Re: Softimage 2014

[Sebastien Sterling]

I agree with your sentiments Matt, i feel the priority should be placed
solidly on making the code more accessible to 3rd party dev's, at the end
of the day it helps the package live, and Autodesk seem to have adopted a
trend of buying up 3rd party plugins anyway, looking at CAT for max, NEX
for maya, maya had a weekness in modeling, and while it may have
considerable ground to cover, at least the code is loose enough to allow
3rd parties to  fill in the gaps.

if this could be a unified goal it could benefit everyone.


On 10 April 2013 04:24, Matt Lind  wrote:

> All of the above.  
>
> ** **
>
> There are parts of the core that are archaic and need to be updated.
> Other areas perfectly fine but need somebody to step in and finish an
> implementation of an existing feature.
>
> ** **
>
> In my opinion, the biggest problem is politics of getting the issues
> identified to be addressed.  Many of those making the decisions are not
> well tuned into the real problems as experienced in the field and therefore
> trust a database of reports, or a voting contest among users who will tend
> to vote for whatever the trendy new thing is rather than the bigger picture
> of what makes the software better overall.  This puts the decision on the
> product manager and the last few haven’t exactly been tuned to the market,
> which further distorts the decision making process.  To further complicate
> matters, there are programs like media and consulting which can pull a
> developer off a task to address a client’s need.  Clients throwing dollars
> at autodesk can skew the application’s development path off course if their
> needs don’t align with the rest of the user base.
>
> ** **
>
> When a bug is reported and others are able to chime in whether it’s
> important or not, the items that often get the most votes tend to be things
> that treat the symptoms instead of the problem.  This is partly because end
> users are primarily artists and do not understand the technical aspects,
> and therefore will vote for what they know which is often a subset of the
> issues on the table.  This skews voting to favor things which are familiar
> instead of things which need to be addressed.  The item that could really
> deliver positive impact often gets ignored because only one person in the
> lot understands it and can see the big picture.
>
> ** **
>
> When planning development of an application, you need to answer questions
> such as who’s going to use the product, what should the application do
> best, does it need to be more portable or more performance friendly,  how
> much manpower is available to develop and maintain the product, etc…  Many
> of the criteria are opposing, which means somebody must make tough
> decisions, lay down boundaries and choose which criteria deserve more
> weight.  Those early critical decisions can have a long lasting impact on
> the product for the rest of its useful life.  For example, Softimage was
> designed to favor animation first.  That implies geometry data structures
> for modeling and other operations may have to be designed to be lean and
> efficient instead of robust as the overhead for maintaining complex
> geometry is considerable and works against performance which is needed to
> maintain frame rates.  3DSMax, on the other hand, chose a different
> approach which favors plugin development.  It encouraged 3rd parties to
> contribute by making an open SDK, but it came at the cost of a decent
> animation toolset….which is partly why animation tool development has been
> discontinued on the product.  In short, no application can do everything
> equally well.  Some sacrifices need to be made.
>
> ** **
>
> Anyway, the product known as Autodesk Softimage was designed in a
> different era with vast resources available under Microsoft rule. Today’s
> landscape pales in comparison which can make the product more difficult to
> maintain as it can require resources that are no longer available. That
> combined with the needs of the market steering more towards modeling,
> rendering, and special FX make it difficult to rework an animation minded
> software to those needs.  It can be done, but it has to be made a priority
> – which is the whole problem as noted above.  There’s also a lot more to
> maintain today than there was 10 years ago.  Changing direction gets more
> difficult with each release from the increased inertia.  
>
> ** **
>
> In my opinion, the next release should be spent improving the modeling
> core, operator construction history capabilities and management, openGL
> view performance (OpenGL, HQV, and standard views), data management
> (handling large quantities of objects), access to user interface so users/3
> rd party developers can get better information what’s going on within the
> application (events, callbacks, mouse/keyboard feedback, communicating with
> external apps, …), and better ability to customize the user interface
> (access to modify ex

Re: Softimage 2014

[Eugen Sares]

My point exactly, Sebastien.

About that SDK cluster update thing in custom topo operators:
I assume it's basically about tracking array indices carefully caused by 
the topology changes and shifting cluster indices accordingly.
Array index magic, so to speak, with just basic math involved. A sort 
problem, in other words. Sounds like some good legwork, but nothing out 
of reach.
Should something like this be in the way of everything good to come from 
3rd parties in the modeling department?



Am 10.04.2013 09:02, schrieb Sebastien Sterling:
I agree with your sentiments Matt, i feel the priority should be 
placed solidly on making the code more accessible to 3rd party dev's, 
at the end of the day it helps the package live, and Autodesk seem to 
have adopted a trend of buying up 3rd party plugins anyway, looking at 
CAT for max, NEX for maya, maya had a weekness in modeling, and while 
it may have considerable ground to cover, at least the code is loose 
enough to allow 3rd parties to  fill in the gaps.


if this could be a unified goal it could benefit everyone.


On 10 April 2013 04:24, Matt Lind > wrote:


All of the above.

There are parts of the core that are archaic and need to be
updated.  Other areas perfectly fine but need somebody to step in
and finish an implementation of an existing feature.

In my opinion, the biggest problem is politics of getting the
issues identified to be addressed.  Many of those making the
decisions are not well tuned into the real problems as experienced
in the field and therefore trust a database of reports, or a
voting contest among users who will tend to vote for whatever the
trendy new thing is rather than the bigger picture of what makes
the software better overall.  This puts the decision on the
product manager and the last few haven’t exactly been tuned to the
market, which further distorts the decision making process.  To
further complicate matters, there are programs like media and
consulting which can pull a developer off a task to address a
client’s need.  Clients throwing dollars at autodesk can skew the
application’s development path off course if their needs don’t
align with the rest of the user base.

When a bug is reported and others are able to chime in whether
it’s important or not, the items that often get the most votes
tend to be things that treat the symptoms instead of the problem. 
This is partly because end users are primarily artists and do not

understand the technical aspects, and therefore will vote for what
they know which is often a subset of the issues on the table. 
This skews voting to favor things which are familiar instead of

things which need to be addressed.  The item that could really
deliver positive impact often gets ignored because only one person
in the lot understands it and can see the big picture.

When planning development of an application, you need to answer
questions such as who’s going to use the product, what should the
application do best, does it need to be more portable or more
performance friendly,  how much manpower is available to develop
and maintain the product, etc…  Many of the criteria are opposing,
which means somebody must make tough decisions, lay down
boundaries and choose which criteria deserve more weight.  Those
early critical decisions can have a long lasting impact on the
product for the rest of its useful life.  For example, Softimage
was designed to favor animation first.  That implies geometry data
structures for modeling and other operations may have to be
designed to be lean and efficient instead of robust as the
overhead for maintaining complex geometry is considerable and
works against performance which is needed to maintain frame
rates.  3DSMax, on the other hand, chose a different approach
which favors plugin development.  It encouraged 3^rd parties to
contribute by making an open SDK, but it came at the cost of a
decent animation toolset….which is partly why animation tool
development has been discontinued on the product. In short, no
application can do everything equally well.  Some sacrifices need
to be made.

Anyway, the product known as Autodesk Softimage was designed in a
different era with vast resources available under Microsoft rule.
Today’s landscape pales in comparison which can make the product
more difficult to maintain as it can require resources that are no
longer available. That combined with the needs of the market
steering more towards modeling, rendering, and special FX make it
difficult to rework an animation minded software to those needs.
It can be done, but it has to be made a priority – which is the
whole problem as noted above.  There’s also a lot more to maintain
today than there was 10 years ago. 

Re: set raycast direction with a Null?

[Simon Anderson]

Hey Angus,

What Wits course teach's 3D, and 3D in Softimage in SA, Have to say its
pretty cool. I Havent heard of any Uni in SA that teach's 3D and if they do
its usually Maya.



On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 4:45 PM, Raffaele Fragapane <
raffsxsil...@googlemail.com> wrote:

> I suggest anybody who has issues with the current system, but is genuinely
> interested in their products (not just mine, there are some very solid
> things out on CGS and more coming) gets in touch with them and sees what
> they can do.
>
> TODs are a fresh thing, there's still plasticity to the offer, and if
> enough educational institutions ask for it, a bundle license and a
> possibility to cache locally will be considered I'm sure.
>
> Same for users.
> They aren't a bunch of money grabbing enterpreneurs, I can honestly say
> that, they are just trying to balance getting something out of their
> initiatives with keeping the userbase happy. So just get in touch. I've
> seen them entertaining threads literally dozens long with just the one
> customer more than once. They do care enough :)
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 4:35 PM, Angus Davidson  > wrote:
>
>>  Hi Raff
>>
>>  Our university course is in South Africa. Streaming from anywhere
>> except Digital Tutors (which is stil not great but manageable) is a
>> disaster. We would really like the option to be able to buy the course and
>> setup someway of allowing our students to stream it locally (as I wouldnt
>> want to give them direct access to the file - that would just be asking for
>> trouble)
>>
>>  Do you know if there are any plans for something similar? I know we are
>> not the only place of learnign that has issues with this.
>>
>>  Kind regards
>>
>>  Angus
>>  --
>> *From:* Raffaele Fragapane [raffsxsil...@googlemail.com]
>> *Sent:* 10 April 2013 06:44 AM
>>
>> *To:* softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
>> *Subject:* Re: set raycast direction with a Null?
>>
>>   In principle I'm not fond of the idea of assuming everybody is a
>> pirate and forcing these always online models on people, so no argument
>> there. They did have a case for it it turns out, but (again in principle) I
>> would have rather have opted out of it and risked losing a few sales, it
>> wasn't possible though.
>>
>>  The player is ok, that I can tell you, they wrap Vimeo's very thinly,
>> and Vimeo's is a fairly good, html 5 capable player. No way around not
>> being able to see the video if you're offline though for now (again going
>> by the assumption they are online only), and that -is- annoying, and has
>> kept me away from a couple resources too.
>>
>> It might be possible to rip them with some videograbbing site or
>> streamcatch software, it's just an mp4 managed h264 stream at the end of
>> the day, or if you know personally any of my ex-alumni they might have the
>> original downloadables around, but I wouldn't know, and it'd be that gray
>> area where you have to decide for yourself whether it's ethical or not.
>> You wouldn't be offending me for ripping my vids to file if you bought
>> them, I can tell you that much :p
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 2:02 PM, Sam  wrote:
>>
>>>  Thanks Raff. I understand about the problem with Piracy, but some of
>>> the players these guys come up with are truly terrible and make it very
>>> difficult to navigate the videos. That’s my only real concern with
>>> streaming, well, that and if my internet goes out in middle of me watching
>>> the video.  
>>>
>>> ** **
>>>
>>> I loved the visuals in Sucker Punch, but I did think the story could
>>> have been better. It is still worth watching, just for the amazing visuals.
>>> 
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>   This communication is intended for the addressee only. It is 
>> confidential. If you have received this communication in error, please 
>> notify us immediately and destroy the original message. You may not copy or 
>> disseminate this communication without the permission of the University. 
>> Only authorised signatories are competent to enter into agreements on behalf 
>> of the University and recipients are thus advised that the content of this 
>> message may not be legally binding on the University and may contain the 
>> personal views and opinions of the author, which are not necessarily the 
>> views and opinions of The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All 
>> agreements between the University and outsiders are subject to South African 
>> Law unless the University agrees in writing to the contrary.
>> **
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship it
> and let them flee like the dogs they are!
>



-- 
---
Simon Ben Anderson
blog: http://vinyldevelopment.wordpress.com/

Re: set raycast direction with a Null?

[Angus Davidson]

Hi Simon

We currently have a MA 3D Animation course. 10 years ago when we started we 
also used Maya, but because of a lot of technical issues I eventually convinced 
them to switch to SI. It was a great decision as the students found it so much 
more intuitive and the quality of the student work went up.

We also now have a 3rd year course which is more focused on traditional 2D 
animation that uses TV paint, and a 4th year course in compositing in AE. As 
far as I know we are the only place in SA where you can get a Postgraduate 
Degree in the field of Animation.

We have also with the collaboration of Engineering started a games design 
degree, Its currently in its second year now and producing some really awesome 
stuff. Its also going to be a great feeder to the 3D MA as you will get folks 
who have a very good grounding in 3D at the beginning of the course.

Kind regards

Angus




From: Simon Anderson 
mailto:simonbenandersonl...@gmail.com>>
Reply-To: 
"softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" 
mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>>
Date: Wednesday 10 April 2013 9:25 AM
To: "softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" 
mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>>
Subject: Re: set raycast direction with a Null?

Hey Angus,

What Wits course teach's 3D, and 3D in Softimage in SA, Have to say its pretty 
cool. I Havent heard of any Uni in SA that teach's 3D and if they do its 
usually Maya.



On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 4:45 PM, Raffaele Fragapane 
mailto:raffsxsil...@googlemail.com>> wrote:
I suggest anybody who has issues with the current system, but is genuinely 
interested in their products (not just mine, there are some very solid things 
out on CGS and more coming) gets in touch with them and sees what they can do.

TODs are a fresh thing, there's still plasticity to the offer, and if enough 
educational institutions ask for it, a bundle license and a possibility to 
cache locally will be considered I'm sure.

Same for users.
They aren't a bunch of money grabbing enterpreneurs, I can honestly say that, 
they are just trying to balance getting something out of their initiatives with 
keeping the userbase happy. So just get in touch. I've seen them entertaining 
threads literally dozens long with just the one customer more than once. They 
do care enough :)


On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 4:35 PM, Angus Davidson 
mailto:angus.david...@wits.ac.za>> wrote:
Hi Raff

Our university course is in South Africa. Streaming from anywhere except 
Digital Tutors (which is stil not great but manageable) is a disaster. We would 
really like the option to be able to buy the course and setup someway of 
allowing our students to stream it locally (as I wouldnt want to give them 
direct access to the file - that would just be asking for trouble)

Do you know if there are any plans for something similar? I know we are not the 
only place of learnign that has issues with this.

Kind regards

Angus

From: Raffaele Fragapane 
[raffsxsil...@googlemail.com]
Sent: 10 April 2013 06:44 AM

To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: set raycast direction with a Null?

In principle I'm not fond of the idea of assuming everybody is a pirate and 
forcing these always online models on people, so no argument there. They did 
have a case for it it turns out, but (again in principle) I would have rather 
have opted out of it and risked losing a few sales, it wasn't possible though.

The player is ok, that I can tell you, they wrap Vimeo's very thinly, and 
Vimeo's is a fairly good, html 5 capable player. No way around not being able 
to see the video if you're offline though for now (again going by the 
assumption they are online only), and that -is- annoying, and has kept me away 
from a couple resources too.

It might be possible to rip them with some videograbbing site or streamcatch 
software, it's just an mp4 managed h264 stream at the end of the day, or if you 
know personally any of my ex-alumni they might have the original downloadables 
around, but I wouldn't know, and it'd be that gray area where you have to 
decide for yourself whether it's ethical or not.
You wouldn't be offending me for ripping my vids to file if you bought them, I 
can tell you that much :p


On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 2:02 PM, Sam 
mailto:sbowl...@cox.net>> wrote:
Thanks Raff. I understand about the problem with Piracy, but some of the 
players these guys come up with are truly terrible and make it very difficult 
to navigate the videos. That’s my only real concern with streaming, well, that 
and if my internet goes out in middle of me watching the video.

I loved the visuals in Sucker Punch, but I did think the story could have been 
better. It is still worth watching, just for the amazing visuals.



This communication is intended
 for the addressee only. It is confidential. If you have rec

RE: Softimage 2014

[Szabolcs Matefy]

As far as I see, Softimage tools are sometimes design by programmers, for 
programmers. Like the UV packing spacing parameter. It has no use at all. It 
should be defined as it is in UVLayout, pixels, or similar, it must be 
understandable, and USABLE in production. Me as a game artist is interested in 
the minimum distance between UV islands, and not some abstract number that has 
no visual meaning to me.

 

And so on. I hope, that after the next release the new developer team will 
focus on fixing these issues.

 

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Eugen Sares
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 9:21 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: Softimage 2014

 

My point exactly, Sebastien.

About that SDK cluster update thing in custom topo operators:
I assume it's basically about tracking array indices carefully caused by the 
topology changes and shifting cluster indices accordingly.
Array index magic, so to speak, with just basic math involved. A sort problem, 
in other words. Sounds like some good legwork, but nothing out of reach.
Should something like this be in the way of everything good to come from 3rd 
parties in the modeling department?


Am 10.04.2013 09:02, schrieb Sebastien Sterling:

I agree with your sentiments Matt, i feel the priority should be placed 
solidly on making the code more accessible to 3rd party dev's, at the end of 
the day it helps the package live, and Autodesk seem to have adopted a trend of 
buying up 3rd party plugins anyway, looking at CAT for max, NEX for maya, maya 
had a weekness in modeling, and while it may have considerable ground to cover, 
at least the code is loose enough to allow 3rd parties to  fill in the gaps.

if this could be a unified goal it could benefit everyone.

 

On 10 April 2013 04:24, Matt Lind  wrote:

All of the above.  

 

There are parts of the core that are archaic and need to be updated.  
Other areas perfectly fine but need somebody to step in and finish an 
implementation of an existing feature.

 

In my opinion, the biggest problem is politics of getting the issues 
identified to be addressed.  Many of those making the decisions are not well 
tuned into the real problems as experienced in the field and therefore trust a 
database of reports, or a voting contest among users who will tend to vote for 
whatever the trendy new thing is rather than the bigger picture of what makes 
the software better overall.  This puts the decision on the product manager and 
the last few haven't exactly been tuned to the market, which further distorts 
the decision making process.  To further complicate matters, there are programs 
like media and consulting which can pull a developer off a task to address a 
client's need.  Clients throwing dollars at autodesk can skew the application's 
development path off course if their needs don't align with the rest of the 
user base.

 

When a bug is reported and others are able to chime in whether it's 
important or not, the items that often get the most votes tend to be things 
that treat the symptoms instead of the problem.  This is partly because end 
users are primarily artists and do not understand the technical aspects, and 
therefore will vote for what they know which is often a subset of the issues on 
the table.  This skews voting to favor things which are familiar instead of 
things which need to be addressed.  The item that could really deliver positive 
impact often gets ignored because only one person in the lot understands it and 
can see the big picture.

 

When planning development of an application, you need to answer 
questions such as who's going to use the product, what should the application 
do best, does it need to be more portable or more performance friendly,  how 
much manpower is available to develop and maintain the product, etc...  Many of 
the criteria are opposing, which means somebody must make tough decisions, lay 
down boundaries and choose which criteria deserve more weight.  Those early 
critical decisions can have a long lasting impact on the product for the rest 
of its useful life.  For example, Softimage was designed to favor animation 
first.  That implies geometry data structures for modeling and other operations 
may have to be designed to be lean and efficient instead of robust as the 
overhead for maintaining complex geometry is considerable and works against 
performance which is needed to maintain frame rates.  3DSMax, on the other 
hand, chose a different approach which favors plugin development.  It 
encouraged 3rd parties to contribute by making an open SDK, but it came at the 
cost of a decent animation toolsetwhich is partly why animation tool 
development has been discontinued on the product.  In short, no application can 
do everything equally well.  Some sacrifices nee

RE: OT: Looking for a studio who specializes in Mocap (preferably Sports)

[Oz Adi]

Thanks Adam :)

I never really left, I kept on reading the list on Google groups..
The list got more technical/professional, with ICE and scripting , and I just 
do not have much to contribute on
These subjects, but I enjoy reading it, and learning new stuff in ICE.

We need an A to Z solution, a studio that will handle the capture, and also do 
the post production and deliver finished renders,
So it looks like mocap.ca mainly supply mocap services.

Thanks again.

Oz.
From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Adam Sale
Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2013 8:03 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: OT: Looking for a studio who specializes in Mocap (preferably 
Sports)

Hey Oz.. Long time since I've seen your name pop up. Welcome back.

My colleague Al Macleod rolls his own Mocap Solution, If you're interested, you 
can contact him through his website.
His solutions are for Maya, but he is a really talented guy, and may be able to 
help you out.

http://mocap.ca/

Adam

On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 8:07 AM, Oz Adi 
mailto:oz@playtech.com>> wrote:
Hello,

Sorry for the OT on my first post.
This is actually not my first post, but I've been missing from this list since 
2002 or so :)

The company I work for, is looking for a 3D production studio, that has proven 
experience doing and handling  multi player capturing (football for instance), 
and can deliver
Very high quality realistic renders. The studio does not have to have its own 
mocap facilities, but the mocap should be their technical responsibility.
The studio can be anywhere in the world.
Basically we need the other side to supply finished rendered shots or short 
sequences.

It would be helpful if I could get a few names and links.  I have zero 
experience with Mocap, and Mocap studios..
I do not have a lot of info about the project itself, but the company I work 
for is a big and serious player in the gambling-gaming industry.

Any help is welcome :)
Thanks,
Oz.

[cid:image004.png@01CB7AA7.1FC59280]

|

Oz Adi

|

Art Director

|

Tel.: +972 3 7185075

|

Mobile +972 54 7100048

|

|

http://www.playtech.com/


This communication contains information which is privileged and confidential 
and is exclusively intended only for the individual or entity named above 
(recipient(s)). If you are not the intended recipient(s) or the person 
responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient(s), you are hereby 
notified that any review, disclosure, dissemination, distribution or 
reproduction of this communication message in any way or act is prohibited. If 
you receive this communication by mistake please notify the sender immediately 
and then destroy any copies of it. Please note that the sender monitors e-mails 
sent or received. Thank you.




<>

Re: Advice on creating particles effects

[Paul Griswold]

That's way too broad of a question.  It's like asking a group of farmers
"I'd like information on growing plants.  Any information out there?"

For general motion graphics, check out Motionographer and Stash.TV.
 Otherwise you'll probably need to be a bit more specific on what you're
trying to accomplish.

-Paul



On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 9:34 PM, carl callewaert  wrote:

>
> >I looking for information on how to create nice particles effects. I am
> >not looking
> for a tutorial that explains the sliders but more from a design viewpoint.
> Any information out there?
>
> c
>
>
>

Re: Softimage 2014

[Guillaume Laforge]

Could not agree more on all you said Matt.

To add my voice,

always improving the SDK is the most important feature for two reasons:

- There are much more developers with the ability to create new Softimage
plugins outside of Autodesk.
- You must be connected to production world to create the right tool. When
I say connected, I don't mean signing a partnership with a studio to help
in the development of the new product. I mean being part of the studio.
This is the only way to answer production needs at the right time with the
right tool !

SDK development is the big point :).

Guillaume



On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 10:24 PM, Matt Lind  wrote:

> All of the above.  
>
> ** **
>
> There are parts of the core that are archaic and need to be updated.
> Other areas perfectly fine but need somebody to step in and finish an
> implementation of an existing feature.
>
> ** **
>
> In my opinion, the biggest problem is politics of getting the issues
> identified to be addressed.  Many of those making the decisions are not
> well tuned into the real problems as experienced in the field and therefore
> trust a database of reports, or a voting contest among users who will tend
> to vote for whatever the trendy new thing is rather than the bigger picture
> of what makes the software better overall.  This puts the decision on the
> product manager and the last few haven’t exactly been tuned to the market,
> which further distorts the decision making process.  To further complicate
> matters, there are programs like media and consulting which can pull a
> developer off a task to address a client’s need.  Clients throwing dollars
> at autodesk can skew the application’s development path off course if their
> needs don’t align with the rest of the user base.
>
> ** **
>
> When a bug is reported and others are able to chime in whether it’s
> important or not, the items that often get the most votes tend to be things
> that treat the symptoms instead of the problem.  This is partly because end
> users are primarily artists and do not understand the technical aspects,
> and therefore will vote for what they know which is often a subset of the
> issues on the table.  This skews voting to favor things which are familiar
> instead of things which need to be addressed.  The item that could really
> deliver positive impact often gets ignored because only one person in the
> lot understands it and can see the big picture.
>
> ** **
>
> When planning development of an application, you need to answer questions
> such as who’s going to use the product, what should the application do
> best, does it need to be more portable or more performance friendly,  how
> much manpower is available to develop and maintain the product, etc…  Many
> of the criteria are opposing, which means somebody must make tough
> decisions, lay down boundaries and choose which criteria deserve more
> weight.  Those early critical decisions can have a long lasting impact on
> the product for the rest of its useful life.  For example, Softimage was
> designed to favor animation first.  That implies geometry data structures
> for modeling and other operations may have to be designed to be lean and
> efficient instead of robust as the overhead for maintaining complex
> geometry is considerable and works against performance which is needed to
> maintain frame rates.  3DSMax, on the other hand, chose a different
> approach which favors plugin development.  It encouraged 3rd parties to
> contribute by making an open SDK, but it came at the cost of a decent
> animation toolset….which is partly why animation tool development has been
> discontinued on the product.  In short, no application can do everything
> equally well.  Some sacrifices need to be made.
>
> ** **
>
> Anyway, the product known as Autodesk Softimage was designed in a
> different era with vast resources available under Microsoft rule. Today’s
> landscape pales in comparison which can make the product more difficult to
> maintain as it can require resources that are no longer available. That
> combined with the needs of the market steering more towards modeling,
> rendering, and special FX make it difficult to rework an animation minded
> software to those needs.  It can be done, but it has to be made a priority
> – which is the whole problem as noted above.  There’s also a lot more to
> maintain today than there was 10 years ago.  Changing direction gets more
> difficult with each release from the increased inertia.  
>
> ** **
>
> In my opinion, the next release should be spent improving the modeling
> core, operator construction history capabilities and management, openGL
> view performance (OpenGL, HQV, and standard views), data management
> (handling large quantities of objects), access to user interface so users/3
> rd party developers can get better information what’s going on within the
> application (events, callbacks, mouse/keyboard feedback, communicating with
> external ap

Re: Advice on creating particles effects

[Angus Davidson]

Hi Carl

There are also so ICE tut on digital tutors that are free to access and are 
very useful for a beginner in particles

This one for example

http://www.digitaltutors.com/tutorial/339-Getting-Started-with-ICE-in-Softimage


From: Paul Griswold 
mailto:pgrisw...@fusiondigitalproductions.com>>
Reply-To: 
"softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" 
mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>>
Date: Wednesday 10 April 2013 1:16 PM
To: "softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" 
mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>>
Subject: Re: Advice on creating particles effects

That's way too broad of a question.  It's like asking a group of farmers "I'd 
like information on growing plants.  Any information out there?"

For general motion graphics, check out Motionographer and Stash.TV.  Otherwise 
you'll probably need to be a bit more specific on what you're trying to 
accomplish.

-Paul



On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 9:34 PM, carl callewaert 
mailto:c...@fundi3d.com>> wrote:

>I looking for information on how to create nice particles effects. I am
>not looking
for a tutorial that explains the sliders but more from a design viewpoint.
Any information out there?

c






This communication is 
intended for the addressee only. It is confidential. If you have received this 
communication in error, please notify us immediately and destroy the original 
message. You may not copy or disseminate this communication without the 
permission of the University. Only authorised signatories are competent to 
enter into agreements on behalf of the University and recipients are thus 
advised that the content of this message may not be legally binding on the 
University and may contain the personal views and opinions of the author, which 
are not necessarily the views and opinions of The University of the 
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All agreements between the University and 
outsiders are subject to South African Law unless the University agrees in 
writing to the contrary. 

Cannot save scene, locked by server?

[Simon Reeves]

Hey everybody,

I've been having a problem lately that I'm unable to save my scene as if I
opened a shared copy. It says
"[scene] cannot be saved because it has been loaded as a shared copy.The
main user is" and there is no user listed.

So I know what this window is, and I am suspecting the problem is that Im
saving via a script that is located on the server, so when I run the
script, maybe the SERVER is the new owner of the file? So locally I cannot
save it?
That makes sense in my head, but if so, how do you avoid that problem, I've
worked places with save scripts like the one I made and they didn't have
the issue so hopefully there is a way around it..

I thought it was the deadline submission script as that does a 'save as'
too  and that's also located on the server - same problem potentially.

Cheers!
Simon


Simon Reeves
Freelance 3D VFX Artist

London, UK
*email: si...@simonreeves.com*
*website: http://www.simonreeves.com*
*
*

Re: Cannot save scene, locked by server?

[Simon Reeves]

Its a bit intermittent too btw, it doesn't turn it into a shared copy
straight away every time.. Sometimes I seem to have a good run where it
doesn't sometimes every single time I try and save it complains..



Simon Reeves
Freelance 3D VFX Artist

London, UK
*email: si...@simonreeves.com*
*website: http://www.simonreeves.com*
*
*


On 10 April 2013 13:00, Simon Reeves  wrote:

> Hey everybody,
>
> I've been having a problem lately that I'm unable to save my scene as if I
> opened a shared copy. It says
> "[scene] cannot be saved because it has been loaded as a shared copy.The
> main user is" and there is no user listed.
>
> So I know what this window is, and I am suspecting the problem is that Im
> saving via a script that is located on the server, so when I run the
> script, maybe the SERVER is the new owner of the file? So locally I cannot
> save it?
> That makes sense in my head, but if so, how do you avoid that problem,
> I've worked places with save scripts like the one I made and they didn't
> have the issue so hopefully there is a way around it..
>
> I thought it was the deadline submission script as that does a 'save as'
> too  and that's also located on the server - same problem potentially.
>
> Cheers!
> Simon
>
>
> Simon Reeves
> Freelance 3D VFX Artist
>
> London, UK
> *email: si...@simonreeves.com*
> *website: http://www.simonreeves.com*
> *
> *
>

Re: Cannot save scene, locked by server?

[Stephen Blair]

Maybe your script sees the lock file but cannot open it for reading.

On 10/04/2013 8:05 AM, Simon Reeves wrote:
Its a bit intermittent too btw, it doesn't turn it into a shared copy 
straight away every time.. Sometimes I seem to have a good run where 
it doesn't sometimes every single time I try and save it complains..




Simon Reeves
Freelance 3D VFX Artist

London, UK
/email: si...@simonreeves.com /
/website: http://www.simonreeves.com/
/
/


On 10 April 2013 13:00, Simon Reeves > wrote:


Hey everybody,

I've been having a problem lately that I'm unable to save my scene
as if I opened a shared copy. It says
"[scene] cannot be saved because it has been loaded as a shared
copy.The main user is" and there is no user listed.

So I know what this window is, and I am suspecting the problem is
that Im saving via a script that is located on the server, so when
I run the script, maybe the SERVER is the new owner of the file?
So locally I cannot save it?
That makes sense in my head, but if so, how do you avoid that
problem, I've worked places with save scripts like the one I made
and they didn't have the issue so hopefully there is a way around it..

I thought it was the deadline submission script as that does a
'save as' too  and that's also located on the server - same
problem potentially.

Cheers!
Simon


Simon Reeves
Freelance 3D VFX Artist

London, UK
/email: si...@simonreeves.com /
/website: http://www.simonreeves.com/
/
/

OTish: Neil Blomkamp ELYSIUM trailer

[Octavian Ureche]

Here is the official trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ-bYOyQ46Y&feature=youtu.be

Don't know what to say. Mixed feelings about it. On one hand i am very much
looking forward to it,
on the other hand it feels like a mix between Deponia, Halo and District 9.
And the whole low class hero that saves the world is getting overused.
Hope to be wrong.

PS. As far as i know, it's the same vfx bunch that did District 9. Image
engine, Embassy & Weta.
Wonder if the embassy handled the mechanical stuff once again.

Cheers,
O

RE: Cannot save scene, locked by server?

[Fabrice Altman]

Assuming you're on Windows, is this something that has started happening 
suddenly ?
Do you know of any recent config change made on the server ?

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Simon Reeves
Sent: 10 April 2013 13:06
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: Cannot save scene, locked by server?

Its a bit intermittent too btw, it doesn't turn it into a shared copy straight 
away every time.. Sometimes I seem to have a good run where it doesn't 
sometimes every single time I try and save it complains..



Simon Reeves
Freelance 3D VFX Artist

London, UK
email: si...@simonreeves.com
website: http://www.simonreeves.com


On 10 April 2013 13:00, Simon Reeves 
mailto:si...@simonreeves.com>> wrote:
Hey everybody,

I've been having a problem lately that I'm unable to save my scene as if I 
opened a shared copy. It says
"[scene] cannot be saved because it has been loaded as a shared copy.The main 
user is" and there is no user listed.

So I know what this window is, and I am suspecting the problem is that Im 
saving via a script that is located on the server, so when I run the script, 
maybe the SERVER is the new owner of the file? So locally I cannot save it?
That makes sense in my head, but if so, how do you avoid that problem, I've 
worked places with save scripts like the one I made and they didn't have the 
issue so hopefully there is a way around it..

I thought it was the deadline submission script as that does a 'save as' too  
and that's also located on the server - same problem potentially.

Cheers!
Simon


Simon Reeves
Freelance 3D VFX Artist

London, UK
email: si...@simonreeves.com
website: http://www.simonreeves.com

Re: Advice on creating particles effects

[Leonard Koch]

There is a talk by Tim Borgmann from 2010 or 2011 I think in which he talks
about a very particle heavy spot made for VW.
It is long and he really goes into depth about the different creative
techniques he used to come up with the looks.
He also talks about the work flow of course, which is always nice to know.

Unfortunately I can't find that talk right now. It might be on vimeo, it
might have been posted on a forum as a download somewhere, all I know is
that it's from the German XSI Übertage meeting of 09, 2010 or 2011.


On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 1:30 PM, Angus Davidson
wrote:

>  Hi Carl
>
>  There are also so ICE tut on digital tutors that are free to access and
> are very useful for a beginner in particles
>
>  This one for example
>
>
> http://www.digitaltutors.com/tutorial/339-Getting-Started-with-ICE-in-Softimage
>
>
>   From: Paul Griswold 
> Reply-To: "softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" <
> softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>
> Date: Wednesday 10 April 2013 1:16 PM
> To: "softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" 
> Subject: Re: Advice on creating particles effects
>
>That's way too broad of a question.  It's like asking a group of
> farmers "I'd like information on growing plants.  Any information out
> there?"
>
>  For general motion graphics, check out Motionographer and Stash.TV.
>  Otherwise you'll probably need to be a bit more specific on what you're
> trying to accomplish.
>
>  -Paul
>
>
>
> On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 9:34 PM, carl callewaert  wrote:
>
>>
>> >I looking for information on how to create nice particles effects. I am
>> >not looking
>> for a tutorial that explains the sliders but more from a design viewpoint.
>> Any information out there?
>>
>> c
>>
>>
>>
> This communication is intended for the addressee only. It is 
> confidential. If you have received this communication in error, please notify 
> us immediately and destroy the original message. You may not copy or 
> disseminate this communication without the permission of the University. Only 
> authorised signatories are competent to enter into agreements on behalf of 
> the University and recipients are thus advised that the content of this 
> message may not be legally binding on the University and may contain the 
> personal views and opinions of the author, which are not necessarily the 
> views and opinions of The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All 
> agreements between the University and outsiders are subject to South African 
> Law unless the University agrees in writing to the contrary. **
>
>

Re: OTish: Neil Blomkamp ELYSIUM trailer

[Christopher]

The movie looks good, 
appears to be almost non-fiction, the way things are unfolding in the 
world.





Christopher





 	   
   	Octavian Ureche  
  Wednesday, April 
10, 2013 8:56 AM
  Here is the 
official trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ-bYOyQ46Y&feature=youtu.beDon't


 know what to say. Mixed feelings about it. On one hand i am very much 
looking forward to it,

on the other hand it feels like a mix between Deponia, Halo and 
District 9. And the whole low class hero that saves the world
 is getting overused.Hope to be wrong.PS.


 As far as i know, it's the same vfx bunch that did District 9. Image 
engine, Embassy & Weta.

Wonder if the embassy handled the mechanical stuff once 
again.Cheers,O

  

Re: Cannot save scene, locked by server?

[Jens Lindgren]

I have had this problem a couple of times lately also... really annoying.
Win 7 x64, Softimage 2013 SP1 and a EMC Isilon fileserver.

/Jens


On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 3:01 PM, Fabrice Altman wrote:

>  Assuming you’re on Windows, is this something that has started happening
> suddenly ?
>
> Do you know of any recent config change made on the server ?
>
> 
>
> ** **
>
> *From:* softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:
> softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] *On Behalf Of *Simon Reeves
> *Sent:* 10 April 2013 13:06
> *To:* softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
> *Subject:* Re: Cannot save scene, locked by server?
>
> ** **
>
> Its a bit intermittent too btw, it doesn't turn it into a shared copy
> straight away every time.. Sometimes I seem to have a good run where it
> doesn't sometimes every single time I try and save it complains..
>
>
> 
>
>
>
> Simon Reeves
>
> Freelance 3D VFX Artist 
>
> ** **
>
> London, UK
> *email: si...@simonreeves.com*
> *website: http://www.simonreeves.com*
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
> On 10 April 2013 13:00, Simon Reeves  wrote:
>
> Hey everybody,
>
> ** **
>
> I've been having a problem lately that I'm unable to save my scene as if I
> opened a shared copy. It says
>
> "[scene] cannot be saved because it has been loaded as a shared copy.The
> main user is" and there is no user listed.
>
> ** **
>
> So I know what this window is, and I am suspecting the problem is that Im
> saving via a script that is located on the server, so when I run the
> script, maybe the SERVER is the new owner of the file? So locally I cannot
> save it?
>
> That makes sense in my head, but if so, how do you avoid that problem,
> I've worked places with save scripts like the one I made and they didn't
> have the issue so hopefully there is a way around it..
>
> ** **
>
> I thought it was the deadline submission script as that does a 'save as'
> too  and that's also located on the server - same problem potentially.
>
> ** **
>
> Cheers!
>
> Simon
> 
>
>
>
> Simon Reeves
>
> Freelance 3D VFX Artist 
>
> ** **
>
> London, UK
> *email: si...@simonreeves.com*
> *website: http://www.simonreeves.com*
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>



-- 
Jens Lindgren
--
Lead Technical Director
Magoo 3D Studios 

Re: Advice on creating particles effects

[Peter Stevenson]

Might this be it Leonard?

https://vimeo.com/34472230 ...if only my german was better, better than non
existent at least...

p.s hello to the list!


On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 2:04 PM, Leonard Koch wrote:

> There is a talk by Tim Borgmann from 2010 or 2011 I think in which he
> talks about a very particle heavy spot made for VW.
> It is long and he really goes into depth about the different creative
> techniques he used to come up with the looks.
> He also talks about the work flow of course, which is always nice to know.
>
> Unfortunately I can't find that talk right now. It might be on vimeo, it
> might have been posted on a forum as a download somewhere, all I know is
> that it's from the German XSI Übertage meeting of 09, 2010 or 2011.
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 1:30 PM, Angus Davidson  > wrote:
>
>>  Hi Carl
>>
>>  There are also so ICE tut on digital tutors that are free to access and
>> are very useful for a beginner in particles
>>
>>  This one for example
>>
>>
>> http://www.digitaltutors.com/tutorial/339-Getting-Started-with-ICE-in-Softimage
>>
>>
>>   From: Paul Griswold 
>> Reply-To: "softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" <
>> softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>
>> Date: Wednesday 10 April 2013 1:16 PM
>> To: "softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" 
>> Subject: Re: Advice on creating particles effects
>>
>>That's way too broad of a question.  It's like asking a group of
>> farmers "I'd like information on growing plants.  Any information out
>> there?"
>>
>>  For general motion graphics, check out Motionographer and Stash.TV.
>>  Otherwise you'll probably need to be a bit more specific on what you're
>> trying to accomplish.
>>
>>  -Paul
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 9:34 PM, carl callewaert  wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> >I looking for information on how to create nice particles effects. I am
>>> >not looking
>>> for a tutorial that explains the sliders but more from a design
>>> viewpoint.
>>> Any information out there?
>>>
>>> c
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> This communication is intended for the addressee only. It is 
>> confidential. If you have received this communication in error, please 
>> notify us immediately and destroy the original message. You may not copy or 
>> disseminate this communication without the permission of the University. 
>> Only authorised signatories are competent to enter into agreements on behalf 
>> of the University and recipients are thus advised that the content of this 
>> message may not be legally binding on the University and may contain the 
>> personal views and opinions of the author, which are not necessarily the 
>> views and opinions of The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All 
>> agreements between the University and outsiders are subject to South African 
>> Law unless the University agrees in writing to the contrary.
>> **
>>
>>
>

Re: Tumbling in ICE?

[Morten Bartholdy]

I think this should be built into the Spin node.

Morten


Den 9. april 2013 kl. 20:14 skrev Andy Nicholas :

>  Just attached the example scene I sent Morten, in case anyone else finds
it
> useful.
>
>
> >
> >
> >  Den 9. april 2013 kl. 17:20 skrev Andy Nicholas
:
> >
> >  >  Hi Morten,
> >  > The only issue with randomising or turbulising it, is that the
particles
> >  > will
> >  > look like they're being acted on by some sort of force because their
> >  > angular
> >  > momentum is varying.
> >  >
> >  > If you want something a little more like tumbling debris in zero
gravity,
> >  > then
> >  > during emission; store a random unit vector (A) to rotate the
particle
> >  > around.
> >  > Use Randomise By Cone to generate another unit vector (B) at 90
degrees to
> >  > vector A, but at a random 360 orientation about it. Store this
vector too.
> >  > It
> >  > will be used to rotate vector A on each frame. Finally, store two
random
> >  > rates
> >  > of rotation. One for spinning the particle around A, and one for
spinning A
> >  > around B.
> >  >
> >  > All that stuff is just your initialisation. On each frame you just
rotate
> >  > vector
> >  > A using B and one of the rates of rotation (Angle+Axis). Then rotate
the
> >  > particle using vector A and the other rate of rotation.
> >  >
> >  > It should look fairly natural, although I doubt it obeys
conservation of
> >  > angular
> >  > momentum exactly.
> >  >
> >  > Cheers,
> >  > A
> >  >
> >  >
> >  >
> >  > On 09 April 2013 at 12:38 Morten Bartholdy 
wrote:
> >  >
> >  >
> >  > > Which is the best method to make totally randomly tumbling
particles in
> >  > > ICE? I
> >  > > am doing it with Spin Particle and altering the input axis with
> >  > > Randomizing
> >  > > the rotation by cone. I am thinking I would like to turbulize
direction
> >  > > of the
> >  > > the vector instead of randomizing but have not cracked that one
yet.
> >  > >
> >  > >  Is there a more elegant way to make particles tumble (flying
slowly
> >  > > through
> >  > > the air) totally randomly?
> >  > >
> >  > >  Morten
> >  > >
> >  > >
> >  > >
> >

Re: Advice on creating particles effects

[Christopher]

Nice Video, I'll have to 
see if I can get any relative to understand the video in German, I only 
know some of the bad German 
words :)

Christopher


   	   
   	Peter Stevenson  
  Wednesday, April 
10, 2013 9:09 AM
  Might this be it
 Leonard? https://vimeo.com/34472230 ...if 
only my german was better, better than non existent at least...
p.s hello to the list!

  
   	   
   	Leonard Koch  
  Wednesday, April 
10, 2013 9:04 AM
  There is a talk 
by Tim Borgmann from 2010 or 2011 I think in which he talks about a very
 particle heavy spot made for VW.It is long and he really 
goes into depth about the different creative techniques he used to come 
up with the looks.
He also talks about the work flow of course, which is 
always nice to know.Unfortunately
 I can't find that talk right now. It might be on vimeo, it might have 
been posted on a forum as a download somewhere, all I know is that it's 
from the German XSI Übertage meeting of 09, 2010 or 2011. 


  
   	   
   	Paul Griswold  
  Wednesday, April 
10, 2013 7:16 AM
  That's way too broad of a question.  It's like 
asking a group of farmers "I'd like information on growing plants.  Any 
information out there?"

For general motion graphics, check out 
Motionographer and Stash.TV.  Otherwise you'll probably need to be a bit
 more specific on what you're trying to accomplish.

-Paul

 

  

Re: Cannot save scene, locked by server?

[Morten Bartholdy]

Same here - win7 x64, Softimage 2013 SP1 and several version back - network
win7 fileserver.

Morten





Den 10. april 2013 kl. 15:06 skrev Jens Lindgren
:

> I have had this problem a couple of times lately also... really annoying.
> Win 7 x64, Softimage 2013 SP1 and a EMC Isilon fileserver.
> 
> /Jens
> 
> 
> On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 3:01 PM, Fabrice Altman < fabr...@studioaka.co.uk
>  > wrote:
> > 
> > Assuming you’re on Windows, is this something that has started happening
> > suddenly ?
> > 
> > Do you know of any recent config change made on the server ?
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com
> >  [mailto:
> > softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com
> >  ] On Behalf Of Simon
> > Reeves
> > Sent: 10 April 2013 13:06
> > To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
> > 
> > Subject: Re: Cannot save scene, locked by server?
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Its a bit intermittent too btw, it doesn't turn it into a shared copy
> > straight away every time.. Sometimes I seem to have a good run where it
> > doesn't sometimes every single time I try and save it complains..
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Simon Reeves
> > 
> > Freelance 3D VFX Artist
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > London, UK   email:  si...@simonreeves.com 
> > website:  http://www.simonreeves.com 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > On 10 April 2013 13:00, Simon Reeves < si...@simonreeves.com
> >  > wrote:
> > 
> > Hey everybody,
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > I've been having a problem lately that I'm unable to save my scene as if I
> > opened a shared copy. It says
> > 
> > "[scene] cannot be saved because it has been loaded as a shared copy.The
> > main user is" and there is no user listed.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > So I know what this window is, and I am suspecting the problem is that Im
> > saving via a script that is located on the server, so when I run the
> > script, maybe the SERVER is the new owner of the file? So locally I cannot
> > save it?
> > 
> > That makes sense in my head, but if so, how do you avoid that problem, I've
> > worked places with save scripts like the one I made and they didn't have
> > the issue so hopefully there is a way around it..
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > I thought it was the deadline submission script as that does a 'save as'
> > too  and that's also located on the server - same problem potentially.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Cheers!
> > 
> > Simon
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Simon Reeves
> > 
> > Freelance 3D VFX Artist
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > London, UK   email:  si...@simonreeves.com 
> > website:  http://www.simonreeves.com 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> 
> 
> 
> --
> Jens Lindgren
> --
> Lead Technical Director
> Magoo 3D Studios 

Re: Advice on creating particles effects

[Leonard Koch]

That is also a really really cool one, but it is not the one I meant.

I found a forum post by the event organizer which links to it, but the link
is dead.
http://www.xsiforum.de/thread.php?threadid=6968

It's from the 2009 event and was probably in German anyway. It wouldn't
have been of too much use to you.


On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 3:16 PM, Christopher <
christop...@thecreativesheep.ca> wrote:

> Nice Video, I'll have to see if I can get any relative to understand the
> video in German, I only know some of the bad German words :)
>
> Christopher
>
>   Peter Stevenson 
>  Wednesday, April 10, 2013 9:09 AM
> Might this be it Leonard?
>
> https://vimeo.com/34472230 ...if only my german was better, better than
> non existent at least...
>
> p.s hello to the list!
>
>
>
>   Leonard Koch 
>  Wednesday, April 10, 2013 9:04 AM
> There is a talk by Tim Borgmann from 2010 or 2011 I think in which he
> talks about a very particle heavy spot made for VW.
> It is long and he really goes into depth about the different creative
> techniques he used to come up with the looks.
> He also talks about the work flow of course, which is always nice to know.
>
> Unfortunately I can't find that talk right now. It might be on vimeo, it
> might have been posted on a forum as a download somewhere, all I know is
> that it's from the German XSI Übertage meeting of 09, 2010 or 2011.
>
>
>
>   Paul Griswold 
>  Wednesday, April 10, 2013 7:16 AM
> That's way too broad of a question.  It's like asking a group of farmers
> "I'd like information on growing plants.  Any information out there?"
>
> For general motion graphics, check out Motionographer and Stash.TV.
>  Otherwise you'll probably need to be a bit more specific on what you're
> trying to accomplish.
>
> -Paul
>
>
>
>
>
<>

Re: Advice on creating particles effects

[Cristobal Infante]

I am sure it was great, shame it wasn't in English!




On 10 April 2013 14:04, Leonard Koch  wrote:

> There is a talk by Tim Borgmann from 2010 or 2011 I think in which he
> talks about a very particle heavy spot made for VW.
> It is long and he really goes into depth about the different creative
> techniques he used to come up with the looks.
> He also talks about the work flow of course, which is always nice to know.
>
> Unfortunately I can't find that talk right now. It might be on vimeo, it
> might have been posted on a forum as a download somewhere, all I know is
> that it's from the German XSI Übertage meeting of 09, 2010 or 2011.
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 1:30 PM, Angus Davidson  > wrote:
>
>>  Hi Carl
>>
>>  There are also so ICE tut on digital tutors that are free to access and
>> are very useful for a beginner in particles
>>
>>  This one for example
>>
>>
>> http://www.digitaltutors.com/tutorial/339-Getting-Started-with-ICE-in-Softimage
>>
>>
>>   From: Paul Griswold 
>> Reply-To: "softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" <
>> softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>
>> Date: Wednesday 10 April 2013 1:16 PM
>> To: "softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" 
>> Subject: Re: Advice on creating particles effects
>>
>>That's way too broad of a question.  It's like asking a group of
>> farmers "I'd like information on growing plants.  Any information out
>> there?"
>>
>>  For general motion graphics, check out Motionographer and Stash.TV.
>>  Otherwise you'll probably need to be a bit more specific on what you're
>> trying to accomplish.
>>
>>  -Paul
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 9:34 PM, carl callewaert  wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> >I looking for information on how to create nice particles effects. I am
>>> >not looking
>>> for a tutorial that explains the sliders but more from a design
>>> viewpoint.
>>> Any information out there?
>>>
>>> c
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> This communication is intended for the addressee only. It is 
>> confidential. If you have received this communication in error, please 
>> notify us immediately and destroy the original message. You may not copy or 
>> disseminate this communication without the permission of the University. 
>> Only authorised signatories are competent to enter into agreements on behalf 
>> of the University and recipients are thus advised that the content of this 
>> message may not be legally binding on the University and may contain the 
>> personal views and opinions of the author, which are not necessarily the 
>> views and opinions of The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All 
>> agreements between the University and outsiders are subject to South African 
>> Law unless the University agrees in writing to the contrary.
>>
>>
>>
>> **
>>
>>
>

Re: Cannot save scene, locked by server?

[Angus Davidson]

Could you be at your maximum number of connections to the server ? Normally 
that’s why you would use something like windows 2008 R2 Server to work around 
those limitations.

Scripts particularly if they call other scripts can very easily hit that 
maximum on a plain windows 7 machine used as a file server.

Kind regards

Angus

From: Morten Bartholdy mailto:x...@colorshopvfx.dk>>
Reply-To: Morten Bartholdy mailto:x...@colorshopvfx.dk>>, 
"softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" 
mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>>
Date: Wednesday 10 April 2013 3:16 PM
To: "softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" 
mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>>
Subject: Re: Cannot save scene, locked by server?


Same here - win7 x64, Softimage 2013 SP1 and several version back - network 
win7 fileserver.


Morten







Den 10. april 2013 kl. 15:06 skrev Jens Lindgren 
mailto:jens.lindgren@gmail.com>>:

I have had this problem a couple of times lately also... really annoying.
Win 7 x64, Softimage 2013 SP1 and a EMC Isilon fileserver.

/Jens


On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 3:01 PM, Fabrice Altman < 
fabr...@studioaka.co.uk > wrote:
Assuming you’re on Windows, is this something that has started happening 
suddenly ?
Do you know of any recent config change made on the server ?


From:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com
 [mailto: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com
 ] On Behalf Of Simon Reeves
Sent: 10 April 2013 13:06
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: Cannot save scene, locked by server?

Its a bit intermittent too btw, it doesn't turn it into a shared copy straight 
away every time.. Sometimes I seem to have a good run where it doesn't 
sometimes every single time I try and save it complains..



Simon Reeves
Freelance 3D VFX Artist

London, UK  email:  si...@simonreeves.com   
website:  http://www.simonreeves.com


On 10 April 2013 13:00, Simon Reeves < 
si...@simonreeves.com > wrote:
Hey everybody,

I've been having a problem lately that I'm unable to save my scene as if I 
opened a shared copy. It says
"[scene] cannot be saved because it has been loaded as a shared copy.The main 
user is" and there is no user listed.

So I know what this window is, and I am suspecting the problem is that Im 
saving via a script that is located on the server, so when I run the script, 
maybe the SERVER is the new owner of the file? So locally I cannot save it?
That makes sense in my head, but if so, how do you avoid that problem, I've 
worked places with save scripts like the one I made and they didn't have the 
issue so hopefully there is a way around it..

I thought it was the deadline submission script as that does a 'save as' too  
and that's also located on the server - same problem potentially.

Cheers!
Simon


Simon Reeves
Freelance 3D VFX Artist

London, UK  email:  si...@simonreeves.com   
website:  http://www.simonreeves.com





--
Jens Lindgren
--
Lead Technical Director
Magoo 3D Studios





This communication is 
intended for the addressee only. It is confidential. If you have received this 
communication in error, please notify us immediately and destroy the original 
message. You may not copy or disseminate this communication without the 
permission of the University. Only authorised signatories are competent to 
enter into agreements on behalf of the University and recipients are thus 
advised that the content of this message may not be legally binding on the 
University and may contain the personal views and opinions of the author, which 
are not necessarily the views and opinions of The University of the 
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All agreements between the University and 
outsiders are subject to South African Law unless the University agrees in 
writing to the contrary. 

Re: Cannot save scene, locked by server?

[Simon Reeves]

Ya perhaps it can't edit the lock file.. I'll try to keep my eye one it, I
have noticed the lack of a lock file, but hard to see when it actually
disappears..

I am on windows 7, the server is an igloo so I think its running some
linux? So does that mean it shouldn't be a connection problem?

I'm going to try and just use my script to save the scene once, then just
manually version up, or maybe try and run the save script from my machine
instead of the network workgroup - see if that isloates the problem a bit



Simon Reeves
Freelance 3D VFX Artist

London, UK
*email: si...@simonreeves.com*
*website: http://www.simonreeves.com*
*
*


On 10 April 2013 14:35, Angus Davidson  wrote:

>  Could you be at your maximum number of connections to the server ?
> Normally that’s why you would use something like windows 2008 R2 Server to
> work around those limitations.
>
>  Scripts particularly if they call other scripts can very easily hit that
> maximum on a plain windows 7 machine used as a file server.
>
>  Kind regards
>
>  Angus
>
>   From: Morten Bartholdy 
> Reply-To: Morten Bartholdy , "
> softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" 
> Date: Wednesday 10 April 2013 3:16 PM
> To: "softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" 
>
> Subject: Re: Cannot save scene, locked by server?
>
>   Same here - win7 x64, Softimage 2013 SP1 and several version back -
> network win7 fileserver.
>
>
>  Morten
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Den 10. april 2013 kl. 15:06 skrev Jens Lindgren <
> jens.lindgren@gmail.com>:
>
>   I have had this problem a couple of times lately also... really
> annoying.
> Win 7 x64, Softimage 2013 SP1 and a EMC Isilon fileserver.
>
> /Jens
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 3:01 PM, Fabrice Altman < fabr...@studioaka.co.uk> 
> wrote:
>
>
>  Assuming you’re on Windows, is this something that has started happening
> suddenly ?
>
> Do you know of any recent config change made on the server ?
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:*softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:
> softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com ] *On Behalf Of* Simon Reeves
> *Sent:* 10 April 2013 13:06
> *To:* softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
> *Subject:* Re: Cannot save scene, locked by server?
>
>
>
> Its a bit intermittent too btw, it doesn't turn it into a shared copy
> straight away every time.. Sometimes I seem to have a good run where it
> doesn't sometimes every single time I try and save it complains..
>
>
>
>
> Simon Reeves
>
> Freelance 3D VFX Artist
>
>
>
> London, UK  *email:  si...@simonreeves.com *  * website:
> http://www.simonreeves.com*
>
>
>
>
>
> On 10 April 2013 13:00, Simon Reeves < si...@simonreeves.com > wrote:
>
> Hey everybody,
>
>
>
> I've been having a problem lately that I'm unable to save my scene as if I
> opened a shared copy. It says
>
> "[scene] cannot be saved because it has been loaded as a shared copy.The
> main user is" and there is no user listed.
>
>
>
> So I know what this window is, and I am suspecting the problem is that Im
> saving via a script that is located on the server, so when I run the
> script, maybe the SERVER is the new owner of the file? So locally I cannot
> save it?
>
> That makes sense in my head, but if so, how do you avoid that problem,
> I've worked places with save scripts like the one I made and they didn't
> have the issue so hopefully there is a way around it..
>
>
>
> I thought it was the deadline submission script as that does a 'save as'
> too  and that's also located on the server - same problem potentially.
>
>
>
> Cheers!
>
> Simon
>
>
>
> Simon Reeves
>
> Freelance 3D VFX Artist
>
>
>
> London, UK  *email:  si...@simonreeves.com *  * website:
> http://www.simonreeves.com*
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Jens Lindgren
> --
> Lead Technical Director
> Magoo 3D Studios 
>
>
>
>
>  This communication is intended for the addressee only. It is confidential. 
> If you have received this communication in error, please notify us 
> immediately and destroy the original message. You may not copy or disseminate 
> this communication without the permission of the University. Only authorised 
> signatories are competent to enter into agreements on behalf of the 
> University and recipients are thus advised that the content of this message 
> may not be legally binding on the University and may contain the personal 
> views and opinions of the author, which are not necessarily the views and 
> opinions of The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All agreements 
> between the University and outsiders are subject to South African Law unless 
> the University agrees in writing to the contrary.
> **
>
>

RE: Advice on creating particles effects

[Marc-Andre Carbonneau]

Crowd source to get it translated.

Or even better...Tim and friends do a training DVD. From art to pipeline. From 
concept to result.
I'm sure that would get those C4D users interested too. :P

Tschüss! ;)
MAC

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Cristobal Infante
Sent: 10 avril 2013 09:31
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: Advice on creating particles effects

I am sure it was great, shame it wasn't in English!



On 10 April 2013 14:04, Leonard Koch 
mailto:leonardkoch...@gmail.com>> wrote:
There is a talk by Tim Borgmann from 2010 or 2011 I think in which he talks 
about a very particle heavy spot made for VW.
It is long and he really goes into depth about the different creative 
techniques he used to come up with the looks.
He also talks about the work flow of course, which is always nice to know.

Unfortunately I can't find that talk right now. It might be on vimeo, it might 
have been posted on a forum as a download somewhere, all I know is that it's 
from the German XSI Übertage meeting of 09, 2010 or 2011.

On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 1:30 PM, Angus Davidson 
mailto:angus.david...@wits.ac.za>> wrote:
Hi Carl

There are also so ICE tut on digital tutors that are free to access and are 
very useful for a beginner in particles

This one for example

http://www.digitaltutors.com/tutorial/339-Getting-Started-with-ICE-in-Softimage


From: Paul Griswold 
mailto:pgrisw...@fusiondigitalproductions.com>>
Reply-To: 
"softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" 
mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>>
Date: Wednesday 10 April 2013 1:16 PM
To: "softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" 
mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>>
Subject: Re: Advice on creating particles effects

That's way too broad of a question.  It's like asking a group of farmers "I'd 
like information on growing plants.  Any information out there?"

For general motion graphics, check out Motionographer and Stash.TV.  Otherwise 
you'll probably need to be a bit more specific on what you're trying to 
accomplish.

-Paul


On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 9:34 PM, carl callewaert 
mailto:c...@fundi3d.com>> wrote:

>I looking for information on how to create nice particles effects. I am
>not looking
for a tutorial that explains the sliders but more from a design viewpoint.
Any information out there?

c


This communication is intended for the addressee only. It is confidential. If 
you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately and 
destroy the original message. You may not copy or disseminate this 
communication without the permission of the University. Only authorised 
signatories are competent to enter into agreements on behalf of the University 
and recipients are thus advised that the content of this message may not be 
legally binding on the University and may contain the personal views and 
opinions of the author, which are not necessarily the views and opinions of The 
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All agreements between the 
University and outsiders are subject to South African Law unless the University 
agrees in writing to the contrary.

What Netview could have been?

[Paul Griswold]

I just spotted this over on the MOI 3D forums.

Seems very familiar, right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4AocnuChroE#!


Netview had a ton of potential...

-Paul

Re: Advice on creating particles effects

[Cristobal Infante]

I suggested that when it was uploaded.. I would be happy to chip in!

Now we need a German ICE translator... plenty around here right ;)



On 10 April 2013 15:40, Marc-Andre Carbonneau <
marc-andre.carbonn...@ubisoft.com> wrote:

> Crowd source to get it translated.
>
> ** **
>
> Or even better…Tim and friends do a training DVD. From art to pipeline.
> From concept to result.
>
> I’m sure that would get those C4D users interested too. :P
>
> ** **
>
> Tschüss! ;)
>
> MAC
>
> ** **
>
> *From:* softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:
> softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] *On Behalf Of *Cristobal Infante
> *Sent:* 10 avril 2013 09:31
> *To:* softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
>
> *Subject:* Re: Advice on creating particles effects
>
> ** **
>
> I am sure it was great, shame it wasn't in English!
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
> On 10 April 2013 14:04, Leonard Koch  wrote:
>
> There is a talk by Tim Borgmann from 2010 or 2011 I think in which he
> talks about a very particle heavy spot made for VW.
>
> It is long and he really goes into depth about the different creative
> techniques he used to come up with the looks.
>
> He also talks about the work flow of course, which is always nice to know.
> 
>
> ** **
>
> Unfortunately I can't find that talk right now. It might be on vimeo, it
> might have been posted on a forum as a download somewhere, all I know is
> that it's from the German XSI Übertage meeting of 09, 2010 or 2011. 
>
> ** **
>
> On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 1:30 PM, Angus Davidson 
> wrote:
>
> Hi Carl
>
> ** **
>
> There are also so ICE tut on digital tutors that are free to access and
> are very useful for a beginner in particles
>
> ** **
>
> This one for example
>
> ** **
>
>
> http://www.digitaltutors.com/tutorial/339-Getting-Started-with-ICE-in-Softimage
> 
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
> *From: *Paul Griswold 
> *Reply-To: *"softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" <
> softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>
> *Date: *Wednesday 10 April 2013 1:16 PM
> *To: *"softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" 
> *Subject: *Re: Advice on creating particles effects
>
> ** **
>
> That's way too broad of a question.  It's like asking a group of farmers
> "I'd like information on growing plants.  Any information out there?"
>
> ** **
>
> For general motion graphics, check out Motionographer and Stash.TV.
>  Otherwise you'll probably need to be a bit more specific on what you're
> trying to accomplish.
>
> ** **
>
> -Paul
>
>  
>
> ** **
>
> On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 9:34 PM, carl callewaert  wrote:*
> ***
>
>
> >I looking for information on how to create nice particles effects. I am
> >not looking
> for a tutorial that explains the sliders but more from a design viewpoint.
> Any information out there?
>
> c
>
> 
>
> ** **
>
> This communication is intended for the addressee only. It is confidential.
> If you have received this communication in error, please notify us
> immediately and destroy the original message. You may not copy or
> disseminate this communication without the permission of the University.
> Only authorised signatories are competent to enter into agreements on
> behalf of the University and recipients are thus advised that the content
> of this message may not be legally binding on the University and may
> contain the personal views and opinions of the author, which are not
> necessarily the views and opinions of The University of the Witwatersrand,
> Johannesburg. All agreements between the University and outsiders are
> subject to South African Law unless the University agrees in writing to the
> contrary. 
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>

Re: What Netview could have been?

[Eric Thivierge]

Still does if you want to develop something for it. The hard part about
getting resources from the public is ensuring nothing malicious is attached
and if there is, ban that user on repeat offenses. Building and maintaining
the system is even more work and really needs to be done by Autodesk or a
company that makes some income on running the site. We've all seen the
discussion before and AD reps have told us that the AREA people are the
ones to do it and they are greatly understaffed.


Eric Thivierge
http://www.ethivierge.com


On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 11:01 AM, Paul Griswold <
pgrisw...@fusiondigitalproductions.com> wrote:

> I just spotted this over on the MOI 3D forums.
>
> Seems very familiar, right?
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4AocnuChroE#!
>
>
> Netview had a ton of potential...
>
> -Paul
>
>
>

Re: What Netview could have been?

[Alan Fregtman]

I for one wouldn't mind if they updated the Netview in Linux Softimage to
something a tad more modern than IE 5.

If only the Chromium engine could be thrown in with the ActiveScripting
stuff. A A guy can dream, right?



On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 11:09 AM, Eric Thivierge wrote:

> Still does if you want to develop something for it. The hard part about
> getting resources from the public is ensuring nothing malicious is attached
> and if there is, ban that user on repeat offenses. Building and maintaining
> the system is even more work and really needs to be done by Autodesk or a
> company that makes some income on running the site. We've all seen the
> discussion before and AD reps have told us that the AREA people are the
> ones to do it and they are greatly understaffed.
>
> 
> Eric Thivierge
> http://www.ethivierge.com
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 11:01 AM, Paul Griswold <
> pgrisw...@fusiondigitalproductions.com> wrote:
>
>> I just spotted this over on the MOI 3D forums.
>>
>> Seems very familiar, right?
>>
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4AocnuChroE#!
>>
>>
>> Netview had a ton of potential...
>>
>> -Paul
>>
>>
>>
>

Re: Advice on creating particles effects

[Stephen Davidson]

A wonderful tool for  designing particle effects is actually not Softimage.
Particle Illusion  is great for
designing a look very quickly. It is inexpensive.
The particles are not 3D, however. So if you need 3D integration you
will need to learn particles in Softimage.

I use both, depending on how much time I have.


On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 9:34 PM, carl callewaert  wrote:

>
> >I looking for information on how to create nice particles effects. I am
> >not looking
> for a tutorial that explains the sliders but more from a design viewpoint.
> Any information out there?
>
> c
>
>
>


-- 

Best Regards,
*  Stephen P. Davidson**
   **(954) 552-7956
*sdavid...@3danimationmagic.com

*Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic*


 - Arthur C. Clarke

RE: imf_disp error: Could not connect to the socket specified in the stubfile

[Grahame Fuller]

The main reason I posted was to explain the reasoning behind the decision, 
i.e., problems with firewalls. The pedantry was just a bonus.

gray

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Dan Yargici
Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2013 03:32 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: imf_disp error: Could not connect to the socket specified in the 
stubfile

OK, pedantry aside, can we make it so it just works.  Like it used to. :)

DAN

On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 6:07 PM, Grahame Fuller 
mailto:grahame.ful...@autodesk.com>> wrote:
It is on -- you need to turn it off.  :)

>From the help:

MI_ENABLE_PIPE_MODE

Tells mental ray not to open any TCP/IP sockets. This prevents problems with 
firewalls when running Softimage.
By default this is set but you may need to unset it, for example, to use 
imf_disp to show renders in progress.


gray

From: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com
 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com]
 On Behalf Of Dan Yargici
Sent: Monday, April 08, 2013 10:37 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: imf_disp error: Could not connect to the socket specified in the 
stubfile

It's been a while since I used Mental Ray but I just stumbled into this.  Can 
anyone explain the reasoning behind the decision to turn this feature off by 
default?

If it doesn't cause some kind of instability can we please get it back on by 
default!

Thanks,

DAN

On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 1:58 AM, Simon Van de Lagemaat 
mailto:si...@theembassyvfx.com>>>
 wrote:
That did the trick tyvm!!
From: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>
 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>]
 On Behalf Of Stephen Blair
Sent: February-21-11 3:17 PM
To: 
softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>
Subject: RE: imf_disp error: Could not connect to the socket specified in the 
stubfile


Try unsetting the environment variable:



set MI_ENABLE_PIPE_MODE=


in setenv.bat
From: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>
 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>]
 On Behalf Of Simon Van de Lagemaat
Sent: February-21-11 4:57 PM
To: 
softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>
Subject: imf_disp error: Could not connect to the socket specified in the 
stubfile

We're trying to view in progress frames via imf_disp and keep getting the 
following error

"Error: Could not connect to the socket specified in the stubfile"

We don't have any firewalls on and this app used to work before we upgraded to 
2011 so not sure what's changed.  Anyone know what socket it's using?

<>

RE: Softimage 2014

[Eric Cosky]

Just to add to the discussion, when I made EssGeo (a geometry plugin,
http://www.boundingboxgames.com/tools/essgeo) I had to disable a couple of
features due to problems with cluster management. Namely, a random cluster
op and a greeble op. I think they could have been pretty useful tools.

 

I made an imgur gallery that showed the features I had to abandon, check it
out here: http://imgur.com/a/5T7v0

 

It’s been a while since I wrote all this, but if memory serves I couldn’t
find what I needed for cluster management in the C++ API, so I had to resort
to this sort of thing which basically builds a VB command to make changes to
clusters:

 

 
CString prefix = cluster.GetFullName() + L", " + pname + L".poly[";

 
if(ecount > 0)

 
{

 
CString arg = prefix + L"0-" + CString(CValue(pcount-1)) + L"]";

 
args[0] = arg;

 
status = Application().ExecuteCommand(L"RemoveFromCluster", args, val);

 
DEBUG_ASSERT_OK(status);

 
}

 

This of course is pretty slow compared to a proper native API, but it
generally solved that part of the problem and in practice wasn’t a
performance problem since clusters didn’t change all the time.

 

Unfortunately I had to yank these features because I could never get them
stable. Changing anything that changed cluster data had the potential to
crash Softimage. I usually assume when something doesn’t work that it’s my
fault, because there always seems to be a tendency for things to actually
turn out to be my fault the moment I point the finger somewhere else, but in
this case I wound up convinced the cluster management internals of Softimage
was buggy and there was nothing I could do about it. I’d love to be wrong so
I could fix my plugin but this thread suggests otherwise.

 

If someone on the Softimage dev team would like the source code to this
plugin along with an already-built version with these features enabled in
order to fix the crash and see a specific example of what cluster API
changes would be useful,  I’d be happy to provide it.

 

-Eric Cosky

 

 

 

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Sebastien
Sterling
Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2013 5:40 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: Softimage 2014

 

If these things are to hard to accomplish for third party people, then what
realistic chance is there that they will ever be implemented ? is what i
want to know, Autodesk don't exactly have a good track record of treating
there customers as a valid source of input... is there some secret ballot
where this stuff gets decided ?

Also, is the problem that the SDK is just too archaic ? does it need a
complete rewrite ? or are aspects of the code unavailable or illegal to be
changed to/by scripters ? if so does Autodesk have the ability to make the
code available ?

 

On 9 April 2013 09:27, Eugen Sares  wrote:

Oil on my fire.
That cluster SDK restriction really really sucks. It is the reason why there
never were any good topology/modelling addons from 3rd parties, which leads
to stagantion if there aren't any new "factory" modelling tools brought
also.
In 3ds max or Maya, all kinds of plugins are available, completely natural.
Not so in Softimage.
The few ICE modelling tools like Cap are nice, but slow. Native code is nice
and fast.

Luc-Eric mentioned once, ICE was meant to be the "new SDK", that's why this
cluster update mechanism has been implemented for ICE already.
Imho that's an excuse. ICE complements the SDK, it is NOT a replacement!
Cluster updates should be supported by the SDK as well, even if it is
complicated, and thus somewhat of a challenge for a 3rd party dev.
Try us! Provide a good code example alongside, and we'll do fine.

Be wise and do it. Please.



Am 09.04.2013 09:08, schrieb Piotrek Marczak:

Just give us proper SDK and let community do the rest. 

 

"

Softimage currently does not fully support custom topology operators. The
problem is that any cluster or cluster property will not properly update
when a topology operator adds or removes points that belong to the cluster.
In the worst case Softimage may crash. Hence custom topology operators
should only be used in the more limited scenario of objects that do not have
any clusters. Once the geometry is ready it would be possible to freeze the
object to remove the custom topology operators (but leave the result of
their evaluation), then to add the clusters and other operators.

"

??

 

2013/4/8 olivier jeannel 

They do modo for birds ?

Le 08/04/2013 20:27, pete...@skynet.be a écrit :

I’m pretty sure there’s neither gentlemen nor ladies on this list.

 

as for Modo vs SI – a little bird tells me there’s more important issues at
stake than selection.

 

 

From: Rob Chapman   

Sent: Monday, April 08, 2013 3:35 PM

To: ron...@toonafish.nl ; softimage@listproc.autodesk.com 

Subject: Re: Softimage 2014

 

now now gentlemen, there are ladies present on the list too!  

 

lets jus

Re: Exocortex Species 1.6 Released

[Eric Thivierge]

We had a few rather annoying bugs in the 1.6 release and we've now fixed
them. See below for fixes.

   1. *Fix custom menu enable*
   The system tried creating the custom menus before it checked the
   validity of the directory. It now checks first and if not valid it won't
   generate the menu list.

   2. *Fix shutil import error*
   Missing module import in one of the modules and is now fixed.

   3. *ReplaceMesh skip source meshes if not found*
   During a replace mesh process, if the system doesn't find the source
   mesh, it is skipped and info is logged in the script history. Also we added
   a dialogue informing you that the ReplaceMesh command finished.

   4. *Upgrade 1.5 rig code added to AnimRig build and ReplaceMesh*
   We added a few hierarchies and meshes to the PropRigs for 1.6 and thus
   using 1.5.x PropRigs fail in 1.6. We've added code to upgrade them so all
   necessary nulls are present. We do NOT add the Low or Proxy meshes though,
   just the group nulls.

*
Get Species 1.6.1 here:*
http://exocortex.com/products/species



Eric Thivierge
http://www.ethivierge.com


On Fri, Apr 5, 2013 at 7:26 AM, Chris Covelli wrote:

> For the record, our package is a zip file upon download, and does in fact
> include an xsi addon file.  We recommend using the workgroup method
> however, because we find it much easier to upgrade rather than uninstalling
> the previous version and installing the new version.  Something to consider
> is that we do not release patch updates.  Every version we put out is a
> full version, and you cannot have 2 versions of Species running at the same
> time, so every time you want to upgrade, you have to uninstall and
> reinstall.  We give you the option to go addon, but from our experience,
> our customers have a much easier time and fewer problems with the
> workgroups.
>
> Chris Covelli
> http://www.polygonpusherinc.com/
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 5, 2013 at 3:45 AM, Rob Wuijster  wrote:
>
>>  A zip file might be more convenient in some cases??
>>
>> Rob
>> \/-\/\/
>>
>> On 5-4-2013 4:00, Alok Gandhi wrote:
>>
>> Can't you guys ship it as si addon. That way the user will have to do
>> nothing other than to install the addon (drag and drop).
>>
>>  Just a small suggestion . . .
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On 2013-04-04, at 6:10 PM, Eric Thivierge  wrote:
>>
>>   Just as a reminder, we recommend extracting the workgroup from the
>> .zip file and connecting to it through the workgroups tab in the plug-in
>> manager and not pulling the files out and overwriting the previous version.
>> Some files get re-organized and new files are put in place and as such old
>> files may end up persisting when they shouldn't.
>>
>> We got Tim squared away and if anyone else has any issues please be sure
>> to send us an email and we'll get you up and running again.
>>
>> 
>> Eric Thivierge
>> http://www.ethivierge.com
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Apr 4, 2013 at 2:40 PM, Eric Thivierge wrote:
>>
>>> I'll be in touch offlist Tim.
>>>
>>> 
>>> Eric Thivierge
>>> http://www.ethivierge.com
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Apr 4, 2013 at 2:30 PM, Tim Crowson <
>>> tim.crow...@magneticdreams.com> wrote:
>>>
  Hi Chris,

 We've updated it here but get an error when starting Softimage, saying
 the species module can't be found (I'm guessing this module is new to 1.6).
 Whether we're using XSI's python or Windows python makes no difference. Any
 suggestions?

 Looks like a great update though!

 -Tim


 On 4/4/2013 9:49 AM, Chris Covelli wrote:

  Exocortex Species 1.6


  Create Better Characters Even Faster

  Species 1.6 is now available at 
 Exocortex.com
 .

  We created this video overview of the new features:
 http://vimeo.com/62914955 

  What is Species?
  Exocortex Species simplifies the process of human character creation
 from designing your
  character’s unique attributes, integrating sculpting results, to rig
 creation, even animation. With
  Species, you will create higher quality animated characters faster
 and at a lower cost, while
  avoiding the generic look that often come when purchasing
 off-the-shelf models. Exocortex
  Species supports Autodesk Softimage 2010 through 2013 on both Windows
 and Linux. Floating
  and node locked licenses are available starting at $299.
  Improvements in Species 1.6


  1. Custom PropRig Import

 A new preference that allows the user to define a directory to export
 and import customized

 PropRigs for repeated use. PropRigs within those folders are now listed
 in the Species > Build >

 Import Custom menu split into “Male” and “Female” sub-menus.

>

deleating Particals

[Ben Beckett]

Hi Everyone

I have to may particals and I want to reduce the cache by haft.

I want to deleat if your odd or even with a condition.

Am playing but if any one could say how to to save me some time thta would
be brill

Thanks All
Ben

Re: deleating Particals

[Gustavo Eggert Boehs]

Not infront of SI but you could Get IDs and run them through modulo node
(using 2 as input).
It basically returns the leftover of a division... in your case, odds will
always return 1.

More here:
http://xsisupport.com/2009/10/24/using-the-modulo-node/


2013/4/10 Ben Beckett 

> Hi Everyone
>
> I have to may particals and I want to reduce the cache by haft.
>
> I want to deleat if your odd or even with a condition.
>
> Am playing but if any one could say how to to save me some time thta would
> be brill
>
> Thanks All
> Ben
>
>


-- 
Gustavo E Boehs
http://www.gustavoeb.com.br/blog

Re: deleating Particals

[Stephen Blair]

http://wp.me/powV4-2sC
For odd/even, modulo by 2

On 10/04/2013 3:04 PM, Ben Beckett wrote:

Hi Everyone

I have to may particals and I want to reduce the cache by haft.

I want to deleat if your odd or even with a condition.

Am playing but if any one could say how to to save me some time thta 
would be brill


Thanks All
Ben

Re: deleating Particals

[Ben Beckett]

Sweet it work Am no sort why but I will read it through Thanks


On 10 April 2013 20:11, Gustavo Eggert Boehs  wrote:

> Not infront of SI but you could Get IDs and run them through modulo node
> (using 2 as input).
> It basically returns the leftover of a division... in your case, odds will
> always return 1.
>
> More here:
> http://xsisupport.com/2009/10/24/using-the-modulo-node/
>
>
> 2013/4/10 Ben Beckett 
>
>> Hi Everyone
>>
>> I have to may particals and I want to reduce the cache by haft.
>>
>> I want to deleat if your odd or even with a condition.
>>
>> Am playing but if any one could say how to to save me some time thta
>> would be brill
>>
>> Thanks All
>> Ben
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Gustavo E Boehs
> http://www.gustavoeb.com.br/blog
>

Re: deleating Particals

[Rob Chapman]

welcome to logic my fren


On 10 April 2013 21:19, Ben Beckett  wrote:

> Sweet it work Am no sort why but I will read it through Thanks
>
>
> On 10 April 2013 20:11, Gustavo Eggert Boehs  wrote:
>
>> Not infront of SI but you could Get IDs and run them through modulo node
>> (using 2 as input).
>> It basically returns the leftover of a division... in your case, odds
>> will always return 1.
>>
>> More here:
>> http://xsisupport.com/2009/10/24/using-the-modulo-node/
>>
>>
>> 2013/4/10 Ben Beckett 
>>
>>> Hi Everyone
>>>
>>> I have to may particals and I want to reduce the cache by haft.
>>>
>>> I want to deleat if your odd or even with a condition.
>>>
>>> Am playing but if any one could say how to to save me some time thta
>>> would be brill
>>>
>>> Thanks All
>>> Ben
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Gustavo E Boehs
>> http://www.gustavoeb.com.br/blog
>>
>
>

Re: deleating Particals

[Peter Agg]

For what it's worth, I'd actually recommend giving every each particle a
random value between 0 and 1, then delete any over 0.5. It's not as clear
cut as the modulo way, but it means you get to re-seed the values if you
don;t like the result - where as you're kinda suck with whatever ID the
particle is given otherwise.

Depends on what you're doing, of course. If you have a billion points to
make a vapour you're probably not as fussed!


On 10 April 2013 20:23, Rob Chapman  wrote:

> welcome to logic my fren
>
>
> On 10 April 2013 21:19, Ben Beckett  wrote:
>
>> Sweet it work Am no sort why but I will read it through Thanks
>>
>>
>> On 10 April 2013 20:11, Gustavo Eggert Boehs  wrote:
>>
>>> Not infront of SI but you could Get IDs and run them through modulo node
>>> (using 2 as input).
>>> It basically returns the leftover of a division... in your case, odds
>>> will always return 1.
>>>
>>> More here:
>>> http://xsisupport.com/2009/10/24/using-the-modulo-node/
>>>
>>>
>>> 2013/4/10 Ben Beckett 
>>>
 Hi Everyone

 I have to may particals and I want to reduce the cache by haft.

 I want to deleat if your odd or even with a condition.

 Am playing but if any one could say how to to save me some time thta
 would be brill

 Thanks All
 Ben


>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Gustavo E Boehs
>>> http://www.gustavoeb.com.br/blog
>>>
>>
>>
>

Saving RT/ICE Compounds Faster

[Christopher]

How come you can't create a compound, be it in ICE / RT and drag it into
your shader list and get prompt with a default location, whether in your
workgroup or in the user folder of Softimage ?

I have to do this whole roundabout issue, save the compound, move it
into the workgroup folder where my compounds are then refresh the
shader/ice node list.

Christopher

Re: What Netview could have been?

[Simon Anderson]

Agree with you there Alan, I tried to do some net view tool intergration a
while back when looking at new ways of interacting with soft, as I had seen
a Flash version and had successfully duplicated the flash integration, so I
tried using JQuery and it didn't seem to evaluate correctly in the old ie 5
:( so I moved on from there and did Qt ;)


On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 1:30 AM, Alan Fregtman wrote:

> I for one wouldn't mind if they updated the Netview in Linux Softimage to
> something a tad more modern than IE 5.
>
> If only the Chromium engine could be thrown in with the ActiveScripting
> stuff. A A guy can dream, right?
>
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 11:09 AM, Eric Thivierge wrote:
>
>> Still does if you want to develop something for it. The hard part about
>> getting resources from the public is ensuring nothing malicious is attached
>> and if there is, ban that user on repeat offenses. Building and maintaining
>> the system is even more work and really needs to be done by Autodesk or a
>> company that makes some income on running the site. We've all seen the
>> discussion before and AD reps have told us that the AREA people are the
>> ones to do it and they are greatly understaffed.
>>
>> 
>> Eric Thivierge
>> http://www.ethivierge.com
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 11:01 AM, Paul Griswold <
>> pgrisw...@fusiondigitalproductions.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I just spotted this over on the MOI 3D forums.
>>>
>>> Seems very familiar, right?
>>>
>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4AocnuChroE#!
>>>
>>>
>>> Netview had a ton of potential...
>>>
>>> -Paul
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>


-- 
---
Simon Ben Anderson
blog: http://vinyldevelopment.wordpress.com/

Re: What Netview could have been?

[Jordi Bares]

That would be so useful… another guy dreaming

Jordi Bares
jordiba...@gmail.com

On 10 Apr 2013, at 16:30, Alan Fregtman  wrote:

> I for one wouldn't mind if they updated the Netview in Linux Softimage to 
> something a tad more modern than IE 5.
> 
> If only the Chromium engine could be thrown in with the ActiveScripting 
> stuff. A A guy can dream, right?
> 
> 
> 
> On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 11:09 AM, Eric Thivierge  wrote:
> Still does if you want to develop something for it. The hard part about 
> getting resources from the public is ensuring nothing malicious is attached 
> and if there is, ban that user on repeat offenses. Building and maintaining 
> the system is even more work and really needs to be done by Autodesk or a 
> company that makes some income on running the site. We've all seen the 
> discussion before and AD reps have told us that the AREA people are the ones 
> to do it and they are greatly understaffed.
> 
> 
> Eric Thivierge
> http://www.ethivierge.com
> 
> 
> On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 11:01 AM, Paul Griswold 
>  wrote:
> I just spotted this over on the MOI 3D forums.
> 
> Seems very familiar, right?
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4AocnuChroE#!
> 
> 
> Netview had a ton of potential...
> 
> -Paul
> 
> 
> 
> 

Re: deleating Particals

[Ben Beckett]

The modula works good but the random value is better in this case thanks
for all your help guys

Cool
Ben


On 10 April 2013 20:52, Peter Agg  wrote:

> For what it's worth, I'd actually recommend giving every each particle a
> random value between 0 and 1, then delete any over 0.5. It's not as clear
> cut as the modulo way, but it means you get to re-seed the values if you
> don;t like the result - where as you're kinda suck with whatever ID the
> particle is given otherwise.
>
> Depends on what you're doing, of course. If you have a billion points to
> make a vapour you're probably not as fussed!
>
>
>  On 10 April 2013 20:23, Rob Chapman  wrote:
>
>> welcome to logic my fren
>>
>>
>> On 10 April 2013 21:19, Ben Beckett  wrote:
>>
>>> Sweet it work Am no sort why but I will read it through Thanks
>>>
>>>
>>> On 10 April 2013 20:11, Gustavo Eggert Boehs wrote:
>>>
 Not infront of SI but you could Get IDs and run them through modulo
 node (using 2 as input).
 It basically returns the leftover of a division... in your case, odds
 will always return 1.

 More here:
 http://xsisupport.com/2009/10/24/using-the-modulo-node/


 2013/4/10 Ben Beckett 

> Hi Everyone
>
> I have to may particals and I want to reduce the cache by haft.
>
> I want to deleat if your odd or even with a condition.
>
> Am playing but if any one could say how to to save me some time thta
> would be brill
>
> Thanks All
> Ben
>
>


 --
 Gustavo E Boehs
 http://www.gustavoeb.com.br/blog

>>>
>>>
>>
>

Re: OTish: Neil Blomkamp ELYSIUM trailer

[Christopher Crouzet]

Weta Digital didn't work on it (some wished), but the Workshop did.



On 11 April 2013 01:04, Christopher  wrote:

> The movie looks good, appears to be almost non-fiction, the way things are
> unfolding in the world.
>
> Christopher
>
>   Octavian Ureche 
>  Wednesday, April 10, 2013 8:56 AM
> Here is the official trailer:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ-bYOyQ46Y&feature=youtu.be
>
> Don't know what to say. Mixed feelings about it. On one hand i am very
> much looking forward to it,
> on the other hand it feels like a mix between Deponia, Halo and District
> 9.
> And the whole low class hero that saves the world is getting overused.
> Hope to be wrong.
>
> PS. As far as i know, it's the same vfx bunch that did District 9. Image
> engine, Embassy & Weta.
> Wonder if the embassy handled the mechanical stuff once again.
>
> Cheers,
> O
>
>
<>

Re: OTish: Neil Blomkamp ELYSIUM trailer

[Simon van de Lagemaat]

Image Engine was the primary on Elysium and did the majority of the work.
 There were other shops involved of course but this was really IE's gig,
they supervised it.


On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 5:56 AM, Octavian Ureche  wrote:

> Here is the official trailer:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ-bYOyQ46Y&feature=youtu.be
>
> Don't know what to say. Mixed feelings about it. On one hand i am very
> much looking forward to it,
> on the other hand it feels like a mix between Deponia, Halo and District
> 9.
> And the whole low class hero that saves the world is getting overused.
> Hope to be wrong.
>
> PS. As far as i know, it's the same vfx bunch that did District 9. Image
> engine, Embassy & Weta.
> Wonder if the embassy handled the mechanical stuff once again.
>
> Cheers,
> O
>

Re: deleating Particals

[Alan Fregtman]

What about the "Test Random Probability" and setting the ratio value to
0.5? That should work also.



On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 5:09 PM, Ben Beckett  wrote:

> The modula works good but the random value is better in this case thanks
> for all your help guys
>
> Cool
> Ben
>
>
> On 10 April 2013 20:52, Peter Agg  wrote:
>
>> For what it's worth, I'd actually recommend giving every each particle a
>> random value between 0 and 1, then delete any over 0.5. It's not as clear
>> cut as the modulo way, but it means you get to re-seed the values if you
>> don;t like the result - where as you're kinda suck with whatever ID the
>> particle is given otherwise.
>>
>> Depends on what you're doing, of course. If you have a billion points to
>> make a vapour you're probably not as fussed!
>>
>>
>>  On 10 April 2013 20:23, Rob Chapman  wrote:
>>
>>> welcome to logic my fren
>>>
>>>
>>> On 10 April 2013 21:19, Ben Beckett  wrote:
>>>
 Sweet it work Am no sort why but I will read it through Thanks


 On 10 April 2013 20:11, Gustavo Eggert Boehs wrote:

> Not infront of SI but you could Get IDs and run them through modulo
> node (using 2 as input).
> It basically returns the leftover of a division... in your case, odds
> will always return 1.
>
> More here:
> http://xsisupport.com/2009/10/24/using-the-modulo-node/
>
>
> 2013/4/10 Ben Beckett 
>
>> Hi Everyone
>>
>> I have to may particals and I want to reduce the cache by haft.
>>
>> I want to deleat if your odd or even with a condition.
>>
>> Am playing but if any one could say how to to save me some time thta
>> would be brill
>>
>> Thanks All
>> Ben
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Gustavo E Boehs
> http://www.gustavoeb.com.br/blog
>


>>>
>>
>

Re: deleating Particals

[Raffaele Fragapane]

I have to ask, if you want to almost unconditionally halve the particles,
what prevents you from doing it at generation time instead of using
resources unnecessarily to generate double the number and then using
resources again to cull them?


On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 8:14 AM, Alan Fregtman wrote:

> What about the "Test Random Probability" and setting the ratio value to
> 0.5? That should work also.
>
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 5:09 PM, Ben Beckett  wrote:
>
>> The modula works good but the random value is better in this case thanks
>> for all your help guys
>>
>> Cool
>> Ben
>>
>>
>> On 10 April 2013 20:52, Peter Agg  wrote:
>>
>>> For what it's worth, I'd actually recommend giving every each particle a
>>> random value between 0 and 1, then delete any over 0.5. It's not as clear
>>> cut as the modulo way, but it means you get to re-seed the values if you
>>> don;t like the result - where as you're kinda suck with whatever ID the
>>> particle is given otherwise.
>>>
>>> Depends on what you're doing, of course. If you have a billion points to
>>> make a vapour you're probably not as fussed!
>>>
>>>
>>>  On 10 April 2013 20:23, Rob Chapman  wrote:
>>>
 welcome to logic my fren


 On 10 April 2013 21:19, Ben Beckett  wrote:

> Sweet it work Am no sort why but I will read it through Thanks
>
>
> On 10 April 2013 20:11, Gustavo Eggert Boehs wrote:
>
>> Not infront of SI but you could Get IDs and run them through modulo
>> node (using 2 as input).
>> It basically returns the leftover of a division... in your case, odds
>> will always return 1.
>>
>> More here:
>> http://xsisupport.com/2009/10/24/using-the-modulo-node/
>>
>>
>> 2013/4/10 Ben Beckett 
>>
>>> Hi Everyone
>>>
>>> I have to may particals and I want to reduce the cache by haft.
>>>
>>> I want to deleat if your odd or even with a condition.
>>>
>>> Am playing but if any one could say how to to save me some time thta
>>> would be brill
>>>
>>> Thanks All
>>> Ben
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Gustavo E Boehs
>> http://www.gustavoeb.com.br/blog
>>
>
>

>>>
>>
>


-- 
Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship it
and let them flee like the dogs they are!

Re: deleating Particals

[Eric Thivierge]

On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 8:46 PM, Raffaele Fragapane <
raffsxsil...@googlemail.com> wrote:

> I have to ask, if you want to almost unconditionally halve the particles,
> what prevents you from doing it at generation time instead of using
> resources unnecessarily to generate double the number and then using
> resources again to cull them?


Probably made an epic sim and cached it. Then needs to reduce them but keep
the same stellar motion. Not everybody has 32gb of RAM Raf or render farm
for that matter! :P


Eric Thivierge
http://www.ethivierge.com

Re: deleating Particals

[Andy Moorer]

Sometimes when the opportunity presents itself (such as a weekend available to 
cache on a local machine) I like to save out the maximum density I can in a 
given timeframe simply because its easier to remove data than to not have it at 
all or build up density by interpolating between particles or the like.

In regards to simple workflows... I have a couple of easy-to-build compounds I 
keep handy (though its just as easy to build them as you go) one which assigns 
particles a random number between 1-100, another which tests for that value 
against a defined threshold for deletion or whatever. It makes it very quick to 
be able to build structures which act on a certain percentage of particles or 
to modulate other values with that number. 

By always using the same compound/logic I free myself from having to give it 
any particular attention or thought, I just drop the compounds in and know what 
I'm going to get. Simple but useful, and since it is (for better or worse) my 
own logic instead of one of the factory compounds I know what is happening 
under the hood and don't have to worry about unexpected results, pre-set 
contexts, or other caveats.

Same goes for a number of other simple tools - the most useful being one which 
returns a uniformly random vector of a defined magnitude. The factory 
"randomize by cone" compounds irritate me. :)

Re: deleating Particals

[Ben Beckett]

Yep I made a super heavy bug swarm and I need to take out a few to render
it.


On 11 April 2013 03:51, Andy Moorer  wrote:

> Sometimes when the opportunity presents itself (such as a weekend
> available to cache on a local machine) I like to save out the maximum
> density I can in a given timeframe simply because its easier to remove data
> than to not have it at all or build up density by interpolating between
> particles or the like.
>
> In regards to simple workflows... I have a couple of easy-to-build
> compounds I keep handy (though its just as easy to build them as you go)
> one which assigns particles a random number between 1-100, another which
> tests for that value against a defined threshold for deletion or whatever.
> It makes it very quick to be able to build structures which act on a
> certain percentage of particles or to modulate other values with that
> number.
>
> By always using the same compound/logic I free myself from having to give
> it any particular attention or thought, I just drop the compounds in and
> know what I'm going to get. Simple but useful, and since it is (for better
> or worse) my own logic instead of one of the factory compounds I know what
> is happening under the hood and don't have to worry about unexpected
> results, pre-set contexts, or other caveats.
>
> Same goes for a number of other simple tools - the most useful being one
> which returns a uniformly random vector of a defined magnitude. The factory
> "randomize by cone" compounds irritate me. :)
>
>

Re: deleating Particals

[Raffaele Fragapane]

I'm aware of plenty cases where one might need to, especially post-facto
stuff where you just can't go back upstream (caches, things produced as
manually operated chains for hacks, LODding something, bracketing something
and so on).

In this case I was more proposing it's worth looking at that. 90% of the
stuff that starts simply emitted can usually be halved more cheaply, and
interacted with in more complexity producing better results, by reduing the
emission rule hits and then a straight forward tweaking of any frequency
based on the ID (if you have any).

More of a food for thought than anything, I guess. Maybe should have not
been formulated as a question.


On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 12:51 PM, Andy Moorer  wrote:

> Sometimes when the opportunity presents itself (such as a weekend
> available to cache on a local machine) I like to save out the maximum
> density I can in a given timeframe simply because its easier to remove data
> than to not have it at all or build up density by interpolating between
> particles or the like.
>
> In regards to simple workflows... I have a couple of easy-to-build
> compounds I keep handy (though its just as easy to build them as you go)
> one which assigns particles a random number between 1-100, another which
> tests for that value against a defined threshold for deletion or whatever.
> It makes it very quick to be able to build structures which act on a
> certain percentage of particles or to modulate other values with that
> number.
>
> By always using the same compound/logic I free myself from having to give
> it any particular attention or thought, I just drop the compounds in and
> know what I'm going to get. Simple but useful, and since it is (for better
> or worse) my own logic instead of one of the factory compounds I know what
> is happening under the hood and don't have to worry about unexpected
> results, pre-set contexts, or other caveats.
>
> Same goes for a number of other simple tools - the most useful being one
> which returns a uniformly random vector of a defined magnitude. The factory
> "randomize by cone" compounds irritate me. :)
>
>


-- 
Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship it
and let them flee like the dogs they are!

C++ : custom ice node with custom data type

[Steven Caron]

does anyone know why the ICENodeDef.AddOutputPort() method asks for a
CStringArray of custom data types?

http://download.autodesk.com/global/docs/softimage2013/en_us/sdkguide/index.html?url=si_cpp/classXSI_1_1ICENodeDef.html,topicNumber=si_cpp_classXSI_1_1ICENodeDef_html,hash=ac0713341d32a19f748fec65f6837e6d3


i am trying to understand what benefit or feature providing multiple custom
data type identifiers would do here. the documentation isn't clear on this,
and since i am a n00b i need straight and to the point.

thanks
steven

RE: Exocortex Species 1.6 Released

[Szabolcs Matefy]

Deep respect guys! :D

 

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Eric
Thivierge
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 7:15 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: Exocortex Species 1.6 Released

 

We had a few rather annoying bugs in the 1.6 release and we've now fixed
them. See below for fixes.

1.  Fix custom menu enable
The system tried creating the custom menus before it checked the
validity of the directory. It now checks first and if not valid it won't
generate the menu list.
2.  Fix shutil import error
Missing module import in one of the modules and is now fixed.
3.  ReplaceMesh skip source meshes if not found
During a replace mesh process, if the system doesn't find the
source mesh, it is skipped and info is logged in the script history.
Also we added a dialogue informing you that the ReplaceMesh command
finished.
4.  Upgrade 1.5 rig code added to AnimRig build and ReplaceMesh
We added a few hierarchies and meshes to the PropRigs for 1.6
and thus using 1.5.x PropRigs fail in 1.6. We've added code to upgrade
them so all necessary nulls are present. We do NOT add the Low or Proxy
meshes though, just the group nulls.


Get Species 1.6.1 here:
http://exocortex.com/products/species





Eric Thivierge
http://www.ethivierge.com

 

On Fri, Apr 5, 2013 at 7:26 AM, Chris Covelli
 wrote:

For the record, our package is a zip file upon download, and does in
fact include an xsi addon file.  We recommend using the workgroup method
however, because we find it much easier to upgrade rather than
uninstalling the previous version and installing the new version.
Something to consider is that we do not release patch updates.  Every
version we put out is a full version, and you cannot have 2 versions of
Species running at the same time, so every time you want to upgrade, you
have to uninstall and reinstall.  We give you the option to go addon,
but from our experience, our customers have a much easier time and fewer
problems with the workgroups.




Chris Covelli
http://www.polygonpusherinc.com/

 

On Fri, Apr 5, 2013 at 3:45 AM, Rob Wuijster  wrote:

A zip file might be more convenient in some cases??



Rob
\/-\/\/

On 5-4-2013 4:00, Alok Gandhi wrote:

Can't you guys ship it as si addon. That way the user will have
to do nothing other than to install the addon (drag and drop). 

 

Just a small suggestion . . . 

Sent from my iPhone


On 2013-04-04, at 6:10 PM, Eric Thivierge 
wrote:

Just as a reminder, we recommend extracting the
workgroup from the .zip file and connecting to it through the workgroups
tab in the plug-in manager and not pulling the files out and overwriting
the previous version. Some files get re-organized and new files are put
in place and as such old files may end up persisting when they
shouldn't.

We got Tim squared away and if anyone else has any
issues please be sure to send us an email and we'll get you up and
running again.





Eric Thivierge
http://www.ethivierge.com

 

On Thu, Apr 4, 2013 at 2:40 PM, Eric Thivierge
 wrote:

I'll be in touch offlist Tim.





Eric Thivierge
http://www.ethivierge.com

 

On Thu, Apr 4, 2013 at 2:30 PM, Tim Crowson
 wrote:

Hi Chris,

We've updated it here but get an error when starting
Softimage, saying the species module can't be found (I'm guessing this
module is new to 1.6). Whether we're using XSI's python or Windows
python makes no difference. Any suggestions?

Looks like a great update though!

-Tim 

 

On 4/4/2013 9:49 AM, Chris Covelli wrote:


Exocortex Species 1.6


 

Create Better Characters Even Faster

 

Species 1.6 is now available at Exocortex.com
 .

 

We created this video overview of the new
features: http://vimeo.com/62914955  


 


What is Species?


 


Exocortex Species simplifies the process of
human character creation from designing your 


character's unique attributes, integrating
sculpting results, to rig creation, ev