Hi All,

3D Canvas 7.1.3.0 Alpha 1 is now available for download: Download 3D Canvas 7.1.3.0 Alpha 1

This is a very early version of 7.1.3. There have been 100's of organizational changes made, and some internal re-design. I wouldn't call this release "stable" by any means.

I'm sending this release out sooner than I'd like so that I can get to updating the Rail Simulator export. This release of the Rail Simulator export has no updates to it, but the next release will. This is just a "verify that things are as they were" release for the Rail Simulator export.

This version must be installed on a computer that has 7.1.2 installed for it to work. They should co-operate well together. At least that's my hope.

3D Canvas 7.1.1.2 will continue to be the primary version of 3D Canvas for those not using the Trainworks features of 3D Canvas.

A reminder that 3D Canvas Pro users need to enable the Trainworks functions via Toos -> Options -> Misc.

The only known problem with this release is that the Train Simulator Wizard does not work correctly when it has to change the hierarchy of the scene. There are probably dozens of other problems. I just haven't tested everything yet.

Hi
I have installed 3dc 7.1.3 and they don't work any plug-in. It doesn't export for Rail Simulator. I make other tests and then I tell you.
Doesn't work Plug-in "you Create uniques Name"

quote:

Originally posted by Pasquale:
I have installed 3dc 7.1.3 and they don't work any plug-in.

Remember the purpose of this version:

quote:

Originally posted by Amabilis Support
The "basics" of 3D Canvas will work in this version, but the object builders, plug-ins, scripts, and many exporters will not work.

The RS export should work.

quote:

The RS export should work

It doesn't export for RS, I have retried more than once.

I just exported one of my current model to RS.
It works and the model is displayed in the RS preview window.

Cloned objects are still not exported but it's normal as:

quote:

Originally posted by Amabilis Support:
This release of the Rail Simulator export has no updates to it, but the next release will. This is just a "verify that things are as they were" release for the Rail Simulator export.

I didn't need to to enable the Trainworks functions (the alpha version is certainly reading some info from the 7.1.2 version)

I checked the igs file date: it's not from today.
So I removed it.

The export wizard doesn't create the igs file.
When using file / export as igs, I have a message indicating I must use unique names.

When I open the same model in 7.1.2, the unique name plugin doesn't detect any duplicate names.
The export in 7.1.2 works using file / export as igs.

I have the same problems as Dom107.

After exporting a building with the wizard, i get an unrecoverable error 3201, after the message that my project is exported succesfully.
Textures are exported, the .igs file is not created.

Exporting via file/export give also for me the message about unique names.

Regards

Gerrit

Successfully installed and running on 1 PC.

Have managed to get one of my extra plugins working and found out how to use the CF functions.

I'll be ready for the full release (though I am away in Montreal/NY for 2 weeks at the end of May)

Well, that wasn't very successful was it? I did try exporting/importing KRS and thought it worked,but maybe it just failed without my knowing like it did for DOM107.

Paul,

Yes, I did my usual job of documenting: not. I will get to it though. Glad you figured it out.

My new co-worker has been going through the tutorials and help files, finding problems and suggesting changes. It was really useful to observe the sorts of problems a new user has with 3D Canvas.

I've been working on some improvements to the 3D Canvas Help for the next Alpha. It won't be of any use to experienced users, but hopefully will help beginners with 3D Canvas.

Hi Richard,

Will it be possible to include a post export processing to convert a list of tga files into ACE in order to replace bmp files used in 3DC?

What parameter is using 3DC for ToACE to export textures? It could be the answer to my question.

Hi Dominique,

I'm going to have to look. I forget off hand.

After wiping out my computer, I have managed to get things compiling again. That's half the battle.

Last I left things, I was one bug away from getting Alpha 2 (or Beta 1) out. It's a bug that causes groups to not be reparentable from scripting.

quote:

Originally posted by Amabilis Support:
My new co-worker has been going through the tutorials and help files, finding problems and suggesting changes. It was really useful to observe the sorts of problems a new user has with 3D Canvas.

I've been working on some improvements to the 3D Canvas Help for the next Alpha. It won't be of any use to experienced users, but hopefully will help beginners with 3D Canvas.

My my, this would be a fantastic improvement. Reading these help files is about as clear as mud when you just don't know anything at all.
There is far far too much assumtion in the help files.

Thank you,

I've had some very productive days as of late. I managed to get the Train Simulator Wizard working again with MSTS. I don't have Rail Simulator with me right now to test with, but I will in a few days.

I've also been doing some tidying up of the APIs. This is something most people won't be much interested in, but there really are some major improvements. No doubt Paul will be able to make good use of the changes.

I don't see why there can't be an Alpha 2 next week. I think some of the Object Builders don't work quite right. I made some changes to how data gets transferred. It makes things more sensible and easier for me. Sometimes you have to break things to improve them, it seems.

I'm starting something today that will break absolutely everything. It's something that I wrote 10 years ago, that I've always hated. It won't provide any new functions, but will allow for the selection of objects in separate hierarchies, at some point in the future.

Eventually, I expect it will be possible to pick not only multiple unrelated objects, but point, faces or edges in multiple objects.

I went off track for a bit this morning.

There's a problem with ActiveX objects in that they are very slow to release when there are large numbers of them. 3D Canvas uses quite a few objects, especially in a large scene, since each face is stored as an ActiveX object.

Where this becomes a bigger problem is when you make copies of a shape temporarily, which I do a lot internally. The copy is very fast, but the release is slow. Sometimes I do nothing to the object. I just am making a copy "just in case" I need it.

Well, today I finally thought of a solution. It turns out that I don't normally have to create the "face" objects. Only when a specific face of object is requested is this necessary. Quite often I can get away without accessing the face objects.

I implemented this new change this morning and so far, so good. Making a copy of an object is now very fast, both in the copying and the releasing.

I still have some more to do, but this could improve 3D Canvas' "responsiveness" considerably for more complex scenes.

excellent news!

I'm holding off in releasing a new alpha until I get some fundamental changes to 3D Canvas made. I'm basically breaking everything, and there is no point in my having to test everything multiple times if I can just do it one time once I am all finished.

Things are going very well. I'm quite pleased with the recent changes.