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Installers: Windows 32Bit Windows 64Bit Intel Mac v19.0 Intel Mac SSE4.2 v19.0 SDK UpDate Change Log: Fixed All: 0006942 Audio in Chor doesn't play Fixed All: 0006941 Crash on Decal scaling New All: for chor new entry in the menu -> "Bake and Remove Bullet Constraints" bake simulation data and remove than the Bullet Constraints from the models If the Shift key is hold while clicking this entry, a simulation run is first done for all Bullet Constraints New All: for objects new entry in the menu -> "Reset Main Bone", set the main model bone back to the default values (helpfull for simulation with bullet constraint, if the main bone not at default , unexpected behavior can occur) Fixed All: 0006934 Bullet "Bounce" parameter has no effect Fixed All: 0006938 Bullet simulates with strange results Fixed All: 0006820 Specular highlights not working on transparent surface. Fixed All: 0006931 Magnet Mode distance handles disappear Fixed All: 0006935 Rotoscope disappears if resized Fixed All: 0006933 32 bit version crashes Fixed All: 0006928 AI-Wizard crashes A:M Fixed All: 0006932 Explode/Rebuild doesn't work Fixed All: 0006937 Crash on adding Null Fixed All: 0006936 Crash on Save Fixed All: 0006895 Depth of field doesn't work Fixed All: 006894 Scale keys lost after save Fixed All: 0006914 NetRender: Corrupted surface on first frames Fixed All: 0006927 Final render darker than previous versions Fixed All: 0006926 Decal Image name lost after adding non-loca material. Fixed All: 006921 Crash on dragging Groups in PWS Fixed All: 0006919 Crash after selecting CPs Fixed All: 0006912 Netrender: Can't expand "Time" Column Fixed All: 0006913 NetRender: Disabled slave Prgress precent freezes Fixed All: 0006925 endless loop for complex undoing operations Fixed All: 0006920 Pose slider made by Push_CPs doesn't work Fixed All: 0006855 Soft shadows not soft Fixed All: 0006917 Reordering Groups after making keyframes in Chor causes crash 11 Fixed All: 0006922 Substeps for frame render is always 0:0... Fixed All: 0006811 incorrect real-time and progressive renders on particle image sequences New All It's now possible to show in which group a cp is in.For existing installations the button needs to be add manually. Add the button Tools->Customize->Commands->Manipulator -> "Show Groups, where the CP is included" to the toolbar, or "Reset Toolbars" For new installations it's default in the manipulator toolbar. Works only for single selected cp's. OSX latest supported version is OSX 10.13.6, because my mac can't be updated to a newer OSX version

The library printed my Sphinx j model. Here are a few pictures. As you see, it still did not print perfectly, but I am happy with the result. Thanks again to everyone who helped. Your ideas, illustrations, and video clips really taught me a lot.

I oft times get sucked down the rabbit hole when it comes to A:M. Someone shouts "squirrel!" and I'm off on a tangent faster than you can animate a blink. Last month I bought some new filament for my 3D printer. It was advertised to print looking like wood. So I ask myself, just what can I print to test out that claim? My mind went to a pirate cannon. Of course it did. So I go straight to my favorite 3D modeling software (A:M) and model up a pirate canon, and send it off to my 3D printer. Needless to say the first time through wasn't all that great, but lessons were learned. Below are some images to show how this little worked out. I'm forcing myself to move on to another project, since if I allowed myself I'm sure I would be modeling a whole pirate ship! The A:M model looks a bit like this Of course I had to animate it: canon_fire.avi and the final 3D printed looks like this: The A:M model had to be broken up 18 separate models

This came out of a discussion with Simon Edmondson and David Simmons at Live Answer time...

Some of my pigs from Donark are going to Venice to share donuts and recipes. I made a model where my pigs and the Venetians can interact. Unfortunately, it won't be a happy visit. I have attached a picture of my model. It's still in progress, and there will be some additions and tweaking. Among the changes will be creation of a population of Venetians and the arrival of a ship of Donark pigs. The pigs will have an adventure like they've never had before. (I also should note that this model is really Venice-y. It's not really a totally accurate depiction.)

Thanks for the explanation and the example of a sky dome. I have always taken the sky pretty much for granted. I'll have to reconsider the many more possibilities available. The render below has the sky dome.

Here is a render with AO--No Fog.

and the job is done...at least for now!

Having computer issues thanks to 10 updates so was cleaning up drives and found a DAZ character I had looked at awhile ago ...decided to covert him to AM and did a simple animated gif kid.mdl

AMAZING! Fantastic job!

Rob your the best!!! I'll check these out. Rusty An ad for my scifi books I made in AM. ExplorerTwoAd.mp4

Playing with fishy idea 1st "draft"

Hi Robcat, You have always been very helpful. It's too late for the contest, but it just so happens that my project involves a model of a plane.

I decided to hold off on the laptop, but have been working to install Windows on my Mac via Boot Camp today. A much easier process than the one I remember from the olden days (which involved burning an install disc and lots of hoops to jump through.) Everything seems to be fine, so far. I've set up a Dropbox folder that I can use to share files with my Mac and I think it'll be good for my productivity to have a kind of distraction free workspace when I'm working in A:M.

I've been messing with cloth settings to try to get a decent material for a shirt. Here's a test of what I think might work...still have to try it on a tank top. Cloth_Test_01_23_2019.mp4

An old mouth pose test from 2009... SmileTest.mp4

Here's a rough demo of what I mean, John. I ended up decaling the water with a royalty-free seamless water texture I found online. I've attached the texture and it's normal map to this post. Adding transparency and a bit of reflectivity gives it a more natural look, lets you see what's below the surface and gives you that mirror-like quality of water. Also bitmap plus is a material that lets you cover a big area in a texture without needing to tile it yourself. I've added a screen grab of how to get to it.

too lazy to do woody woodpecker so...

In between other projects and work, I sometimes get a free moment to continue with A:M. Of course my latest obsession is my 3D printer. I decided to push the limits and create a print of Papa Bear fishing. Below is an A:M chor image of my model. The base with fish, Papa Bear, and the fishing pole all will be printed separately and glued together once cleaned up. As a first test run I printed them at a small scale (Papa Bear is only 2 inches for the test) with a "normal resolution". Papa Bear I printed standing up, with full supports to try and reduce the amount of surface contact and clean up. This is what he looks like coming off of the printer... Cleaned up (roughly since I'm only interested in deciphering what may need to be adjusted ) the entire model looks like this: Already I can see the hands need to be opened up a bit so the rod can be fitted better, and re positioned a tad. Also Papa Bear looks a little off in his pose so that needs some addressing. But overall, I'm happy with how the first pass looks. Next we print larger with a higher resolution.

Wait till you see the animatronics that are coming next!

I can provide insight/guidance with c++ and development in general. Used to do a lot of web based apps in Microsoft visual studio and c++ before I started turning tricks for my current employer. If you've ever played in java then c++ will prove easy.

I might be interested. It has been years since I've done any programming, but if it applies to computer graphics I'd be interested. I've actually been thinking about learning Python but C++ might be more relevant.

Color me intrigued. I'm very interested in learning C++. This not just from the standpoint of plugins but also standalone programs/utilities. If I had a 'plugin' to champion creating for A:M it might be some form of integration with FFMPEG so that various additional output formats could be generated. Not sure if that really fits the plugin category but... that's what immediately comes to mind.

Solution: Ok to everyone that helped with this problem. I got it fixed. I opened my MacKeeper/Default Apps/searched 'hxt'/ assigned AM to default app to open....BINGO! Checked it in every version ALL WORKING. So thank you to all of you for the help.

Thanks! I feel like I really learned a lot by doing the project, and I appreciate the help all of you gave during the process. I hope that reading this thread will also help others who might want to try 3-D printing.

Ok , I just sent them up. 03/17/19 4:02PM

well it's taken a bit, but this project is ready for paint. Some stats: Papa Bear stands 4.15 inches tall. The base is 5.5 inches long. There are 5 separate prints done; Papa Bear, his fishing pole, the base, and the fins of the fish. All were modeled in A:M, exported at 64 subd. Printed under a normal setting with 100% infill (the fishing rod and fish fins) to 20% infill (papa bear and the base). The fish in the base is a perfect example of being able to print merged models. The fish is a separate model which I placed in a chor with the base, scaled down, then simply set inside the base and posed. The slicing software (CURA) had no problem with it. The fins I had to model and print separately since they were simply too fine and at a bad position for 3d printing. Once printed it took some cleanup. Heavy sanding to get the support ridges smoothed out, then I hit Papa Bear with two coats of model filler to hide much of the layering. Sanded, then painted with a car body primer filler spray paint. Now I will paint with some Testors Model Paint, then a clear coat. Then Papa Bear will take his place on the shelf of glory in my office!

Ah, that explains it :). SLS/powderbased printers are really very expensive... even the one developed by Form Labs at the moment is pretty much out of my league... and that one is very inexpensive in comparision. Just to have said it again: The quality of the molten medal is pretty amazing :). Thanks for the hard work on that it really shines happily on a prominent spot here :). Best regards *Fuchur*

Dual extruders are nice (my replicator 2x is one) but as interesting as dissolvable supports are, they only have advantages if you are not able to reach the supports (for instance they are inside of an object or they are very small. The problem with supports for FDM is, that both are melting and get mixed a little. And like that they are not totally separated and will leave small marks too. I would have to try it out again because the last time I did that is years ago (some software updates could make a difference here) but my first tries can be seen here: https://www.patchwork3d.de/blog-5-en/abs-u-pva-print-on-my-makerbot-replicator-2x-514 I tried to make my replicator 2x a all-rounder-machine (it is in general meant to print ABS, not like my replicator 2 PLA) and ABS has a lot of problems with shrinking. But for PLA (which has close to no shrinking problems) you need different cooling mechanisms. For that I have build additional cooling fans next to my nossle and stuff like that but I never got it perfectly to run till now (have to admit that I did not try it extensively...) so I use my replicator 2 for most prints just because it is very, very dependable. I can shut it off for half a year, come back to it then and it will print as if it was half an hour later... I really like it. The moment I activate my replicator 2x and print something else then ABS with it, I have to invest a lot of time. That is, why I tend to just model stuff the way I need it to avoid overhangs... like these minions for a wedding cake: https://www.patchwork3d.de/blog-5-en/minion-mariage-or-what-you-should-put-on-a-cake-part-1-731 https://www.patchwork3d.de/blog-5-en/minion-mariage-or-what-you-should-put-on-a-cake-part-2-732 (when I printed them I was in the middle of reassembling my printer with a new nozzle/print head so the quality suffered a bit because it was not really done till then, but it had to be done very fast because the wedding was close and it was still fun to do and they liked it a lot ) In the images attached you can see how I've split up the male minion model for printing it and then I just glued those together afterwards and painted them (and yes, I am really not talented with painting models as you may see ) Best regards *Fuchur*

i printed it out again with supports enabled and a size of about 7 cm x 3.5 cm x 6.5 cm. It already looks promising. printed with 300 micron layerheight in black pla on my replicator 2. not perfekt but pretty ok already. As you can see we have supports at the front at the nose and the mask. i'll break them away and see how it behaves. best regards *Fuchur*

An alternative to the standard chor paths... We can also use any spline from any model in the chor as your path. Create a new (empty) model and drag/drop that into the chor. Draw a spline and edit that path as desired in the Chor. A reason I prefer modeled paths is that they can be considerably more complex than standard Chor paths. Under the hood Chor paths are just specialized models with limited parameters.

Hit the "A" key and then draw your path. Hope that helps, Rusty. path_tool_example.mp4

Here is a first look at the "Summer Memories" medals, cast by Ken Citron (AKA pixelplucker)... 3D print in resin... Clay mold... Pewter casts...

Heres a link to a private listing on vimeo. You'll need the password: FredSWE I tried to post it here but it wouldn't load with sound (?) Its a 720file from a 4K original. I hope to try it on the festivals game but, just personal enjoyment at the moment. Any critical feedback very welcome. simon

Here is an example I did long ago that uses the path constraint to place bones along a spline. Then you just animate the points of the spline. TentacleSplineRingPath04.zip TentaclePathB.mp4

Great solution, Robert!

Here is a test implementation of David Simmons' suggestion of a spine switch. It's fussier to create than using a premade rig but once it works it does make for a better controlled spine... tubeFlip000.mp4

I got the TSM2 spine that i was trying yesterday at LAT to behave. Basically this is animation of a pelvis bone and a torso bone to get the flips going, The interpolation of the IK spine isn't as smooth as I hoped so i will look into other solutions. ButterFlip_12.mp4

Y=30*GetTime

Well, I'd hold off on that. It's possible there are some problems with the store since Jason did some stuff n teh server.

All the subs are one-PC each

I just went to the store and selected Hash, Inc. Software (3). The center choice is the one I've always purchased.

This what I got so far lo falling.3gp falling.mp4

I'm wondering if there will be a new one. I'm constantly finding myself making or looking for new scenery, especially buildings. I for one, would be happy to contribute some models. Is there enough interest in the community?

I am a bit rusty at splining but it all comes back. I don't want any compensation, AM community has been really good to me and it is a way I can try to return the favor. There is still a good amount of content that has been contributed already, anything there feel free to toss in the dvd. I don't know if other contributors feel the same but might be worth reaching out. It is a healthy start. For distribution, why not an iso on the company store?

A fine New Year to you all...

https://zandoriastudios.com/tutorials/uv-tutorial/

More experimenting, shaded low-res render... no baked hair, so the hair calculates at render time(fast)- with the force pose ON and the mesh ON too- but shaded transparent so the hair recognizes it but the renderer does not. EDIT- updated rendered gif. I guess I still recommend baking the hair- it really helps for CD.

Work-around Explained Problem: A Microsoft update for Windows versions 8.1 and earlier (KB3086255, released in September 2015) disables the secdrv.sys file that enabled copy protection like that used by CDROM-keyed versions of A:M (v14 and earlier). With the file disabled, the CDROM verification gets stuck and A:M is never run. Microsoft felt the file had become a security flaw. The copy protection software that uses that file was not written by Hash, Inc. Hash only licensed the software and won't have access to the code to update it or fix the security flaw. Solution: The best solution is to update to the current version of A:M that doesn't use the CDROM copy protection. Current versions of A:M are much faster, more stable and incorporate new features. However, in rare cases, it may be necessary to revisit old projects in the version they were authored in. If you need to run one of those past versions of A:M in Windows 8.1 or earlier, it is possible to re-enable the secdrv.sys file and permit a CD ROM version of A:M to run in Windows 8.1 and earlier. This Microsoft Bulletin explains DOS-Style commands that can typed in to enable and disable the secdrv.sys file as needed. I was not able to get them to work on my computer, possibly because of "path" confusion. The bulletin also explains a registry modification that performs the same enabling/disabling. That procedure does work on my PC. Microsoft warns that enabling this file is unwise and Hash, Inc. is not recommending you do this. I am not recommending it either. To minimize your risk, enable it only before starting A:M and disable it when done with A:M and disconnect your PC from your internet/network for the duration of that session. On my PC, a restart is required before the registry enabling takes effect and another restart for disabling to take effect. What about Windows 10? There is no published solution from Microsoft for Windows 10. If anyone finds one, let us know. Another version of the How-to-Geek article hints at using a virtual machine of an older Win under Windows 10. I have not tried this. Run as Administrator? Another problem mentioned above was that the CD ROM versions of A:M would fail to start and give an error message that they must be run by an administrator even if the user was logged into their PC as an administrator. Individual programs can be set to automatically run as if by an administrator. on the program's icon, choose Properties, select the Compatibility tab and under "Privilege Level" check "Run this program as an administrator".