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From: bobl@pro-graphics.cts.com (Bob Lindabury, SysAdmin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Imagine raves (long)
Message-ID: <6653@crash.cts.com>
Date: 1 Jan 91 16:56:08 GMT
Sender: root@crash.cts.com
Lines: 61

In-Reply-To: message from spworley@athena.mit.edu

I agree completely with your opinion about Imagine's manuals.  They are terse!

The Tutorials are like telling a child the steps to do something.  They DO NOT
"teach" you HOW to do it, they just tell you step by step.  Move cursor to the
right, pick the 3rd menu item, click the left mouse button.

That kind of tutorial we don't need.  We need to know the conventions behind
what we are doing.  How to do it and what the requirements are would be alot
more helpful.

As for the auto-trace and slice...forget it.  I've tried it several times with
a very complex object (the continents of the world) and Imagine will just not
slice them.  I finally got enough ram to do the operation (7 megs) but now I
keep getting the frustrating "an edge is too close to an edge or a face is too
close to a face" message.  Yeah, great.  After about 35 of those messages I
gave up.  This is after about 10 minutes of processing on a 68030/88882
machine!  It give you no indication of where this edge might be or how far
into this "slice" you are so you have absolutely no idea where this error may
be coming from.  

I've decided to purchase Pixel 3D to do my auto-tracing and facing but now I
can't seem to find anyone who has this package in stock or is even able to get
it in stock.

As for the comparison of Imagine and Lightwave, I will have to say that the
Lightwave interface makes most of what you are talking about very simple.  The
Interface on Lightwave is far and away much better than the Imagine interface
as far as ease of use.   It's also MUCH MUCH better for scene design.  You can
move the camera around in real time and see the camera's view in the
perspective window in real time!  That is the way to place a camera!

I'm not knocking Imagine's capabilities.  It is a VERY capable program and
that is one reason I purchased it.  I have done some test output to 24bit IFF
files and then loaded them into the Toaster and they look fantastic!  What
this means is that I can do some work at another location with Imagine and
still output the files/animation on the Toaster at my associates editing
facility.  I don't need to purchase a Toaster personally to do my 3D work.  I
can do it in Imagine and output it to the Toaster.

I still wish we could purchase Modeler and Lightwave 3D as a stand alone item
that would render to something other than the Toaster.  In this way I could
produce my scenes and animations and then just bring the data over to my
associates and output them to tape.  At this point, you can't get the 3d
software for the Toaster without the Toaster.  But, for $1495 (less at some
mail-order houses) you get a great 3D package AND a 24-bit frame buffer to
boot!

I would like to be part of the Imagine mailing list when it does become
organized.  I will be more than happy to share my experiences with the program
as well as my objects with others.  Count me in!

-- Bob
______ Pro-Graphics BBS  "It's better than a sharp stick in the eye!" ________

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