3D Studio Listserv FAQ version 1.0 ---------------------------------- changes, suggestions, and additions should be mailed to gandalf@armory.com Disclaimer : All copyrights and trademarks are held by their respective companies. Products mentioned are not necessarily endorsed. This FAQ may, and should be freely distributed. FAQ History --- ------- v0.5 First post to list, partially complete. v0.6 Spelling corrections. v0.7 Additions from Jim Lammers, et al. v1.0 Released Feb 1, 1995 to Listserv. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Contents I. FAQ info II. What is 3D Studio III. The Listserv 1. Definitions used on the list and in the FAQ. A. Inverse Kinematics B. IPAS C. Field Rendering D. Gamma Correction E. Alpha Channel 2. List of 3DS-related books/magazines A. Books a. Inside 3D Studio Release 3 b. 3D Studio Special Effects c. 3D Studio Tips & Tricks Series + d. Fallingwater in 3D Studio B. Magazines a. Computer Graphics World b. Computer Artist c. PC Graphics and Video d. NewMedia e. Pixel Vision f. 3D Artist g. Computer Animators News h. Planet Studio 3. Output Methods A. Single Frame Output B. Disk recording technology a. DPS PAR * b. Matrox animation eXpress (MAX) * c. FAST ViddeoMachine Non-Linear * C. Film Output a. Slides, 16mm, 35mm * D. Printed output, transparencies 4. Educational Purchasing Information A. Authorized Resellers 5. Computer Animation Schools 6. Rendering Engine Information * A. Scanline renderer B. Z-Buffer/A-Buffer a. Getting Z-Buffer information 7. IPAS A. IPAS Programming a. IPAS Development Kit (SDK) b. Compatible Compilers * c. Dialog Editor (3DE#..ZIP) B. Companies that make IPASs * a. Yost Group b. Pyros Pictures, Inc. * c. POINTER d. Digimation, Inc. e. Schreiber Instruments, Inc. f. Animagic g. Keyscript Co-Op h. Animetix Technologies, Inc. 8. 3DS sources A. FTP Sources + B. Bulletin Board Systems a. The Rendering Plant BBS C. Web Sites 9. Graphics Viewers/converters/utilities A. CShow * B. Graphics Workshop C. Display * D. Qpeg E. Image Alchemy * F. to/from RIB * G. to/from POV * H. to/from DEM I. DTA (Dave's Targa Animator) J. DFV (Ddave's Flic Viewer) * K. Importing from ACAD tips L. GDS 10. Using Operating Systems other than DOS A. Windows 3.x B. Windows NT C. OS/2 11. Related Lists and Newsgroups + A. Lists + B. Newsgroups 12. Other related products * A. Liquid Speed (r3) B. Smacker * C. Fractint * D. Vivid + 13. Contacts/Phone Numbers at Autodesk + 14. Listserv Users + 15. Autodesk press releases A. 11/1/1994 Cyberspace Dev. Kit Grant Program B. 9/20/1994 Autodesk Ships 3DStudio Release 4 * 16. 3DS Revision History 17. Miscellaneous A. File format information found on avalon, /pub/format_specs/Autodesk_fli_and_flc_format.txt C. r5 'Jaguar' on NT Myth -------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- ---I. FAQ Info --- This FAQ was assembled (I say assembled, rather than created, because I did not do this alone) by Eric Vitiello Jr. (gandalf@armory.com). The thought of having a FAQ for the 3D Studio Listserv has been floating around for as long as I can remember. I decided it was time to make one. This may not have everything in it (and if there is something you want to add, mail it to me), but I believe it is a good shot at it. I've attempted to cover all areas and, hopefully, it will serve its purpose. I've tried to credit those who sent in information, and quote them as well as possible. If you feel that you were misquoted, or need credit, mail me and I'll be glad to fix it. This FAQ is here for you - the 3D Studio user - and I'd like to make it the best. Also, if you are quoted in here and would rather not be, mail me and I can replace your name with another source. I would also like comments on the layout and general look and feel of the FAQ. If you know of a better way to lay it out (i.e., more readable), tell me. In the FAQ, some conventions have been used: before the title in the contents : * means I have no information, need information to complete section. + means I would like additional information on this item also, 3D Studio is sometimes referred to as 3DS. --- ---II. What is 3D Studio --- 3D Studio is a 3D modeling, rendering and animation package from the makers of AutoCAD, Autodesk, Inc. The software runs on the IBM/compatible platform. The 3D Studio software allows users to create three-dimensional, photo-realistic images for a variety of purposes. (taken from the welcome message on the listserv) --- ---III. The Listserv --- The listserv itself is sponsored by Autodesk. There has been talk of creating a linked newsgroup, but I have yet to hear a definite finish to this. To subscribe to the list, send mail to majordomo@autodesk.com. In the BODY of the mail, put the line: Subscribe 3dstudio
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in the BODY. The subject lines are not checked, and do not have to exist. Posting to the list is done by sending mail to 3dstudio@autodesk.com. --- ---1. Definitions Used on the list and in the FAQ. --- -- --A. IK (Inverse Kinematics) -- Well, a great source of info on Inverse Kinematics is...yourself. Especially those parts of yourself hanging from your shoulders. IK is the process of defining a structure; a skeleton, for example. The joints of the structure have various attributes and limits - so your elbow only rotates on one axis, about 70 degrees. Your shoulder can rotate in all three axes. Without IK, you can define a hierarchical structure, but in order to move a hand you would need to rotate the shoulder then the elbow, then the hand. Otherwise, the hand would just move away from the wrist. With IK, the limits are defined for each joint, as is a sort of "tense limit" at the ends of the range of each rotation - you can bend your wrist down easily to a point, after that there is some tension, then pain. Also, some joints are more easily moveable than others, so the IK module has a "precedence order" so the wrist might be more likely to rotate than your much heavier upper arm and shoulder. (chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu) -- --B. IPAS -- IPAS routines are 'plug-in' routines for 3DStudio. They come in a variety of flavors: IXP Image Processing external process (like Stars). Accessed in - Keyframer Video Post. Acts on images after rendering. These can be thought of as intelligent 2-D processes. They act like a paint program that knows what to paint, and where after the frame has been rendered. Glowing rockets and blinding lens flares are animated using IXPs. PXP Modeling External program, (like Silicon Garden). This external - system allows third parties to write programs that make objects or object modifications externally and then put the results back into 3DS. Try using Ripple or Wave to get the idea of the seamless integration. AXP Animated Stand-In Object external process (like Tornado). Accessed - in Modify Object Attributes. These are quite unique in that they allow a dummy object (like a cube) to be used for the animation of a more complex thing, usually a particle system. Tornados, rain, snow, fire and other tough-to-animate things can be tackled this way. SXP Surface procedural routine (like Dents). Accessed in Materials - editor in Texture Map or Bump Map filename. They exist because sometimes mapping a 2D image over a 3D object looks unacceptable (lots of streakiness over areas perpendicular to the mapping normal). SXP's are procedural textures. When invoked, the surface color or surface normal is created with a formula that is truly three-dimensional, rather than just wrapping an object with a 2D picture. They use the 3D coordinates and a mathematical algorithm to procedurally create the color or "bumpiness" of the object they are applied to. Often, a much more realistic image can result from effective use of SXPs. BXP Bitmap xeternal process (like Checker). With the advent of release 3, - a new IPAS type was introduced. This type allows third parties to create new types of files. The sample BXP included with release three allows you to create a .CHK file, creating a simple checker pattern. KXP This is another new type of IPAS with release 3. The KXP IPAS is - invoked only in the keyframer, and it allows keys to be altered or created. Typical applications include physics, fractal motion (for jittery objects) and other complex keyframing jobs. Release 4 included a very exciting KXP called SCRIPT.KXP that allows any user to write their own KXP IPAS directly from within 3D Studio. (unknown author) -- --C. Field Rendering -- ...field rendering takes into account the fact that NTSC screens actually display 60 fields per second, not really 30 frames per second. Field rendering takes this into account, allowing you much smoother motion. The human eye can differentiate up to about 48 frames per second, so going from 30 to 60 is a major improvement. Tape output and PAR output both can take advantage of this - just don't turn it on for computer flic playback! (gpyros@pyros.com) NTSC and PAL television systems both use interlaced monitors. This means that each frame you see on the screen consists of two fields. Both fields contain half of the scanlines (vertical lines that contain the colour information) a complete frame has. One field has the even and the other has the odd scanlines of a complete frame. The television screen shows each frame one field at a time, which effectively doubles the refresh rate of the screen. NTSC systems show 60 fields (30 frames) and PAL systems show 50 fields (25 frames) per second. 3D Studio take advantage of this fact. If you turn on the field rendering, for each frame, 3DS first renders half of the scanlines, the does all pre-rendering processing again (moving objects etc) and then renders the other half of the scanlines, ie, the other field. While field rendering takes more CPU time to render, it also results in much smoother motion. Human eye interpolates between the fields and doesn't notice each field only has half of the frame information. If you haven't dealt with fields before or haven't fully grasped how they work, go to 3D Studio and load scene BIRDSHOW.3DS. Go to the keyframer. From rendering options dialog turn on field rendering. Set the image resolution to 320*200 (higher resolutions have too small pixels for you to see properly). Set render to screen to ON and render ALL frames. There's no need to render to disk. Start rendering, and immediately when the rendering starts, press space to see the rendering. Now, look how the image is rendered. At first, only half of the scanlines are being rendered. Then, as the first half of the scanlines have been rendered, look how the bird's position is different on the second half of the scanlines. The curtain and the pole the bird is standing on are exactly on the same position, and don't look `funny' the way the bird does. As 3DS continues to render the subsequent frames, notice how the change in the position of the bird is very small when compared to what it would look like if dropped every other field out. Because of the way FLIC's work they can't take any advantage on fields, so you shouldn't use fields when rendering flics. Most professional quality systems such as PAR (see information about this device elsewhere in this FAQ), however, can show fields, and you should render fields when using such equipment. For further information about fields on 3DS, look at the 3D Studio reference manual chapter 2, page 9 and chapter 7, page 208. Also, check out the manuals of any other video equipment you have on whether they support fields. (jussi.haro@helsinki.fi) -- --D. Gamma Correction -- This is a pretty loose explanation of what gamma does - I would encourage you to do a little more research into the effects of gamma control. The 3DS Advanced User Guide discusses gamma, as does Inside 3D Studio (albeit briefly). The gamma control settings in 3DS allow you to calibrate your output for the difference in nonlinear devices (monitors, printers, video, etc.). Each type of output device may need a different gamma setting. Some devices have built-in gamma correction (targa cards, for example). Since you don't want to gamma correct twice (results in poor image quality), you need to turn off gamma correction in either 3DS or the device. If you're rendering for NTSC video output, a file gamma setting of 2.2 is usually appropriate (as long as no other device is providing correction). Monitor settings will vary depending on the type and age. A little experimentation up front will ensure consistent output between devices. Without using gamma control, you may never achieve the contrast in your final output that you saw on your monitor. (Greg_Combs@cc.wdi.disney.com) -- --E. Alpha Channel -- An alpha channel refers to an 8-bit image, typically gray scale which is used to determine which areas of your desired image (not the alpha image) are to be transparent. For example, imagine one image overlaid on top of another image. If the top image were not transparent, then you could not see the bottom image, even if the top image had completely black areas. You can use a "third" image (an alpha image) to tell your graphics program (3D Studio, for example), which parts of the top image are transparent (with single pixel resolution) and what degree of transparency each pixel should have. Since the alpha image is an 8-bit image, you can have up to 256 levels of transparency. A white pixel (255,255,255) in your alpha image will mean that the corresponding pixel in the top image will be completely opaque (can't see through it). A black pixel (0,0,0) in your alpha image will mean that the corresponding pixel in the top image will be completely transparent and you should be able to see what the pixel of the bottom image looks like (perfectly). The shade of gray of the alpha image will then determine the degree of transparency of your top image. An alpha image that fades from white on the top of the screen to black on the bottom will make your top image become gradually more transparent towards the bottom. (HUERTA@mu-support.acs.muohio.edu) --- ---2. List of 3DS-related books/magazines --- -- --A. Books -- - -a. Inside 3D Studio Release 3 - ISBN# 1-56205-075-3 by Steven Elliot, Phillip Miller, & Gregory Pyros $49.95 USA / $65.95 CAN / 46.99 Net UK (inc of VAT) New Riders Publishing 201 West 103rd Street Indianapolis, IN 46290 USA Includes CD-ROM with over 200 textures (created by Tim Forcade), Graphics Workshop (DOS), VistaPro, AAPLAY. - -b. 3D Studio Special Effects - ISBN# 1-56205-303-5 by Jon bell, Tim Forcade, Gregory Pyros $49.95 USA / $65.95 CAN / 46.99 Net UK (inc of VAT) New Riders Publishing 201 West 103rd Street Indianapolis, IN 46290 USA Includes CD-ROM This book concentrates on higher-end special effects and techniques. The book recommends that the user be on an intermediate or higher level using 3ds. Nicely done, it walks the reader through some interesting effects, several of which require Yost IPAS Disk #6. :-( The CD incudes maps/meshes/project files for the lessons along with over 200 meg of both still and animated maps, along with some utilities. All in all, this book is ok, but seems expensive for the material it covers. For beginners, I would spend the 50 bucks on _Inside 3D STudio_. This book can be bought at a discount for around 35.00US, which is more in line [with the included amount of material]. (RMOILE@unca.edu) - -c. 3D Studio Tips & Tricks Series - by Michelle Bousquet $24.95 each, Technical Tips $29.95 Glass and Reflection ISBN# 0-8273-7014-8 Morphing and Animation ISBN# 0-8273-7017-2 Shaping and Lofting ISBN# 0-8273-7015-6 Animals and People ISBN# 0-8273-7016-4 Materials and Lighting ISBN# 0-8273-7011-3 Technical Tips ISBN# 0-8273-7013-X Delmar Publishers 3 Columbia Circle Albany, NY 12212-5015 TEL:(518)464-3500 FAX:(518)464-0301 800:(800)347-7707 - -d. Fallingwater in 3d studio: A case Study and Tutorial - by Laura Sanchez and Alex Sanchez. Onward Press, c1994. 388 pages, 8 color pages, includes diskette. This is a unique book, in that it is not totally a 3D Studio tutorial guide or a 3D Studio reference. Rather, it combines a historical study of a famous structure (The Fallingwater house that Frank Lloyd Wright built for the Kaufmanns in the 1930s) with a discussion of applied architectural rendering with 3D Studio. The first chapter of the book covers the history of the house, complete with photographs and construction details. This is a fascinating story that is well told, and a breath of fresh air for a reader used to dry tutorials. Following that, the book details the approach taken to model the various elements of the house. The book uses the parts of the house as a basis for tutorials on modeling, lighting, mapping, and animating for the remainder of the book. The approach taken is pretty simple, so that a new user can follow easily. The benefit of this approach is that beginners who want to do architectural work with 3D Studio can easily grasp what's being done and how. The drawback for more experienced users is that there is nothing really very new going on. One would hope that with an entire book essentially *dedicated* to the creation of a single mesh, that by the end you'd have some stunning work. Unfortunately, that never really happens. The mesh supplied on disk and the renderings in the 8 pages of color show off a nice, simple mesh, with moderately competent materials and oversaturated lighting. It might be a nice start for a 3D Studio novice, but it's nothing to write Gary about... Still, I'd give the book a good recommendation, especially for anyone focused on buildings, especially for beginners focused on buildings. (Jim Lammers) -- --B. Magazines -- - -a. Computer Graphics World - Monthly Periodical PenWell Publishing Company Executive and Editorial Offices: 10 Tara Boulevard, 5th Floor Nashua, NH 03062-2801 (603)891-0123; FAX:(603)891-0539 For subscription inquiries only: TEL:(918)835-3161 ext. 400 FAX:(918)831-9497 TDD:(918)831-9566 Cover Price: $4.95 US, $5.95 Canada, 2.50 UK Subscription: 1 year (12 issues): $38 US, $47 Canada/Mexico, $73 Asia/Pacific, $55 Other International 2 years (24 issues): $69 US, $86 Canada/Mexico, $131 Asia/Pacific, $99 Other International - -b. Computer Artist - Every-Other-Month Periodical PenWell Publishing Company Executive and Editorial Offices: 10 Tara Boulevard, 5th Floor Nashua, NH 03062-2801 TEL:(603)891-0123 FAX:(603)891-0539 Subscription Services: PO Box 3188, Tulsa, OK 74101 TEL:(918)831-9405 FAX:(918)831-9555 Cover Price: $4.95 US, $5.95 Canada, 2.50 UK Subscription: 1 year (6 issues): $19.95 US, $29.95 Canada/Mexico, $39.95 International 2 years (12 issues): $24.95 US, $44.95 Canada/Mexico, $54.95 International - -c. PC Graphics/video - Monthly Periodical ADVANSTAR Communications 201 E. Sanndpointe Avenue, Suite 600 Santa Ana, CA 92707 TEL:(714)513-8400 FAX:(714)513-8612 Cover Price: $3.95 US, $4.95 Canada Subscription: 1 year (12 issues): $24.95 US, $34.95 Canada, $49.95 International - -d. NewMedia - Approximately Monthly Periodical Hypermedia Communications Inc. Customer Service: TEL:(609)786-4430 Cover Price: $4.95 US, $5.95 Canada Subscription: FREE - -e. Pixel Vision - Published five times per year - January, March, May, August, and October. Published by Pixel Vision 154 West 57th Street not 832 New York, NY 10019 Subscription Services: Box 1138 Madison Square Station New York, NY 10159 Cover Price: usually around $6.95 (imported from France) Subscription: 1 year (5 issues): $40 US, $55 outside US - -f. 3d Artist - Seems to be random publishing, lists estimated publishing dates each issue. Published by Columbine, Inc. PO Box 4787 Santa Fe, NM 87502 TEL:(505)982-3532 FAX:(505)820-6929 Cover Price: $4.00 US, $5.55 Canada Subscription: 12 issues: $29.00 US, $41 Canada/Mexico, $46.00 Elsewhere. - -g. Computer Animators News - Monthly Disk-based Published by Jeff Glaze 6940 Roswell Rd. Atlanta GA, 30328 (404)395-0003 Subscription: 12 issues: $36 US CD-ROM (eighteen original issues) : $19.95 +$3 PH - -g. Planet Studio - Bimonthly Published by Techmedia Publishing, a division of IDG Communications 80 Elm Street, Box 802 Peterborough, NH 03458 TEL:(603)924-0100 FAX:(603)924-4066 Cover Price: $ not sure - will update Subscription: 12 issues: not sure - will update TechMedia Publishing, Inc. For More Information: Barbara Gefvert Editor (603) 924-0100 Wendie Marro Marketing Director (603) 924-0100 --News Release Planet Studio to be Launched at SIGGRAPH 94 Newsletter for Users of Autodesk(R) Multimedia Products Published by an IDG Company Peterborough, NH (July 21, 1994) - Dale Strang, President of TechMedia Publishing, an IDG company, recently announced the launch of a bimonthly newsletter entitled Planet Studio, for Autodesk Multimedia Users. Planet Studio is geared toward high-end users of the entire roster of multimedia products developed by Autodesk. While Planet Studio will focus heavily on the creative applications of 3D Studio - including its impressive open-architecture and networking features - the newsletter will also cover Autodesk's Animator Pro, Autovision, Cyberspace Developer Kit, Texture Universe, and ancillary products such as 3D Studio File Toolkit, 3D Studio Plug-In Toolkit, the Animation Support Libraries, Animation Player for Windows, as well as the many exciting and versatile third-party products "orbiting" around the Autodesk Multimedia "planet." The premiere issue of Planet Studio will display a short, lead-in format guaranted to pique the interest of Autodesk fans; subsequent issues call for a sixteen-page format replete with four-color, innovative text and graphical elements. The newsletter will debut at SIGGRAPH 94, one of the leading trade show events with a special emphasis on computer graphics and interactive techniques. SIGGRAPH 94 takes place in Orlando from July 26-28, and the premiere issue of Planet Studio will be available in both the Digital Video booth (#232) and the Autodesk booth (#1406). "Customers and ISVs using Autodesk Multimedia Products will be very happy with the scope of Planet Studio," commented Joe Fantuzzi, general manager of Autodesk Multimedia. "This publication provides in-depth technical tips and techniques for customers, while enabling our ISVs a great way to get their innovations reviewed by our customers." "Autodesk's multimedia products have a tremendous following," commented Barbara Gefvert, Editor of Planet Studio. "The creative people who use them-animators, artists, multimedia producers, videographers, applications developers-are crying out for product-specific information and inspiration. Planet Studio is responding with insightful articles and helpful resources specially geared to their needs." "The multimedia tools market is exciting, and one we feel particularly well equipped to serve, given the synergy with our publications AmigaWorld and Digital Video," commented Strang. "We will be affirming our support of this dynamic market with the launch of Planet Studio." TechMedia Publishing, Inc., an International Data Group company, publishes two other titles, Digital Video and AmigaWorld. Digital Video is the leading source of news, views and tools for the video age. AmigaWorld is the definitive source of information for the entire line of Amiga computers and related products. IDG is the world's foremost publisher of computer-related information and the leading global provider of information services on information technology, with over 200 computer publications in 63 countries. --- ---3. Output methods --- There's a lot that can be written on this subject ranging from video standards, tape formats, disk recording devices, etc. Honestly much too much to describe in this part of the FAQ file. I'll concentrate on broadcast level quality output of computer animations. When it comes to professional level broadcast video output of animations there are a few possible solutions. The most widely used video standard used for broadcast purposes is BetaCam-sp. There are other options such as MII (M2), 1", 3/4", and the high-end digital machines like D1 through D5 or the new digital BetaCam. For sake of argument let's concentrate on the standard analog BetaCam-Sp. To record a 3D Studio animation to tape each frame of the animation has to be recorded to tape individually, this is commonly referred to as single frame (SF) recording. This because a sequence of 24-bit Targa files in broadcast resolution simply can't be played back in realtime (without the use of a disk recording/disk playback device). To do this you will need a (broadcast) video output board (such as the Truevision boards or Matrox Illuminator Pro boards which are among the most common). This will provide the actual video output (either composite or component). Next you will need a single frame controller that will be the card that controls the VTR attached to it. There are a number of different cards ranging from a simple RS-422 $800 solution up to $4000 boards. You will need to check if a specific VTR can be controlled from a specific card. The actual recording process is simple and is controlled in 3D Studio directly. It does take some time however to SF record all frames. The tape passes the video heads for each frame to record (rewinding, recording, etc). On average a frame takes about 10 to 15 seconds to record. To do all this in-house you will need to make some investments regarding the video output, VTR, controller, and cables and extra's. If that might be too high there is a possibility to go to a single frame recording service. There are a number of those companies (also known as RenderFarms) in the world. The price for this service depends on the video standard and format used and the company, some will charge by the hour, and some will charge by frame. The drawback of doing it all inhouse is that you will need to render all frames which can take a huge amount of time. This means having to invest in more machines to network render, etc. There are service bureaus and renderfarms that will also do the rendering from 3DS for you at a certain price. Even when you have the equipment inhouse to do all this it sometimes can be a financial gain (and a time gain) to use such a service. We just send the project archive to the service and have them render and SF record it to Betacam-sp. It helps a lot, especially when we are pressed for time working on different projects. It's best to render and single frame record all animations in field mode since that will produce a real smooth and clean effect for motion. You will immediately notice the difference when a frame and field mode animation are played next to eachother on two screens. You have to see the difference to appreciate it. (sdidak@euronet.nl) -- --A. Single Frame Output -- -- --B. Disk recording technology -- - -a. DPS PAR - The PAR is available in NTSC and PAL versions. However not NTSC with 0 back setup (Japan). It's sold through different companies. I found Digimation the cheapest around. With a TBC-IV card and a 1.7G HD(need to be Micropolis or Seagate and only certain models) about $4000. The output quality is very reasonable for the price. I as an video engineer would justify it in a BetaCam level edit situation (special in component form). For rotoscoping I would not consider it to be used in BetaCam level edit situation. Due to the "JPEG" ringing on the high frequency components of the video signal. >From the PAR manual: What is the Personal Animation Recorder? The Personal Animation Recorder(or Par, for short) is a revolutionary tool for computer animators. Used in conjunction with your personal computer and animation rendering software, it eliminates the need for a single-frame video tape recorder and controller, while giving you real-time playback of full resolution animation sequences. PAR is actually three tools in one: an animation record/playback deck, a real-time video capture deck for rotoscoping, and a still store with stunning access speed and storage efficiency. You'll find many applications for it, including : * Computer animation * Camera animation * Time lapse video recording * Still frame (from camera or computer) storage Some of the many features of the Personal Animation Recorder are: * Accepts animation frames directly from rendering programs such as 3D Studio * Copies existing images from PC disk drive * Compatible with 24 or 32 bit Targa files * Switchable filter to prevent chrominance aliasing from Targa files * Project organizer for image and animation files * Real time video capture with variable frame rate, and still grabs (when used with TBC-IV card, not supplied) * Animation editing features: joint, split, duplicate,etc * General Purpose Interface for triggered payback from edit controller * Variable speed playback * Genlockable video outputs with variable timing * Video output formats: composite NTSC, S-VHS, Beta Cam or MII * TBC IV proc-amp controls Background: Why the PAR? For most applications, computer-generated animations have to be transferred to videotape in order to be useful. However, unless you have a supercomputer, animation rendering in real time ( at the video rate of 30 frames per second) is not possible. In fact, using a personal computer, rendering each frame of animation can take 30 minutes or more! Therefore, the recording of an animation calls for a videotape recorder (VTR) which is capable of single frame recording. Such machines are much more sophisticated then consumer VCRs, and typically cost upwards of $15,000. In addition, a device called a single frame controller is required to coordinate the recording process. Each time the computer has finished rendering a frame of the animation the controller tells the VTR to move the tape back and forth until it is precisely positioned one frame beyond the recording so far. It does this by reading a time code that was previously recorded onto the tape (even on frames with no video recorded on them yet). The new frame is recorded onto tape; the VTR then idles for half an hour until the next frame is ready. Obviously, there is a lot of wear and tear on the machine's transport mechanism. For example, in order to record a 3 minute animation, the VTR goes through more then 5,000 cycles of activating its solenoids, slamming all its levers, belts and cogs, and stretching the tape. Also the heads (which can cost thousands of dollars to replace) very quickly get a lot of hours on them, increasing the likelihood of bad frames. Because of the required 5 seconds preroll, each spot on the tape is going through the transport 150 times while recording. A lot of things can go wrong, resulting in poor technical quality, missed deadlines, and high blood pressure. The solution, at least in principle, has long been obvious. Since the animation frames are rendered on a computer, why not use the computer's disk drive to store them? When they're all finished, just play them at normal video speed, and record the result with a conventional VTR. If there are any glitches occurred in the recording, just tape them again. Hardware and software to do this is quite easy to find, if you're willing to settle for low resolution, limited palette graphics. But if you're looking for 752 x 480 resolution, 16 million colors, component video and 60 fields per second, there's a serious problem: computer disk drives can't possible keep up with the data transfer speeds required. Also, there's the question of size: a single frame of high-quality animation can take 700Kbytes of memory. Multiply this by 30 frames per second, and you'll quickly see that a lot of disk is required for the animation. For example, a three minute show would need almost 4 gigabytes! And think how long it would take to make a backup. (rob@twics.com) --- ---4. Educational Purchasing Information --- - You get the education discount from an Autodesk representative that serves your school. I told the CAD support person the college I go to and the city it's located in, and they gave me the company name, representative to ask for, and the phone number to get hold of them. - If you are an undergrad, you can only buy up to 3DS version 2.0; if you are a graduate student or faculty, you can buy up to 3DS version 3.0. The cost of the software will be given by your representative, not from AutoDesk. This explains a few of the differences in prices I got from the responses of people from the net (anywhere from $795 to $895.) - You cannot upgrade the software (say from version 3.0 to version 4.0) but you do get bug fix upgrades. - It is a full working version with manuals and disks, and includes 1 CD-ROM disk and 1 hard key (there is a hardware lock which they have on all 3DS software, not just the educational ones, but retail as well.) - The software is for non-commercial use only. If you plan to use 3DS for commercial use, they give a $100 coupon with the Educational discount that allows you to trade in the Education copy plus the $100 coupon to take off the full price of the retail product. - You do not get free technical support. You will have to call your local representative and pay. There is a 900 number. (norkus@rtsg.mot.com) -- --A. Authorized Resellers -- To find the authorized Autodesk dealer nearest you, call 1-800-964-6432. --- ---5. Computer Animation Schools --- For the past couple of years, I've been pursuing starting a career in computer animation. My skills themselves are good, howeever, I would like some professional training. I also want a degree. So I have searched through the country for schools that offer a degree in computer animation or some related degree. I came across a brochure from Walt Disney Professional Staffing (that information is at the bottom). Academy of Art College Pratt Institute 540 Powell Street 200 Willoughby Ave. San Francisco, CA 94108 Brooklyn, NY 11205 415-765-4200 718-636-3600 Cal Arts New York School of Visual Arts 24700 McBean Parkway 209 E. 23rd Street Valencia, CA 91355 New York, NY 10010 805-255-1050 212-679-7350 Art Center College of Design Ringling School of Art & Design 1700 Lida St. 1111 Twenty-Seventh St. Pasadena, CA 91103 Sarasota, FL 33580 818-584-5038 813-351-4614 or 800-255-7695 Kansas City Art Institute Rhode Island School of Design 4415 Warwick Blvd. Two College Street Kansas City, MO 64111 Providence, RI 02930 816-561-4852 401-331-3511 Columbus College of Art & Design Sheridan College of Applied 47 N. Washington Ave. Arts & Technology Columbus, OH 43215 1430 Trafalgar Road 614-224-9101 Oakville, Ontario CANADA L682L1 416-849-2814 This was copied from an information packet provided by Walt Disney Professional Staffing. You can get a copy of this brochure by mailing: Walt Disney World Professional Staffing PO Box 10090 Lake Buena Vista Florida 32830 --- ---6. Rendering Engine Information --- -- --A. Scanline Renderer -- -- --B. Z-Buffer/A-Buffer -- Z-buffers (as far as 3DS R2 used them). When 3DS starts to render, it does a quick check to find all the objects that might appear on the screen. It then "renders" each object (face at a time) by calculating the color from the lights and materials for each pixel on the face. At this point, you have a pixel for your rendering. What to do with the pixel? Well, if you were daring, you could just throw it on the screen. The only problem with this is what if two objects are on the same pixel on the screen? This happens when you have one object behind another (happens a lot in 3D ). Well, if you're lucky you'll render the two objects in the right order and the back object will get rendered first and the front object on top of the back pixel. Usually this never happens because people don't create scenes from back to front. With a little bit of elbow grease, you can make the computer sort everything in Z-order before starting the render. In fact, there is a commonly-known algorithm called "painters" that sorts objects in 3D so that everything gets drawn in the right order. Painters is what the 3DS R2 preview flic does. You may see it drawing the polygons in Z-order if you watch closely. The problem with painters is that it is impossible to antialias, often very slow in a big scene, and you have to re-sort every time something moves. It also doesn't handle intersections well. A Z-buffer lets you get around the need to sort objects. A Z-buffer is sort of like your image buffer except instead of storing the color of the pixel, it stores the distance of the pixel from the camera plane. The distance from the camera is often referred to in camera equations as the "Z" distance, hence the term "Z-buffer". Every time a new pixel is rendered, its z-distance is compared to the Z-distance in the buffer. If the Z-distance is closer, then its color is put on top of the old color, and its closer distance is stored in the Z-buffer for comparisons with later objects. Z-buffers get a little hairy when you add transparency to the mix. Because there is more than one pixel being mixed together (10% blue glass on 20% yellow glass over a pink polka dot background, for example), and the z-buffer only stores the distance of the closest pixel, the renderer has to stop everything when it encounters a transparency and cast a ray from the camera through all the objects in the scene so it can find all the pixels that need to be mixed together. This extra operation is why 3DS R2 would slow down sometimes as much as 10x when transparency was used. Z-buffers let you antialias, but only by rendering fractions of a pixel and then averaging them together. This is why "Low", "Medium", and "High" options in R2 took longer than none. 3DS was rendering multiple times for each screen pixel. Antialiasing in this way also creates a "box" pattern which makes some thin edges shimmer with a rope-like pattern in an animation. In 3DS R3 the z-buffer was dumped in favor of an a-buffer. An a-buffer stores more than the distance from the camera. It stores the percentage of coverage of a pixel. If a pixel is 10% transparent, then the a-buffer records that. If the edge of an object only covers half a pixel, then the a-buffer stores 50%. The a-buffer also stores every surface color that falls on a pixel. So if you have 5 transparent objects in front of each other, it stores them all in whatever order they occur. This eliminates the need to do the special transparency processing a z-buffer needs. After 3D Studio has rendered all the objects, it then adds the values in the a-buffer together and puts them in the image buffer. You can see this stage happening when 3DS dumps a band of image to the display. With a-buffers, antialiasing comes for free so there is no speed lost in getting high-quality antialiasing. In 3DS R4, a few developers requested access to the Z-buffer for a variety of reasons. In an IXP you can do effects that are sensitive to camera distances, rack focus blurring being one of the effects possible. A paint brush engine could use the z information to sense surface contours, to create a more realistic brush look. To facilitate this, 3DS R4 added a step where it computes a z-buffer from the a-buffer information. Some have suggested that the a-buffer information would have been useful, but the a-buffer is only generated a band at a time, because to keep a whole image as an a-buffer would eat enormous amounts of memory. To provide a banded a-buffer would have required changes to IPAS far beyond the scope of the R4 release. (grantb@autodesk.com) - -a. Getting Z-Buffer info - There is a freeware IPAS called SEEZ.IXP available. To make it work, you must alter the 3DS.SET file. There is a setting in 3DS.SET to turn on Z-buffer access in Video Post. Note that activating this adds a significant memory hit to Video Post rendering, so you'll probably want to de-activate it when you are done using a Z buffer IPAS for a while. When you put the SEEZ.IXP ipas as a process into the queue in video post, rendering will produce a greyscale, non-aliased image that is black at the farthest point in the geometry and white at the closest. Why is this useful? It's extremely useful as a bump map creator! Just model any geometry you want to use as a bump map, and render with SEEZ. You may want to post process the resultant image with JAG, or a small gaussian blur in a photo-editing program to fix the inherent non-aliased (jaggy) look. Note that this will ONLY work in Release 4, which added the IPAS "hooks" necessary to allow anything to get to the Z buffer. (Jim Lammers) The trick with using SEEZ (of which the source code is part of the IPAS4 SDK) can also be used for a trick that has been described in the book '3DS special effects' from NRP (see this FAQ file). The grayscale images can be used as a depth matte that will allow you create stunning depth-of-field effects or underwater looks. (sdidak@euronet.nl) --- ---7. IPAS --- -- --A. IPAS Programming -- - -a. IPAS Development Kit (SDK) - The IPAS SDK enables 3D studio users to program all the different types of IPAS routines possible for 3D Studio. The SDK consists of a number of 'C' Libraries (one for each supported compiler in both standard and debug versions). If you are interested in programming an IPAS routine it would be helpful to take a look at the book '3DS special effects' from New Riders Publishing. There are a number of chapters in there written by Keith Seifert from Schreiber Instruments that include actual 'C' source code for the IPAS routines. This is a good place to get started into checking it out. Also any PD routine that includes source code would be handy altough there are not many of those. To actually program an IPAS routine you have to have at least a basic/intermediate understanding of the C/C++ programming language since that is the language to program in. It helps if you already have a lot of programming experience. In addition to the libraries the SDK contains a load of different examples for each routine type that will get you started showing how certain things are implemented. I must add that in order to get a good understanding of the IPAS interface and it's functions you need to invest some time and energy to figure a lot out yourself with help from the manual and the source code samples. In the beginning it can be quite hard to get started, believe me I know from first hand experience. There are a number of 'traps and pitfalls' as I like to call them that will easily catch you off guard when programming. The IPAS SDK offers basic functions for creating and modifying mesh geometry, keyframe information, limited graphics functions that will enable you to draw directly on the 3DS screen, support for loading and saving bitmaps, modifying scanlines, image processing, etc. Also the SDK offers a nice set of functions and structures to create custom dialogs that will make the IPAS routine more attractive and user friendly. There have been a number of updates in the IPAS SDK (version 2, 3, 4). The IPAS2 SDK is almost rendered obsolete since that allowed very limited operations being done so we won't even try to cover it here. The IPAS3 and IPAS4 SDK's are the ones that made a real improvement by adding the new BXP and KXP routines. My personal oppinion is to use the latest version that corresponds with the 3DS version number. It's possible to develop and IPAS routine using the IPAS4 SDK and have the routine being compatible with 3D Studio Release 3 as long as you don't use any IPAS4 specific functions. It also works the other way around, routines developed using IPAS3 will run fine under 3D Studio Release 4. The best new features of the IPAS4 SDK in contrast to the IPAS3 SDK are the improved and faster blit functions (making use of the Vibrant drivers), loading and saving *.3DS files directly from the routine, access to viewport structure information, and a lot of bug removals. The basic setup of the IPAS interface is like having a routine that will communicate with 3D Studio and actually controlling 3D Studio. The IPAS routine communicates with 3D Studio through an external process buffer that contains information that will be filled in when the IPAS routine requests that information from 3D Studio. That's the basic communication. Concluding from my own experience I can't say that it's hard or difficult to program IPAS routines, it's just a matter of getting used to the way it works, knowing the functions available to you, and investing some time in exploring. Then again this is when you already have a good understanding of the 'C' programming language. (sdidak@euronet.nl) - -b. Compatible Compilers - Watcom C/C++ 9.5 patchlevel B Watcom C/C++ 10.0 (and 10.0a) Metaware High C/C++ 3.0 and 3.1 and the Phar Lap 386 SDK 2.2d or later. Metaware High C/C++ 3.11/3.2 and the Phar Lap 386 SDK 2.2d or later. That's it! Nothing less, nothing more. ***The above list of compilers are the only onces that are supported. As a matter of fact these are the only two compilers that can be used to develop IPAS routines. So attempting to use Zortech, Microsoft Visual, or Borland compilers is waysted energy and time. (sdidak@euronet.nl) - -c. Dialog Editor (3DE#..ZIP) - -- --B. Companies that make IPASs -- - -a. Yost Group - - -b. Pyros Pictures, Inc. - 1201 Dove Street, Suite 550 Newport Beach, CA 92660 TEL:(714)833-0334 FAX:(714)833-8655 Internet: gpyros@pyros.com CIS:73027,3632 Pyros Pictures, provides a wide range of IPAS routines, including over 35 'Action IPAS' plug-ins. They have created drivers and IPASs for Autodesk, Abekas, Digital Processing Systems, Sony, and HSC's Kai's Power Tools. They also are capable of creating custom IPAS routines, UNIX and DOS stand-alone programs, and Keyscripts. As yet another service, Pyros Pictures can render, or lay animation to tape using broadcast quality single frame dumping, or through a PAR. Animations can be put to laserdisk, BetaSP, VHS, or SVHS. Music and special audio effects can also be added. Thier rendering network is comprised of ten machines, all with 64MB of RAM. - -c. POINTER - - -d. Digimation, Inc. - 315 Saint Anthony Street Luling, LA 70070 TEL:(504)785-3969 FAX:(504)785-2940 800:(800)854-4496 Mirage: Creates distorion effects such as Cloaking space ships, heat distortion, waves, ripples, and color shifting. Mirage comes with pre-defined effects and on-line help. $295 Bones: Skeletal deformation tool. Allows you to construct spline skeletons for your objects. By bending and moving the 'bones' the object bends and conforms in real time. $295 LenZFX: Series of efffects including Flare, Starlight, Aura, and ZFocus, a true ddepth of field camera blur. $295 Digimation also distribues a wide variety of other add-ons for 3DStudio, and has a well-developed suite of 3DS training tapes. - -e. Schreiber Instruments, Inc. - Denver, Colorado USA: TEL:(303)759-1024 FAX:(303)759-0928 800:(800)252-1024 UK: TEL:44.672.62040 FAX:44.672.63001 Canada: TEL:(604)769-0234 FAX:(604)769-0235 Asia(NZ) TEL:64.9.309.3204 FAX:64.9.309.4273 Schreiber has a large catalog of IPAS routines. Some of these include: Metaballs for 3dstudio, $495/$595 international Imagine FX, $300/$360 international - -f. Animagic - Animagic & Animagic Development Doelstraat 147 3011 AJ Rotterdam The Netherlands Phone : +31.10.412.5719 FIDO : 2:283/203.30 PCGnet : 2:580/203.30 RenderRing : 511:8000/203.30 - -g. Keyscript Co-Op - Mark Pennel, Mark Almon, and myself (Jim Lammers) are organizing a scripting cooperative. What this group is about is sharing skills at keyscript programming and ideas for useful keyscripts. What that means to 3D Studio Users is ultimately a collection of powerful, well written scripts for all kinds of uses! The approach to the group we are currently planning is: - Interested keyscripters let us know that they are available to help write some code - 3D Studio animators with ideas of what would make good keyscripts let us know their ideas - keyscript writers who are enthusiastic about a given idea, take it and run with it. Probably groups of 2 to 6, whatever works out to be an effective way to divide the labor. Labor division could be spread by Interface, main routines, and main subroutines; but clearly it's up to the sub-group of keyscripters to find what works well for them. The benfits of such a group should be exciting to everyone - we can avoid duplication of effort, and combine efforts to make the best keyscripts in the shortest time. Ultimately, there might be several dozen super-high quality free keyscripts for all kinds of general uses. Our inspiration is the Stone Soup Group and the PoVRay development team- both have produced extremely high quality copyrighted freeware. Similarly, created keyscripts would be copyrighted by thier respective programmers, but would be free to all. Also, the Keyscript cooperative would be active on Internet, Compuserve and the Rendering Plant BBS simultaneously. Typically after a team is formed, they would debate the interface, the logic, and what features to include for a given idea. Then the tasks could be broken up and team members would separately code their part. After debugging, the finalized script would be made available. Then the real fun begins, where users can take the source and enhance it, hopefully sending their enhancements back to the team for inclusion in the next "release". Or at least users might send a note that says "it would really be cool if..." -- --h. Animetix Technologies, Inc. -- 226 Rue Darwin, Suite 2C Verdun PQ, Canada H3E 1C6 TEL:(514)767-2205 FAX:(514)765-3410 800:(800)264-6389 Animetix is the maker of two products which all 3DS users have craved at one time or another. Thumbview material browser: allows you to preview a material before selecting it. Thumbview File Browser: allows previewing of meshes before loading. --- ---8. 3DS sources --- -- --A. FTP Sources -- This is a plain llist of FTP sources for meshes, textures and utilites that can be used with 3DStudio. Unless otherwisee specified, use normal FTP procedure. (i.e. login: ftp or anonymous; password: your email address.) - avalon.vislab.navy.mil /pub/utils/3ds /pub/objects/3ds a CD-ROM is also availible of this site from Syndesis 235 South Main Street Jefferson, WI 53549 (USA) (414)674-5200 (414)674-6363 Fax this site was formerly known as avalon.chinalake.navy.mil - ftp.povray.org - ftp.csn.net /pub/Schreiber - princeton.edu /pub/Graphics/rayshade.4.0 - wuarchive.wustl.edu [128.252.135.4] /graphics/graphics /mirrors/msdos/graphics /systems/ibmpc/msdos/graphics /packages/architec/Textures - ftp.netcom.com /pub/munkeby - phoenix.oulu.fi - sculptor.as.arizona.edu - ftp.autodesk.com - ftp.cis.nctu.edu.tw - graphics.rent.com -- --B. Bulletin Board Systems -- - -a. The Rendering Plant BBS - The Rendering Plant BBS is one of the world's premier sources for 3D Studio meshes, IPAS routines, keyscripts, texture maps, and everything that relates to graphics, rendering, raytracing, fractals, fonts, and drivers. The focus of the board is to not only act as a well-organized file library and information resource for animators, but also to actively create/convert/enhance new files for the collection. Dozens of new meshes and textures are posted every month, as well as all the latest shareware related to graphics. It is a primary hub for the keyscript co-operative, a group of keyscript programmers who collaborate on new scripts and subroutines for the good of all 3D Studio users. Future plans include adding more lines, adding more files, adding PCGNet mail, and eventually becoming reachable through the internet. Sysop Jim Lammers can be reached outside the BBS via Internet (trinity@tyrell.net) and Compuserve (73261,66). First-time callers are given full access with the exception of download privledges on the majority of the file areas. File areas accessible to all callers include images, animations, and the new-user area (which contains the BBS' current file list and several utilities). Callers may upgrade instantly while on-line with a credit card. Credit Card subscription works for callers from any country in the world (our user list is very multi-national). Callers may also subscribe by check, through the mail. Annual subscriptions are $36/year as of 1/95; this allows the subscriber 60 minutes/day of full access. -- --C. Web Sites -- hhtp://www.cm.cf.ac.uk/Ray.Tracing/ http://pc-b053.derby.ac.uk/3ds.htm http://mambo.ucsc.edu/psl/sgiftp.html --- ---9. Graphics Viewers/converters/utilities --- -- --A. CShow -- CShow stands for CompuShow, a DOS based image viewer. The utility is designed to do one thing - put images on the screen as fast as possible. To this end, it's an invaluable utility in registered or nonregistered form. It is easy to set up for the graphics card of the machine it is installed in (even allowing the user to peek at the copyright area of the graphic card BIOS if necessary to determine the flavor of graphics card!). Once it knows the type of graphics card, it can automatically configure itself for every format (including truecolor) that the card is capable of. From then on, viewing is accomplished by simply typing CSHOW at the DOS prompt. A list of all files in the current directory is shown. Hitting the spacebar when an image file is highlighted will cause the program to (near-) instantaneously display it at optimal resolution and color depth. Hitting the return key brings up an information screen about the file, and lists options for displaying the image from this screen. Cshow supports most variants of most common image formats including TIFF, GIF, PCX, Targa, BMP, JPG and many others. It comes in two flavors: CSHOW 2000 and CSHOW regular (currently at version 8.77). The CSHOW 2000 version is designed in a pseudo-windows style that is perhaps more user friendly, but this author prefers the old version. Registering the software costs $25, and enables many additional functions, such as printing of the images. The publisher of Cshow is Canyon State Systems. -- --B. Graphics Workshop -- -- --C. Display -- Display, written by Jih-Shin Ho is one of the most complete and comprehensive graphics packages I have found. As the DOC file says: This program lets you READ, WRITE and DISPLAY images/movies with different formats. It lets you do some special effects (rotation, dithering, [and about 15 others]...) on images as well. Features: Includes simple file management system. Supports 'slide show', 'batch conversion', 'contact sheet making', 'image preview'. There is NO LIMIT on image size. This program supports 8, 15, 16, 24 bits display. Supports movie files (DL, FLI/FLC, RAW, MPEG, AVI, GL, IFF/ANIM). Supports FLC making. Supports mouse. The official site is NCTUCCCA.edu.tw:/PC/graphics/disp. The IP address is 140.111.1.10 or 192.83.166.10 It supports the following formats: Read: GIF(.gif), Japan MAG(.mag), Japan PIC(.jpc), Sun Raster(.ras), Jpeg in Jfif(.jpg), XBM(.xbm), Utah RLE(.rle), PBM(.pbm), PGM(.pgm), PPM(.ppm), PM(.pm), PCX(.pcx), Japan MKI(.mki), Tiff(.tif), Targa(.tga), XPM(.xpm), Mac Paint(.mac), GEM/IMG(.img), IFF/ILBM/PBM(.iff,.lbm), Windows BMP(.bmp), QRT ray tracing(.qrt), Mac PICT(.pct), VIS(.vis), PDS(.pds), VIKING(.vik), VICAR(.vic), FITS(.fit), Usenix FACE(.fac), IRIS(.sgi), YUV(.yuv), RAW RGB(.rgb), PCPAINT/Pictor(.pic,.clp), RAW GREY(.gry), Photo-CD(.pcd), VORT output(.pix), WordPerfect Graphics(.wpg), Windows ICON(.ico). DL(.dl), FLI(.fli), FLC(.flc), RAW(.raw, produced by DMPEG), MPEG(.mpg), AVI(.avi), GL(.gl), IFF/ANIM(.anm). the extensions in () are standard extensions. Write: GIF, Sun Raster, Jpeg, XBM, PBM, PGM, PPM, PM, Tiff, Targa, XPM, Mac Paint, Ascii, Laser Jet, IFF/ILBM, Windows BMP, Mac PICT, VIS, FITS, FACE, PCX, GEM/IMG, IRIS, YUV, RAW RGB, Postscript, RAW GREY, Wordperfect Graphics., Windows ICON. Preview: GIF, Jpeg, Windows BMP, PBM, PGM, PPM, Targa, PCX, MacPaint, Photo-CD. Registration is nearly free. The author only requests a postcard from where you live. -- --D. Qpeg -- -- --E. Image Alchemy -- Well, in case anyone is unfamiliar with the the excellent program IMAGE ALCHEMY, I will attempt to enlighten. IMAGE ALCHEMY, which I shall refer to as simply ALCHEMY, is a shareware dos-based command line graphics conversion program. It is written by the folks at Handmade Software, which is a company that has been around for a while and really know their stuff. They were amongst the companies in the Joint Photographic Experts Group, which designed the JPEG picture format. ALCHEMY can convert between a diverse number of graphics formats, each with several varients available. Their goal is to support every graphic format, and they claim they will attempt to add any formats that are suggested to them if the demmand is great enough. One of the strengths of alchemy is that it does not rely on extension mapping to determine a file's format. It can identify unkown images and does so automatically. It will also do batch conversions via wild cards. So you can convert 100's of images with a single command line. In addition to converting between formats, alchemy will allow you to view images in up to 16 million colors, assuming your hardware is capable. It can scale, change the color depth, perform histogram stretching (spiffing), find common palettes, false palettes, negate, flip, adjust gamma, dither, and even print to HP compatible printer. To get an idea of what it can do, take a look at some command line switches. Remember that each format has many sub-options. OUTPUT FORMATS: Targa, Vivid IMG, Cubicomp, PCPaint/Pictor, JPEG, Autologic, HSI JPEG, Img Software Set, ADEX, Jovian VI, HSI Raw, Binary (BIF), PBM/PGM/PPM, RIX, XBM, Stork, HP RTL, CALS, HSI Palette, AVHRR, Dr. Halo CUT, Multi-Image Palette, Sun Raster, QDV, Calcomp, Scodl, PostScript, Lumena CEL, Spot Image, Erdas Image, Macintosh PICT, TIFF, FOP, Alpha BMP, VITec, First Publisher, ER Mapper Raster, MacPaint, GIF, MTV, QRT Raw, Gem VDI Image, SGI Image, Utah RLE, GOES, Sun Icon, Puzzle, Hitachi Raster Format, OS/2 BMP, Windows BMP, HP-48sx, PCX, WPG, IFF/ILBM, HP PCL, XWD, IBM Picture Maker, PDS, XPM, Color Output Options: -b: convert image to black and white {140} -8: write out a paletted file (up to 8 bits per pixel) {152} -15: write out a true colour file (15 bits per pixel) {158} -16: write out a true colour file (16 bits per pixel) {159} -24: write out a true colour file (24 bits per pixel) {160} -32: write out a true colour file (32 bits per pixel) {161} -c[0..256]: create an image with specified palette size {141} -C[filename]: use undercolour removal file {162} -d[type]: dither output image using specified algorithm {143} -E: optimize output image quality for display on EGA display {145} -f[filename]: read palette from file {149} -F[filename]: use false colour palette from file {146} -G[iop][gamma]: specify gamma of input image, output image, -S[type]: spiff image {156} -u: use uniform palette {163} -z: change palette selection, sorting, and swapping {154} (blendrhd@netcom.com) -- --F. to/from RIB -- -- --G. to/from POV -- -- --H. to/from DEM -- -- --I. DTA (Dave's Targa Animator) -- Written by David K. Mason DTA is a command-line utility for creating Autodesk Animator .FLI and .FLC animation files from: o .TGA files as created by the POV-Ray and POLYRAY ray-tracers. o .IMG files as created by the Vivid ray-tracer. o .PCX files. o .DIB or .BMP files o .GIF files. o Other .FLI or .FLC files. o VistaPro .VAN animation files o Presidio .ANI animation files DTA can also perform a wide range of post-processing functions on image files including: o Create a single optimal 256-color palette from a series of truecolor pictures, and then creating an Autodesk Animator .FLI file out of them. o Save the palette as a .MAP (PICLAB, FRACTINT) or .COL (Autodesk Animator) palete file. o Convert pictures to a bunch of different still image formats. o Read in a palette file in either .COL or .MAP format and animating a bunch of pictures using that palette. o Arbitrary rotation. o Scaling. o Multi-layer compositing. o Averaging images together for a variety of effects, including simulated motion blur and red/blue 3D. o And more. (taken from DTA.DOC) -- --J. DFV (Dave's Flic Viewer) -- Written by David K. Mason DFV plays is a DOS-based flic-viewer which can display .FLI, .FLC, .FLX, .FLH, and .FLT animation files. (and also .GIF and .TGA still images.) It should be able to handle any 320x200 .FLI you throw at it. If you've got a VESA-compliant SVGA or are running a VESA driver, then DFV will be able to display .FLC files with dimensions up to and including 1024x768 (in 640x480, 800x600, or 1024x768 mode). If you don't have SVGA, DFV should still be able to display .FLC files up to 640x480 by displaying in a 320x480 mode and throwing away half the pixels. If you've got a VESA 1.2 hicolor SVGA, or a hicolor SVGA with a VESA 1.2 driver, then DFV can also handle .FLX and .FLH files up to 800x600 (in 640x480 or 800x600 mode). DFV can handle .FLT files up to 640x480, only if you've got a VESA 1.2 truecolor SVGA, or truecolor SVGA with a VESA 1.2 driver. (taken from DFV.DOC) DFV is required to play any hi/truecolor flics created with DTA. -- --K. Importing from ACAD tips -- -- --L. GDS -- GDS stands for Graphics Display System. This shareware utility is a capable image display program, but there is one reason why it is indispensible for animators: It can create catalog pages of images with outstanding quality. The user simply selects the images and the resolution, then initiates a catalog page calculation. The program then prompts the user for the screen layout, with an interactive instant update to how the final scene will look. It prints the filename, and if space allows, it prints the extension and the resolution of the image. It only creates 256 color catalog pages, but it automatically combines the pallettes of all the selected images for a best pallette when it makes the catalog page. This optimization results in excellent color fidelity (and thumbnail image clarity) when the catalog page image is created. It's amazing how many images can be packed effectively onto a single screen with this program. At a 1024x768 resolution, 300 images per screen can be displayed with the full filename intact, and up to 1,280 images are allowed! Clearly, it's excellent for cataloging textures or putting up all the frames in an animation. --- ---10. Using Operating Systems other than DOS --- -- --A. Windows 3.x -- You have to add the following to your system.ini file device=c:\3ds4\pharlap.386 in the [386Enh] section. Then it should work. I believe.. Slow though. Unless you have lots of memory onboard. (MIMCLACH@flemingc.on.ca) -- --B. Windows NT -- Because of incompatibilities between Windows NT, and the memory management that 3DStudio uses (DPMI 1.0), it is not possible to run 3dstudio as a task undere Windows NT. -- --C. OS/2 -- Use the following settings for 3Dstudio under OS/2 2.1 and Warp. COM_DIRECT_ACCESS Off COM_HOLD Off COM_RECEIVE_BUFFER_FLUSH NONE COM_SELECT ALL DOS_BACKGROUND_EXECUTION On DOS_BREAK On DOS_FCBS_KEEP 0 DOS_FILES 30 DOS_HIGH On DOS_UMB Off DPMI_DOS_API ENABLED DPMI_MEMORY_LIMIT 512 DPMI_NETWORK_BUFF_SIZE 8 EMS_FRAME_LOCATION NONE EMS_HIGH_OS_MAP_REGION 0 EMS_LOW_OS_MAP_REGION 0 EMS_MEMORY_LIMIT 0 HW_NOSOUND Off HW_ROM_TO_RAM Off HW_TIMER Off IDLE_SECONDS 0 IDLE_SENSITIVITY 100 INT_DURING_IO On KBD_ALTHOME_BYPASS Off KBD_BUFFER_EXTEND On KBD_CTRL_BYPASS NONE KBD_RATE_LOCK Off MOUSE_EXCLUSIVE_ACCESS Off SESSION_PRIORITY 32 VIDEO_8514A_XGA_IOTRAP On VIDEO_FASTPASTE Off VIDEO_MODE_RESTRICTION NONE VIDEO_ONDEMAND_MEMORY On VIDEO_RETRACE_EMULATION Off VIDEO_ROM_EMULATION On VIDEO_SWITCH_NOTIFICATION Off VIDEO_WINDOW_REFRESH 1 XMS_HANDLES 32 XMS_MEMORY_LIMIT 16384 XMS_MINIMUM_HMA 0 --- ---11. Related Lists and Newsgroups --- -- --A. Lists -- - Photoshop photshop@bgu.edu send subscribe email to: listproc2@bgu.edu include in the text body: subscribe photshop first_name last_name -- --B. Newsgroups -- comp.graphics.packages.alias comp.graphics.packages.lightwave comp.graphics.animation alt.3d (SIRDS, true 3d imaging) --- ---12. Other related products --- -- --A. Liquid Speed (r3) -- -- --B. Smacker -- RAD Software, Inc. 307 West 200 South, Suitee 1003 Salt lake City, UT 84101 TEL:(801)322-4300 FAX:(801)359-6169 Smacker is a compressor for video and animation in the Autodesk FLIC file format. It will compress most files to 1/4 to 1/12 of thier original size. Smacker compressed files can be played back "as-is" at up to 30 frames per second, or faster, without hardware assistance or a separate decompression step. Smacker also includes SmackScript, a scripting language that allows you to creeate interactive flics. SmackScript has over 150 commands that supports keyboards, mice, file I/O, animations, bitmaps, numeric variables, string vvariables, branching, conditions, and more. $295. (from Autodesk MM Partners catalog) -- --C. Fractint -- -- --D. Vivid -- --- ---13. Contacts/Phone Numbers at Autodesk --- Autodesk, Inc. 111 MkInnis Parkway San Rafael, CA 94903 TEL:(415)507-5000 FAX:(415)507-5100 800:(800)964-6432 --- ---14. Listserv Users --- --- ---15. Autodesk press releases --- Press Contact: Garth Chouteau, Autodesk, Inc. 415-491-8853 -- --A. 11/1/1994 - Cyberspace Dev. Kit Grant Program -- Autodesk Establishes Cyberspace University Grant Program Will Donate More Than US$100,000 in Software for the Development of Virtual Worlds SAUSALITO, Calif.--November 1, 1994--Autodesk, Inc. today announced the Cyberspace Developer Kit (CDK) Release 2 University Grant Program, which will make Autodesk's virtual reality development software available to as many as 50 colleges and universities at no charge. Intended to promote the development of virtual reality applications in the classroom and the adoption of advanced 3D design and programming concepts into curricula and research, the Grant Program is available to accredited colleges and universities in the United States and Canada only. "The CDK Grant Program is an ideal way for Autodesk to become more involved in that part of the university research community dedicated to the development and application of interactive 3D graphics technology," said Joe Fantuzzi, general manager of Autodesk's Multimedia Division. "Autodesk is committed to virtual reality as a practical extension of 3D visualization technology, and the opportunity to form technical partnerships and explore new application areas with educators and their students more than justifies the cost of this program." Application Process The program will be administered jointly by Autodesk's Multimedia Division and Autodesk's Education Marketing Department, which will accept applications from representatives of qualified institutions between now and February 15, 1995. Applicants are required to provide a detailed description of how the software grant will be utilized, state how students and university departments will be involved, describe the applicability of CDK Release 2 to curriculum development, expected project results and project timeframe. Upon grant approval, participants will be issued full development copies of the CDK Release 2. They are required to provide Autodesk with samples of curriculum materials and CDK-based environments, as well as a written report of project results and an evaluation of the CDK Release 2 software. For more information, or to obtain a grant application form, call 800-879-4233. Program Product Support An on-line technical support system providing direct access to Autodesk cyberspace engineers has been established to address programming issues that arise at University Grant Program sites. This will also enable Autodesk representatives to obtain feedback from students and faculty at any of the grant sites. Cyberspace Developer Kit Release 2 The Cyberspace Developer Kit Release 2, a major upgrade of Autodesk's award-winning toolset for 3D visualization and simulation, begins shipping November 29, 1994. A comprehensive set of C++ class libraries, the CDK Release 2 software boasts support for Windows (TM) 3.1 with 32-bit extensions and Windows NT(R) texture-mapping capabilities, rendering-solution independence and tighter integration with 3D Studio(R) plus support for sound cards and a host of new input and output devices. In addition, the CDK Release 2 includes HOOPS(R) 4.0, the 3D graphics system for building advanced visualization applications from Ithaca Software, Autodesk's Component Technology Business Division. Autodesk is the world's leading supplier of computer-aided design (CAD) automation software and the fifth-largest PC software company in the world. The company develops, markets, and supports a family of design automation and professional multimedia software and component technologies for use on personal computers and workstations. A global company since its founding in 1982, Autodesk markets products in 115 countries and 18 languages. Autodesk shares are traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol ACAD. For more information on Autodesk, please call 415-332-2344 or type GO ADESK on CompuServe(R). -- --B. 9/20/1994 Autodesk Ships 3DStudio Release 4 -- #1 3D Animation Tool Adds Inverse Kinematics, Other Plug-In Benefits SAUSALITO, Calif.--October 20, 1994--Autodesk, Inc. today announced the immediate availability of 3D Studio(R) Release 4, a major upgrade of the world's most popular professional 3D animation software. The advent of true 3D inverse kinematics provides 3D Studio customers with sophisticated new controls for creating both character and mechanical animations. Utilizing the open architecture of 3D Studio, several other powerful new features have been included in Release 4 as plug-ins. These include a keyframe scripting language, a fast preview renderer, a match perspective tool, encapsulated PostScript output and a newly added image browser. A patch modeler plug-in once planned for Release 4 is not included, due to usability concerns expressed by beta testers. In addition, performance tuning of the 3DStudio executable file itself has yielded order-of-magnitude speed gains in operations such as copying and scaling geometry in large scenes. "We've been working with 3D Studio since Release 1, using it primarily for film previsualization and title sequences," said Frank Foster, vice president of previsualization at Sony Pictures Imageworks. "With Release 3, we were able to provide our clients, TriStar Pictures and Columbia Pictures, with additional services such as on-screen CGI and special effects for such movies as My Life and the upcoming Johnny Mnemonic. 3D Studio Release 4 will enable us to generate film-quality special effects faster than ever before." Pricing and Availability Autodesk 3D Studio Release 4 software is available now at a suggested list price of US$2,995 (US domestic only) through Authorized Autodesk Multimedia Dealers. Customers who purchased 3D Studio Release 3 between July 25, 1994 and today can receive a free upgrade to Release 4 through their Dealer. Educational pricing is available for accredited institutions. Current Autodesk 3D Studio (Release 1, 2 or 3) owners can upgrade to Release 4 through their Dealer as follows: - From Release 3 to Release 4: US$295 - From Release 2 to Release 4: US$695 - From Release 1 to Release 4: US$795 --- ---16. 3DS Revision History --- --- ---17. Miscellaneous --- -- --A. File format information -- found on avalon, /pub/format_specs/Autodesk_fli_and_flc_format.txt -- --C. r5 'Jaguar' on NT Myth -- I'm not sure exactly where this myth started, but here's a summation of it: Someone posted a letter to the list, stating that 3DS release 5, code-named 'Jaguar', would be created for the Windows NT environment ONLY. They claimed there would be no DOS version. This claim is unfounded, and is a complete myth. ----------------------------end of 3DStudio FAQ------------------------------