Chip 1997 January/Chip_1997-01_cd.bin/e3d_demo/read_me.txt

Text File | 1996-07-29 | 10KB | 199 lines

LATE BREAKING NEWS

Thank you for test driving the demo version of Extreme 3D.
Extreme 3D is the most powerful 3D solution for design
and multimedia. This demo version of Extreme 3D includes
all the major features of the full product. You can use this demo
version to get the feel of Extreme 3D, but you cannot save or
export your work.

This file contains important information about using Extreme 3D.
Information in this file supplements and supersedes information in the
Extreme 3D documentation.

WINDOWS INSTALLATION NOTES

Installing Extra Components

If you would like to install Win32s this component is available from the
UTILS directory of the Extreme 3D directory. The component has a separate
SETUP program. If you are a user of Windows 3.1, Extreme 3D requires the
Win32s component to be present on your system. When installing onto a
Windows 3.1 system, the Extreme 3D installation program automatically
detects if Win32s is not present or if a previous version is installed,
prompts you to install Win32s, and launches the Win32s installer during
the Extreme 3D installation.

Viewing Correct Icons

If you are using a Windows 3.1 system and did not install Win32s before
installing Extreme 3D, icons for Extreme 3D are not properly displayed.
You can choose the correct icons using the Windows Properties dialog
box. From the Program Manager, select each item in the program group
and choose Properties from the File menu.

MEMORY AND PERFORMANCE

If you encounter problems while loading a scene or during rendering,
you may need to increase the amount of memory available to Extreme
3D. On a Macintosh, increase the minimum and preferred memory size
using the Get Info dialog box for the Extreme 3D application. If you need
to exceed the amount of RAM in your system, turn on virtual memory. On
Windows systems, increase the amount of virtual memory. Refer to your
operating system documentation for information on how to do this.

USING MACROMODEL MODELS

MacroModel files open in Extreme 3D with windows set to 8-bit color
depth. To take advantage of Extreme 3D's 32-bit rendering capabilities,
set any open windows to 32-bit color depth by choosing Window Setup
from the Window menu after opening the MacroModel file and before
you begin working.

Lights brought in from MacroModel files lose their names and are named
Default Light. Their position and orientation information is reset to default
values. You might want to make note of your lights' position and
orientation values in MacroModel in advance and then reset your lights
using those values once you have brought the file into Extreme 3D.

EXTREME 3D ON NON-US SYSTEMS

When using Extreme 3D with a French keyboard, numeric menu shortcut
keys are unavailable.

When working in Windows, it is recommended that you avoid using
extended characters (upper-ASCII characters including accented
characters) in directory or file names, or during installation.

When using a non-US version of Windows, it is strongly advised that you
do not install any of the optional components located in the UTILS
directory. Installation of these components, particularly the Win32s
component, might result in damage to your system.

COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER PRODUCTS

If you are a user of Control Strip on the Macintosh, you might notice that
Control Strip partially obscures the Extreme 3D tool space and status
bar. If this occurs, you should use the Control Strip control panel to hide
Control Strip.

In order to use Type 1 fonts in Extreme 3D, you must have ATM installed.
We suggest using the latest version. On Windows 95 it is best to use
version 3.01 or later. ATM is not supported by Extreme 3D on Windows
3.1.

RENDERING INFORMATION

If objects in the foreground of a rendered scene have missing polygons,
you can adjust the view scale and camera distance to correctly display
them. Decrease the scale value for the view using the Views browser.
This will increase the apparent size of the objects. Then move the
camera farther away from the scene until you achieve the view you want
and can successfully render your scene.

Using the Hidden Wireframe render style on objects that are placed
against a dark background causes the objects to render as flat white. If
this is an undesired effect, lighten the background color until you get the
effect you want.

Final Render Settings

When you render an image, Extreme 3D multiplies the largest side of the
Final Render Size field (for example, 4090 for an image that will be
output to 4090 x 2731) by the Quality setting (for example, 4 for a 4 x 4
setting). The result of this multiplication cannot exceed 16,384. If it does
exceed this number, Extreme 3D reduces the Quality setting
automatically, without displaying a message.

The maximum Final Render Size value for a PICT file on a Macintosh is
4090 x 4090 pixels. A file of this size has a maximum Quality setting of
4 x 4. The maximum Final Render Size value in Windows is 8192 x 8192
pixels. A file of this size has a maximum Quality setting of 2 x 2.

ANIMATION INFORMATION

When using the Repeat Track command to perform cyclic animations,
make sure the beginning and end frames are equivalent. This will
prevent drift. When cycling multiple tracks per object, make sure the
tracks are of equal length so the actions are synchronous. Since Repeat
Track is performed from the first keyframe, also make sure that the
keyframe is at time 0. You may have to cut the first key, set time to 0, and
paste. Each track is limited to 10,000 keyframes, so use repeat track
accordingly.

When using the Repeat Track dialog box, do not enter a negative number
in the Number of Times to Repeat field. The minimum number of times to
repeat a track is 0.

When you animate objects with large polygons that have texture maps,
you might see the texture map shift during the animation. To avoid this,
subdivide the object into smaller polygons by increasing uniform
smoothing or adding control points.

GENERAL INFORMATION

On a Macintosh, the extension Open Transport Library version 1.07b1
might cause Extreme 3D to fail on launch. If you update this extension to
the minimum level Apple suggests (Version 1.08) or to the most recent
(Version 1.1b9c2 at this writing) the potential problem is eliminated.

All objects, including profiles, construction objects, the working plane,
light objects, and the camera object, appear to have all the attributes
listed on the Info page in the Objects browser. Because these objects
can't have mapping attributes, they show random and sometimes blank
mapping types.

If shadows display jagged edges, you can adjust your spotlight to a more
direct angle, add more spotlights closer to where you want the shadows,
or use the Final Render Setup dialog box to change your Quality setting
to Best (8x8).

If you attempt to create a watch link relationship in which a parent
watches a child, Extreme 3D displays a "Watch Link cycle detected"
message. Because the watch link would require the parent to reorient if
the child moved, the child would then move again (since it is a child of a
rotating object). This would cause the watch link to update again, in a
cycle. A parent object cannot watch its own child.

In the Adaptive Smoothing dialog box, you can hold Option (Macintosh)
or F3 (Windows) while choosing OK. This causes Extreme 3D to cascade
the change you make to a parent object to its children objects.

Extreme 3D does not support the use of alternate decimal separators in
numeric fields. For example, you cannot use a comma instead of a period
as a decimal separator. If you attempt to use an alternate decimal
separator, Extreme 3D might generate unexpected results.

Using .DXF Files

When importing DXF files, the source DXF file must contain the
appropriate end of line characters to be interpreted correctly by Extreme
3D. On a Macintosh, each line of the DXF file must end in the carriage
return character (ASCII 13). In Windows, each line of the DXF file must
end in the carriage return line feed characters (ASCII 13 ASCII 10).

When you import a DXF file, Extreme 3D assumes that all polygons on a
given layer of the source DXF file should be combined to create a single
object. If you know this is not the case, you can hold Option (Macintosh)
or F3 (Windows) while choosing File/Import/DXF. This causes Extreme
3D to separate objects based on polygon location. Extreme 3D assumes
that each group of contiguous polygons should be combined to create a
separate object.

Using .TEX Files

When using preexisting texture maps (.TEX) files in Extreme 3D, copy or
move them into the Scripts/Materials folder or directory. Then restart
Extreme 3D and the texture maps will appear in the list of loaded
textures.

Although .TEX files can exist in any directory, Select Catalog will not load
them unless there is a material saved in the same directory or in the
active document which calls for the texture. In this way, Select Catalog
can be used to repair a model that has missing .TEX files.

The name that appears in the loaded textures lists does not always
correspond to the name of the file. The name that appears in Extreme 3D
is contained in the .TEX file and is not derived from the filename.