heyvern

It sounds to me like you have a lot of patches. The bricks are the main problem. If you have a 6 patch brick, and 2 walls, that's 800 bricks. That is 4800 patches!!! That's a lot of wasted patches that absolutely aren't needed. Get rid of the bricks! Use a decal. Instead of individual bricks, create a low patch "grid" and use a bump map or displacement map with a decal. This will eliminate thousands of patches and speed up the process. It is the patch count that is slowing A:M down. -vern

I always thought you could just copy the first frame to the last frame and then make the action length one frame short at the end so it matches up? It's been awhile since I did a walk cycle, so maybe I'm wrong. -vern

I rendered at 800 x 600 with 30% AO and 3 passes. It took 20 minutes on a machine that is more than 5 years old, has 600mb ram and a 1.3ghz processor. I suppose I should test something more advanced on a faster computer to be sure. I keep forgetting that bumping up some of the settings is probably going to be a "geometric" increase in render times. Do you think I'm crazy to go this far with it? I tend to get carried away. -vern

They use compression. I am almost absolutely sure the Hash movie T.W.O is rendered to an image sequence. They are using QT I think for the samples we can watch... not sure. The key is too use a video codec that gives you a good image quality with a small size. You should render to an image sequence. I don't think AVI has many options for compression out of AM does it? Does anyone know? -vern

I think I know what might be the problem. It is the "Estimated render time". That is not always... accurate. Also it might be, as was already mentioned, a problem with one frame of the animation. Definately try rendering to an image sequence rather than an AVI. The file size is huge because you probably aren't using the proper compression. You should render to an image sequence and use something else to make the movie. I think the resolution might be too big as well. You need to do more research on the topic of creating a digital video. The proper resolution and compression needed for your target "platform" (web, DVD, computer, etc). -vern

1. Materials increase render times. 2. Displacement maps increase render times. I didn't actually open the file in AM yet I just was reading the text of the file format that opened in my browser by mistake. The times you listed aren't that bad depending on the resolution of the final render. If you are rendering really big, try a smaller size. How long did it take to render the sample image? Is that the final resolution of your AVI? If so, that is HUGE. The latest version of AM is 15. You can buy the CD version for $299 or the web version for $49. The web version only lasts one year and you can download all updates during that time. The version on the CD will last forever but you can only down load updates for a year for that version. I hope you understand... I don't know any Finnish. -vern

Yes, my mistake. IBL. I'll do another search on the forum. What I'd like to do is possibly... use a prerendered image of the "scene" to map onto the characters. Then I could speed up render times by using compositing rather than render everything in one shot using reflections. I could render the characters completely separately from the back ground and other elements and composite. The only reason I am even considering this is that on my piece of crap PC the AO rendering was quite fast (Yes, it was a small render, with a low AO percentage, and not really really fast but still faster than I expected on my clunker that barely works.) so I can only imagine how fast it could be on a really good computer. The added "coolness" to the look might well be worth it. I would love for this to come close to or even rival the final quality of one of the Terminator movies... doesn't have to of course, I'm just thinking out load at this point. -vern

Okay, I did my VERY FIRST AO RENDER! Woohoo! Straight out of the box. It isn't fantastic but i get the idea. Now I want to know what the next level is. How would I for instance, use some kind of image for reflection? Is this delving into the HDRI concept? Radiosity? AO renders SO FAST, I don't want to get too complicated. Can I use just a simple dome with an image? Anyway, this sample image is from my ongoing animated short spoofing the terminator (not much activity in Vern's World so this is a tease looking for some help on AO. The link to this thread is in my signature) Just for grins I stripped out the lights, added a ground and back plane and just rendered it with 30% AO. Not bad for the first time. The ground and back plane have "cast occlusion" off. I assumed this is correct? They don't "cast" they "receive" right? I like the potential but of course it is reflecting all the "white". I have a material with an environment map on it (along with 97% reflectivity), but it seems to be overpowered by the white reflection. Can I use some sort of "HDRI" image? Does it have to be in that format? Would it be better to use lights and lower the ambient percentage? Is AO sort of a "one trick pony"? Do I need to move on to radiosity rendering? (AAAAHHGGGGG! That scares me!). I'm kind of excited about the possibilities, and I feel I'm acting like a gung ho noobie. I am just experimenting at the moment. -vern

I was thinking along those lines Robcat. A leg doesn't have to be a leg... I could call a leg... a Whazooty. The whazooty could control the marmazook. Is this what you have in mind? Just change where and what the rig from TSM controls right? -vern

I didn't tell anyone to take anything down. I was merely making a suggestion. I'm sorry if my suggestion was taken as some command from god. I wish my clients listened too me like that. Please ignore my posts. PUt the file back up. Sorry I brought it up. My mistake. vern.

You don't have to take yours down, at least it's there to get it for now. I think we can trust you. My concern would be down the road when people forget about the big news... and then there might be... 10 different places to download it. Eventually some one might search google for a download. No telling what you might get. -vern

If Anzovin's is doesn't want to offer the download from their site, I think Hash at least should host the files and have the link for both versions on the forum. It could in the third party section or something permanent. The idea of a bunch of different people with links to the same or different file or having it hosted on this and that server or whatever... sounds a bit risky and inefficient. My concern would be a "malicious entity" using a "fake" TSM download to lure people in. I know it sounds paranoid, it sounds like a stretch, but that is how they get you sometimes. If the file is trusted and in one place then there's no question where it comes from. I just think this software/plugin should be in one place for download (and not in a post on a forum thread you have to search for). Just my 2 cents. -vern

I have v11 on Panther! I did my terminator in v12 on the mac (v12 models will open in v11) and transfered it to v15 on the PC... I've so much trouble with my PC I would at least like to experiment with the rig on my Mac first. If I can't get the mac version I'll give it a go on one of my PC versions. That machine is seriously flakey. EDIT: v12.0q is the version I have on Panther. It may have been the last one before the Tiger version. -vern

Didn't they do a Mac version? -vern

Put some shrimp on the barbie for me mate, I'm not wearing me daks. p.s. This is all Martin's fault. He personally asked me to come back and participate on the forum more. -vern

No no no... funny like... I'm not wearing pants right now because I work at home... that's funny... or scary... no I just checked. It's funny. ... by the way... where are my pants? I have to go to the Wawa. EDIT: In England, pants are underpants. So... if I'm not wearing pants in England, no one would notice UNLESS I'm also not wearing trousers. -vern

Be patient grasshopper. The water of life drips slowly for those who rush and runs like a river for those who meditate peacefully. (Great. Now I have to pee). Snatch the rig from my hand and it is time for you to leave. ---- Technically... Anzovin's haven't actually made the announcement themselves. They may want to make a big production out of it... confetti, balloons, funny hats, embarrassing photos from childhood, spanking... etc etc. -vern

I like invisible arms but lightening would be cool too. You can do that in AM even. Isn't there some kind of render as lines with random wiggles or something? I am sure I saw a simple lightening trick on the forum before. -vern

Actually his arms might be some kind of invisible energy beam that control his hands. Think of the options! His hands can go places without his arms. His hands could be on the other side of a wall and still work. This could even be a funny gag as part of his character. -vern

Question for those who have used the "last" version of TSM: Will it work with v15? I have all versions of AM back to like... 8.5, so... I could always do rigging in a slightly older version and open in v15. Also the version I had was the stand-alone application. I know that the newer one worked as a plugin. So same question I guess. -vern

No. p.s. My shortest post EVER! -vern

Woohooooooo!!!! I can use it on my TERMINATOR!!! Woooohoooo YEEEEHAAAAA! I actually own a copy but it was a very early version and I don't think it works anymore. -vern

Sometimes in the modeling window... well... actually most times you don't even see the main model bone. It is invisible unless you intentionally select it. That is why the same thing happens to me. If I saw how HUGE the model bone was in the modeling window I would scale it down. To make sure you can see it you not only must deselect all the bones but you must click in the model window where there are no bones until the big huge model bone suddenly appears... or click on the model in the PWS as Rusty explained... I really need to read ALL the posts before replying... and he posted it twice which makes me even more of an idiot. -vern

In image ready you have to create an animation. You need to open the time line palette. Put all the images on separate layers. ... does anyone read manuals anymore? -vern

You need to play with and study how splines work. In many cases entire faces can be created without fiddling with the alpha and gamma of the curves. I usually leave that for the final tweaking stage. The curves of a face should flow along the surface in a continuous smooth curve. If you join parts together and have extreme alpha/gamma changes you create bumps and creases. As robcat said, make sure your splines are properly organized and connected. Stay with a "grid" layout of the mesh as much as possible. Use 3 and 5 point patches to avoid dead end splines that can cause creasing. Only tweak the alpha and gamma in small amounts to achieve a smooth surface. Don't rely on it as a "modeling technique". Later when you are more experienced and comfortable with alpha and gamma would you want to use it more... that's how I felt about it anyway. For the longest time I never TOUCHED alpha and gamma. Then I started to use it more to tweak the curves. -vern