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I am receiving a "Wrong Host for License" message when I attempt to open A:M on my Windows machine. I purchased the license earlier this year (2023) and after some confusion was able to register the license, but now it seems to be no longer linked to this machine. I have not installed it on another computer. Please advise.

Is there not someone associated with the store that can look up and verify my purchase on March 7 and send me an activation code? My PayPal account shows the payment (see screenshot in previous post), so Hash Inc. should have received my payment and sent an email verifying my purchase, but I’ve not received anything. I’ve been using the software on a Mac since 2004. I just purchased a Windows PC and thought purchasing the software for that computer would be easy and I’d be able to use immediately. The software successfully downloaded, but I have not received an email or an activation code.

Hi Robert - that page does appear, but when I click on “serial keys” & scroll down it states “no keys available”. I’m stumped

OMG! Please make this easier. I just now received an email link to reset my password and the link is expired. I’m logged into my gmail account with which I made this purchase and ther’s no recent orders in my history. This is really much more difficult than it should be

ive logged with my aol account succesfully but there are no orders on that account since 2018. my gmail account, which the site says is already a registered user and may be the email i used to purchase the new subscription is not sending me a “reset password” email (I don’t know the password for that account). this is really a confusing situation for me. I just like to use the software that I purchased two days ago and, as we all are, I’m extremely busy and don’t have time to hunt all this down.

I purchased a subscription of A:M from the Hash website (payment sent via PayPal from citykids3@aol.com) on March 7, 2023. I still have yet to receive an activation code for my purchase. I’ve been messaging on this Forum with Jason Simonds but still haven’t received an activation code. Please advise. Thank you, Christopher Walters

As always Robert, your responses are prompt, thorough, and enlightening - thank you!

I have a 2014 Apple Macbook Pro running the 32-bit Mac version of A:M v.19.0k. I’m buying a new 64-bit Windows computer with Windows 11 installed. If I run the latest version of A:M v19.0p on the Windows computer will I be able to exchange files between the two computers and versions, or do I need to purchase v.19.0k for the Windows machine in order to exchange files with no compatibility issues? Thanks, Chris

Thanks Robert.

Is A:M v.19 compatible with an Intel i7 PC running Windows 11?

The backward facing polys setting works on my MacBook Pro running OS 10.11.6. In the advanced rendering settings the output should be set to “Shaded” instead of “Final” to see the “Show back facing polys” option to choose “on/off”. Is it possible that you have that setting “off”? Rendering on my end isn’t affected by this setting, only in the shaded view of the modeling window.

As a follow up to your 1st post Largento: Your screenshots of the anomaly look a lot like the "backward facing polys" option in your rendering settings is not selected and you may have some surface normals facing incorrectly in your model. I feel sheepish mentioning this since you are a Hash Fellow and know the software much more deeply than I. You stated that you haven't used the software in a while though, so I'm taking the chance to mention this.

Thanks for your replies Robert and Largento. I've submitted my request for a trial of A:M following the method Rob suggests. The Physical address of my Windows machine came up as more than 8 numbers. I submitted it, but not sure it's going to work.

I've got a Mac Studio M1 Ultra running Parallels with Windows 11 (ARM) and, following the prompts on the Hash Home site to install a trial version of A:M, I double click "get host id" and it just opens the same items in a new folder (see attached screenshot) instead of giving me a host ID to place on Hash's site. Can you explain to me what I'm doing wrong. I'd like to try using A:M 19 as you are doing. Thanks, Chris

I haven't bought a new computer yet. I can ask the company that is selling if they can install Mac OS 10.13. I think its an 8-core i9

Thank you both! Much to consider. I'm running A:M v.19 on a mid-2014 Macbook Pro running OS 10.11.6 (El Capitan) now, and the software is running flawlessly on this older system. Obviously render times can be daunting, and it's time to upgrade. I appreciate the info.

I'm considering buying an Intel Mac computer with Mojave installed (last Mac OS to allow 32-bit apps). The computer will have an Intel i9 CPU and an AMD rx590 GPU (8GB) and 64GB of RAM. Will I see some decent rendering times with A:M v19 on this setup? I don't quite understand what aspect of the computer A:M utilizes for rendering - the GPU or the CPU. Which makes the biggest difference in render times in A:M? Thanks.

Ah - thanks Robert! I have always just rendered in camera view . . . not a day goes by where I don't learn something

Is there a way to achieve the "perspective" view of a model or scene in a choreography like one achieves by pressing the number pad 9 key in the modeling window?

Hi Chris - thank you for your insights! Yes, giving a character proper weight in animation is an aspect of the process that I have studied and continue to study, but my knowledge and results are limited. There are so many factors in this regard - knowing anatomy and movement, creating a workable model, and utilizing inverse kinematics. I normally gravitate to David Rogers method of rigging the legs: http://am-guide.com/SetUp/, which I found years ago and utilize to some success. I've got books on anatomy by Hogarth which I study, and am currently fascinated with David Simmon's "Squetch Rig" - in part because his modeling of the "Squetch Sam" character is exquisite - clean, precise, and highly animatable. I also agree that the battery scene and the ending in my short could be fleshed out to provide a more cohesive story. Hope to soon address these and other fixable issues suggested in the earlier responses. Thanks! Chris

Robert! I like that comparison regarding the hair style being like a porcelain figure's!

Roger - thank you for your thorough thoughts and response. I believe part of my difficulty in storytelling is that I'm drawn to abstract ideas that do not necessarily translate into a specific outcome or genre. That said, obviously I am lacking in the storytelling department, illustrated by the fact that all of you guy's responses are similar in discussing that you're not sure what is happening and what the "spirit" of the animation is about. I will take these observations to heart and try to figure it out. I'm not a scriptwriter, so perhaps some study in storytelling, script writing, and storyboarding are in order. For my part, with this animated short I was trying to tell a creepy, abstract story in a whimsical way that accomplishes something different than a typical music video. The idea "let the audience interpret as they may" perhaps in this case is a cop-out and doesn't work without me having a deeper understanding of storytelling. Your comment "figure out which story your telling and commit to it fully" does not fall on deaf ears. I truly appreciate and will have these comments in mind as I either try to better this specific story and animation, or continue with other ideas.

Man - this is really helpful. Thanks Robert! I'll dig in

Hi Dan - thank you for your thoughts. Your suggestions are spot on - the hair on little girl was not something I addressed in depth. I'm running A:M on a 2014 Macbook Pro, and some load/render times give me anxiety - hahahaha! - no one to blame but myself! I created the particles with Particle Illusion and imported into A:M. A:Ms particle creation/rendering is very cool, and I've gone through "The Art of A:M" several times since first diving in, but I'm impatient/lazy, and, like all of us, am juggling multiple things all the time, so . . . I really hope to complete a short all in A:M sometime. Also, yes the grass is both a texture decal and hair. Due to running on my older system, I am dealing with load/render times that are difficult at times. You're right, the hair/grass density should be higher. I'm not ready to dive back into this particular story, though I should at some point go back and try to make it better - we'll see. That's why I've posted with my invitation to critique. Either way, your's and Robert's suggestions will be invaluable tackling this or any other creations I decide to move forward on. The music accompanying this particular animation is my own composition, entitled "Frabjous Day", though it really doesn't have anything to do with Lewis Carroll's poem. I just like the sound and enthusiasm of the phrase. I'm a musician - pianist/singer/composer - by trade, so . . . the song is from my latest album, "Whisper & Howl". It's an album of all instrumental music, though my previous albums are more singer/songwriter endeavors. Thanks man!