Subject: Re: 3.0 Amiga is Here!
Date: Sun, 1 May 1994 23:39:50 -0700
From: kkalnasy@bvu-lads.loral.com (Kent Kalnasy)

At  8:41 PM 4/30/94 -0800, Sam Worf wrote:

>On to some first impressions:
>
>The manual is a definite improvement. The grammar is a little shaky, and the
>Contents directs you to the wrong page a few times, but otherwise a good
>job... EXCEPT: WHY IS THE INDEX ONLY THREE-AND-A-HALF PAGES LONG?...

I can't fault the new manual.  Given the hype around the "much improved"
2.0 manual, I wasn't expecting much, but by way of comparison with Impulse's
2.0 manual, this is very impressive.  Nicely written and illustrated and
all in a very easy to use spiral bound format.  It would have been nice
to add a "What's New" readme disk file though.  The manual makes no
reference that I can find to any of the earlier versions.

>NO ASL SCREEN/FILE REQUESTERS!
>
>That's something that needs to go on the top of the list for the next update,
>along with a better preferences editor. It is unchanged from 2.0, besides a
>few new options.

o This is my biggest disappointment.  I'm back to editing the binary to get
  the screen size I want.  And we're stuck with the very limited file
  requester.  This shouldn't be, especially when the code to use
  screenmodes and asl requesters was offered to Impulse.  This *really*
  should be addressed soon.

At 10:23 PM 5/1/94 -0400, ARTISTE@delphi.com wrote:

>From:   IN%"76004.1767@CompuServe.COM"  "Mike Halvorson"  1-MAY-1994

>Larry,
>        Objects are compatible, not projects, you will have to remake them.
>        This is due to all the new F/X and other functions of the Camera.
>
>        Mike

So that's why I was crashing right and left!  Some of the old projects
would load, but not render correctly.  Most would simply crash my Amiga.

I'm surprised that there isn't a filter or converter that would take a
2.0/2.9 project and make it loadable under 3.0.  Is it simply not doable,
or was there not enough time to write it?

A few thoughts on 3.0 (Amiga):

o In "check object" there is no way to abort.  (This hasn't changed from
  2.9)  If my object has 100 errors they are presented one at a time and
  I have to click on 100 requesters.  Some times it is faster to reboot
  and reload the project.  I would like to see the errors in a scrollable
  list with some way to abort the check.

o In my package, there was no icon (.info file) for Imagine.

o The file "texture.txt" was formatted with CR-LFs.

o No submenu indicators, as per the Amiga Style Guide.

o No default directories.  I keep my projects on a different volume than
  my tools and I have to type in the assign to get to my project directory
  every time I start Imagine.

o Imagine 3.0, like 2.9 and 2.0, doesn't work with VMM40, the freeware
  virtual memory system.  Projects now load, but objects go crazy, drawing
  lines all over the place, like a spiderweb made by a caffeine-crazed
  spider.  If anyone else finds that VMM40 works for them, please let
  me know.

o On a positive note, Imagine 3.0 uses real requesters for all of its
  "are you sure?" kinds of requesters.  This is great because now ARQ
  can patch them with screen-centered requesters.

o The anti-aliasing is *much* improved.  Render speed feels faster, but
  I haven't done any tests.  I'm also looking forward to finishing the
  manual and playing with the new features, which could take a while as
  I keep getting sidetracked with Essence and Forge.




------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Kent Kalnasy (speaking only for me)              kkalnasy@bvu-lads.loral.com
 Loral Advanced Distributed Simulation, Inc.             Bellevue, Washington
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