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3D World issue 100
About Truespace Archives
These pages are a copy of the official truespace forums prior to their removal somewhere around 2011.
They are retained here for archive purposes only.
3D World issue 100 // Roundtable
Post by rickl // Feb 2, 2008, 12:30pm
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rickl
Total Posts: 9
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You are most welcome Steinie...now what do you think of that number 1 movie choice...??
Not what i would have chosen. Toy Story is still my #1 favorite 3D movie.
It just blew everything else away. I still have an old issue of CGW with
Woody and friends on the cover. Sure some of the newer movies might look better today but, look at the software and hardware limits they had to
work with.
The one that really surprised me was The Iron Giant! I Love that movie!
Really underrated.
Watch it.;)
-rick |
Post by jayr // Feb 3, 2008, 11:28am
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jayr
Total Posts: 1074
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Not what i would have chosen. Toy Story is still my #1 favorite 3D movie.
-rick
\i think thats the key thing here 3D movie not special effects movie. If it was the latter i think i might have agreed with 3Dworld but because it's 3d i don't think i can. in fact there's one bit in the scond one that looks like a substandard playstation 2 game. Deffinatly not my choice for a 3d movie. |
Post by Paul Boland // Feb 4, 2008, 8:51am
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Paul Boland
Total Posts: 383
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My thoughts exactly. I actually sent a letter into 3D World's letter pages about this (don't know if it got printed or not), but the magazine editor, Jim, wrote back to me. Here is a copy of my letter and the reply from him.
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Hi 3D World.
I’ve just finished reading your 100 Greatest 3D Movies article in issue 100 and I all I can say is, it’s a complete farce! It’s a joke. I got my very first bad vibe when I started going down through the list and at number 99 was Superman Returns, a movie with a lot of superb 3D effects in it. To me, that says the next 98 movies are better. However, Superman Returns was beaten by Flight Of The Navigator, Wallace And Gromit and I was shocked to see it beaten by The Corpse Bride where computers were used to remove the wiring and rigging supports from the figurines in the film! Give me a break!
I have many, many issues with this round up, too many to mention here in a letter, but the ultimate insult has to be what was voted number 1. The Matrix was picked as the Greatest 3D Movie of all time. Why? Because of one special effect, Bullet Time. The entire article is about that one scene where Neo dodges bullets on the roof of a building. This is a complete joke! Let me remind you that this article was entitled the Greatest “3D” Movies, not the Greatest Special Effects Movie. For special effects, The Matrix trilogy wins hands down. It’s an epic movie series with effects that left my jaw hanging open. In particular, the epic final battle at the end of the third movie is out of this world! But forget the trilogy, just first Matrix film has been picked as the Greatest 3D Movie of all time. I’m very disappointed with that. It’s not a 3D movie, it’s a special effects eye-popper!
The Greatest “3D” movie of all time should and is Toy Story because it was the first of it’s kind, it changed the course of the animation movie industry, and it is the movie that had the biggest effect on my life. When Toy Story came out, I went to the cinema to see a childrens film made on a computer… I walked out determined to make my own 3D movie, a goal I’ve achieved many times over now and continue to pursue.
The Matrix made my mouth water at the amazing special effect.
Toy Story made me a 3D artist.
All the best,
Paul Boland.
Hi Paul
Well, the rules did allow visual effects movies that involve 3D graphics as well as 3D animations: if we'd stuck only to 3D features, it would have been a fairly obscure list once you got past the top 20, and I'm not sure you could actually get to 100 movies, even today, without including movies that mix 2D and 3D.
But yes, they're not necessarily the 100 movies I would have picked, or in that order: that's the nature of polls, I'm afraid. It's like the old politician's quote that "democracy would be great, if only you could stop people voting". ;-)
Cheers
Jim |
Post by rickl // Feb 6, 2008, 5:27pm
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rickl
Total Posts: 9
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The Matrix made my mouth water at the amazing special effect.
Toy Story made me a 3D artist.
All the best,
Paul Boland.
Jim
Amen...... |
Post by v3rd3 // Feb 11, 2008, 10:54pm
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v3rd3
Total Posts: 388
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Thank you for the heads up Splinters. I picked it up today. |
Post by Burnart // Mar 26, 2008, 12:58pm
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Burnart
Total Posts: 839
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Just so you know how long it takes to ship by surface (ie sea) magazines from Britain to Australia. I just picked up a copy of 3D World 100. It only just hit the stands over the past week.
Re. the Carrara 6 Pro special update price. If you registered your free version of Pro 5 instead of paying $550 dollars you are eligible for the update price of $170. If you use the 3dworld discount code you pay 25% less. However at the moment they have a special of $101.97 (40% off) so when you apply your 25% discount to that its around $76..... interesting. |
Post by splinters // Mar 26, 2008, 2:43pm
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splinters
Total Posts: 4148
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Burnart, my issue 100 is at school, do you have the 25% discount code? I might just upgrade here...;) |
Post by Steinie // Mar 26, 2008, 2:46pm
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Steinie
Total Posts: 3667
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I just picked up Issue 102 of 3D World today in the USA. This issue has a free copy of imageSynth ($99 seamless tilling texture plugin for Photoshop CS1) which was reported to us by Splinters awhile back. |
Post by splinters // Mar 26, 2008, 2:58pm
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splinters
Total Posts: 4148
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Mmmm, what do you think: £38 for a copy of Carrara 6.1 Pro?
I haven't used Carrara 5 at all really and only dabbled in Hexagon but that is a very tempting price. I guess I owe them after getting version 5 free and Bryce and Hexagon for £1 and £15 respectively.
Anyone updated to Carrara 6 yet? Is it any good?, I hear it has fur/hair!!
EDIT: Cheers for the code Steinie, and the latest issue is not too great as far as content goes. |
Post by jamesmc // Mar 26, 2008, 3:10pm
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jamesmc
Total Posts: 2566
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I have version 6.1 of Carrara Pro. It does fur/hair very nicely. Non-exportable though to other packages.
There's tutorial by a user named Holly that is very well done.
Here's a sample pic.
Edit: Added image
Second pic is just the hair tool drug on a sphere, nothing else done other than rendering. Took less than 20 seconds to do. |
Post by Burnart // Mar 26, 2008, 3:15pm
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Burnart
Total Posts: 839
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Splinters, I admit I did the purchase thing (a sucker for some cheap software) - this is a download item only, 880 mb over several files. Might take a few lunchtimes at the local internet cafe to get it all so I can't give any feedback.
Can't imagine that 6 is all that different from 5 but I am keen to see how the hair feature works also. (There is a little project for a character I have made that requires hair that "swishes" - perhaps now I can do it?)
Edit: jamesmc your post came through while I was writing mine - they were rendered in Carrara? That's some nice pussy. |
Post by splinters // Mar 26, 2008, 3:17pm
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splinters
Total Posts: 4148
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Looks good to me, besides I would probably use it at the end of the pipeline anyway. Seems a well featured program for the price.
My credit card is burning....:rolleyes: |
Post by splinters // Mar 26, 2008, 3:20pm
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splinters
Total Posts: 4148
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Splinters, I admit I did the purchase thing (a sucker for some cheap software) - this is a download item only, 880 mb over several files. Might take a few lunchtimes at the local internet cafe to get it all so I can't give any feedback.
Can't imagine that 6 is all that different from 5 but I am keen to see how the hair feature works also. (There is a little project for a character I have made that requires hair that "swishes" - perhaps now I can do it?)
Yup, same here. My landscapes are crying out for vegetation and my characters need hair. I can't wait forever so I may have to take the plunge here, especially as the 25% is about to run out. Nor do I have the time to learn more complicated software. If Carrara 6 really does have the power of Vue 6 and Bryce as well as it's own modelling features, then count me in.
Especially as it is one of the very few programs that has native truespace .cob import...:D |
Post by jamesmc // Mar 26, 2008, 3:23pm
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jamesmc
Total Posts: 2566
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If you want to see what is new in Carrara 6 Pro, you can go to VTC.com and see the tutorials, released today. Mark Bremmer is a very good teacher.
The first 18 video tutorials are free and gives a good over view of the program.
I think the second and third videos tell briefly about the features, although the images he uses aren't sterling.
One of my favorite things in Carrara 6 is the ocean primitive - real moving water with waves.
Splinters, the Cob import/Export is very old version = like 2 or 3 or something like that as I recall. |
Post by splinters // Mar 26, 2008, 3:29pm
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splinters
Total Posts: 4148
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Maybe I am getting confused with Bryce 6 which imports tS scenes. |
Post by splinters // Mar 26, 2008, 3:59pm
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splinters
Total Posts: 4148
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Oh well, I ordered it. Some of the Youtube videos were amazing and convinced me to buy. As an added bonus I see an update to Hexagon 2.5 in my downloads.....:D |
Post by frootee // Mar 26, 2008, 4:17pm
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frootee
Total Posts: 2667
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Edit: jamesmc your post came through while I was writing mine - they were rendered in Carrara? That's some nice pussy.
Yeah; I liked the cats too. ;) |
Post by Steinie // Mar 26, 2008, 4:37pm
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Steinie
Total Posts: 3667
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I'm surprised it said "copyright" instead of "copy cat"..:D |
Post by Steinie // Mar 27, 2008, 1:58am
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Steinie
Total Posts: 3667
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Oh well, I ordered it. Some of the Youtube videos were amazing and convinced me to buy. As an added bonus I see an update to Hexagon 2.5 in my downloads.....:D
Well I have a few days to still get the deal Paul. Let us know what your early feelings are about the program.
JamesMc, you have the program, is it worth an investment?
Hexagon is up to 2.1 right...?:confused: |
Post by TigreStripe // Mar 27, 2008, 2:15am
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TigreStripe
Total Posts: 75
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Oh well, I ordered it. Some of the Youtube videos were amazing and convinced me to buy. As an added bonus I see an update to Hexagon 2.5 in my downloads.....:D
If you look around their market place, I mean really through it, you will find they give out freebies every week. I picked up quite a bit of stuff in the last few weeks. It seems they offer something for free quite often. |
Post by splinters // Mar 27, 2008, 2:18am
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splinters
Total Posts: 4148
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Last Hex was 2.2 and now it is up to 2.5.Lots of bugs fixed apparently...:D
Been playing with Carrara for 30 mins now, put in volumetric clouds, a very realistic ocean and a particle emitter to make a mud pile.
I need to learn the UI but it looks like an illustrators dream come true. I can bin Bryce and Vue and use just one package. Add dynamic hair (poser import if I really must) and it looks pretty good.
For £38 it is a no brainer just for the hair...:D
Go to Youtube and type in Carrara 6; watch some videos. This one alone sold me;
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EFLQIUrLENc |
Post by jamesmc // Mar 27, 2008, 4:29am
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jamesmc
Total Posts: 2566
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Well I have a few days to still get the deal Paul. Let us know what your early feelings are about the program.
JamesMc, you have the program, is it worth an investment?
Hexagon is up to 2.1 right...?:confused:
Ya, I think it is worth owning. It's fun to play with, tweak a dial, slide a slider or just drop and drag. Watching the videos on VTC.com is well worth it as they are quite instructional and get you up to speed.
Hexagon had a minor improvement to 2.5. Free upgrade if you owned previous versions. |
Post by rjeff // Mar 27, 2008, 4:54am
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rjeff
Total Posts: 1260
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After looking at that youtube video, as well as others..you have to wonder why TS does not have these simlar features. The programs cost about the same, but it seems that Carrara has more features. I may be wrong though. I will also have to give Bryce 6 some credit as well. I was using it a bit yesterday and I turned on IBL and used a HDRI image and the effect was quite nice. I seem to have issues with TS and HDRI. When I use a image I tend to get 4 light sources, and shadows. With Bryce and HDRI I just got one very nice shadow. |
Post by rjeff // Mar 27, 2008, 4:56am
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rjeff
Total Posts: 1260
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Also..do you get a full version of Carrara in that issue? If so I may need to get a hand on it. |
Post by brotherx // Mar 27, 2008, 4:58am
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brotherx
Total Posts: 538
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Also..do you get a full version of Carrara in that issue? If so I may need to get a hand on it.
I have tried...just got one off ebay...there was only one there. |
Post by rjeff // Mar 27, 2008, 5:02am
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rjeff
Total Posts: 1260
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Yeah the web site is sold out. there ie on ebay as well I may go after. I wonder why 3d world does not target the US more than they do. I don't think I have seen them in any book stores over here. Heck if anybody overe in the UK can get me a issue and has a paypal account, i do, I would glady pay you for one. |
Post by frootee // Mar 27, 2008, 5:08am
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frootee
Total Posts: 2667
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Barnes and Noble; as well as Borders, carry 3D World magazine. |
Post by Steinie // Mar 27, 2008, 5:20am
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Steinie
Total Posts: 3667
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For £38 it is a no brainer just for the hair...:D
Your right Splinters, for $75 I'll get "Dynamic" hair. Not a bad plug in...:rolleyes: |
Post by splinters // Mar 27, 2008, 5:23am
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splinters
Total Posts: 4148
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I expected that issue (and 102) would sell out pretty quick especially with the software free on it. One of the advantages to subscribing I guess, the disadvantage being you cannot choose which issues to miss.
Still, I completed my collection last year (via ebay) and now have every single issue and CD. Worth quite a bit I guess (103 x £6!)
While a lot of it is very out of date now, I do believe it will make fascinating reading to new students in the next 5-10 years. Like a museum of 3D software and hardware...:D |
Post by jamesmc // Mar 27, 2008, 5:25am
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jamesmc
Total Posts: 2566
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The biggest disadvantage to Carrara is the slow render. On a good note if you have another computer, it comes with a free node render.
An attractive feature is what I call one-handed graphics. Your left hand hardly gets used as the interface has a lot of sliders, wheels and etc. to do all the hard stuff.
It has a lot of built in shaders and although somewhat intimidating, the shader room is very powerful and can adapt a lot of your own shaders.
Other disadvantages, it doesn't support layers, like photoshop layers export, but has a channel export option.
Hexagon imo, is one of the most inexpensive and powerful modelers on the planet. The videos on VTC.com and the free ones offered by EZ in the Hex forum are eye openers.
Not promoting the software, but if you like to have some fun tools to your chest of graphics software, Hex and Carrara will make your life happier.
I like the way the cameras are set up with tracking options.
Again, if you try it out, use the videos mentioned above and you'll be up to speed in no time. |
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