Light ROM 3/Light ROM 3 - Disc 2.iso/tess/tess531.txt

Text File | 1995-09-26 | 17KB | 320 lines

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 T H E   T E S S E L L A T I O N   T I M E S   #531
   Issue #31 of 1995, for Tuesday, September 26th
====================================================
*The Tessellation Times* (*Tess*) is Columbine, Inc.'s weekly electronic
publication usually posted overnight Monday as an online supplement to *3D
Artist* magazine. The full Web version of this issue of *Tess* is at:
  http://www.3dartist.com/tess/95/txt/tess531.htm

E-mail recipient count for this issue: 1,564
Also read in forums, on BBSs, and on Web sites worldwide!
________
CONTENTS

531.00 - Heads Up!
  531.00.01 - The Fortnight in 3D
  531.00.02 - Shows and Exhibitions
531.01 - HSC Morphs into MetaTools
531.02 - A Diamond for Christmas - By Rob Glidden
531.03 - Readings and Viewings
531.04 - News Wrap
531.05 - Publisher's Comments

Departments
  Masthead - see "Details" below
  Calendar - events, galleries, classes, artists call
    grab ftp.3dartist.com/3dartist/calendar.txt
  Special Offers -
    grab ftp.3dartist.com/3dartist/offers.txt
  Contacts - see end of file
____________
SUBSCRIPTION
*Tess* is free! To subscribe just send a message simply stating "subscribe"
in the subject or message to <[e-mail]>. To unsubscribe, state
"unsubscribe" and send to <[e-mail]>. Do both to change your
E-mail address.
_______
DETAILS
This file may be passed among individuals and reposted in any online forum
_as_long_as_ the file is not modified in any way. Post as TESS531.TXT
(TES531.TXT where only six characters are allowed), or compressed with the
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_not_ recommended. TESS's master files are maintained with corrections on
our Internet sites ftp.3dartist.com and www.3dartist.com, and are the only
TESS files for which we can vouch file integrity. Opinions herein are not
necessarily those of independent sites or forums carrying this file or
pointers to our HTML editions. This file's contents are copyrighted and may
not be reproduced in or with any other print or digital publication without
permission. Converting to HTML is only approved for straight text without
additional markup. Any trademarked names mentioned in this file are the
property of their respective owners. Columbine, Inc. and its publications
are totally independent. No companies or products are endorsed.

Published by and (c)Copyright 1995, all rights reserved:
  Columbine, Inc.
  P.O. Box 4787, Santa Fe, NM 87502 USA
  505/982-3532 (voice); 505/820-6929 (fax)
  505/820-6929x3 voice mail
  E-mail: [e-mail]
  Web: http://www.3dartist.com/tess/tessmain.htm
_____
Staff
Alex Kiriako, Editor, *Tess* <[e-mail]>
Rob Glidden, Technical Editor <[e-mail]>
Sally Beach, Vice Pres., Columbine, Inc. <[e-mail]>
Bill Allen, Publisher & Pres., Columbine, Inc. <[e-mail]>

---------

531.00 - Heads Up!

531.00.01 - The Fortnight in 3D

Sept. 26-28, San Francisco, Calif.: Seybold Conference and Exposition.
800-488-2883; 415/688-4396, -4396 fax, http://www.sbexpos.com/.

Oct. 2-6, San Rafael, Calif.: Avcom Systems, Inc. will be holding two
classes on 3D Studio at Autodesk in San Rafael. The intro class ($995) will
be Oct. 2-4, and a class on Character Animation ($695) will be offered Oct.
5-6. Call 800/700-1583 or contact Paul Norman at <[e-mail]>.

Oct. 4-5, Chicago, Ill.: A/E/C Systems Fall & Computers for Contractors '95,
at the Navy Pier. Contact: A/E/C Systems, 800/451-1196, 203/665-0153.

Oct. 11-13, San Francisco, Calif.: Multimedia Live! The Finity Group, Inc.,
P.O. Box 1090, Fairfax, CA 94978-1090; 415/457-1499, 453-1383 fax.

531.00.02 - Shows and Exhibitions

Data Translation, Inc. is offering free seminars on creating digital videos
on the Mac with their Media 100 series. Topics covered include quality,
nonlinear editing, systems operations, software, costs, and producing a
video. They will also be showcasing their new Media 100 version 2.5 for PCI.
Offered in 11 cities during 10-26 Oct. twice daily for two hours. Call
800/773-1770 for city list and reservations.

531.01 - HSC Morphs into MetaTools, Inc.

HSC Software Corp. has announced that it has changed its name to MetaTools,
Inc. With the expanding variety of software tools provided by the company to
many different types of users, CEO John Wilczak is quoted as saying, "Meta,
a Greek word meaning 'the next level,' reflects what we do."
  MetaTool's new Kai's Power Tools 3 is being shown this week at Seybold in
San Francisco. The Mac version will be available at the end of September
with Windows 3.1/95/NT versions slated for 4th quarter release. Pricing for
both versions is set at $199. Upgrades will be available to registered users
of Mac v2.1 and Windows v2.0 for $79. Those who purchased after 18 Aug. 1995
can upgrade free (plus a $10 shipping charge in the U.S.).
  New key features in version 3 include larger preview swatches, more
precise control for effects, new texture algorithms, graphical or text
presets, 36 levels of undo, and realtime previewing. Major new modules
include Lens f/x, Interform, and Spheroid Designer. A new Texture Explorer
is also offered with 16 variants along with a variety of new channel
operations. You also get the version 2.x Texture Explorer for backward
compatibility. All version 2.x tools included make use of new controls and
new channels, and more of them have previewing options.
  KPT Lens f/x gives you the ability to inspect any effect's preview with
controls for rotating, panning, and viewing channel operations in realtime.
KPT Interform mutates and blends textures from the Explorer to create
unusual varients and can even output the results as QuickTime files. The
Spheroid Designer can output up to 1,000 raytraced spheres with
bump-mapping, color, and transparency--essentially a suds program allowing
for a wide variety of unique and subtle color compositions.
  The new Texture Explorer no longer tiles patterns, offering them on an
infinite plane for direct mapping onto any size image. Contrast, blur, hue,
saturation, and brightness parameters can all be changed interactively in
both the Texture Explorer and Gradient Designer. The Gradient Designer adds
feathering with hue, saturation, and brightness modifiers.
  It should be noted the Mac version requires a processor with a floating
point unit and 2.5Mb RAM from the host application. Windows versions
supported include 3.1/95/NT and require a 486 or higher with a math
coprocessor, 2.5Mb RAM, and a host application that conforms to the Adobe
plug-in 32-bit architecture (on Windows 3.1 that would mean a program like
Photoshop 3.0 with Win32s).--A.K.

531.02 - A Diamond for Christmas
  By Rob Glidden <[e-mail]>

In the Saint Nick of time for the holiday marketing season, Diamond
Multimedia announced last week for late October release its "Edge 3D"
multimedia graphics accelerator board based on the Nvidia chip set (see
TESS#513.01). Starting in a price range of $249 to $299, The Edge 3D will
offer 3D acceleration (1024x768, 65,000 colors), 2D acceleration (1280x1024,
color depths to one billion and 120Hz refresh rate), RAM-based wavetable
audio, digital video (can be used as texture maps), and specialized game
ports that support Sega Saturn peripherals.
  The Edge 3D will be bundled with four game titles: Sega's *Virtua Fighter
Remix*, Interplay's *Descent: Destination Saturn*, Domark's *Absolute Zero*,
and Papyrus' *Nascar Racing*. 3D content developers should note that there
is a bit of a "3D bundle battle" breaking out in the 3D graphics board
market, as Creative Labs Eagle board [TESS#528.05] also will come with
several 3D titles.
  The Edge 3D's Nvidia 3D chip set offers "fast polygon rendering, texture-
mapping for photorealism, quadratic texture-mapping for perspective
correction and rendering of curved surfaces, as well as special effects
including diffused lighting, spectral highlights, reflection mapping and
alpha blending for fog, smoke and transparency." 3D content developers will
want to keep a particular eye on whether the hardware-accelerated Nvidia
quadratic patches are actually used in 3D titles.
  The Edge 3D will come in two PCI-bus versions. The DRAM-based 2000 series,
starting around $249, will be available in 1 or 2MB configurations. The
VRAM-based 3000 series, starting around $399, will be available in 2 and 4MB
configurations.

531.03 - Readings and Viewings

>From New Riders (order from Prentice Hall; 201 W. 103rd St., Indianapolis,
IN 46291; 800/653-6156; 317/581-4670 fax, http://www.mcp.com/newriders)

Received: *Kai's Power Tools, Filters and Effects*, by Heinz Schuller (ISBN
1-56205-480-5, $45). First mentioned in TESS528.04.02 and now shipping.
Covers how to use Kai's Power Tools within Photoshop with xplanations of the
various features with tips and tricks, several tutorials for professional
level effects, and a short section on the Gradient Designer IPAS for 3D
Studio. Includes both Mac and Windows CD-ROMs with images, texture maps,
examples of animated gradients, arbitrary color maps (for windows users),
tileable and nontileable textures, and demo software from Adobe and MetaTools.

Received: *VRML, Browsing & Building Cyberspace*, by Mark Pesce (ISBN
1-56205-498-8, $40). Also mentioned in TESS528.04.02 Mark Pesce's book is
subtitled "The Definitive Resource for VRML Technology." Given the lack of
documentation on VRML the subtitle is most likely to be true. Covering
browser technology as it stands, Mark Pesce goes into the concept and design
behind VRML as well as covering the code spec. Included is a CD-ROM with
programs and materials for PC, Mac, and SGI.
________
>From Desktop Images, 1805 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, CA 91506;
800/377-1039; 818/841-8277, -8023 fax; <[e-mail]>;
http://www.desktopimages.com/desktop/.

Received: *Spacecraft Model Design* and *Spacecraft Surfacing Techniques*,
Videos with Ron Thornton, visual effects director for "Babylon 5" and
"Terminator 2." These two "video apprenticeships" work with NewTek LightWave
3D to quickly create and surface spaceships. Each tape is $49.95 with
running times of 100 minutes each.

________
>From Corporate Image Video, P.O. Box 90801, Albuquerque, NM 87199; 505/831-1138.

Announced: *Bridging the Gap, AutoCAD to 3D Animation* is a training video
to show architects how to move their AutoCAD creations into 3D Studio and
animate them for presentations. Topics covered include planning steps,
modeling tips in AutoCAD, 3DS materials, mapping, lighting, animation, and
video post. It's due to be completed in October and available at an
introductory price of $89.95 with a runtime of over an hour.

531.04 - News Wrap

Corel Corp. announced 26 Sept. that it has exclusively licensed the 32-bit
Xara Studio technology from Xara, Ltd. in England, and that the resulting
CorelXara "soon" will join Corel's suite of other graphics software for
Windows 3.1/95/NT. The announcement describes CorelXara as "an ultra fast
vector and bitmap illustration tool with full antialiasing features and
unique special effects" that complements Corel's own CorelDraw vector
graphics program. It is also described as easy to use and having "low system
requirements," thus making it "an ideal standalone product for new users who
do not require color separations."
  Availability and pricing are to be announced. Demonstrations will be given
at Fall shows. A demo CD can be requested by contacting <[e-mail]>,
800/772-6735, or fax [phone].

Dive Labs announced 20 Sept. that it is shipping the Windows NT version
($149) of Amber, its virtual reality development application. Windows 3.1/95
versions are slated to ship in October for $149. An SGI version for $199
will ship sometime in late October.
  Amber supports OpenGL under Irix and Windows NT with realtime server
capabilities. Features include the ability to read both VRML and NFF files,
support for spatial audio, graphics accelerators, head-tracking head-mounted
displays, and client server distribution of virtual environments over
TCP/IP. Dive Labs says it has leveraged the R&D costs of Amber, which is a
product originally developed for military simulations, to produce a
commercial version at low cost.
  Amber works with Virtual i/o's i-glasses and is completely object
oriented. Dive Labs plans to offer support in future versions for Sun GX/ZX
as well as Visual Basic version for Windows. You can check out a beta
version download from http://www.divelabs.com/.

Announced 25 Sept. by Macromedia is FreeHand 5.5 on CD-ROM for Macs only. It
features use of Photoshop plug-ins for TIFF manipulation without having to
go back and forth between FreeHand and Photoshop. The CD includes 10,000
clip art images and 500 Type 1 and TrueType fonts. FreeHand 5.5 also
supports the Portable Document Format (PDF) evangelized by Adobe, allowing
you to open multipage documents and edit the embedded graphics originated
"from any graphics package." Other improvements claimed include 25% faster
speed overall and PowerMac 604 optimization.
  With support for Photoshop acquisition plug-ins, you can bring scanned
images directly into FreeHand. Also new is Pict output optimized for
screen-based viewing such as on Web pages.
  Available now, Mac FreeHand 5.5 is $599. Owners of 5.0 can upgrade for
$79, while version 4.0 users or earlier can upgrade for $149. Those who
purchased after 1 Sept. can get the upgrade free. Registered owners of Mac
Illustrator, Claris MacDraw, and Deneba Canvas can "sidegrade" for $149.

531.05 - Publisher's Comments
  By Bill Allen <[e-mail]>

When the back-up power supplies started chiming in chorus this morning, I
went outside to scout for early thunderstorms. There wasn't a growler in
sight, but my attention leapt to the first snow on the peaks behind Santa
Fe. It was mostly melted away by sunset, but looks like winter is coming
early to the Rockies.

We think we've located the problem in our broadcast list, but for three
weeks Microsoft Network has returned a copy of *Tess* with a message stating
that it couldn't be delivered. Since the messages failed to specify the
offending address and we have multiple subscribers on MSN, we replied asking
for clarification. That request bounced back with the subject line
"Undeliverable: Re: Undeliverable." One has to wonder about an online
service where the system administrator's address fails!

*3D Artist* issue #21 is in final production here. All but one of our
forensic animation articles got squeezed out, so that subject becomes the
focus for 3DA#22. If you have something to contribute to that theme, please
drop a note to <[e-mail]>.

*3DA* subscribers who have changed mailing address and haven't told us,
please get that info to us immediately to keep the post office from throwing
away your copy of #21.

More than anything with *3D Artist* magazine and its online activities, we
hope that we are helping you to make a successful and artful livelihood in
computer 3D graphics. So, while we normally don't publish glowing letters
from readers, this E-mail from 17 Sept. warms my veteran's heart too much to
contain:
  begin quote>>I'm leaving Japan and the Navy shortly, and I have to give
*3D Artist* and *The Tessellation Times* a lot of credit for putting me in
contact with prospective employers. Of the four "core" prospects I'm working
with now, I learned of three of them through your publications and Web
pages.<<end quote
  Oops. Which one did we miss?!
________
CONTACTS

Please mention TESS when contacting companies about products reported here!

> Corel Corp.; 1600 Carling Ave., Ottawa, ON K1Z 8R7, Canada; 613/728-8200,
613/761-9176 fax
> Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc.; 2880 Junction Ave., San Jose, CA 95134;
800/468-5846; 408/325-700, -7070 fax; http://www.diamondmm.com/
> Dive Laboratories, Inc.; 2501 Mission St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060;
408/469-1720, -1722 fax; <[e-mail]>; http://www.divelabs.com/
> Macromedia, Inc.; 600 Townsend St., San Francisco, CA 94103; 800/326-2128;
415/252-2000, 626-0554 fax; http://www.macromedia.com/
> MetaTools, Inc.; 6303 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria, CA; 800/472-9025;
805/566-6200, -6385 fax; <[e-mail]>; http://www.hsc.com/
____________
OUR SPONSORS
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*3DA*'s advertisers, subscribers, and newsstand readers. For more about *3D
Artist*, the printed magazine, please inquire to <[e-mail]> or grab
the file
  ftp.3dartist.com/3dartist/3dartist/3dartist.txt

The current issue (#20) and some *3D Artist* back issues can be ordered for
us$4 each (surface mail postpaid worldwide) from the address in DETAILS above.

[end]