AM plug-ins questions.

[StormedFX]

Now, I can call myself a NEWBIE...

 

I have some questions about AM plug-ins.

 

1. What are those plug-ins that are included in V15?

2. Where can I find more plug-ins if I have to pay for it?

3. Does the V15 support importing the OBJ format (I have made some bodels in from other app)?

4. Where can I find free plug-ins?

 

One more question,

 

Can my 1 yr subscription fee be used toward the cost of the CD?

 

Thank you for your responses.

[robcat2075]

1. What are those plug-ins that are included in V15?

not sure of whole list. Many things that are "plugins" in other programs are regular features in A:M.

 

 

3. Does the V15 support importing the OBJ format (I have made some bodels in from other app)?

yes. It must be a well laid out quad poly model for good results, however. Most OBJs are pretty poor.

 

4. Where can I find free plug-ins?

www.sgross.com has many

 

 

 

Can my 1 yr subscription fee be used toward the cost of the CD?

no.

[Rodney]

Others hopefully will fill in the gaps I miss here... (I see Robcat did just that!)

 

Can my 1 yr subscription fee be used toward the cost of the CD?

 

I've not heard of that option being offered before. My reading on that would be that you would have to release your websubscription in favor of the CD or purchase the CD as a separate program. As it stands you'd get the websubscription and CD for $338. Anything less would constitute a discount which only a Hash Inc rep can do. Contact Hash Inc and let them know your needs.

 

There are benefits to both the websubscription and the CD package.

As a new user I would take the time to learn what you have. When you exhaust the possibilities (which will be far more than one year!) consider purchasing the CD.

 

The benefits of the CD are many as well but... understand that you can download most of the resources that come with the CD electronically... for free. The books (Tech Reference and TaoA:M Manual) can also be ordered separately in printed form.

 

Enough about that... plugins!

 

There are a lot of plugins available to you. Many are incorporated directly in A:M already.

 

Understand that there is something of a gray area between plugins, utilities and programs.

There are quite a few of each out there. Many of them are free.

 

For A:M specific plugins you'll find the most to be found in one place here:

http://www.sgross.com/plugins/index.html

 

Steffen Gross is also the author of the Newton Physics plugin which comes with A:M... great fun!

 

There are a whole lot of plugins available for use with A:M but I'll stop there for now.

Marcel Bricman is another great source for plugins. Several of his plugins are now incorporated and released with A:M (Treez and Bitmap Plus)

 

Arthur Walasek is known for his Import/Export plugins:

 

http://www.innovateenterprises.com/AM/

 

For those that wish to hire a plugin created we have a pretty impressive group of programmers and dabblers that may take up the challenge where they have the time and personal interest. It can be a bit costly to program plugins with limited use. An example of one of these is Library Manager which Glenn Anthofer wrote after a request from Rusty Williamson. The program automates building of Libraries for use in A:M.

 

http://www.virtualmediastudios.com/LibraryManager-036.zip

 

As we leave the 'plugin' category we find a variety of utilities and programs available for use with A:M. Some have been designed specifically for use with A:M. In that category you will find A:M Painter/3D Painter. With it you can paint directly on A:M models.

 

http://www.3dpainter.com/

 

There are also literally thousands upons thousands of programs and utilities avialable on the web that were not designed for use with A:M but can be used with A:M all the same.

 

Having said all this I would recommend staying away from plugins and extra programs as much as you can... especially as you are just starting out. Its far better to concentrate on the basics of modeling and animating in A:M. For that I recommend taking the plunge and working through the manual; TaoA:M.

 

As you master the basics you can supplement and expand upon that with other plugins, utilities and programs.

 

Good luck!

[phatso]

We should have a prepackaged call-and-response routine for this.

 

I'm a newbie and I want to make a new video game.

Work your way through the manual first, yea, halleluia!

But I've got this great idea for the next animate Star Wars sequel!

Work your way through the manual first, yea, halleluia!

Don't have time to model a flower, I wanna model a working V8 engine.

Work your way through the manual first, yea, halleluia!

But what about the jungle scene with erupting volcanoes and waterfalls and tropical birds flying around?

Work your way through the manual first, yea, halleluia!

 

I don't know how much of a newbie StormedFX really is, maybe this comment is mis-aimed, but to all who want the moon immediately:

 

What will happen to a distance runner who takes off with all he's got and burns out on the first lap? Other runners, who paced themselves, will pass him.

 

In contrast to some other programs, A:M is designed to get you going quickly. So A:M newbies can't be blamed for wanting to do that. But the best way to do it is to go thru the manual. There is so much capability built in to A:M that one can go a long way before needing accessories.

 

EDIT: I sound like an old grouch, don't I. I just don't want you to repeat my mistake. I got so dazzled by the number of 3rd party plugins and materials that I took at least a 1-year detour in actually learning the ropes.

[Caroline]

Yep, phatso, you sound like a grouch

 

The word "manual" is not a very attractive one - it sounds like wading through a 500 page boring-as-heck book written by some illiterate geek in his spare time.

 

However, we at Hash forums are very lucky that our "manual" is called "The Art of Animation:Master", and has 20 exercises to show you what A:M is capable of. I think we gave you the link in the other thread, but just in case, you can download the pdf from here:

http://www.hash.com/2007web/reference.htm

 

You should have all the characters needed in the data.zip file.

 

If you post your work in the TaoA:M thread, we can cheer you all the way

 

After all those exercises, you can look at plugins as you need them. Probably the first would be A:M Paint. If you are into MoCap there's the A:M Facial Motion Capture plugin. Both available from the Hash shop.

[StormedFX]

Thank you all for your responses...

I totally understand all of your points... those are just newbie questions which are normal, I think..???

 

CHEERS!

[phatso]

Caroline, if NSW weren't so far away, I'd come down there and rub your fur the wrong way.

[Fuchur]

DONT EVER forget Marcels great work...

 

His site is still online and he offers many very useful plugins... some are already included with A:M, but others are not and anyway useful.

Kci-Group - ZPider (Marcel Brickman) - Plugins

 

And you can find two export-plugins at my website too... have a look at my signature for more infos.

 

*Fuchur*

[Rodney]

Fuchur,

My thanks to you for highlighting Marcel Bricman's work.

I had started to type about Treez... and BitmapPlus... AM2SWF... etc... and realized my post was not going to do him justice, especially when my point was to resist the call of plugins when first starting out.

 

I knew someone would add his name to this topic though and you did!

 

The problem with giving contributors credit where credit is due here in the A:M Community (this from those at Hash Inc down to the newest contributor) is that it is entirely too much of an impossible thing to do.

 

Hopefully those that have contributed over the years realize just how important that effort is and has been to all of us. My thanks certainly goes out to them.