3DC 6.0.24 affects version 5.7a

Richard,

No problem on the sub-object issue, there are ways around that.

I applaud the proposed lod enhancement and reduce operation improvements!

However, I’d prefer to assign a group or object to a specific lod by hand ala Max rather than an automatic assignment by 3DC or the wizard. If you do automate the process please allow the modeler to override the 3DC selections at least on the group level and place them where he wants or drop into a andquot;manualandquot; mode where all lod assignments are made.

You’ve already heard my argument about objects or groups with andquot;largeandquot; bounding boxes actually being andquot;detailandquot; items.

Thanks for a great tool and the constant improvements to it.

The latest version 6.0.2.4 is no longer able to reside on the same system as a 5.7a. Once the 6024 version is installed, it hoses up the View screen settings for 5.7a and if you andnbsp;try to Change the viewscreen settings it will crash…

Note: I use the same view settings all the time. I use the 4 screen view with the 3 smaller axis screens at the bottom.

5.7a was installed before 6 and it worked fine until 6.0.2.4 was installed. andnbsp;There were no issues right up through 6.0.2.3.

I’ve completely removed installations. Each operates fine until both are installed. Version 6 works, 5.7a is broken.
Just thought you might like to know what I’m seeing.

Pete

[BLOCKQUOTE class=’ip-ubbcode-quote’][font size=’-1′]quote:[/font][HR]Unfortunately not. In fact it can’t be installed alongside 5.7a either.

Richard [HR][/BLOCKQUOTE] ^ From topic andquot;3DC 6.0.2.0 available andquot; on version 6.0.2.0 ^ <!– s:) –><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!– s:) –>

Yes indeed as of 6.0.2.4 you can’t install 6.0 and 5.7a along side each other. This was absolutely necessary in order to ensure that 3DC installed on as many systems as possible. The andquot;alongsideandquot; feature was only supposed to work for beta period of 6.0 which of course is long past.

Richard

Manual setting of lod for each group and/or component is at the top of my list, followed by andquot;sub-objectandquot; capability to ease signal model creation.

I’m getting sweaty palms already. <!– s:) –><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!– s:) –>

Hmmm….Maybe an exporter that gives a wider LOD choice ?

Hopefully what I have in mind won’t be a disappointment!

Richard

Quote:

Pete – Just wait till you find out what Richard has in store for MSTS Users soon – you won’t regret the change <!– s;) –><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!– s;) –>

Aaaagh. andnbsp;What a tease. :'(

Pete – Just wait till you find out what Richard has in store for MSTS Users soon – you won’t regret the change <!– s;) –><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!– s;) –>

Ok… I guess I’m one of those people who accept change grudgingly and slowly… andnbsp;I’ll get over it… andnbsp;

I’m ok now.

Deanville,

It all comes down to what I think I can actually do, how much time it will take, and how it will affect 3DC’ state as a andquot;general purpose modellerandquot;. Keep in mind that my best guess is that a very tiny number of purchasers buy for Train Simulator. I want to support you guys, but my first priority is to improve 3DC as a whole. On the bright side, I am actually supporting Train Simulator. I didn’t just put out a product and say andquot;Bye!andquot;. And it’s people like you, Paul, and a few others who have provided plug-ins, models, images etc. that keep me as dedicated as I am.

I have one other small improvement (the result of considerable assistance from Paul) aimed right at Train Simulator users for the next release. See here: [img:1tlotoxb]http&#58;//www&#46;amabilis&#46;com/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB&#46;cgi?board=3DCProGeneral;action=display;num=1066413717[/img:1tlotoxb]
<!– m –><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amabilis.com/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.cgi?board=3DCProGeneral;action=display;num=1066413717">http://www.amabilis.com/cgi-bin/YaBB/Ya … 1066413717</a><!– m –>

Oh, and as I said previosly your andquot;large bounding boxes actually being detail itemsandquot; issue should go away or already be gone due to anti-aliasing.

Richard
PS I would really like to provide links to your plug-ins on the Amabilis web-site (let me know what you think <!– e –><a href="mailto:support@amabilis.com">support@amabilis.com</a><!– e –>)

Both of you were on the right track. It does have to do with LODs. Now keep in mind I haven’t actually written all of it yet, but what I think I can do is this:

I’ve been able to re-write the andquot;Reduceandquot; operation to be much more reliable, preserve textures/materials, and best of all preserve multiple-textures/materials on a single object. This means that I can re-write the LOD builder to generate LODs for objects with multiple materials. In addition, I’m going to change 3DC (or the Wizard-not sure which yet) to have 3DC automatically generate LODs which will be displayed, at which point you will be able to choose which version you want to be your andquot;lowestandquot; quality level. 3DC will then generate LODs between the model you made and the lowest LOD you selected. This way you can guarantee that your model will look good through all of the LOD levels. I haven’t decided for sure, but I may create the LOD levels on the model as a whole, group by group or perhaps even part by part (though that may be tiresome).

Hopefully it will work out, but there are no guarantees.

Sorry Deanville but no work will be done on sub-objects for the next release.

Richard