Macromedia Extreme 3D 1.0/EXTREME_3D.iso/read_me.txt

Text File | 1996-01-22 | 15KB | 333 lines

LATE BREAKING NEWS

Thank you for purchasing Extreme 3D. Extreme 3D is the most
powerful 3D solution for graphics and multimedia.

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

For more information about this version of Extreme 3D, go to the
Explore section of Extreme 3D Access and click "Troubleshooting."

NOTE FOR USERS OF MACROMODEL

Installing Extreme 3D does not upgrade MacroModel. Please keep
your MacroModel installation intact and install E3D into a different
directory.

WINDOWS INSTALLATION NOTES

Installing onto a Windows NT system

If you are using a non-standard shell under Windows NT, you might
experience problems running the Extreme 3D Access application. If
this happens, install Extreme 3D by running SETUP.EXE directly
from the E3D directory on the Extreme 3D CD. If you are unable to
run the Extreme 3D Access application, refer to the NT_INFO
directory for important news and additional information.

Installing Extra Components

If you would like to install Video for Windows, Win32s, or
QuickTime, these components are available from the UTILS
directory on the Extreme 3D CD. Each 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.

When installing QuickTime, you must not overwrite existing files.
Choose Skip instead of Replace if prompted.

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.

MACINTOSH INSTALLATION NOTES

The version of MoviePlayer included with Extreme 3D requires at
least QuickTime 2.0. If you have a prior version of QuickTime, you
can either upgrade to version 2.0 or later or use a version of
MoviePlayer that is compatible with your version of QuickTime. We
recommend using version 2.1 or later. Contact your software
vendor for the latest versions of system software.

Missing frames in files played by MoviePlayer (all versions) might
be the result of MoviePlayer failing to warn you that it doesn't have
enough memory to load/play the movie. If you increase the memory
partition of MoviePlayer (movie size plus 400K), it should play fine.

EXTREME 3D ACCESS APPLICATION NOTES

On a Macintosh, you must have at least one system font installed
in order to correctly view the text in the Extreme 3D Access
application. If you choose to bypass the Extreme 3D Access
application, you can install Extreme 3D by choosing the E3D
Installer from the E3D folder on your Extreme 3D CD.

The First Look, Explore, and Inspiration sections of the Extreme 3D
Access application contain movies. On some Windows systems,
after playing several movies correctly, a movie might be displayed
incorrectly as a black screen. If this happens, quit the Access
application. When you re-launch Access, the problem should be
solved.

The Launch Extreme 3D command in the Launch section of the
Extreme 3D Access application might work incorrectly on some
systems. If this command does not launch Extreme 3D, quit the
Access application and launch Extreme 3D from your operating
system.

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.

The TGA files created in Windows by Extreme 3D do not contain
the necessary file type information to be recognized as TGA files
by some Macintosh applications, (for example, Adobe Premiere).
You must manually specify their file types.

Extreme 3D does not support JPEG-compressed PICT files.

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.

Distributed Rendering

When rendering in a distributed rendering environment, make sure
you have sufficient disk space on your distributed rendering server
before submitting a job to it.

When rendering in a distributed rendering environment, Extreme
3D displays the message "Writing complete" before any texture
maps used in the scene are transferred. It might seem as though
your system has hung until they finish transferring.

When you submit high-resolution rendering jobs on network
operating systems that only support 8.3 file naming conventions,
use job names that are unique in the first 8 characters.

Final Render Settings

There are two settings that interact when you render an image: the
Final Render Size field of the Render to Disk dialog box (which
specifies the output image size) and the Quality field of the Final
Render Setup dialog box (which specifies the degree of anti-
aliasing Extreme 3D will use).

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 render an animation that contains visibility changes in a
distributed rendering environment, each station in the distributed
rendering environment must have the Animate Visibility Changes
preference checked. This preference is not saved with the file. The
Animate Visibility Changes checkbox is located on the Animation
page of the Preferences dialog box.

Extreme 3D does not retain the state of the animation toggle (the
red button on the animation controls) across scene changes.
Check the state of this toggle before making changes.

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) 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.

DOCUMENTATION CORRECTIONS

Using Extreme 3D

Pages 445, 446 -- The information that choosing Three-Quarters
from the View menu displays the scene in -30, -30, 0 orientation is
incorrect. The exact orientation values are -33.6901, -25.6589,
-16.1021. This sets the view to a three-quarter angle.

Page 481 -- When rendering to AVI, the Windows Video
Compression dialog box appears on all Windows systems except
Win32s (Windows 3.1 with the Win32s component). On Win32s
systems, the only available AVI compression is Cinepak Codec
with a 75% compression quality data rate, so Extreme 3D uses
Cinepak and bypasses the dialog box.

Extreme 3D Help

Three-Quarters topic -- The information that choosing Three-
Quarters from the View menu displays the scene in -30, -30, 0
orientation is incorrect. The exact orientation values are -33.6901,
-25.6589, -16.1021. This sets the view to a three-quarter angle.

OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Refer to the Source and Center area of the Extreme 3D Access
application for information about contacting Macromedia and
obtaining additional late-breaking news.