rusty

Thank you John and David... Don't know how I missed it. And sorry I didn't get back sooner--I was sick for a couple of weeks then I went in for rotator cuff surgery then I tore a muscle in my knee which gets more surgery next month. Hot dam I'm falling apart, LOL!! r

Hi, For reasons I can't figure out after days of struggling, a project created and originally rendered in V14g looks way different when rendered in the latest AM version and I just need to change a few seconds of the scene and insert it but it must look the same as the existing video. I should have had a copy of V14c but I must have lost it when I lost a disk a year ago. I need to find a copy of AM V14g to install to render this scene. I still have the dongle so that won't be a problem. Can anyone help. Thanks, Rusty PS: I looked on the ftp site...if it's there I can't find it.

Pretty sure. I'll check.

Hi, I posted this before and we all decided it had to be related to other Windows 8 weirdness but I completely reloaded the OS and all other problems are gone but my notebook is still shit canning me on A:M shortcut keys. My system info is below. Description: The Navigation tools work when the tool icon is selected but not when the shortcut key is used even though the mouse pointer changes the way it should. As far as I can tell it is only the navigation tools. Everything else works. Example: * AM is installed with no customization * I click on the zoom tool and my pointer changes to a magnifying glass and all works perfect * I press the z key and my pointer changes to a magnifying glass nothing happens when I drag the mouse or draw a box The same exact thing happens with the turn, move and zoom fit. I've tried changing the shortcut key to something else. I've tried reinstalling the application. Is anyone else using Windows 8 64bit and not seeing this problem? Has anyone else had or heard of this problem? Can anyone think of any trouble-shooting or work around I might try? Thanks for any help you can give me--this is driving me crazy, LOL. Rusty System Info: Alienware M14xR2 Windows 8 (64bit) SP0 Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40GHz 6 Gb RAM NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M Hitachi HTS727550A9E364 7200 RPM 465.8 GB Sound Blaster Recon3Di MATSHITADVD+-RW UJ8A7

Hi my friends (even those sometimes cross with me, lol :-( ), What has never been demonstrated via a 'mascot' (to my knowledge and so perhaps I'm wrong) is what A:M can do in the photo-realistic arena and perhaps this is purposely avoided for some reason. Although this is all that I do, I'm probably not the best (at least, lol, I hope not!) however 'if' I were in a position to do so, I'd make an entry of this type. Unfortunately (or fortunately as the case maybe), I'm in the middle of redoing my facial expression poses and controls plus I have no time right now due to my writing efforts. Maybe next time (and almost certainly at some point). It would be probably a person in a suit, might be female but it would all depend on which virtual actor looks best. It would not be (at least for several years) a cave man or bikini clad woman as I'm nowhere near doing muscle motion well enough. BTW, the FANTASTIC amazon (or whatever) woman with the elaborate head dress and giggling breasts and behind (I don't know this superb artist's name) would knock socks off but the skimpiness of her clothes might disqualify her or perhaps she's been used and I missed it during my 'no updates from V14' period. Can't wait to see the entries! They are always awesome! Rusty

Regarding the Trailer: Between my agent (my wife), my proof reader (a professional) and my 'fan' club (family and friends), I reluctantly got them to agree to (or agree to disagree) on not dropping the trailer (i.e. removing it -- I absolutely refused to its part of the fun for me) and making only two changes: 1. nuking the absolutely wrong "Quadology" in the title (not replacing it at all) 2. replacing the "Coming August 2012...To Amazon Kindle" with it with parts of the Kirkus Refiew: ""Fascinating... Action Packed..."--Kirkus" ... "An intense, philosophical sci-fi series!"--Kirkus". All of your suggestions will be incorporated into book two's trailer. On other fronts: * I will reduce my promotional efforts to maintaining my blog and posting the entries or a the press release to one sci-fi site (a different one) each day. * All other time will go to writing book 2 * I will work a trailer for book 2 but until the final draft is done and being edited/proofed and, whatever the storyboard, it will be done (and released) in three phases: 1-a very short one; 2-a medium one; 3-a full length one (this is so I can stop if I have to with something). Thanks again!!!! Rusty

You guys are awesome! I appreciate all the time and effort. There is a lot there and I mostly agree with everything you've said. Damn, if only there were more of mes, LOL! I'd assign 1 to making corrections to book 1, 2 to shoring up the book 1 trailer, 3 to taking care of book promotional tasks needed for book 1. 2 more to start beating on publisher and agent's doors, 2 more to kick off the trailer for book 2 and then...I could continue to focus on the most important thingh of all, writing book 2. Oh how stress free I would be! I need to review all you've pointed out again and I've saved copies in the project folder for book 2's trailer along with a lot of other mistakes I made in book 1's trailer so if I can't get to all of them in book 1's trailer they'll be built into book 2's (and 3 and 4). I'm under tons of pressure to drop everything but writing book 2. You guys are awesome! Did I already say that? Well I could say it over and over! Thanks! Rusty PS: If I had the money I'd hire people. If I had the time I could focus on promotion...then I might have the money. The fantastic review-- 'completely good' (no downsides)--from Kirkus really knocked me off my feet--no one gets a completely good review from Kirkus, what you do is pick out the good things they say, if any, and use those blurbs. It takes more then all the effort to write any book, more then an outstanding trailer (and writers seeing mine, as is, are absolutely floored {you have to see what others are doing to appreciate this}) and more then actually producing a 'good' book. It even takes more than a publisher getting behind it. It takes all of this plus...people buying it.

Hi Rodney! I don't know how to thank you for putting so much time and effort into helping me! Wow dude! At the moment, lol, I'm nursing 4 hours of non-stop dancing and half a dozen Long Island Ice Teas. I'm seeing double and my ears are still ringing and your fantastic response will need to be read again after several coffees to give it the attention it deserves. I'll be back. THANKS! Rusty

Hi, I screwed up thinking that the word I wanted was 'Quadology' and my proof reader said she could not verify that this word existed and suggested I use Quadrilogy instead, which I did everywhere. Now I find out that this isn't 'really' a word either and that I should have used Tetralogy. Crap! I have a lot of changes to make--almost everything!! Including the animated trailer. Since I have to do this I'm asking anyone who will take the time to watch it again and see if there is anything else I should consider. If you are willing to the trailer is at the link below. Unfortunately, my time is limited so I'll have to pick and choose. Some of the things I'm considering outside of changing Quadology and Quadrilogy to Tetralogy are: * Removing the credits at the end * Removing the copyright scene at the front * Redoing or re-tweaking the voice * Reducing the saturation to make it look more realistic Comments on these are welcome as well. The trailer can be seen at http://www.TheSpiralSlayer.com or Thanks, Rusty

Yes--I'm going by memory but if you select a spline (not a CP) and right click there's an option something like Measure Spline and this returns the length of the selected spline in whatever units the program is currently set to. Hope this helps, Rusty Edit: A feature that kind of goes along with this is: when drawing a spline, if you hold down--again from memory--it's either shift or ctl and the spline will snap to 0, 45 and 90 degrees.

Hot damn!! I must return to this thread!! Stuff's been happening here. I'm been buried in gunk....but its good gunk. Redoing my notebook (reinstalling the OS and all the applications--it's running so nice now)...readying the next release of my book (with corrections, links and an excerpt from book 2)...creating press releases...working on book 2...working on the trailer for book 2...and getting so stressed out that I freeze up and wind up doing absolutely nothing. But this thread's little effort is important for book 2. Right now however, my wife wants me to do her so.... until whenever! Whoops, false alarm. :-(

Hard to explain...put simply I want to fool around and see if under certain circumstances small areas would seem to expand as gravity from the whole affected the local effects of gravity and also mixed in with this the effects on a void and on groups of voids. It was an idea I had for explaining dark energy. Thanks! Rusty

Hmm... maybe. I've never looked at the feature that much but assumed that the 'pull' on objects went with the scene's gravity setting. Can an objects be assigned gravity settings? I'll have to look at it...as soon as Hash sends me another .lic file. I re-installed the OS on my laptop and when I tried to reinstall AM it said 'activation code already in use'. But it's only been about a week and I've only sent two email requests. Rusty

Hi, Clearly A:M was not designed for anything like this but I was trying to think of some way to place multiple spheres and simulate each one attracting every other one--like planets and gravity, the gravity (attraction) having a fall off. Hell I can't even think of a way to have one object pull on another object! Any thoughts? Cheers, Rusty

Whoops...I thought you said 'mini tote'.

What's interesting to me...although it's a simple thing...is how the material compresses (scrub through it). I can perhaps use this. Thanks. r

Cool! Maybe easy for you but I hardly ever mess with animated materials so I wouldn't know where to begin! Thanks John! r

Hi John! Been a while. Hope you are well and happy. That's awesome! I'd like to use that! Care to share that project file? You're awesome! You know, I used you're ideas and the others from the forum on the last scene of the for the Northern Lights. I also used other tidbits from you here and there and of course you're in the credits. Thanks for your help over the years. Cheers, r

Thanks!

Hi! Rather than continuing archeological dig through the archives, lol, I'll just ask: what ever happened to the Anzovin Setup Machine II? I thought I'd heard that it was being included with AM. If not, would my plug-in still work? Thanks for any info. r

You mean at the start up of the A:M program? If you have V17 (not sure of earlier versions) you can also go help->Introduction r

I'm going to restore the notebook to factory and start over... too many issues. Thanks!!

Hi! Thanks for the info! That helps. r

Hi David! Thanks for replying. Good to hear from you again and I hope all is going well. I get the impression you don't like embedding but you had more questions than thoughts or suggestions. I wish I had the time to answer all of them but I don't, sorry. However, if you think back, I'm sure you were introduced to many of these things in 2005/2006 or there abouts. If not, I've discussed all of them in previous posts here. Cheers, r

Hi! There seems there maybe some confusion. The problem is still there and the same. It was a show stopper on my end. As someone actually asked(?!), this is why I started this topic. That the issue works for others but not for me is far too strange. In a way this makes the issue not a problem (it's no problem to anyone else) but rather a quirk unique to me. Fortunately I have found a work around. I have a lot of work to do and no time to chase down quirks if I don't need to. For myself, if it works, it's good enough. * The issue is closed--I'll spend more time on it and don't expect anyone else to. I thank everyone who spent time and energy on it and value the suggestions and comments I received. I appreciate the help and inspiration I get from this this forum more than I can tell you--it's way cool. If, in the run of this topic, I've upset anyone, it was certainly unintended--I am truly sorry and I apologize but beyond that, well, I don't have time to chase down quirks. On a personal note, I helped others on this forum for many years but not done so lately which is not fair. I realize this and will try to 'give back' more. r