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Ray Dream 3D(TM) 1.0.2 - Windows(TM) Version Read Me File
Copyright (c) 1992-1997 MetaCreations Corporation. All rights
reserved.
WELCOME
Thank you for purchasing Ray Dream 3D(TM) for Windows.
This document contains important information that is
not included in the printed Ray Dream 3D documentation.
CONTENTS
---------
Registration
What's on your Ray Dream 3D CD
More FREE Natural-Media LiveStyles from ThinkFish
More FREE Ray Dream Models from Viewpoint DataLabs
Converting Shader files from previous versions
Known bugs/issues/limitations
Compatible 3D Hardware
A Note on Adaptive Rendering vs. Raytracing
IVRML Spherical Cameras and the RealSpace Viewer
Important Errata
REGISTRATION
-------------
We strongly encourage you to register your copy of
Ray Dream 3D. The benefits of registration include:
*Free technical support via phone, email, and
the World Wide Web.
*Advance information on future releases.
*Special offers available to MetaCreations customers only.
*Notification of updates and patches.
You can register by filling out and returning the postage-paid
registration card included in your Ray Dream 3D package, or
by filling out an online registration form at MetaCreations'
web site (http://www.metacreations.com/register/).
If you choose to register by sending in the registration card,
be sure to include a copy of your serial number, which can be
found on the serial number sheet which came in your
Ray Dream 3D package. You will also need your serial number
handy to register online.
CD CONTENTS
------------
In addition to the Ray Dream 3D installer, you'll find
the following folders on your Ray Dream 3D CD:
Acrobat -- An installer for Adobe Acrobat 3.0. You'll need
Acrobat to view the electronic documentation in PDF format
provided with Ray Dream 3D.
Documentation -- Electronic documentation for Ray Dream 3D,
including the entire User Guide.
Dream Models -- 848 Dream Models in native Ray Dream
format. Most of these models are fully editable, and a
great way to learn the capabilities of the Free Form
modeler.
RealSpace -- Installers for the standalone and web
browser versions of the RealSpace Viewer from Live
Picture, Inc. Ray Dream 3D's IVRM Spherical camera
can be used to render RealSpace-compatible virtual
reality panoramas.
Shaders -- Additional shaders for use with Ray Dream 3D.
Shaders are organized in folders according to themes.
You can add these folders to the Browser palette to
access them directly from the CD, or you can selectively
copy shaders from the CD onto your system.
Textures -- Images suitable for use in shaders, gels,
backgrounds, and backdrops. Images are saved in TIFF
format.
Tutorial -- All of the files necessary to complete
the tutorial projects in the Ray Dream 3D User Guide. The
tutorial files are NOT installed on your system by default.
You can access them directly from your CD, or copy them to
your hard drive.
RD Extensions -- Electronic documentation and information on
available and upcoming Ray Dream Extensions.
More Content -- Content for use in Ray Dream 3Ds Browser palette.
Should you delete any of the default content installed with Ray
Dream 3D, you can restore it by copying it from the CD.
MORE FREE NATURAL-MEDIA LIVESTYLES FROM THINKFISH
---------------------------------------------------
Ray Dream 3D's Natural-Media renderer is based on
LiveStyles technology from ThinkFish Productions, Inc.
In addition to the 7 LiveStyles included with Ray Dream 3D,
you are entitled to four more LiveStyles FREE, directly
from ThinkFish Productions, Inc. For more information,
visit the ThinkFish website at http://www.thinkfish.com.
150 FREE RAY DREAM MODELS FROM VIEWPOINT DATALABS
----------------------------------------------------
As a Ray Dream user, you are entitled to an additional
150 FREE models from Viewpoint DataLabs, the worldwide
leader in 3D model creation and publishing. These models
were created with the Free Form modeler, and are saved
in native Ray Dream format.
To access your free models, click the Viewpoint button
on Ray Dream 3D's Internet toolbar. This will launch your
web browser and take you to an exclusive Ray Dream users'
page on Viewpoint's web site, where you'll find 150 models
available for free download, and hundreds more for sale to
meet your specific needs.
CONVERTING SHADER FILES FROM PREVIOUS VERSIONS
------------------------------------------------
Unlike previous versions, Ray Dream Studio 5 saves shaders in individual
files (1 file per shader). Shaders created with previous versions and
saved in "families" need to be converted to work with Ray Dream Studio 5:
1. In the Browser palette, select the Shaders tab and choose
File > Import Shader Family... A dialog appears.
2. In the dialog, locate and select the shader family you want to import,
then click the Open button. A second dialog appears.
3. In the dialog, choose the folder where you want to save the converted
shaders. Ray Dream Studio will convert the shader family, saving the
new shader files in the directory you have chosen.
All of the shaders included with previous versions of Ray Dream Studio
have already been converted, and are on the Ray Dream Studio 5 CD.
You need only convert shaders you have created yourself.
KNOWN BUGS/ISSUES/LIMITATIONS
-------------------------------
Bugs:
The Open dialog does not automatically appear when you choose Movie
from the popup in the Properties palette:Gel tab. To choose a movie,
you need to click and hold the disk icon and choose Open from the
menu that appears.
Scaling a linked parent object or moving its hot point can cause its
children to move unpredicatbly. To avoid this problem, scale your
objects and set their hot points before linking them.
Compatibility issues:
In general, 3D hardware does not support acceleration in 8-bit color
display mode. If you attempt to choose Direct3D hardware acceleration
while your display is in 8-bit mode, the Ray Dream Z-Buffer will be
used instead and you will be notified with an alert.
To improve compatibility with 3D hardware, an additional setting has
been added to the Shaded Preview preferences: the "Line Compatibility
mode" checkbox. With some 3D hardware products, lines (like the
planes of the Working Box) may not be drawn when you enable hardware
acceleration. To correct this problem, open the Preferences dialog,
choose Shaded Preview from the popup menu, and enable the Line
Compatibility mode checkbox.
The ThinkFish LiveStyles file format (.LIV) has evolved since it was
first introduced. The styles included with Ray Dream 3D and the free
styles available from ThinkFish for Ray Dream users all work with the
Natural-Media renderer. However, other styles you acquire may be
incompatible. If you have styles that don't work with the
Natural-Media renderer, contact ThinkFish.
Although Ray Dream 3D allows you to use Photoshop-compatible
plug-ins, some newer plug-ins (particularly those which ship with
Photoshop 4) do not work within Ray Dream 3D.
Ray Dream 3D does not open progressive JPEG files.
Shadows generated by volumetric primitives (fountains, clouds,
fog and fire) may behave strangely. You can turn shadow
casting off for these primitives in the
Properties Palette:General Tab.
Limitations:
The Mapping Mode for Master objects cannot be set within the Free
Form modeler. To set a Master object's Mapping Mode, exit to the
Perspective window, then select the Master object in the Masters
tab of the Time Line/Hierarchy window and choose the Mapping Mode
tab in the Properties palette.
If you cannot seem to select a paint shape on the surface of an
object in the Perspective window, it may be on the Master shading
layer. To select and edit it, you must work with the Master
object in the Free Form or Minimum modeling window. For more
information on the Master shading layer, consult your User Guide
(page 193).
When editing Natural-Media render settings in the Batch Queue, no
preview will appear if you have enabled the "Preview Scene" option.
This is because the Batch Queue does not load the entire scene
into memory, so no geometry is available. As a result, you should
disable the "Preview Scene" option and work with the default
(cube) preview in the Batch Queue.
Windows NT - The Icon Handler only works in 32-bit display mode. If
your display is set in a different mode, standard Ray Dream 3D
icons will be substituted for the custom icons saved with some
Browser files.
The faux-SMPTE shader installed by default in the Iguana 1 shader
directory is very complex. When creating a paint shape using this
shader, you may need to click and hold the mouse momentarily before
you can drag the paint shape tool.
Although the G-buffer options in the Scene Settings window:Output tab
are not disabled when the Draft Z-buffer is selected, the G-Buffer
is not compatible with this renderer. If you enable any G-Buffer
channels, they will be created but they will be empty.
COMPATIBLE 3D HARDWARE
-------------------------
The following 3D hardware products are known to be compatible with
Ray Dream 3D:
ATI 3D XPression+ PC2TV
ATI 3D Pro Turbo PC2TV
Creative Labs 3D Blaster PCI
Matrox Millenium
Matrox Millenium II
Matrox Mystique
Diamond Fire GL 1000 (Textures appear excessively bright)
A NOTE ON ADAPTIVE RENDERING VS. RAYTRACING
---------------------------------------------
There have been many questions regarding the speed of the new adaptive
renderer and the raytracer. It is difficult to say exactly when to use
one renderer over another due to the large number of factors influencing
speed: polygon count, shaders, additional features enabled (e.g., soft
shadows, lighting through transparency). However, because of the way
the adaptive renderer handles polygons, rendering scenes with large
amounts of small polygons (e.g., a complex but small model) will most
likely be slower than rendering the same scene with the raytracer.
IVRML SPHERICAL CAMERAS AND THE REALSPACE VIEWER
--------------------------------------------------
We have included a new version of the RealSpace Viewer on the CD. Please
note that .ivr files created with Ray Dream 5.0.2 will NOT work with
older versions of the RealSpace (formerly RealVR) viewer. You will need
to install the included viewer to use any new files from 5.0.2.
IMPORTANT ERRATA
---------------------------------
There are erroneous references to the mesh form modeler in the help file
and in the manual (both paper and on-line). The mesh form modeler is
available ONLY in Ray Dream Studio and NOT in Ray Dream 3D. We
apologize for any inconvenience.