RS3D

Thanks again Robcat. I learn something new every day. Now if I can just not forget anything I will wind up being very smart.

Jason, I looked at the procedure you referred to in your post. It says it is a procedure to transfer license to a new computer. I have two questions: 1. I want to continue using the same computer so is the procedure the same for either keeping the same computer or transferring to a new one? 2. What is a 'PM' you referred to in your reply (send me that info threw a PM on this forums)?

Thanks for the reply Robcat. I deleted the license file in both the 32-bit and 64-bit folders and I get an error message: RLM error -3 Please email support@hash.com to activate via email. It is the same error message for for both versions. I emailed support@hash.com on 8/30/3018, but have not received a reply as yet.

I have a couple of problems and hopefully someone may be able to help. I tried updating my Hash system to the latest ver 19e (i think) because my license was about to expire. I am running Windows 7 and had both the 64-bit and 32-bit processes active. I updated the 32-bit version to the newest ver 19 but not the 64-bit version. Immediately, Hash stopped working in the 32-bit process. In the meantime, I renewed my subscription and got a new access code, but I cannot seem to remember what you are supposed to do with the License file in the Hash folder in order to get it start. But things will not work unless I can return to some previous version of 19 or whatever was previously on my machine. Until I can start the Hash program, I have no way to know what I was running previously.

I watched 3 of videos shaded mix 001, sack test 001 and line test 001. I get an Apple mov error message for line test 001 and I couldn't get it to work. The sack test 001 was ok but not very interesting because it had some pretty basic actions. However, the shaded mix 001 was very funny and it is long enough to get a sense of the competition between the characters. Good job on that one, it made me laugh.

Thank you Rodney for your most excellent analysis. I tried to implement some of your points in the attached version. One thing I have problems with is being able to edit frames from the choreography play range. I seem to recall that it was possible to change/move ranges within the choreography timeline. According to the tech ref manual, you have to add the tool button with the upward-pointing-to-the-left arrow and once that mode is active you can edit within the timeline. However, I cannot seem to get it to work at this time, so I have to work with what I have so far. Your thoughts: My thought is that the screeching/brakes sounds comes a little late and because of the speed at which Eddie launches off the horse it might be good to remove a few frames to speed up his flip. Me: I speeded up Eddie's exit from the saddle with a more straight forward trajectory similar to what Robcat suggested. Your thoughts: There is about a beat.. maybe two between when the galloping sound stops and when the screeching/brakes is heard. Me: I moved the brake screech sound to start about 5 frames sooner. You are right about my trying to slowing Eddie's flip down (road runner style) in order to give a bigger impact when he hits the ground. For even more emphasis, I added a little extra secondary action to Eddie's hat and a slight bounce when he makes contact with the ground. Still working on it, hopefully this version is an improvement HorseFlipsEddie2.mov

I worked on improving the scene where the horse flips Eddie off his back after almost falling off the cliff in the previous scene. I made some minor changes to the sound track and added some dust objects. Previously, Robcat had some issues with how plausible the action was for Eddie to be projected upward to start the action and suggested a more direct path for Eddie to be straight out in front of the the horse and on to the ground. The problem is that everyone who looked at this scene laughed when they saw it. This is the reaction I wanted in a cartoon-based animation like this project. So I have attempted to add a little more plausibility by having Eddie keeping hold of the reins and try to show that the trajectory path is caused by the horse's sudden stop, rear end kicking upwards, and finally the action of the horse's head affecting the reins causes the path that Eddie takes before hitting the ground. Attached is the latest version. Is this the right mix of humor and acceptable realism? HorseFlipsEddie.mov

I like the moving shade that shows on the entryway as it is being built in the original post. It gives it a nice natural fee to the animationl.

Attached is my attempt at having the dust shape that robcat suggested. There are 6 dust objects in the scene: 1) a small one for each of the four hooves (4). 2) one larger one that extends from the ground up to just below the horse's tail with slightly less intensity than the hooves. 3) one small one that trails behind the previous one and is situated at slightly below ground level to get the desired trailing effect. It is starting to look better. Is it good enough? hashOnly2.mov

I was not happy with the volumetric dust set up I had in the previous post. It seems that a horse at full gallop would generate more dust then a puff at each foot hitting the ground. I added a 5th dust object and constrained it to a null that is constrained to the same path as the horse and is offset to the rear of the horse with slightly less intensity then the other dust objects. This is supposed to give the effect of lingering dust emerging from the back of the horse at it gallops along. See attached video I think it is an improvement. hashOnlyScene1.mov

Attached is a video of the re-worked opening scene. I tried to address the previous issues pointed out by viewers with Eddie's bouncing during the horse's gallop in order to make it more realistic. I also: 1) added new equipment (saddle, etc.) to the horse 2) added dust action objects to the horse's hoof movements 3) improved the texture of the ground by added a bump map 4) changed the lighting to better capture the look of direct sunlight comparable to the background I want to make sure the gallop action and the other additions in this scene look right, because they are used in all of the first 4 scenes 2ndTrytestonly1_1.mov

Here is an update on the new rig for Eddie's horse. The horse seems very pleased with the new gear.

Attached is another video showing a rough version of all the scenes in the project (except the very last one.). At this point, I think the story is told and now is the time to go through each scene to improve it. Some of the things yet to be done are: -better saddle and bridle for the horse -add action objects such as dust, plowed dirt, etc. -better horseback riding for Eddie (more bounce as suggested by several people) -more consistent lighting between the various scenes -re-edit the sounds in each scene for consistency and realism in amplitude and timing -improve background images for consistency and realism -add more secondary motion (anticipation, etc.) to several of the non-riding actions Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Rodney raised some issues about one of the background images. I am not sure what the main objection was, but I made a couple of versions to try out (see below), you can see which one I finally chose in the video. 1stHalf2ndHalf.mov

The changing highlights on the hair as the head turns really adds to the realism. Nice job.

I did two more actions for the animation: 1) horse moves around Eddie, who is seated on the ground after being bucked off the horse and 2) the horse kicks dirt in Eddie's face as pay back for almost getting him killed in the previous scene. Hopefully, I covered up the bad animation cycle for the horse's walk so that it is not noticeable. The white ball is just an action object which will be converted to the particle system representing a clod of dirt. hors1walkAndKickDirt.mov