rendering takes more CPU time to render, it also results
in much smoother motion. Human eye interpolates between the fields and
doesn't notice each field only has half of the frame information.
If you haven't dealt with fields before or haven't fully grasped how
they work, go to 3D Studio and load scene BIRDSHOW.3DS. Go to the
keyframer. From rendering options dialog turn on field rendering. Set
the image resolution to 320*200 (higher resolutions have too small
pixels for you to see properly). Set render to screen to ON and render
ALL frames. There's no need to render to disk. Start rendering, and
immediately when the rendering starts, press space to see the rendering.
Now, look how the image is rendered. At first, only half of the
scanlines are being rendered. Then, as the first half of the scanlines
have been rendered, look how the bird's position is different on the
second half of the scanlines. The curtain and the pole the bird is
standing on are exactly on the same position, and don't look `funny'
the way the bird does.
As 3DS continues to render the subsequent frames, notice how the
change in the position of the bird is very small when compared to what
it would look like if dropped every other field out.
Because of the way FLIC's work they can't take any advantage on
fields, so you shouldn't use fields when rendering flics. Most
professional quality systems such as PAR (see information about this
device elsewhere in this FAQ), however, can show fields, and you
should render fields when using such equipment.
For further information about fields on 3DS, look at the 3D Studio
reference manual chapter 2, page 9 and chapter 7, page 208. Also, check
out the manuals of any other video equipment you have on whether they
support fields.
(jussi.haro@helsinki.fi)
--
--D. Gamma Correction
--
This is a pretty loose explanation of what gamma does - I would
encourage you to do a little more research into the effects of gamma
control. The 3DS Advanced User Guide discusses gamma, as does
Inside 3D Studio (albeit briefly). The gamma control settings in 3DS
allow you to calibrate your output for the difference in nonlinear
devices (monitors, printers, video, etc.).
Each type of output device may need a different gamma setting. Some
devices have built-in gamma correction (targa cards, for example).
Since you don't want to gamma correct twice (results in poor image
quality), you need to turn off gamma correction in either 3DS or the
device. If you're rendering for NTSC video output, a file gamma
setting of 2.2 is usually appropriate (as long as no other device is
providing correction). Monitor settings will vary depending on the
type and age.
A little experimentation up front will ensure consistent output between
devices. Without using gamma control, you may never achieve the contrast
in your final output that you saw on your monitor.
(Greg_Combs@cc.wdi.disney.com)
--
--E. Alpha Channel
--
An alpha channel refers to an 8-bit image, typically gray scale
which is used to determine which areas of your desired image (not
the alpha image) are to be transparent. For example, imagine one
image overlaid on top of another image. If the top image were not
transparent, then you could not see the bottom image, even if
the top image had completely black areas. You can use a "third"
image (an alpha image) to tell your graphics program (3D Studio, for
example), which parts of the top image are transparent (with single
pixel resolution) and what degree of transparency each pixel should
have. Since the alpha image is an 8-bit image, you can have up to 256
levels of transparency. A white pixel (255,255,255) in your alpha
image will mean that the corresponding pixel in the top image will be
completely opaque (can't see through it). A black pixel (0,0,0) in
your alpha image will mean that the corresponding pixel in the top
image will be completely transparent and you should be able to see
what the pixel of the bottom image looks like (perfectly). The
shade of gray of the alpha image will then determine the degree of
transparency of your top image. An alpha image that fades from
white on the top of the screen to black on the bottom will make your
top image become gradually more transparent towards the bottom.
(HUERTA@mu-support.acs.muohio.edu)
--
--F. Aspect Ratio
--
Aspect Ratio (as related to computer graphics) refers to the ratio of
pixels in the X direction to the Y direction (also called lines of
resolution in television terms). By defining this in 3DStudio, it
allows the program to create pixels which appear square, rather than
rectangular. To find the ratio, use the following formula:
Pixels High
----------- * 1.333 = aspect ratio for NTSC (4/3)
Pixels Wide
therefore, to find the aspect ratio for the DPS PAR:
480
--- * 1.333 = 0.851
752
Here are some common rendering resolutions and thier ratios:
320x200 : 0.8333 (Standard VGA)
640x480 : 1.0 (SVGA)
752x480 : 0.851 (DPS PAR)
800x600 : 1.0 (SVGA)
2400x1600: 0.888 (low-res 35mm print)
3072x2048: 0.888 (Kodak PhotoCD)
(formula and insight provided by Greg Pyros [gpyros@pyros.com])
--
--G. Radiosity
--
There are many properties of the real world that 3D Studio doesn't
directly handle. This is one of them. Radiosity is a reflection
related property of objects. When a reflective object is placed next
to another object, the color of the reflective object will somewhat be
projected onto the second object, depending on how bright the
associated lights are. This is shown best by colored metallic objects
in life. This feature is not suppored in 3D Studio because of the
huge degredation in rendering time. It would be similar to using
reflection maps, but even more demanding.
You can, however simulate radiosity in 3D Studio by using omni lights.
Place an omni light, of the same color and very low luminence, in the
center of the object you want to work with. This will create a
radiance of light from the object, thereby making it appear to have
radiosity. Radiosity is an essential part of creating photo-realistic
images, still renderings especially.
---
---2. List of 3DS-related books/magazines
---
--
--A. Books
--
-
-a. Inside 3D Studio Release 3
-
ISBN# 1-56205-075-3
by Steven Elliot, Phillip Miller, & Gregory Pyros
$49.95 USA / $65.95 CAN / 46.99 Net UK (inc of VAT)
New Riders Publishing
201 West 103rd Street
Indianapolis, IN 46290 USA
Includes CD-ROM with over 200 textures (created by Tim Forcade),
Graphics Workshop (DOS), VistaPro, AAPLAY.
This book should be a staple, and a bible used in all 3dStudio
graphics firms. Also very useful to freelance, or hobbiests. It
includes in-depth discussions and instructions on how to do many
special effects. Modeling techniques, high-res imaging, animation,
frame-accurate recording, configuring 3DS, lighting, and material
design, are just a few things you'll learn. The lessons are very
well-written, and easy to understand. The appendixes will become a
glossary for technical terms that is unequalled in any book on
computer graphics. It gives comprehensive definitions on output
equipment, related software tools, how a multimedia project is
culminated, and many other bits of useful information. In short,
when you buy this book, put packing tape on the spine, else it will
end up in parts.
-
-b. 3D Studio Special Effects
-
ISBN# 1-56205-303-5
by Jon bell, Tim Forcade, Gregory Pyros
$49.95 USA / $65.95 CAN / 46.99 Net UK (inc of VAT)
New Riders Publishing
201 West 103rd Street
Indianapolis, IN 46290 USA
Includes CD-ROM
This book concentrates on higher-end special effects and techniques.
The book recommends that the user be on an intermediate or higher
level using 3ds. Nicely done, it walks the reader through some
interesting effects, several of which require Yost IPAS Disk #6. :-(
The CD incudes maps/meshes/project files for the lessons along with
over 200 meg of both still and animated maps, along with some utilities.
All in all, this book is ok, but seems expensive for the material it
covers. For beginners, I would spend the 50 bucks on _Inside 3D STudio_.
This book can be bought at a discount for around 35.00US, which is more
in line [with the included amount of material]. (RMOILE@unca.edu)
-
-c. 3D Studio Tips & Tricks Series
-
by Michelle Bousquet
$24.95 each, Technical Tips $29.95
Glass and Reflection
ISBN# 0-8273-7014-8
Morphing and Animation
ISBN# 0-8273-7017-2
Shaping and Lofting
ISBN# 0-8273-7015-6
Animals and People
ISBN# 0-8273-7016-4
Materials and Lighting
ISBN# 0-8273-7011-3
Technical Tips
ISBN# 0-8273-7013-X
Delmar Publishers
3 Columbia Circle
Albany, NY 12212-5015
TEL:(518)464-3500
FAX:(518)464-0301
800:(800)347-7707
-
-d. Fallingwater in 3d studio: A case Study and Tutorial
-
by Laura Sanchez and Alex Sanchez
OnWord Press
800-526-BOOK or 505-473-5454
fax 505-471-4424
email orders@bookstore.hmp.com
or write to
High Mountain Press Direct
2530 Camino Entrada
Santa Fe, NM 87505-8435
388 pp in length, include 1 3.5" diskette and 8 pages of color.
ISBN: 1-56690-051-4
This is a unique book, in that it is not totally a 3D Studio
tutorial guide or a 3D Studio reference. Rather, it combines a
historical study of a famous structure (The Fallingwater house
that Frank Lloyd Wright built for the Kaufmanns in the 1930s)
with a discussion of applied architectural rendering with 3D Studio.
The first chapter of the book covers the history of the house,
complete with photographs and construction details. This is a
fascinating story that is well told, and a breath of fresh air
for a reader used to dry tutorials. Following that, the book
details the approach taken to model the various elements of the house.
The book uses the parts of the house as a basis for tutorials on
modeling, lighting, mapping, and animating for the remainder of the
book. The approach taken is pretty simple, so that a new user can
follow easily. The benefit of this approach is that beginners who
want to do architectural work with 3D Studio can easily grasp what's
being done and how. The drawback for more experienced users is that
there is nothing really very new going on. One would hope that with
an entire book essentially *dedicated* to the creation of a single mesh,
that by the end you'd have some stunning work. Unfortunately, that
never really happens. The mesh supplied on disk and the renderings
in the 8 pages of color show off a nice, simple mesh, with moderately
competent materials and oversaturated lighting. It might be a nice
start for a 3D Studio novice, but it's nothing to write Gary about...
Still, I'd give the book a good recommendation, especially for anyone
focused on buildings, especially for beginners focused on buildings.
(Jim Lammers [trinity@tyrell.net])
--
--B. Magazines
--
-
-a. Computer Graphics World
-
Monthly Periodical
PenWell Publishing Company
Executive and Editorial Offices:
10 Tara Boulevard, 5th Floor
Nashua, NH 03062-2801
(603)891-0123; FAX:(603)891-0539
For subscription inquiries only:
TEL:(918)835-3161 ext. 400
FAX:(918)831-9497
TDD:(918)831-9566
Cover Price:
$4.95 US, $5.95 Canada, 2.50 UK
Subscription:
1 year (12 issues): $38 US, $47 Canada/Mexico,
$73 Asia/Pacific, $55 Other International
2 years (24 issues): $69 US, $86 Canada/Mexico,
$131 Asia/Pacific, $99 Other International
-
-b. Computer Artist
-
Every-Other-Month Periodical
PenWell Publishing Company
Executive and Editorial Offices:
10 Tara Boulevard, 5th Floor
Nashua, NH 03062-2801
TEL:(603)891-0123
FAX:(603)891-0539
Subscription Services:
PO Box 3188, Tulsa, OK 74101
TEL:(918)831-9405
FAX:(918)831-9555
Cover Price:
$4.95 US, $5.95 Canada, 2.50 UK
Subscription:
1 year (6 issues): $19.95 US, $29.95 Canada/Mexico,
$39.95 International
2 years (12 issues): $24.95 US, $44.95 Canada/Mexico,
$54.95 International
-
-c. PC Graphics/video
-
Monthly Periodical
ADVANSTAR Communications
201 E. Sanndpointe Avenue, Suite 600
Santa Ana, CA 92707
TEL:(714)513-8400
FAX:(714)513-8612
Cover Price:
$3.95 US, $4.95 Canada
Subscription:
1 year (12 issues): $24.95 US, $34.95 Canada,
$49.95 International
-
-d. NewMedia
-
Approximately Monthly Periodical
Hypermedia Communications Inc.
Customer Service:
TEL:(609)786-4430
Cover Price:
$4.95 US, $5.95 Canada
Subscription:
FREE
-
-e. Pixel Vision
-
Published five times per year - January, March, May, August, and October.
Published by Pixel Vision
154 West 57th Street not 832
New York, NY 10019
Subscription Services:
Box 1138
Madison Square Station
New York, NY 10159
Cover Price:
usually around $6.95 (imported from France)
Subscription:
1 year (5 issues): $40 US, $55 outside US
-
-f. 3d Artist
-
Seems to be random publishing, lists estimated publishing
dates each issue.
Published by Columbine, Inc.
PO Box 4787
Santa Fe, NM 87502
TEL:(505)982-3532
FAX:(505)820-6929
Cover Price:
$4.00 US, $5.55 Canada
Subscription:
12 issues: $29.00 US, $41 Canada/Mexico,
$46.00 Elsewhere.
-
-g. Computer Animators News
-
Monthly Disk-based
Published by Jeff Glaze
6940 Roswell Rd.
Atlanta GA, 30328
(404)395-0003
Subscription:
12 issues: $36 US
CD-ROM (eighteen original issues) : $19.95 +$3 PH
-
-g. Planet Studio
-
Bimonthly
Published by Techmedia Publishing, a division of IDG Communications
80 Elm Street, Box 802
Peterborough, NH 03458
TEL:(603)924-0100
FAX:(603)924-4066
Cover Price:
$ not sure - will update
Subscription:
12 issues: not sure - will update
TechMedia Publishing, Inc.
For More Information:
Barbara Gefvert
Editor
(603) 924-0100
Wendie Marro
Marketing Director
(603) 924-0100
--News Release
Planet Studio to be Launched at SIGGRAPH 94
Newsletter for Users of Autodesk(R) Multimedia Products
Published by an IDG Company
Peterborough, NH (July 21, 1994) - Dale Strang, President of TechMedia
Publishing, an IDG company, recently announced the launch of a bimonthly
newsletter entitled Planet Studio, for Autodesk Multimedia Users.
Planet Studio is geared toward high-end users of the entire roster of
multimedia products developed by Autodesk. While Planet Studio will
focus heavily on the creative applications of 3D Studio - including
its impressive open-architecture and networking features - the
newsletter will also cover Autodesk's Animator Pro, Autovision,
Cyberspace Developer Kit, Texture Universe, and ancillary products
such as 3D Studio File Toolkit, 3D Studio Plug-In Toolkit, the
Animation Support Libraries, Animation Player for Windows, as well
as the many exciting and versatile third-party products "orbiting"
around the Autodesk Multimedia "planet."
The premiere issue of Planet Studio will display a short, lead-in format
guaranted to pique the interest of Autodesk fans; subsequent issues
call for a sixteen-page format replete with four-color, innovative
text and graphical elements. The newsletter will debut at SIGGRAPH 94,
one of the leading trade show events with a special emphasis on
computer graphics and interactive techniques. SIGGRAPH 94 takes place
in Orlando from July 26-28, and the premiere issue of Planet Studio
will be available in both the Digital Video booth (#232) and the
Autodesk booth (#1406).
"Customers and ISVs using Autodesk Multimedia Products will be very
happy with the scope of Planet Studio," commented Joe Fantuzzi,
general manager of Autodesk Multimedia. "This publication provides
in-depth technical tips and techniques for customers, while
enabling our ISVs a great way to get their innovations reviewed by
our customers."
"Autodesk's multimedia products have a tremendous following,"
commented Barbara Gefvert, Editor of Planet Studio. "The creative
people who use them-animators, artists, multimedia producers,
videographers, applications developers-are crying out for
product-specific information and inspiration. Planet Studio is
responding with insightful articles and helpful resources specially
geared to their needs." "The multimedia tools market is exciting,
and one we feel particularly well equipped to serve, given the
synergy with our publications AmigaWorld and Digital Video,"
commented Strang. "We will be affirming our support of this dynamic
market with the launch of Planet Studio."
TechMedia Publishing, Inc., an International Data Group company,
publishes two other titles, Digital Video and AmigaWorld. Digital
Video is the leading source of news, views and tools for the video
age. AmigaWorld is the definitive source of information for the
entire line of Amiga computers and related products. IDG is the
world's foremost publisher of computer-related information and the
leading global provider of information services on information
technology, with over 200 computer publications in 63 countries.
---
---3. Output methods
---
There's a lot that can be written on this subject ranging from video
standards, tape formats, disk recording devices, etc. Honestly much
too much to describe in this part of the FAQ file. I'll concentrate
on broadcast level quality output of computer animations.
When it comes to professional level broadcast video output of animations
there are a few possible solutions. The most widely used video standard
used for broadcast purposes is BetaCam-sp. There are other options such
as MII (M2), 1", 3/4", and the high-end digital machines like D1 through
D5 or the new digital BetaCam. For sake of argument let's concentrate
on the standard analog BetaCam-Sp.
To record a 3D Studio animation to tape each frame of the animation has
to be recorded to tape individually, this is commonly referred to as
single frame (SF) recording. This because a sequence of 24-bit Targa
files in broadcast resolution simply can't be played back in realtime
(without the use of a disk recording/disk playback device). To do this
you will need a (broadcast) video output board (such as the Truevision
boards or Matrox Illuminator Pro boards which are among the most common).
This will provide the actual video output (either composite or component).
Next you will need a single frame controller that will be the card that
controls the VTR attached to it. There are a number of different cards
ranging from a simple RS-422 $800 solution up to $4000 boards. You will
need to check if a specific VTR can be controlled from a specific card.
The actual recording process is simple and is controlled in 3D Studio
directly. It does take some time however to SF record all frames. The
tape passes the video heads for each frame to record (rewinding,
recording, etc). On average a frame takes about 10 to 15 seconds to
record.
To do all this in-house you will need to make some investments regarding
the video output, VTR, controller, and cables and extra's. If that might
be too high there is a possibility to go to a single frame recording
service. There are a number of those companies (also known as RenderFarms)
in the world. The price for this service depends on the video standard
and format used and the company, some will charge by the hour, and some
will charge by frame.
The drawback of doing it all inhouse is that you will need to render
all frames which can take a huge amount of time. This means having to
invest in more machines to network render, etc. There are service
bureaus and renderfarms that will also do the rendering from 3DS for
you at a certain price. Even when you have the equipment inhouse to do
all this it sometimes can be a financial gain (and a time gain) to use
such a service. We just send the project archive to the service and
have them render and SF record it to Betacam-sp. It helps a lot,
especially when we are pressed for time working on different projects.
It's best to render and single frame record all animations in field mode
since that will produce a real smooth and clean effect for motion. You
will immediately notice the difference when a frame and field mode
animation are played next to eachother on two screens. You have to see
the difference to appreciate it.
(sdidak@euronet.nl)
--
--A. Single Frame Output
--
--
--B. Disk recording technology
--
-
-a. DPS PAR
-
The PAR is available in NTSC and PAL versions. However not NTSC with 0
back setup (Japan). It's sold through different companies. I found
Digimation the cheapest around. With a TBC-IV card and a 1.7G HD(need
to be Micropolis or Seagate and only certain models) about $4000. The
output quality is very reasonable for the price. I as an video
engineer would justify it in a BetaCam level edit situation (special in
component form). For rotoscoping I would not consider it to be used in
BetaCam level edit situation. Due to the "JPEG" ringing on the high
frequency components of the video signal.
>From the PAR manual:
What is the Personal Animation Recorder?
The Personal Animation Recorder(or Par, for short) is a revolutionary
tool for computer animators. Used in conjunction with your personal
computer and animation rendering software, it eliminates the need for
a single-frame video tape recorder and controller, while giving you
real-time playback of full resolution animation sequences.
PAR is actually three tools in one: an animation record/playback
deck, a real-time video capture deck for rotoscoping, and a still store
with stunning access speed and storage efficiency. You'll find many
applications for it, including :
* Computer animation
* Camera animation
* Time lapse video recording
* Still frame (from camera or computer) storage
Some of the many features of the Personal Animation Recorder are:
* Accepts animation frames directly from rendering programs
such as 3D Studio
* Copies existing images from PC disk drive
* Compatible with 24 or 32 bit Targa files
* Switchable filter to prevent chrominance aliasing from Targa
files
* Project organizer for image and animation files
* Real time video capture with variable frame rate, and still
grabs (when used with TBC-IV card, not supplied)
* Animation editing features: joint, split, duplicate,etc
* General Purpose Interface for triggered payback from edit
controller
* Variable speed playback
* Genlockable video outputs with variable timing
* Video output formats: composite NTSC, S-VHS, Beta Cam or MII
* TBC IV proc-amp controls
Background: Why the PAR?
For most applications, computer-generated animations have to be
transferred to videotape in order to be useful. However, unless you
have a supercomputer, animation rendering in real time ( at the video
rate of 30 frames per second) is not possible. In fact, using a personal
computer, rendering each frame of animation can take 30 minutes or more!
Therefore, the recording of an animation calls for a videotape recorder
(VTR) which is capable of single frame recording. Such machines are much
more sophisticated then consumer VCRs, and typically cost upwards of
$15,000. In addition, a device called a single frame controller is
required to coordinate the recording process.
Each time the computer has finished rendering a frame of the animation
the controller tells the VTR to move the tape back and forth until it is
precisely positioned one frame beyond the recording so far. It does this
by reading a time code that was previously recorded onto the tape (even
on frames with no video recorded on them yet). The new frame is recorded
onto tape; the VTR then idles for half an hour until the next frame is
ready. Obviously, there is a lot of wear and tear on the machine's
transport mechanism. For example, in order to record a 3 minute
animation, the VTR goes through more then 5,000 cycles of activating its
solenoids, slamming all its levers, belts and cogs, and stretching the
tape. Also the heads (which can cost thousands of dollars to replace)
very quickly get a lot of hours on them, increasing the likelihood of
bad frames. Because of the required 5 seconds preroll, each spot on the
tape is going through the transport 150 times while recording. A lot of
things can go wrong, resulting in poor technical quality, missed
deadlines, and high blood pressure. The solution, at least in
principle, has long been obvious. Since the animation frames are
rendered on a computer, why not use the computer's disk drive to store
them? When they're all finished, just play them at normal video speed,
and record the result with a conventional VTR. If there are any glitches
occurred in the recording, just tape them again. Hardware and software
to do this is quite easy to find, if you're willing to settle for low
resolution, limited palette graphics. But if you're looking for
752 x 480 resolution, 16 million colors, component video and 60 fields
per second, there's a serious problem: computer disk drives can't
possible keep up with the data transfer speeds required.
Also, there's the question of size: a single frame of high-quality
animation can take 700Kbytes of memory. Multiply this by 30 frames per
second, and you'll quickly see that a lot of disk is required for the
animation. For example, a three minute show would need almost 4
gigabytes! And think how long it would take to make a backup.
(rob@twics.com)
The following is a list of compatiblle hard drives, as listed in the
PAR Manual:
Seagate 3600a 540MB
Seagate 3655a 540MB
Micropolis 2205A 632MB
Micropolis 2210A 1138MB
Micropolis 2217A 1896MB
Conner CFA1275A 1275MB
New drives are continually being supported, a current list can be
obtained from DPS.
DPS may be contacted at the following phone numbers:
606-371-5533 USA
416-754-8090 Canada
01252 718300 Europe
(MTPETERS@utkvx.utcc.utk.edu)
---
---4. Educational Purchasing Information
---
- You get the education discount from an Autodesk representative
that serves your school. I told the CAD support person the college
I go to and the city it's located in, and they gave me the company
name, representative to ask for, and the phone number to get hold of
them.
- If you are an undergrad, you can only buy up to 3DS version 2.0; if
you are a graduate student or faculty, you can buy up to 3DS version
3.0. The cost of the software will be given by your representative,
not from AutoDesk. This explains a few of the differences in prices
I got from the responses of people from the net (anywhere from $795
to $895.)
- You cannot upgrade the software (say from version 3.0 to version
4.0) but you do get bug fix upgrades.
- It is a full working version with manuals and disks, and includes 1
CD-ROM disk and 1 hard key (there is a hardware lock which they have
on all 3DS software, not just the educational ones, but retail as
well.)
- The software is for non-commercial use only. If you plan to use 3DS
for commercial use, they give a $100 coupon with the Educational
discount that allows you to trade in the Education copy plus the
$100 coupon to take off the full price of the retail product.
- You do not get free technical support. You will have to call your
local representative and pay. There is a 900 number.
(norkus@rtsg.mot.com)
--
--A. Authorized Resellers
--
To find the authorized Autodesk dealer nearest you,
call 1-800-964-6432.
---
---5. Computer Animation Schools
---
For the past couple of years, I've been pursuing starting a career in
computer animation. My skills themselves are good, howeever, I would
like some professional training. I also want a degree. So I have
searched through the country for schools that offer a degree in
computer animation or some related degree. I came across a brochure
from Walt Disney Professional Staffing (that information is at the
bottom).
Academy of Art College Pratt Institute
540 Powell Street 200 Willoughby Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94108 Brooklyn, NY 11205
415-765-4200 718-636-3600
Cal Arts New York School of Visual Arts
24700 McBean Parkway 209 E. 23rd Street
Valencia, CA 91355 New York, NY 10010
805-255-1050 212-679-7350
Art Center College of Design Ringling School of Art & Design
1700 Lida St. 1111 Twenty-Seventh St.
Pasadena, CA 91103 Sarasota, FL 33580
818-584-5038 813-351-4614 or 800-255-7695
Kansas City Art Institute Rhode Island School of Design
4415 Warwick Blvd. Two College Street
Kansas City, MO 64111 Providence, RI 02930
816-561-4852 401-331-3511
Columbus College of Art & Design Sheridan College of Applied
47 N. Washington Ave. Arts & Technology
Columbus, OH 43215 1430 Trafalgar Road
614-224-9101 Oakville, Ontario
CANADA L682L1
416-849-2814
This was copied from an information packet provided by Walt Disney
Professional Staffing. You can get a copy of this brochure by
mailing:
Walt Disney World
Professional Staffing
PO Box 10090
Lake Buena Vista
Florida 32830
---
---6. Rendering Engine Information
---
--
--A. Scanline Renderer
--
--
--B. Z-Buffer/A-Buffer
--
Z-buffers (as far as 3DS R2 used them).
When 3DS starts to render, it does a quick check to find all the objects
that might appear on the screen. It then "renders" each object (face at
a time) by calculating the color from the lights and materials for each
pixel on the face. At this point, you have a pixel for your rendering.
What to do with the pixel? Well, if you were daring, you could just
throw it on the screen. The only problem with this is what if two
objects are on the same pixel on the screen? This happens when you
have one object behind another (happens a lot in 3D <g>). Well, if
you're lucky you'll render the two objects in the right order and the
back object will get rendered first and the front object on top of the
back pixel. Usually this never happens because people don't create
scenes from back to front. With a little bit of elbow grease, you can
make the computer sort everything in Z-order before starting the render.
In fact, there is a commonly-known algorithm called "painters" that
sorts objects in 3D so that everything gets drawn in the right order.
Painters is what the 3DS R2 preview flic does. You may see it drawing
the polygons in Z-order if you watch closely. The problem with painters
is that it is impossible to antialias, often very slow in a big scene,
and you have to re-sort every time something moves. It also doesn't
handle intersections well.
A Z-buffer lets you get around the need to sort objects. A Z-buffer is
sort of like your image buffer except instead of storing the color of
the pixel, it stores the distance of the pixel from the camera plane.
The distance from the camera is often referred to in camera equations
as the "Z" distance, hence the term "Z-buffer". Every time a new pixel
is rendered, its z-distance is compared to the Z-distance in the buffer.
If the Z-distance is closer, then its color is put on top of the old
color, and its closer distance is stored in the Z-buffer for comparisons
with later objects.
Z-buffers get a little hairy when you add transparency to the mix.
Because there is more than one pixel being mixed together (10% blue
glass on 20% yellow glass over a pink polka dot background, for
example), and the z-buffer only stores the distance of the closest
pixel, the renderer has to stop everything when it encounters a
transparency and cast a ray from the camera through all the objects
in the scene so it can find all the pixels that need to be mixed
together. This extra operation is why 3DS R2 would slow down sometimes
as much as 10x when transparency was used. Z-buffers let you antialias,
but only by rendering fractions of a pixel and then averaging them
together. This is why "Low", "Medium", and "High" options in R2 took
longer than none. 3DS was rendering multiple times for each screen pixel.
Antialiasing in this way also creates a "box" pattern which makes some
thin edges shimmer with a rope-like pattern in an animation.
In 3DS R3 the z-buffer was dumped in favor of an a-buffer. An a-buffer
stores more than the distance from the camera. It stores the percentage
of coverage of a pixel. If a pixel is 10% transparent, then the a-buffer
records that. If the edge of an object only covers half a pixel, then
the a-buffer stores 50%. The a-buffer also stores every surface color
that falls on a pixel. So if you have 5 transparent objects in front of
each other, it stores them all in whatever order they occur. This
eliminates the need to do the special transparency processing a
z-buffer needs. After 3D Studio has rendered all the objects, it then
adds the values in the a-buffer together and puts them in the image
buffer. You can see this stage happening when 3DS dumps a band of image
to the display. With a-buffers, antialiasing comes for free so there is
no speed lost in getting high-quality antialiasing.
In 3DS R4, a few developers requested access to the Z-buffer for a
variety of reasons. In an IXP you can do effects that are sensitive
to camera distances, rack focus blurring being one of the effects
possible. A paint brush engine could use the z information to sense
surface contours, to create a more realistic brush look. To facilitate
this, 3DS R4 added a step where it computes a z-buffer from the a-buffer
information. Some have suggested that the a-buffer information would
have been useful, but the a-buffer is only generated a band at a time,
because to keep a whole image as an a-buffer would eat enormous amounts
of memory. To provide a banded a-buffer would have required changes to
IPAS far beyond the scope of the R4 release.
(grantb@autodesk.com)
-
-a. Getting Z-Buffer info
-
There is a freeware IPAS called SEEZ.IXP available. To make it work, you
must alter the 3DS.SET file. There is a setting in 3DS.SET to turn on
Z-buffer access in Video Post. Note that activating this adds a
significant memory hit to Video Post rendering, so you'll probably want
to de-activate it when you are done using a Z buffer IPAS for a while.
When you put the SEEZ.IXP ipas as a process into the queue in video
post, rendering will produce a greyscale, non-aliased image that is
black at the farthest point in the geometry and white at the closest.
Why is this useful? It's extremely useful as a bump map creator!
Just model any geometry you want to use as a bump map, and render with
SEEZ. You may want to post process the resultant image with JAG, or
a small gaussian blur in a photo-editing program to fix the inherent
non-aliased (jaggy) look.
Note that this will ONLY work in Release 4, which added the IPAS "hooks"
necessary to allow anything to get to the Z buffer. (Jim Lammers)
The trick with using SEEZ (of which the source code is part of the IPAS4 SDK)
can also be used for a trick that has been described in the book '3DS
special effects' from NRP (see this FAQ file). The grayscale images can
be used as a depth matte that will allow you create stunning depth-of-field
effects or underwater looks. (sdidak@euronet.nl)
---
---7. IPAS
---
--
--A. IPAS Programming
--
-
-a. IPAS Development Kit (SDK)
-
The IPAS SDK enables 3D studio users to program all the different types
of IPAS routines possible for 3D Studio. The SDK consists of a number of
'C' Libraries (one for each supported compiler in both standard and
debug versions). If you are interested in programming an IPAS routine
it would be helpful to take a look at the book '3DS special effects' from
New Riders Publishing. There are a number of chapters in there written by
Keith Seifert from Schreiber Instruments that include actual 'C' source
code for the IPAS routines. This is a good place to get started into
checking it out. Also any PD routine that includes source code would be
handy altough there are not many of those.
To actually program an IPAS routine you have to have at least a
basic/intermediate understanding of the C/C++ programming language since
that is the language to program in. It helps if you already have a lot
of programming experience.
In addition to the libraries the SDK contains a load of different
examples for each routine type that will get you started showing
how certain things are implemented. I must add that in order to get
a good understanding of the IPAS interface and it's functions you
need to invest some time and energy to figure a lot out yourself
with help from the manual and the source code samples. In the
beginning it can be quite hard to get started, believe me I know
from first hand experience. There are a number of 'traps and
pitfalls' as I like to call them that will easily catch you off
guard when programming.
The IPAS SDK offers basic functions for creating and modifying
mesh geometry, keyframe information, limited graphics functions
that will enable you to draw directly on the 3DS screen, support
for loading and saving bitmaps, modifying scanlines, image processing,
etc. Also the SDK offers a nice set of functions and structures to
create custom dialogs that will make the IPAS routine more attractive
and user friendly.
There have been a number of updates in the IPAS SDK (version 2, 3, 4).
The IPAS2 SDK is almost rendered obsolete since that allowed very
limited operations being done so we won't even try to cover it here.
The IPAS3 and IPAS4 SDK's are the ones that made a real improvement
by adding the new BXP and KXP routines. My personal oppinion is to
use the latest version that corresponds with the 3DS version number.
It's possible to develop and IPAS routine using the IPAS4 SDK and
have the routine being compatible with 3D Studio Release 3 as long
as you don't use any IPAS4 specific functions. It also works the other
way around, routines developed using IPAS3 will run fine under 3D Studio
Release 4.
The best new features of the IPAS4 SDK in contrast to the IPAS3 SDK are
the improved and faster blit functions (making use of the Vibrant
drivers), loading and saving *.3DS files directly from the routine,
access to viewport structure information, and a lot of bug removals.
The basic setup of the IPAS interface is like having a routine that
will communicate with 3D Studio and actually controlling 3D Studio.
The IPAS routine communicates with 3D Studio through an external
process buffer that contains information that will be filled in when
the IPAS routine requests that information from 3D Studio. That's
the basic communication.
Concluding from my own experience I can't say that it's hard or
difficult to program IPAS routines, it's just a matter of getting
used to the way it works, knowing the functions available to you,
and investing some time in exploring. Then again this is when you
already have a good understanding of the 'C' programming language.
(sdidak@euronet.nl)
-
-b. Compatible Compilers
-
Watcom C/C++ 9.5 patchlevel B
Watcom C/C++ 10.0 (and 10.0a)
Metaware High C/C++ 3.0 and 3.1 and the Phar Lap 386 SDK 2.2d or later.
Metaware High C/C++ 3.11/3.2 and the Phar Lap 386 SDK 2.2d or later.
That's it! Nothing less, nothing more.
***The above list of compilers are the only onces that are supported. As
a matter of fact these are the only two compilers that can be used to
develop IPAS routines. So attempting to use Zortech, Microsoft Visual,
or Borland compilers is waysted energy and time.
(sdidak@euronet.nl)
-
-c. Dialog Editor (3DE#..ZIP)
-
--
--B. Companies that make IPASs
--
-
-a. Yost Group
-
-
-b. Pyros Pictures, Inc.
-
1201 Dove Street, Suite 550
Newport Beach, CA 92660
TEL:(714)833-0334
FAX:(714)833-8655
Internet: gpyros@pyros.com
CIS:73027,3632
Pyros Pictures, provides a wide range of IPAS routines, including over
35 'Action IPAS' plug-ins. They have created drivers and IPASs for
Autodesk, Abekas, Digital Processing Systems, Sony, and HSC's Kai's
Power Tools. They also are capable of creating custom IPAS routines,
UNIX and DOS stand-alone programs, and Keyscripts.
As yet another service, Pyros Pictures can render, or lay animation to
tape using broadcast quality single frame dumping, or through a PAR.
Animations can be put to laserdisk, BetaSP, VHS, or SVHS. Music and
special audio effects can also be added. Thier rendering network is
comprised of ten machines, all with 64MB of RAM.
-
-c. POINTER
-
-
-d. Digimation, Inc.
-
315 Saint Anthony Street
Luling, LA 70070
TEL:(504)785-3969
FAX:(504)785-2940
800:(800)854-4496
Mirage:
Creates distorion effects such as Cloaking space ships, heat
distortion, waves, ripples, and color shifting. Mirage comes with
pre-defined effects and on-line help. $295
Bones:
Skeletal deformation tool. Allows you to construct spline skeletons
for your objects. By bending and moving the 'bones' the object bends
and conforms in real time. $295
LenZFX:
Series of efffects including Flare, Starlight, Aura, and ZFocus, a
true ddepth of field camera blur. $295
Digimation also distribues a wide variety of other add-ons for
3DStudio, and has a well-developed suite of 3DS training tapes.
-
-e. Schreiber Instruments, Inc.
-
Denver, Colorado
USA:
TEL:(303)759-1024
FAX:(303)759-0928
800:(800)252-1024
UK:
TEL:44.672.62040
FAX:44.672.63001
Canada:
TEL:(604)769-0234
FAX:(604)769-0235
Asia(NZ)
TEL:64.9.309.3204
FAX:64.9.309.4273
Schreiber has a large catalog of IPAS routines. Some of these include:
Metaballs for 3dstudio, $495/$595 international
Imagine FX, $300/$360 international
-
-f. Animagic
-
Animagic & Animagic Development
Doelstraat 147
3011 AJ Rotterdam
The Netherlands
Phone : +31.10.412.5719
FIDO : 2:283/203.30
PCGnet : 2:580/203.30
RenderRing : 511:8000/203.30
-
-g. Keyscript Co-Op
-
Mark Pennel, Mark Almon, and myself (Jim Lammers) are organizing a
scripting cooperative. What this group is about is sharing skills
at keyscript programming and ideas for useful keyscripts. What that
means to 3D Studio Users is ultimately a collection of powerful, well
written scripts for all kinds of uses!
The approach to the group we are currently planning is:
- Interested keyscripters let us
know that they are available to help write some code
- 3D Studio animators
with ideas of what would make good keyscripts let us know their ideas
- keyscript writers who are enthusiastic about a given idea, take it
and run with it. Probably groups of 2 to 6, whatever works out to be
an effective way to divide the labor. Labor division could be spread
by Interface, main routines, and main subroutines; but clearly it's
up to the sub-group of keyscripters to find what works well for them.
The benfits of such a group should be exciting to everyone - we can
avoid duplication of effort, and combine efforts to make the best
keyscripts in the shortest time. Ultimately, there might be several
dozen super-high quality free keyscripts for all kinds of general uses.
Our inspiration is the Stone Soup Group and the PoVRay development team-
both have produced extremely high quality copyrighted freeware.
Similarly, created keyscripts would be copyrighted by thier respective
programmers, but would be free to all. Also, the Keyscript cooperative
would be active on Internet, Compuserve and the Rendering Plant BBS
simultaneously.
Typically after a team is formed, they would debate the interface, the
logic, and what features to include for a given idea. Then the tasks
could be broken up and team members would separately code their part.
After debugging, the finalized script would be made available. Then the
real fun begins, where users can take the source and enhance it,
hopefully sending their enhancements back to the team for inclusion in
the next "release". Or at least users might send a note that says "it
would really be cool if..."
(Jim Lammers [trinity@tyrell.net])
--
--h. Animetix Technologies, Inc.
--
226 Rue Darwin, Suite 2C
Verdun PQ, Canada H3E 1C6
TEL:(514)767-2205
FAX:(514)765-3410
800:(800)264-6389
Animetix is the maker of three products which all 3DS users have craved
at one time or another.
Thumbview material browser: allows you to preview a material before
selecting it.
Thumbview File Browser: allows previewing of meshes before loading.
QuickTime Movie Maker : This plug-in is an IXP that lets you create
QuickTime format files from Video Post during the rendering process.
The output files are 24 bit and the user can specify the amount of
compression required, the frame rate, and can optionally output frame
numbers. This plug-in has been very popular with users who are
authoring multimedia based on material from different platforms or
who are sending animations to clients who do not have 3DS.
(animetix@interlink.net)
---
---8. 3DS sources
---
--
--A. FTP Sources
--
This is a plain list of FTP sources for meshes, textures and utilites
that can be used with 3DStudio. Unless otherwisee specified, use
normal FTP procedure. (i.e. login: ftp or anonymous; password: your
email address.)
- avalon.vislab.navy.mil
/pub/utils/3ds
/pub/objects/3ds
a CD-ROM is also availible of this site from
Syndesis
235 South Main Street
Jefferson, WI 53549 (USA)
(414)674-5200
(414)674-6363 Fax
this site was formerly known as avalon.chinalake.navy.mil
- ftp.povray.org
/pub/mirrors/avalon (avalon mirror)
- ftp.csn.net
/pub/Schreiber
- princeton.edu
/pub/Graphics/rayshade.4.0
- wuarchive.wustl.edu [128.252.135.4]
/graphics/graphics
/mirrors/msdos/graphics
/systems/ibmpc/msdos/graphics
/packages/architec/Textures
- ftp.netcom.com
/pub/munkeby
- phoenix.oulu.fi
- sculptor.as.arizona.edu
- ftp.autodesk.com
- ftp.cis.nctu.edu.tw
- graphics.rent.com
--
--B. Bulletin Board Systems
--
-
-a. The Rendering Plant BBS
-
The Rendering Plant BBS is one of the world's premier sources
for 3D Studio meshes, IPAS routines, keyscripts, texture maps,
and everything that relates to graphics, rendering, raytracing,
fractals, fonts, and drivers.
The focus of the board is to not only act as a well-organized file
library and information resource for animators, but also to actively
create/convert/enhance new files for the collection. Dozens of new
meshes and textures are posted every month, as well as all the latest
shareware related to graphics. It is a primary hub for the keyscript
co-operative, a group of keyscript programmers who collaborate on new
scripts and subroutines for the good of all 3D Studio users.
Future plans include adding more lines, adding more files, adding
PCGNet mail, and eventually becoming reachable through the internet.
Sysop Jim Lammers can be reached outside the BBS via Internet
(trinity@tyrell.net) and Compuserve (73261,66).
First-time callers are given full access with the exception of download
privledges on the majority of the file areas. File areas accessible to
all callers include images, animations, and the new-user area (which
contains the BBS' current file list and several utilities). Callers may
upgrade instantly while on-line with a credit card. Credit Card
subscription works for callers from any country in the world (our user
list is very multi-national). Callers may also subscribe by check,
through the mail.
As of 2-15-95, we are a two node system, running on two machines
networked together. The two phone numbers are 816-525-5614 and
816-525-8362. The 5614 number is 28.8 capable. We have 1 GB of hard
drive space, and a CD-ROM on-line. We will soon burn our own CD for
this slot; it will consist of hundreds of renderings and animations
accessable to all callers.
Cost of subscription is now $48/year. This flat rate is for 60 min/day
with unlimited downloads.
(Jim Lammers [trinity@tyrell.net])
-
-b. Other BBSs
-
The Graphics Alternative 510-524-2165
Chaos BBS 314-874-2930
Pandora's Box 510-938-0195
Hi-Lux 415-864-2434
You Can Call me Ray 708-358-8721
None cover 3DS at the high level of the Rendering Plant BBS. However,
some of these are free (that is, no subscription charge), and most
carry graphics-related utilities that may be of some interest to
the 3DS user.
(Jim Lammers [trinity@tyrell.net])
--
--C. Web Sites
--
http://www.armory.com/~gandalf
(official FAQ distribution)
http://www.auburn.edu/~irwinta **
http://homepage.eznet.net/~frac/3ds.html **
http://skynet.oir.ucf.edu:80/~suzan/companim/companm2.shtml **
http://www.cm.cf.ac.uk/Ray.Tracing/
http://mambo.ucsc.edu/psl/sgiftp.html
http://ftp.std.com/homepages/stevec/NTA/intro.html
http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~xevious/gold_dawn/gold_dawn.html
** - Includes downloadable FAQ.
---
---9. Graphics Viewers/converters/utilities
---
--
--A. CShow
--
CShow stands for CompuShow, a DOS based image viewer. The utility is
designed to do one thing - put images on the screen as fast as
possible. To this end, it's an invaluable utility in registered or
nonregistered form. It is easy to set up for the graphics card of
the machine it is installed in (even allowing the user to peek at
the copyright area of the graphic card BIOS if necessary to determine
the flavor of graphics card!). Once it knows the type of graphics card,
it can automatically configure itself for every format (including
truecolor) that the card is capable of. From then on, viewing is
accomplished by simply typing CSHOW at the DOS prompt.
A list of all files in the current directory is shown. Hitting the
spacebar when an image file is highlighted will cause the program to
(near-) instantaneously display it at optimal resolution and color
depth. Hitting the return key brings up an information screen about
the file, and lists options for displaying the image from this screen.
Cshow supports most variants of most common image formats including
TIFF, GIF, PCX, Targa, BMP, JPG and many others. It comes in two
flavors: CSHOW 2000 and CSHOW regular (currently at version 8.77). The
CSHOW 2000 version is designed in a pseudo-windows style that is
perhaps more user friendly, but this author prefers the old version.
Registering the software costs $25, and enables many additional
functions, such as printing of the images. The publisher of Cshow is
Canyon State Systems.
(Jim Lammers [trinity@tyrell.net])
--
--B. Graphics Workshop
--
--
--C. Display
--
Display, written by Jih-Shin Ho is one of the most complete and
comprehensive graphics packages I have found. As the DOC file says:
This program lets you READ, WRITE and DISPLAY images/movies with
different formats. It lets you do some special effects (rotation,
dithering, [and about 15 others]...) on images as well.
Features:
Includes simple file management system.
Supports 'slide show', 'batch conversion', 'contact sheet making',
'image preview'.
There is NO LIMIT on image size.
This program supports 8, 15, 16, 24 bits display.
Supports movie files (DL, FLI/FLC, RAW, MPEG, AVI, GL, IFF/ANIM).
Supports FLC making.
Supports mouse.
The official site is NCTUCCCA.edu.tw:/PC/graphics/disp.
The IP address is 140.111.1.10 or 192.83.166.10
It supports the following formats:
Read: GIF(.gif), Japan MAG(.mag), Japan PIC(.jpc), Sun Raster(.ras),
Jpeg in Jfif(.jpg), XBM(.xbm), Utah RLE(.rle), PBM(.pbm), PGM(.pgm),
PPM(.ppm), PM(.pm), PCX(.pcx), Japan MKI(.mki), Tiff(.tif),
Targa(.tga), XPM(.xpm), Mac Paint(.mac), GEM/IMG(.img),
IFF/ILBM/PBM(.iff,.lbm), Windows BMP(.bmp), QRT ray tracing(.qrt),
Mac PICT(.pct), VIS(.vis), PDS(.pds), VIKING(.vik), VICAR(.vic),
FITS(.fit), Usenix FACE(.fac), IRIS(.sgi), YUV(.yuv), RAW RGB(.rgb),
PCPAINT/Pictor(.pic,.clp), RAW GREY(.gry), Photo-CD(.pcd),
VORT output(.pix), WordPerfect Graphics(.wpg), Windows ICON(.ico).
DL(.dl), FLI(.fli), FLC(.flc), RAW(.raw, produced by DMPEG),
MPEG(.mpg), AVI(.avi), GL(.gl), IFF/ANIM(.anm).
the extensions in () are standard extensions.
Write: GIF, Sun Raster, Jpeg, XBM, PBM, PGM, PPM, PM, Tiff, Targa,
XPM, Mac Paint, Ascii, Laser Jet, IFF/ILBM, Windows BMP,
Mac PICT, VIS, FITS, FACE, PCX, GEM/IMG, IRIS, YUV, RAW RGB,
Postscript, RAW GREY, Wordperfect Graphics., Windows ICON.
Preview: GIF, Jpeg, Windows BMP, PBM, PGM, PPM, Targa, PCX, MacPaint,
Photo-CD.
Registration is nearly free. The author only requests a postcard
from where you live.
--
--D. Qpeg
--
QPEG/386 is an extremely fast DOS based JPEG viewer, featuring near
real-time greyscale previews, and fast full screen color image viewing
(it works even faster with a hi/truecolor card). In addition to JPEG
images, QPEG also supports the following file formats (taken from the
manual):
* GIF:
+ interlaced and non-interlaced
+ GIF87a and GIF89a (87a subset only)
+ displays the first image of a multi-image GIF
* Targa (TGA):
+ truecolor (15, 16, 24 and 32 bit), greyscaled, or with palette
+ uncompressed or rle compressed (run length encoded)
+ supports all video modes (16, 256, 32K, 64K, 16M)
* PCX:
+ 1 and 4 bit with standard palette
+ 8 bit with extended palette
+ 24 bit truecolor
* BMP (Windows)
+ 1 bit monochrome with palette, uncompressed
+ 4 and 8 bit with palette, uncompressed or RLE4/8 compressed
+ 24 bit truecolor, uncompressed
* BMP (OS/2)
+ 1, 4 and 8 bit with palette, uncompressed
+ 24 bit truecolor, uncompressed
+ also supports the new multi image format (BA-BMP)
Other features include: an easy to use GUI, the ability to pan around an
image that's larger than your current display resolution with either the
keyboard or mouse, and QPEG's support for a wide range of VGA and SVGA
cards (and even if your card isn't directly supported, QPEG will still
work with virtually all cards that are VESA compliant).
(jburnett@tyrell.net)
--
--E. Image Alchemy
--
Well, in case anyone is unfamiliar with the the excellent program IMAGE
ALCHEMY, I will attempt to enlighten.
IMAGE ALCHEMY, which I shall refer to as simply ALCHEMY, is a shareware
dos-based command line graphics conversion program. It is written by the
folks at Handmade Software, which is a company that has been around for a
while and really know their stuff.
ALCHEMY can convert between a diverse number of graphics formats, each
with several varients available. Their goal is to support every graphic
format, and they claim they will attempt to add any formats that are
suggested to them if the demmand is great enough.
One of the strengths of alchemy is that it does not rely on extension
mapping to determine a file's format. It can identify unkown images and
does so automatically. It will also do batch conversions via wild cards.
So you can convert 100's of images with a single command line.
In addition to converting between formats, alchemy will allow you to view
images in up to 16 million colors, assuming your hardware is capable. It
can scale, change the color depth, perform histogram stretching
(spiffing), find common palettes, false palettes, negate, flip, adjust
gamma, dither, and even print to HP compatible printer.
To get an idea of what it can do, take a look at some command line
switches. Remember that each format has many sub-options.
OUTPUT FORMATS:
Targa, Vivid IMG, Cubicomp, PCPaint/Pictor, JPEG, Autologic, HSI JPEG,
Img Software Set, ADEX, Jovian VI, HSI Raw, Binary (BIF), PBM/PGM/PPM,
RIX, XBM, Stork, HP RTL, CALS, HSI Palette, AVHRR, Dr. Halo CUT,
Multi-Image Palette, Sun Raster, QDV, Calcomp, Scodl, PostScript,
Lumena CEL, Spot Image, Erdas Image, Macintosh PICT, TIFF, FOP,
Alpha BMP, VITec, First Publisher, ER Mapper Raster, MacPaint, GIF,
MTV, QRT Raw, Gem VDI Image, SGI Image, Utah RLE, GOES, Sun Icon,
Puzzle, Hitachi Raster Format, OS/2 BMP, Windows BMP, HP-48sx, PCX,
WPG, IFF/ILBM, HP PCL, XWD, IBM Picture Maker, PDS, XPM,
Color Output Options:
-b: convert image to black and white {140}
-8: write out a paletted file (up to 8 bits per pixel) {152}
-15: write out a true colour file (15 bits per pixel) {158}
-16: write out a true colour file (16 bits per pixel) {159}
-24: write out a true colour file (24 bits per pixel) {160}
-32: write out a true colour file (32 bits per pixel) {161}
-c[0..256]: create an image with specified palette size {141}
-C[filename]: use undercolour removal file {162}
-d[type]: dither output image using specified algorithm {143}
-E: optimize output image quality for display on EGA display {145}
-f[filename]: read palette from file {149}
-F[filename]: use false colour palette from file {146}
-G[iop][gamma]: specify gamma of input image, output image,
-S[type]: spiff image {156}
-u: use uniform palette {163}
-z: change palette selection, sorting, and swapping {154}
(blendrhd@netcom.com)
--
--F. to/from RIB
--
--
--G. to POV (3DS2POV)
--
3DS2POV is a freeware utility that reads a 3D Studio .3DS file and
outputs scene files compatible with various freeware/shareware
raytracers (POV-Ray v.1 and v.2, Vivid, Polyray, and a raw triangle
format). The program handles cameras, lights, and mesh objects. Basic
material properties such as colour, reflection, and transparency are
converted however image maps and bump maps must be converted manually.
Proper convertion of UV mapping coordinates is being worked on for a
later release.
Hardware requirements:
The 3ds2pov.exe executable requires a minimum of a 386 or a 486 with a
math co-processor. At least 2MB RAM is recommended. It's compatible with
most 386 memory managers and DPMI servers.
(jburnett@tyrell.net)
--
--H. to/from DEM
--
--
--I. DTA (Dave's Targa Animator)
--
Written by David K. Mason
DTA is a command-line utility for creating Autodesk Animator .FLI
and .FLC animation files from:
o .TGA files as created by the POV-Ray and POLYRAY ray-tracers.
o .IMG files as created by the Vivid ray-tracer.
o .PCX files.
o .DIB or .BMP files
o .GIF files.
o Other .FLI or .FLC files.
o VistaPro .VAN animation files
o Presidio .ANI animation files
DTA can also perform a wide range of post-processing functions
on image files including:
o Create a single optimal 256-color palette from a series of
truecolor pictures, and then creating an Autodesk Animator .FLI
file out of them.
o Save the palette as a .MAP (PICLAB, FRACTINT) or .COL
(Autodesk Animator) palete file.
o Convert pictures to a bunch of different still image formats.
o Read in a palette file in either .COL or .MAP format
and animating a bunch of pictures using that palette.
o Arbitrary rotation.
o Scaling.
o Multi-layer compositing.
o Averaging images together for a variety of effects, including
simulated motion blur and red/blue 3D.
o And more.
(taken from DTA.DOC)
--
--J. DFV (Dave's Flic Viewer)
--
Written by David K. Mason
DFV plays is a DOS-based flic-viewer which can display .FLI, .FLC,
.FLX, .FLH, and .FLT animation files. (and also .GIF and .TGA
still images.)
It should be able to handle any 320x200 .FLI you throw at it.
If you've got a VESA-compliant SVGA or are running a VESA driver,
then DFV will be able to display .FLC files with dimensions up to
and including 1024x768 (in 640x480, 800x600, or 1024x768 mode).
If you don't have SVGA, DFV should still be able to display
.FLC files up to 640x480 by displaying in a 320x480 mode and
throwing away half the pixels.
If you've got a VESA 1.2 hicolor SVGA, or a hicolor SVGA with
a VESA 1.2 driver, then DFV can also handle .FLX and .FLH files
up to 800x600 (in 640x480 or 800x600 mode).
DFV can handle .FLT files up to 640x480, only if you've got
a VESA 1.2 truecolor SVGA, or truecolor SVGA with a VESA 1.2
driver.
(taken from DFV.DOC)
DFV is required to play any hi/truecolor flics created with DTA.
--
--K. Importing from ACAD tips
--
--
--L. GDS
--
GDS stands for Graphics Display System. This shareware utility is a
capable image display program, but there is one reason why it is
indispensible for animators: It can create catalog pages of images
with outstanding quality. The user simply selects the images and the
resolution, then initiates a catalog page calculation. The program
then prompts the user for the screen layout, with an interactive
instant update to how the final scene will look. It prints the
filename, and if space allows, it prints the extension and the
resolution of the image. It only creates 256 color catalog pages,
but it automatically combines the pallettes of all the selected
images for a best pallette when it makes the catalog page. This
optimization results in excellent color fidelity (and thumbnail image
clarity) when the catalog page image is created. It's amazing how many
images can be packed effectively onto a single screen with this
program. At a 1024x768 resolution, 300 images per screen can be
displayed with the full filename intact, and up to 1,280 images are
allowed! Clearly, it's excellent for cataloging textures or putting
up all the frames in an animation.
(Jim Lammers [trinity@tyrell.net])
---
---10. Using Operating Systems other than DOS
---
--
--A. Windows 3.x
--
You have to add the following to your system.ini file
device=c:\3ds4\pharlap.386
in the [386Enh] section. Then it should work. I believe.. Slow
though. Unless you have lots of memory onboard.
(MIMCLACH@flemingc.on.ca)
--
--B. Windows NT / 95
--
Because of incompatibilities between Windows NT, and the memory
management that 3DStudio uses (DPMI 1.0), it is very hard, if not
possible to run 3dstudio as a task under Windows NT. It will
however, run as a full DOS session. Many people have had more luck
running 3DS under NT when using the VESA Vibrant Drivers also.
--
--C. OS/2
--
Use the following settings for 3Dstudio under OS/2 2.1 and Warp.
COM_DIRECT_ACCESS Off
COM_HOLD Off
COM_RECEIVE_BUFFER_FLUSH NONE
COM_SELECT ALL
DOS_BACKGROUND_EXECUTION On
DOS_BREAK On
DOS_FCBS_KEEP 0
DOS_FILES 30
DOS_HIGH On
DOS_UMB Off
DPMI_DOS_API ENABLED
DPMI_MEMORY_LIMIT 512
DPMI_NETWORK_BUFF_SIZE 8
EMS_FRAME_LOCATION NONE
EMS_HIGH_OS_MAP_REGION 0
EMS_LOW_OS_MAP_REGION 0
EMS_MEMORY_LIMIT 0
HW_NOSOUND Off
HW_ROM_TO_RAM Off
HW_TIMER Off
IDLE_SECONDS 0
IDLE_SENSITIVITY 100
INT_DURING_IO On
KBD_ALTHOME_BYPASS Off
KBD_BUFFER_EXTEND On
KBD_CTRL_BYPASS NONE
KBD_RATE_LOCK Off
MOUSE_EXCLUSIVE_ACCESS Off
SESSION_PRIORITY 32
VIDEO_8514A_XGA_IOTRAP On
VIDEO_FASTPASTE Off
VIDEO_MODE_RESTRICTION NONE
VIDEO_ONDEMAND_MEMORY On
VIDEO_RETRACE_EMULATION Off
VIDEO_ROM_EMULATION On
VIDEO_SWITCH_NOTIFICATION Off
VIDEO_WINDOW_REFRESH 1
XMS_HANDLES 32
XMS_MEMORY_LIMIT 16384
XMS_MINIMUM_HMA 0
Someone has also reccomended that you add /BGEXEC to the
DEVICE=../VSVGA.SYS line in your config.sys. This should allow 3DS to
run in the bacground while as a full screen DOS application. There,
so far, has been no way found to run 3DS in a window.
---
---11. Related Lists and Newsgroups
---
--
--A. Lists
--
I've witheld the address to post messages to in the hopes that it
could possibly cut down on the new subscribers sending mail to the
list saying 'subscribe me...' The 3DStudio list seems to have
floods of this mail.
- Adobe Photoshop
send subscribe email to: listproc2@bgu.edu
include in the text body:
subscribe photshop first_name last_name
- Fractal Design Painter 3.0
send subscribe email to: listserv@netcom.com
include in the text body:
subscribe painter-list
--
--B. Newsgroups
--
comp.graphics.packages.3dstudio
comp.graphics.packages.alias
comp.graphics.packages.lightwave
comp.graphics.animation
alt.3d (SIRDS, true 3d imaging)
---
---12. Other related products
---
--
--A. Liquid Speed
--
Liquid Speed is a software screen-redraw enhancement utility for
3D Studio release 3 or 4. It works by virtue of carefully
re-written drivers that optimally draw to the screen. It affords
some acceleration with non-Vibrant (i.e. RCPADI/RDPADI) drivers,
but is fastest by far when used with a Vibrant screen driver mode. It
usually doubles 3D Editor redraw speeds, and gives a 1.5x improvement
in the keyframer. Note that the product is a productivity enhancement
in that it allows quick feedback during modeling and scene design.
It has *no effect* on rendering speed.
It is locked with a hardware key. List price is $295.
Vibrant Graphics, Inc.
12741 Research Blvd.
Suite 102
Austin, TX 78759
Phone: 512-250-1711
Fax: 512-250-5811
BBS: 512-918-3411
(Jim Lammers [trinity@tyrell.net])
--
--B. Smacker
--
RAD Software, Inc.
307 West 200 South, Suitee 1003
Salt lake City, UT 84101
TEL:(801)322-4300
FAX:(801)359-6169
Smacker is a compressor for video and animation in the Autodesk FLIC
file format. It will compress most files to 1/4 to 1/12 of thier
original size. Smacker compressed files can be played back "as-is" at
up to 30 frames per second, or faster, without hardware assistance or
a separate decompression step. Smacker also includes SmackScript, a
scripting language that allows you to creeate interactive flics.
SmackScript has over 150 commands that supports keyboards, mice, file
I/O, animations, bitmaps, numeric variables, string vvariables,
branching, conditions, and more. $295.
(from Autodesk MM Partners catalog)
--
--C. Fractint
--
Fractint is a freeware fractal exploration program. There are two
versions, one for DOS and one for windows. Currently both are at
version 18.2, and with that many revisions one may guess that the
program is quite evolved - and it is! The program supports virtually
all video drivers, dozens of fractal types, and millions of rendering
variations. The program is a source of entertainment and scientific
inquiry unto itself.
Cool 3DS uses for fractint:
Fractal texture maps. Image viewing. Animated maps. Organic bump and
texture maps. Red/Blue 3D stereograms or images. Fractal terrain bump
maps. DXF output from generated images OR imported images (a poor man's
DISPLACE.PXP!) uses image information to displace vertices in an output
DXF or RAW (use RAW23DS utility to convert directly to 3DS format) file
of user-selectable face density (don't forget 3D Studio's 64000
face/object limit!).
(Jim Lammers [trinity@tyrell.net])
--
--D. Vivid
--
Vivid in a nutshell:
High powered raytracer. Shareware. 386 version available with
registration. Used with the 3DS2POV utility, you can raytrace 3DS
scenes, although you must edit the materials in Vivid's language.
Includes true penumbral light sources, fisheye lens rendering, lights
with true inverse-square falloff, perfect refraction and reflection
from transparent and reflective objects, true depth-of-field rendering
(from cameras with settable focal lengths) and more.
(Jim Lammers [trinity@tyrell.net])
---
---13. Contacts/Phone Numbers at Autodesk
---
Autodesk, Inc.
111 MkInnis Parkway
San Rafael, CA 94903
Main
(415)507-5000
Hotline Phone Registration FAX Back Service
(800)964-6432 (800)225-1301 (415)507-5100
Customer Service Multimedia Group Retail Department
(800)538-6401 (800)879-4233 (800)228-3601
Authorization Codes Certification Retail Upgrades
(800)551-1490 (800)995-EXAM (800)435-7771
Anti-Piracy Hotline Fed. Government Grp.
(800)662-6743 (800)332-GOVT
---
---14. Listserv Users
---
This is a list of come users on the 3DStudio Listserv. If you'd like
you name and information addeed to the list, feel free to email the
author with the appropriate information. The names and information in
this list are presented in alphabetical order.
Abraham K. Lewis, BSOE
Program Engineer
AUTEC Project
> lewis_a@gate.net
Ann Mosconi
Government Software Programmer and System Operator
Electronic Bulletin Board
President of M-Vision Productions, specializing
in animation, video production, and multi media
Performer of ethnic music and dance: director
of Rebel Nomads (Bulgarian and Macedonian music),
Member of Viva la Alegria (Hispanic music and
dance), collector of musical instruments, sometime
MIDI composer, portrait artist.
> epp1397d@descg4.desc.dla.mil
Suzan Ponte
3Diva Animation and Graphix
Orlando, FL
> suzan@skynet.oir.ucf.edu
> http://skynet.oir.ucf.edu:80/~suzan/index.shtml
Greg Pyros
Professional Animator
Pyros Pictures
1201 Dove Street Suite 550
Newport Beach, CA 92660
TEL:(714)833-8655
FAX:(714)833-8655
> gpyros@pyros.com
CIS:73027,3632
Network TV, feature films, CD-ROMs, corporate miscelaneous
awards: Autodesk Images Awards - first place
CADalyst Caddies - 1st, 2dn, and 3rd
A/E/C Systems show awards - Certificate of Excellence
Co-author of "Inside 3D Studio" and "3D Studio Special Effects"
Vjeko Sabljak
Animator
The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc.
TEL:(804)579-2328
Eric Vitiello Jr.
Freelance Animator
FAQ Maintainer
Louisville, KY
> gandalf@armory.com
---
---15. Autodesk press releases
---
Press Contact:
Garth Chouteau, Autodesk, Inc.
415-491-8853
--
--A. 4/25/1995 - Autodesk Ships Animator Studio
--
The Complete 2D Creative Environment for Animating with Unlimited
Color and Synchronized Sound
SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--April 25, 1995--Autodesk, Inc., today announced
the immediate availability of Autodesk Animator Studio(TM) Release 1,
a Windows(R) 3.1-based successor to the award-winning Animator Pro(R)
2D paint and animation software. Filling a technology gap between
tools which create still imagery and tools which edit and assemble
digital video, Animator Studio offers an artistic approach to the
integration of paint, animation, and sound.
Autodesk Animator Studio offers a unique combination of 24-bit 2D
paint and animation, digital video, and audio tools for creating and
editing the media that comprise most interactive and multimedia
applications. Even more importantly, the methods employed by Animator
Studio for combining and merging these media are extremely
"artist-centric." By applying time-based principles to the paint,
motion, and sound capabilities in Autodesk Animator Studio, Autodesk
has created the first tool that unites the productivity of a digital
media studio with the creative environment of a traditional art
studio.
"There are digital 'paintbrushes,' like Photoshop(TM), and there are
digital 'film editing suites,' like Premiere(TM)," said Mark Gerhard,
product manager for Animator Studio. "Until now, creating content for
digital movies meant relying on a video source, or tediously painting
still images and recording them sequentially. By animating the
digital paintbrush, Animator Studio automatically creates a sequence
of images that a Photoshop can understand, and a Premiere can consume.
Beta Site Reactions
Beta sites for Animator Studio have expressed considerable
satisfaction with the first generation of the product. Among those to
comment on their initial experiences with Animator Studio:
Cyberlab 7
"We're experimenting with Animator Studio in the creation of animated
texture maps incorporating digital video, for use primarily in
high-end music videos," said Dan Mapes of Cyberlab 7, an interactive
media studio based in San Francisco. "In the past we've had to
painstakingly apply digital video to each frame of an animation
separately in PhotoShop, then record the frames sequentially on video.
With the 'paint over time' capabilities of Animator Studio, we can
automate this process using keyframes, let Animator Studio do the
'tweening,' and get the job done in a fraction of the time."
Sierra On-Line
"Animator Studio is a 'must have' tool for computer game and
multimedia developers. It provides a versatile set of features for
paint and animation, as well as PC video and audio editing," said Jon
Bock, art director for Sierra On-Line's Outpost game. "We are relying
more and more on Autodesk tools as they approach the power and
versatility of higher-end solutions. It's exciting to see such a
powerful and flexible set of tools being made so accessible, from both
a price standpoint and in terms of learning curve and ease-of-use."
Feature Categories
2D Paint and Animation--Animator Studio offers a comprehensive set of
24-bit, Truecolor tools for creating and manipulating digital imagery,
with antialiasing and alpha-channel transparency on all tools. Use
onion-skinning, airbrush and freehand sprite tools to paint across any
number of frames, using a mouse or pressure-sensitive tablet. Stretch
and/or rotate images in 2D or 3D over time, to create television optic
effects. Animator Studio reads and writes all standard still-image
file formats, as well has animation file formats.
Digital Audio--The product features an integrated studio for
recording, editing, and synchronizing audio from sources such as CDs,
tapes and external microphones. Sophisticated editing features
include the ability to independently modify pitch and tempo to stretch
or "squeeze" a sound track to fit an animation without changing its
pitch.
Plug-In Architecture--Animator Studio can incorporate Adobe
Photoshop-compatible filters, to be used as "inks," for animated
image-processing effects. Until October, 1995, the product will ship
with a special edition of Kai's Power Tools from HSC Software. A
developer kit, which supports the open API of Animator Studio and thus
enables users and independent developers to build plug-in inks, will
ship separately in the second quarter of 1995.
VFW and QuickTime Support--Animator Studio can output files in a
variety of formats, including .FLI, .FLC, .AVI, and QuickTime. A
royalty-free run-time player lets users distribute their creations
widely and easily via CD-ROMs, diskettes, on-line services, or as a
component within any digital presentation.
Digital Clip Library--More than 400MB of professional-quality
backgrounds, animations, and sound clips ships with Animator Studio on
a CD-ROM delivered with the product. Customers can view, edit, and use
these ready-made clips in their productions. The content may be
distributed royalty-free.
On-Line Information System--Autodesk Animator Studio provides advanced
on-line documentation for all aspects of the program. On-line Help
features context sensitivity and hyperlinking, and provides sample
animations with sound, modifiable how-to "recipes" to help customers
use the product immediately, and the ability to build custom Help
sections with the user's own notes and examples.
System Requirements
Autodesk Animator Studio software runs on IBM(R) 486/66 and
Pentium(R)-based computers or 100 percent compatibles equipped with
Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups, 8MB of RAM, and a hard disk
with 40MB of available space. A Hi-Color- or Truecolor-capable VGA or
SVGA graphics card, CD-ROM drive, sound card, and 16MB of RAM are
optional but recommended.
Pricing and Availability
Autodesk Animator Studio software has a suggested list price of
US$795; pricing and availability may vary by country and territory,
please contact your local Autodesk office or dealer for detailed
information. Animator Studio is available in the US through
Authorized Autodesk Multimedia Dealers as well as mail order services
and major retail outlets. Educational pricing is available for
accredited institutions.
Current Autodesk Animator(R), Animator Pro (version 1.0 or 1.3), or
Multimedia Explorer(R) owners can migrate to Autodesk Animator Studio
at the following prices:
From Animator Pro: US$295
From Autodesk Animator or Multimedia Explorer: US$395
For more information, call Autodesk at 800-879-4233 or enter GO ASOFT
on CompuServe(R). Outside the United States, fax inquiries to
415-491-8311.
Autodesk's Multimedia Market Group develops and delivers affordable
digital media products for professionals, such as film and video
producers, video/computer game developers, architects, engineers, and
designers. The leader in PC-based multimedia tools, Autodesk provides
a full range of products for the application development process, from
2D and 3D creation to assembly and delivery.
Autodesk is the world's leading supplier of computer-aided design
(CAD) automation software and the fifth-largest PC software company.
The company develops, markets, and supports a family of design
automation and professional multimedia software and component
technologies for use on personal computers and workstations. A global
company since its founding in 1982, Autodesk markets products in 115
countries and 18 languages. Autodesk shares are traded on the Nasdaq
National Market under the symbol ACAD. For more information on
Autodesk, please call 415-507-5000 or type GO ADESK on CompuServe.
# # #
Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, 3D Studio, Multimedia Explorer, Animator
Pro and Autodesk Animator are registered trademarks, and FLI and
Animator Studio are trademarks, of Autodesk, Inc. Windows is a
registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. CompuServe is a
registered trademark of H & R Block. All other brand names, product
names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.
--
--B. 4/10/1995 - Autodesk Market Share Increases 50%
--
Autodesk 3D Studio(R) Market Share Grows 50 Percent
Leading Professional 3D Animation Software Attracts Customers and
Industry Awards
LAS VEGAS, Nevada--April 10, 1995--At NAB '95, Autodesk, Inc., today
announced that the new 1994 edition of The Roncarelli Report on
Computer Animation, indicates that among all professional 3D animation
solutions, the market share of 3D Studio(R) software grew from 31
percent to 48 percent, making it the market leader for the second
consecutive year. In addition, 3D Studio has recently received
several top awards from publications including Computer Graphics
World, AV Video, CADalyst, NewMedia and InfoWorld magazines.
Robi Roncarelli, publisher of The Roncarelli Report on Computer
Animation, measured the market penetration of professional animation
hardware and software tools available on the PC, Macintosh and Silicon
Graphics platforms. "3D Studio has steadily gained market share on
the PC, from about 50 percent two years ago to 75 percent today,
making it far and away the most popular choice for professional
animation on Intel-based personal computers," Roncarelli said. "Even
more impressive, 3D Studio now commands 48 percent of the entire
professional 3D animation market, when software for all three
professional hardware platforms is considered. Of the more than
100,000 professional 3D animation seats installed worldwide, close to
half are 3D Studio systems."
"3D Studio has a history of winning both editors' and readers' choice
awards since its introduction in 1990, and this latest round of honors
is the most gratifying yet," said Bob Bennett, senior product manager
for Autodesk's 3D Studio software. "Most significant is the fact that
these latest awards come from a range of publications spanning the
videography, graphics/ animation, design automation, multimedia, and
general computer trade markets. 3D Studio is obviously a well-rounded
product if it can appeal to so many professionals in such diverse
markets," Bennett said.
Industry Awards
3D Studio has recently received outstanding recognition from the
following publications:
Computer Graphics World: In their first annual Editors' Choice
Awards, the staff of this leading graphics monthly awarded 3D Studio
Release 4 first place in the "modeling/ animation software" category
among all products introduced in 1994. (Computer Graphics World, 2/95)
AV Video: In recognition of technological innovation in support of
the creative producer, 3D Studio Release 4 received this top
videography magazine's 1995 Platinum Award for "computer graphics
software." (AV Video, 3/95)
CADalyst: This leading computer-aided design (CAD) publication
polled its readers to determine their top choices for new products in
1994, and 3D Studio was selected in the software category. (CADalyst,
12/94)
InfoWorld: InfoWorld's Test Center is famous for its investigative
approach and critical hands-on reviews. The publication, an
authoritative weekly newspaper for the computer industry, recently
reviewed 3D Studio Release 4 and gave the software its new Hot Pick
Award for "technology that is unusually valuable or revolutionary
compared to competitors." (InfoWorld, 2/20/95)
NewMedia: This leading publication serving digital media
developers and producers has awarded 3D Studio Releases 3 and 4 its
"Awesome" rating, the magazine's highest, two years running.
Describing the product's open architecture and wide array of
third-party plug-ins, reviewer David Biedny heralded 3D Studio as "the
Photoshop of 3D." (NewMedia, 5/95)
Multimedia World: A finalist in Multimedia World's 1995 Readers'
Choice Awards, 3D Studio finished a close second in the balloting to
another Autodesk animation product, Animator Pro(R). (Multimedia
World, 3/95)
Autodesk's Multimedia Market Group develops and delivers affordable
digital media products for professionals such as film and video
producers, video/computer game developers, architects, engineers, and
designers. The leader in PC-based multimedia tools, Autodesk provides
a full range of products for the application development process, from
2D and 3D creation to assembly and delivery.
# # #
Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, Animator Pro, and 3D Studio are
registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. CompuServe is a registered
trademark of H & R Block. All other brand names, product names, or
trademarks belong to their respective holders.
--
--C. 4/10/1995 - Windows NT Direction for 3DS Announced
--
Autodesk Announces Windows NT(TM) Direction for 3D Studio(R)
Leading Professional 3D Animation Software to Move to Next Generation
Operating System
LAS VEGAS, Nevada--April 10, 1995--Autodesk, Inc. today announced its
intention to deliver the next generation of its award-winning 3D
Studio(R) software for the Microsoft 32-bit Windows NT(TM) operating
system. The most popular solution for professional 3D modeling,
rendering and animation, 3D Studio has previously been available for
MS-DOS, with a 3D Studio rendering engine also available for Silicon
Graphics workstations. After carefully evaluating all the current and
upcoming operating system alternatives, Autodesk has identified
Windows NT as the most effective for meeting the future needs of 3D
graphics professionals across all market segments.
Although Autodesk did not specify the future product's pricing and
availability, the company did identify several key technology
advantages that it expects will establish Windows NT as the operating
system of choice for professional 3D graphics and animation
production. These advantages include support for hardware
acceleration of the 3D graphics pipeline, preemptive multi-tasking and
multithreading, and symmetric multiprocessing. In addition, Windows
NT will be "CPU-independent," effectively supporting multiple hardware
architectures including Intel- and RISC-based chip sets. Autodesk
expects this separation of operating system from CPU to significantly
broaden the market for 3D Studio and other professional graphics
software.
"As the predominant market and technology leader among 3D graphics and
animation applications, 3D Studio is the one to beat going forward,"
said Bill Caffery, vice president and director of the Advanced
Technology Groups at the market research firm Gartner Group, Stamford,
Connecticut. "If Autodesk can maintain the openness and extensibility
of 3D Studio, it should retain its leadership position on the most
graphics-savvy operating system to date, Windows NT."
Robi Roncarelli, author of The Roncarelli Report on Computer
Animation, views Autodesk's decision to develop a Windows NT version
of 3D Studio as a sign that the new operating system has reached
"technological maturity." "Over the past 18 months, while would-be
competitors offered Windows(TM) 3.1-based solutions, Autodesk
continued to focus on squeezing every drop of performance out of
MS-DOS, and it paid off," Roncarelli said. "3D Studio managed to
increase its market share among PC competitors from 63 percent to 75
percent, and its share across all professional platforms -- PC,
Macintosh, and Silicon Graphics -- from 31 percent to 48 percent. I
expect 3D Studio to drive sales of Windows NT in the professional
graphics and animation markets."
Bob Bennett, senior product manager for Autodesk's 3D Studio software,
expects both the features in Windows NT and the next generation of 3D
Studio to further lend themselves to third-party development and
support. "Unlike the extended DOS environment, which requires rather
obscure technology and tools, Windows NT is a true 32-bit environment
supported by mainstream tools and code. This makes the creation,
modification, and support of third-party plug-ins significantly
easier," Bennett said. "This standard set of widely available
development tools, coupled with the large address space and rich
interprocess communication environment of the Windows NT operating
system, will accelerate the creation of sophisticated plug-ins for the
next generation of 3D Studio."
Autodesk's Multimedia Market Group develops and delivers affordable
digital media products for professionals such as film and video
producers, video/computer game developers, architects, engineers, and
designers. The leader in PC-based multimedia tools, the Group
provides a full range of products for the application development
process, from 2D and 3D creation to assembly and delivery.
Autodesk is the world's leading supplier of computer-aided design
(CAD) automation software and the fifth-largest PC software company.
The company develops, markets, and supports a family of design
automation and professional multimedia software and component
technologies for use on personal computers and workstations. A global
company since its founding in 1982, Autodesk markets products in 115
countries and 18 languages. Autodesk shares are traded on the Nasdaq
National Market under the symbol ACAD. For more information on
Autodesk, please call 415-507-5000 or type GO ADESK on CompuServe(R).
# # #
Autodesk, the Autodesk logo and 3D Studio are registered trademarks of
Autodesk, Inc. MS-DOS is a registered trademark, and Windows and
Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Silicon Graphics
is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. CompuServe is a
registered trademark of H & R Block. All other brand names, product
names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.
--
--D. 3/1/1995 - 3DS SGI Renderer Released
--
Autodesk's 3D Studio(R) Renderer Available for Silicon Graphics
Multiplatform Solution for Professional 3D Graphics and Animation
Production
SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--March 1, 1995--Autodesk, Inc. today announced the
immediate availability of the 3D Studio(R) Renderer for Silicon
Graphics Workstations. Running on the Silicon Graphics systems based
on the MIPS(R) 4000(R) and higher, the new 3D Studio Renderer for
Silicon Graphics systems can be used either as a node on a mixed
PC-and-Silicon Graphics network or as a stand-alone solution. 3D
Studio, the leading professional animation software across all
professional platforms, has previously been accessible only via
Intel-based PCs.
Robi Roncarelli, author of the Roncarelli Report on Computer
Animation, believes that the development of the 3D Studio Renderer for
Silicon Graphics will benefit both Autodesk and Silicon Graphics.
"I've been tracking the phenomenal success of 3D Studio on the PC
since its introduction in 1990. This bridge into the high-performance
workstation arena should further entrench the product as the number
one professional animation software by really opening up the high end
of the market such as film studios and post-production facilities,"
said Roncarelli. "Conversely, this new renderer will let Silicon
Graphics accounts expand their services and add seats via the PC and
3D Studio, at a very affordable price tag."
"In the professional graphics and animation arena, customers' top goal
is to use the 'best-of-breed' products in each phase of the production
process, regardless of hardware platform," said Joe Fantuzzi, vice
president of Autodesk's Multimedia Market Group. "The 3D Studio
Renderer for Silicon Graphics will let our current and prospective
customers in film, TV and video game production combine the
extensibility and flexibility, of 3D Studio running on a PC with the
cost-effective processing power of Silicon Graphics workstations."
Already one of the fastest production renderers, 3D Studio is even
faster on Silicon Graphics workstations. Initial tests indicate that
a Silicon Graphics system based on the MIPS(R) 4400(TM) processor
running at 150MHZ can render at double the speed of a Pentium(R)
90-equipped PC. Further, the open toolkit for the 3D Studio Renderer
for Silicon Graphics is expected to ship in March 1995 to facilitate
the creation of the 3rd-party plug-in effects that are enabled at
rendering time, such as image processing, particle systems and
procedural modeling.
As with the complete PC version of 3D Studio, the 3D Studio Renderer
for Silicon Graphics computes renderings in Super Truecolor 64-bit mode
for maximum image quality. The underlying technology is a highly
optimized scan-line rendering engine with full support for alpha
channels and the ability to render to either fields or frames. True
analytical antialiasing is performed by the renderer, as are additional
features such as motion blur and ray-traced shadows. A wide variety of
common raster formats can be created at any user-specified resolution
(including film) from the 3D Studio Renderer for Silicon Graphics.
When the 3D Studio Renderer for Silicon Graphics is used as a node on
a multiplatform network, initiation of the rendering job is controlled
by a PC running the full version of 3D Studio. A data screen on the
Silicon Graphics workstation enables users to monitor the progress of
each frame as it is being rendered. In stand-alone mode, the 3D
Studio Renderer for Silicon Graphics can simply be given 3D Studio
models to render on a command-line basis.
System Requirements
The 3D Studio Renderer for Silicon Graphics runs across the company's
full line of binary-compatible systems, including the Indy(TM),
Indigo2(TM) and Onyx(TM) workstations through the CHALLENGE(TM)
network resource servers running IRIX 5.2 or later, with 32MB of RAM
and 20MB free of hard disk space. A CD-ROM drive is required to
install the Silicon Graphics Renderer. A copy of 3D Studio Release 4
for is also required, to access and direct the 3D Studio Renderer for
Silicon Graphics. Autodesk 3D Studio Release 4 software runs on
IBM(R) or Compaq(R) 486/Pentium-based computers or 100-percent
compatibles equipped with MS-DOS(R) 3.3 or later, 8MB of RAM, a hard
disk, Super VGA device and Microsoft(R) or SummaSketch(R)-compatible
pointing device.
Pricing and Availability
The 3D Studio Renderer for Silicon Graphics is available immediately
and can be purchased through Authorized Autodesk Multimedia Dealers,
some of whom are also Value Added Dealers of Silicon Graphics
products. A single site license permitting the use of the software
on an unlimited number of Silicon Graphics workstations carries a
suggested list price of US$4,995; a single-node version may be
purchased for US$1,495.
Price and availability may vary by country. For more information,
call Autodesk at 800-879-4233 or enter GO ASOFT on CompuServe(R).
Outside the United States, fax inquiries to 415-491-8311 or your local
Autodesk office.
Autodesk's Multimedia Market Group develops and delivers affordable
digital media products for professionals such as film and video
producers, video/computer game developers, architects, engineers and
designers. The leader in PC-based multimedia tools, the Group
provides a full range of products for the application development
process, from 2D and 3D creation to assembly and delivery.
Silicon Graphics, Inc. is the leading manufacturer of high-performance
visual computing systems. The company delivers interactive
three-dimensional graphics, digital media and multiprocessing
supercomputing technologies to technical, scientific and creative
professionals. Its subsidiary, MIPS Technologies, Inc., designs and
licenses the industry's leading RISC processor technology for the
computer systems and embedded control markets. Silicon Graphics has
offices worldwide and headquarters in Mountain View, California.
Autodesk is the world's leading supplier of computer-aided design (CAD)
automation software and the fifth-largest PC software company. The
company develops, markets, and supports a family of design automation
and professional multimedia software and component technologies for use
on personal computers and workstations. A global company since its
founding in 1982, Autodesk markets products in 115 countries and 18
languages. Autodesk shares are traded on the Nasdaq National Market
under the symbol ACAD. For more information on Autodesk, please call
415-507-5000 or type GO ADESK on CompuServe(R).
# # #
Autodesk, the Autodesk logo and 3D Studio are registered trademarks of
Autodesk, Inc. Silicon Graphics is a registered trademark, and Indy,
Indigo2, Onyx and CHALLENGE are trademarks of Silicon Graphics. MIPS
and R4000 are registered trademarks, and R4400 is a trademark, of MIPS
Technologies, Inc. Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel
Corporation. CompuServe is a registered trademark of H & R Block. All
other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their
respective holders.
--
--E. 11/1/1994 - Cyberspace Dev. Kit Grant Program
--
Autodesk Establishes Cyberspace University Grant Program
Will Donate More Than US$100,000 in Software for the Development
of Virtual Worlds
SAUSALITO, Calif.--November 1, 1994--Autodesk, Inc. today announced
the Cyberspace Developer Kit (CDK) Release 2 University Grant
Program, which will make Autodesk's virtual reality development
software available to as many as 50 colleges and universities at no
charge. Intended to promote the development of virtual reality
applications in the classroom and the adoption of advanced 3D design
and programming concepts into curricula and research, the Grant
Program is available to accredited colleges and universities in the
United States and Canada only.
"The CDK Grant Program is an ideal way for Autodesk to become more
involved in that part of the university research community dedicated
to the development and application of interactive 3D graphics
technology," said Joe Fantuzzi, general manager of Autodesk's
Multimedia Division. "Autodesk is committed to virtual reality as a
practical extension of 3D visualization technology, and the
opportunity to form technical partnerships and explore new
application areas with educators and their students more than
justifies the cost of this program."
Application Process
The program will be administered jointly by Autodesk's Multimedia
Division and Autodesk's Education Marketing Department, which will
accept applications from representatives of qualified institutions
between now and February 15, 1995. Applicants are required to provide
a detailed description of how the software grant will be utilized,
state how students and university departments will be involved,
describe the applicability of CDK Release 2 to curriculum development,
expected project results and project timeframe.
Upon grant approval, participants will be issued full development
copies of the CDK Release 2. They are required to provide Autodesk
with samples of curriculum materials and CDK-based environments, as
well as a written report of project results and an evaluation of the
CDK Release 2 software. For more information, or to obtain a grant
application form, call 800-879-4233.
Program Product Support
An on-line technical support system providing direct access to
Autodesk cyberspace engineers has been established to address
programming issues that arise at University Grant Program sites.
This will also enable Autodesk representatives to obtain feedback from
students and faculty at any of the grant sites.
Cyberspace Developer Kit Release 2
The Cyberspace Developer Kit Release 2, a major upgrade of Autodesk's
award-winning toolset for 3D visualization and simulation, begins
shipping November 29, 1994. A comprehensive set of C++ class
libraries, the CDK Release 2 software boasts support for Windows (TM)
3.1 with 32-bit extensions and Windows NT(R) texture-mapping
capabilities, rendering-solution independence and tighter integration
with 3D Studio(R) plus support for sound cards and a host of new input
and output devices. In addition, the CDK Release 2 includes HOOPS(R)
4.0, the 3D graphics system for building advanced visualization
applications from Ithaca Software, Autodesk's Component Technology
Business Division.
Autodesk is the world's leading supplier of computer-aided design
(CAD) automation software and the fifth-largest PC software company
in the world. The company develops, markets, and supports a family
of design automation and professional multimedia software and
component technologies for use on personal computers and workstations.
A global company since its founding in 1982, Autodesk markets
products in 115 countries and 18 languages. Autodesk shares are
traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol ACAD. For more
information on Autodesk, please call 415-332-2344 or type GO ADESK on
CompuServe(R).
--
--F. 9/20/1994 Autodesk Ships 3DStudio Release 4
--
#1 3D Animation Tool Adds Inverse Kinematics, Other Plug-In Benefits
SAUSALITO, Calif.--October 20, 1994--Autodesk, Inc. today announced the
immediate availability of 3D Studio(R) Release 4, a major upgrade of the
world's most popular professional 3D animation software. The advent of
true 3D inverse kinematics provides 3D Studio customers with
sophisticated new controls for creating both character and mechanical
animations.
Utilizing the open architecture of 3D Studio, several other powerful new
features have been included in Release 4 as plug-ins. These include a
keyframe scripting language, a fast preview renderer, a match
perspective tool, encapsulated PostScript output and a newly added image
browser. A patch modeler plug-in once planned for Release 4 is not
included, due to usability concerns expressed by beta testers. In
addition, performance tuning of the 3DStudio executable file itself has
yielded order-of-magnitude speed gains in operations such as copying and
scaling geometry in large scenes.
"We've been working with 3D Studio since Release 1, using it primarily
for film previsualization and title sequences," said Frank Foster, vice
president of previsualization at Sony Pictures Imageworks. "With
Release 3, we were able to provide our clients, TriStar Pictures and
Columbia Pictures, with additional services such as on-screen CGI and
special effects for such movies as My Life and the upcoming Johnny
Mnemonic. 3D Studio Release 4 will enable us to generate film-quality
special effects faster than ever before."
Pricing and Availability
Autodesk 3D Studio Release 4 software is available now at a suggested
list price of US$2,995 (US domestic only) through Authorized Autodesk
Multimedia Dealers. Customers who purchased 3D Studio Release 3
between July 25, 1994 and today can receive a free upgrade to Release 4
through their Dealer. Educational pricing is available for accredited
institutions.
Current Autodesk 3D Studio (Release 1, 2 or 3) owners can upgrade to
Release 4 through their Dealer as follows:
- From Release 3 to Release 4: US$295
- From Release 2 to Release 4: US$695
- From Release 1 to Release 4: US$795
---
---16. 3DS Version Feature Lists
---
--
--A. Release 4
--
3D Studio Release 4 -- Preliminary Feature Set -- 7/25/94
Inverse Kinematics KXP Plug-in
- Manipulate a chain of linked objects with true 3D inverse
kinematics functionality in real-time.
- Both sliding and revolving joints can be specified
- Uses full 6 degree-of-freedom (DOF) kinematics, for position
and roll, pitch and yaw.
- Any DOF can be limited to a range. For example: -10.0 to
10.0 for position or -45deg to 45deg for rotation.
- Eases can be specified for each DOF so objects can slow down
towards their constraint point
- Precedences can be set for each DOF to provide an order for
all the DOFs in the chain. The DOF with the highest
precedence is used first in the attempt to solve the optimal
end-effector kinematic solution.
- Each DOF has its own 'damping' factor. This attenuates the
motion of the DOF so that other DOFs with lower precedence
can contribute to the solution.
- Establish keyframes dynamically while moving the kinematic
chain in real-time
- Copy joint parameters from one hierarchy to another
- The IK solution can be affected by global parameters such as
maximum iteration and threshold
- Joint constraints can be interactively set while viewing and
manipulating the entire rendered hierarchy in real-time.
- Supports "end effector association" for precise mechanical
motions, with absolute or relative association
- Allows automatic object tracking so your objects can be
constrained to "look at" other objects
- Adjustable frame-per-second playback speed for precise
motion tests
- Eliminates unnecessary track complexity through keyframe
reduction technology
- Stores all the IK joint constraint data within the .3DS or
.PRJ file
- Key reduction and inverse kinematics computation can be
controlled by the user.
- View objects in skeletal, box, wireframe mesh or gouraud-
shaded form, with or without their axis tripods displayed
- Complete viewport controls for viewing, panning, rotating,
changing viewports, plus fast keyboard equivalents
Keyframe Scripting Language KXP Plug-In
- Compose command scripts using BASIC-like interpreter
- More than 80 functions are included.
- Extends the built in text editor of 3D Studio with new drop-
down menus and icons
- Functions for collision detection are built-in. 4. Any
combination of the 6 possible DOFs can be 'turned on' thus
allowing the joint to move in correspondence with that DOF.
- Sample scripts demonstrate: elementary physics, collision
detection, and macro robotics
- A sample morph target manager (with lip sync assistant)
application is included
- Three buffers included -- two for scripts and a third for
console input
- Scripts can be embedded into individual objects. For
example, multiple scripts which control the behavior of an
object or hierarchy can be formally attached to the
geometry, which can then be merged into any scene intact.
- Unlimited numeric and string variables are supported.
- Numerical arrays can be up to three dimensions. String
arrays can be up to two dimensions.
- Supports user-definable data structures (much like "C").
Structures can contain any data type (including arrays) and
the structures themselves can be arrayed.
- Numerous commands for controlling structure flow (e.g.
Input, For/Next)
- Ascii and binary disk i/o is supported for file manipulation
under script control.
- Automatic dialog box creation using 3D Studio dialog box UI.
- Supports canned, high-level UI dialogs (ie, a generic INPUT
dialog, file selector, object selector, material selector,
color selector, etc.)
- A lower-level function library for supporting any type of
custom interfaces created with the 3DE.EXE resource editor
freeware (available on Compuserve)
- Ability to move, rotate, position, hide or morph objects,
set eases, continuity, tension, looping, etc.
- Complete control over all types of keyframes for all types
of entities
- Collections of heavily documented, portable subroutines
ready to be pasted into your own scripts are also included.
Fast Preview Rendering KXP and PXP Plug-Ins
- Works in both the Editor and Keyframer, for modeling or
animation previews
- Supports wireframe, flat, and Gouraud shading (with Phong
highlights)
- Establish new camera position interactively while viewing
the rendered scene.
- Can quickly create full-color preview flics in the
keyframer.
- Near real-time performance (dependant upon dataset size and
system cpu type)
- VTR style controls allow you to view animation conveniently
EPS Postscript Output Plug-in
- Outputs an EPS file as a raster result
- Can include TIFF image for preview
- User controls over dimensions and units
- Works transparently by just specifying .EPS output extension
Perspective Matcher
- Lets you easily set up 3DS cameras for rendering models over
scanned photographs with matching camera perspective
- Easy-to-use interface lets you graphically position
perspective lines over digitized photographs
Speed optimizations and Vibrant Support
- 100x speedup in the 3D Editor when copying, arraying,
moving, deleting, hiding and unhiding large numbers of
objects. It's now practical to work with over 1000 active
objects in the system at once, even on a 486/33.
- A new "null" display mode can be used to 3DS to run as a
background process under Windows with all display cards.
- Dozens of new display drivers are included.
INSTALL additions
- Separate options for installing all of 3D Studio, support
files and sample files separately - ideal for network
installations.
- New sample files for above plug-ins. New CD-ROM version
available so the program can be installed automatically off
the CD
New Configuration options
- Switch to set the Keyframer into Field mode instead of Frame
mode (to visualize each field of an animation)
- Ability to set IPAS routines and network project files to
read-only status for Lantastic networks to enhance
performance
- Text Editor command options for compatibility with commonly-
used Windows editor cut/paste commands.
IPAS enhancements
- The Renderer's Z-buffer is now available for IXP's to use
for depth-of-field and other distance-based image-processing
effects.
- Z-buffer information can be exported as a bitmap file.
- All viewport info, such as resolution, dimensions, and type
can be acquired by the plug-in to emulate 3DS viewports
exactly.
- Plug-ins can automatically do a Hold or Fetch operations to
automatically backup and restore the entire 3DS scene.
- Surface material attributes can be read and modified by
PXP's
- Plug-ins can load and save .3DS files
- PXP's can initialize the Keyframer and perform KXP
functions.
- Atmosphere parameters can now be IPAS-controlled for
animated fog, layered fog, and distance cueing effects.
- Plug-ins can write custom status to the 3DS prompt window.
- New drop-down menus can be defined in the Text Editor.
- Plug-ins can define their own mouse cursors.
- Plug-ins can determine if 3DS is in network Master or Slave
mode.
- Plug-ins have complete access now to the 3DS file system,
allowing more flexible subdirectory control.
- Bit-blit operations inside of plug-in UI's are up to 20x
faster, allowing real-time scrolling and manipulation of
large bitmaps in IPAS dialogs for image processing apps.
- PXP's can now get and set information for AXP's to use at
render-time.
- KXP's can traverse the scene hierarchy in more-flexible
ways.
- KXP's can interpolate keyframes fractionally now, instead of
using integer-based frame-numbering.
-
-a. Field Order Bug
-
[Problem]
If you start a fresh field-render in 3ds R4, no matter what the
field-order is set to in 3ds.set, the field-order will be set
to 0 (default 1).
Then, if the render is started again, the field-order obeys the
.set file. This appears to be repeatable across all of my 4 machines
(and my customers' too!!). This can be worked around naturally, but
it's completely annoying, when an inexperienced user hits this
'brick wall'.
Reported By: Simon Allaway Freehand Graphics Ltd UK 01483 457000
[Answer]
I actually verified that the Network log file reports:
Field order 0 when you start up 3ds with a 3ds.set file that has
the Field-order set to 1. If you interrupt the rendering and rerender,
3ds renders with the correct Field-order [1]
I'll report this as a bug against 3d studio.
Reply By: Maria Economidis maria@autodesk.com
---
---17. Common Problems
---
Sections A, B, and C contributed by (Jim Lammers [trinity@tyrell.net])
--
--A. Invalid Normal Array
--
Q: I keep getting a message "invalid normal array" during rendering.
What does this mean?
A: This message indicates that 3D Studio's EXE file has somehow been
modified. Check the hard drive for errors, check your complete
system for viruses, and then re-install from the original disks.
If the problem persists, contact your dealer for new diskettes.
--
--B. Randomly Exploding Meshes
--
Q: Every so often, for no apparent reason my mesh seems to "explode".
That is, the vertices fly off everywhere making my mesh look like
a rat's nest. What's going on?
A: This problem is due to the fact that 3D Studio's EXE file has
somehow been modified. Check the hard drive for errors, check your
complete system for viruses, and then re-install from the original
disks. If the problem persists, contact your dealer for new
diskettes.
--
--C. Listserv Piracy Discussions
--
Q: Whenever I try to initiate a discussion on piracy with the members
of the 3D Studio [listserv/]newsgroup, I either get no response, or
nasty messages. Why don't they want to talk about this important
issue?
A: Perhaps piracy with respect to 3D Studio itself *is* a 3D Studio
issue, but we are not interested in re-opening this tedious,
emotional, and ultimately tiresome subject. Please post your
messages that relate in any way to piracy to the alt.piracy forum.
And we will all thank you kindly!
--
--D. SentinelPro Error
--
Q: Whenever I start 3DStudio, I get the error "SentinelPro must be
plugged into parallel port", what am I doing wrong?
A: It could be one of two things. Make sure the hardware lock is
plugged into your parallel port. Make sure that if you have more
than one parallel port, thier hardware addresses aren't conflicting.
If All of these have been checked, and you do have the hardware lock,
I'm not sure what the problem is. You may want to contact Autodesk
Technical Support. If, However, you just don't have the hardware
lock, I'd suggest contacting your nearest authorized Autodesk Dealer,
and BUY the software.
--
--E. Wavering/Dancing Shadows
--
Q: When rendering an animation, sometimes the shadows of objects seem
to waver or dance around the edges. How can I fix this?
A: This is a shadow bias problem. Many times it can be attributed to
object sizes, and bad bias settings. You may try setting your
Spotlight's shadow parameters separately, and useing better
settings, or also, many times it can be cured easily by adding the
line "SHADOW-BIAS-ABSOLUTE=YES" to your 3DS.SET file.
---
---18. Tips, Tricks and Miscellaneous
---
--
--A. File format information
--
FLIC:
found on avalon, /pub/format_specs/Autodesk_fli_and_flc_format.txt
.3DS, .PRJ, etc.:
This information can be ordered from Autodesk for around $250. Contact
your Autodesk Dealer for information.
--
--B. Saving the 3DS Screen
--
3D Studio has an undocumented feature which allows you to save a
snapshot of the screen as a Targa (TGA) file. To do so, follow these
instructions:
1) in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, add the line SET SCREENGRAB=YES
2) reboot your computer.
3) in 3D Studio, press CTRL+PRTSC (the control key, and Print Screen
key at the same time.) after a pause, you will be presented with a
dialog box asking for a filename. 3D Studio will save the screen
(at whatever resollution it is set at) as a Targa File (of the same
resolution).
--
--C. Using Corel Draw and 3DS
--
1) Export from Corel with Illustrator 88 format.
2) Enter 3DS.
3) Enter shaper and import AI file.
4) Select all.
5) Modify/vertex/weld with selected ON.
(trinity@tyrell.net)
----------------------------end of 3DStudio FAQ------------------------------