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- From: tsui@ils.nwu.edu
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.graphics
- Subject: ALADDIN
- Message-ID: <1992Nov12.192017.2331@ils.nwu.edu>
- Date: 12 Nov 92 19:20:17 GMT
- Sender: usenet@ils.nwu.edu (Mr. usenet)
- Distribution: usa
- Organization: Institute for the Learning Sciences
- Lines: 52
- Nntp-Posting-Host: tsui.ils.nwu.edu
-
- this was sent out to the DCTV mailing list, thats why i'm emphasizing DCTV:
-
- Okay, I've had a week to play with this program and I think I should give a
- little review on it:
-
- For starters, this is a great DCTV product. It can output to Opalvision,
- Firecracker, and Resolver also but since DCTV is our format of choice I'll
- concentrate on that.
-
- Literally shitloads of different 3D options. I'm not a pro at 3d but have been
- playing with DRAW 4D PRO for awhile. ALADDIN is a serious upgrade to that
- program. Here's a list of things I've used so far:
-
- animated texture maps (series of DCTV format frames sequentially numbered, the
- program automatically compiles them)
-
- amazing ripple and wave effects (many options)
-
- reflection mapping (no ray tracing but the can be faked very easily this way)
-
- unlimited colored animated lights
-
- morphing (in combination with animated texture maps dissolving from one to
- another)
-
- endless layering of animations (any format)
-
- and others.
-
- The animation layering is very powerful for compositing layers of DCTV
- animations and images on top of each other. This can do a very cool
- multi-plane looking animation (like the Fleischer Bros. POPEYE cartoons). All
- the composited animations were 2D and composited in 3D space. I did one
- animation of water rippling in suspended space with a video animation fading in
- and out as it plays (the animation was a series of frames digitized from DCTV).
-
- The fact that you can use DCTV images directly without having to convert to
- IFF24 is a huge plus, especially for those with limited hard-drives.
-
- The program can load any size textures (24bit, standard IFF, and DCTV) and is
- very easy to texture map. There's also procedural maps and bump mapping.
-
- I think the best thing about the program is that there is a universal interface
- to change different elements (textures, animation, morphing, etc). Once you
- learn one element, its very easy to use all the other tools and features.
-
- I hope this helps others, like I said, i'm not a huge 3D expert but this
- program has many tools to help even 2D animators.
-
- btw, I am not affiliated with the company (ADSPEC) in any way, they're just
- really reliable.
-
-