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Hash, Inc. - Animation:Master

Peculiar Stuff w/Mac Version


largento

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I'm over my head in a rushed animation project, so I don't have time to file reports, but wanted to put these down as I encounter them so that I don't forget... and some may not be issues or are already known. When I'm done and have recovered, I'll file them.

 

1) JPEGs don't seem to work. Can't get a JPEG file to import into the PWS. I was noticing that an old material I used wasn't doing anything and I realized that it used a jpeg support file and A:M was importing it as a blank image. Changing it to a PNG file allowed it to load normally. I usually prefer not to use JPEGs, but weird that it's not letting me import them.

 

2) Shaded Renders getting stuck on "CPU SSAO". I think that's what it says. The workaround seems to be to turn off all of the render options before selecting Shaded. Turning them off after selecting it, must not do the trick. I had a shaded render hold for several minutes on the first frame (I ended up having to Force Quit.) When I did the workaround, all 87 frames rendered in a single second. I couldn't believe it. They were just instantly there.

 

I think that's all I've encountered so far. I'll add them here as I go.

 

I'm using v18-P SSE4 for OS X.

 

 

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I don't use a MAC, so I haven't experienced those issues yet.

 

Are you working on another Stalled Trek?

 

I always can tell a PC user because they put Mac in all caps like it stands for something. :-)

 

As a matter of fact...

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JPEGs don't seem to work. Can't get a JPEG file to import into the PWS.

 

 

On the very odd chance...

 

Make sure the images don't have .jpeg as the extension. The extension should be .jpg

I can't even recall if Macs even use extensions but I figure they have to be able to handle them when encountered and some folks manually type the extensions which if incorrect will not open in many programs.

 

When I did the workaround, all 87 frames rendered in a single second.

 

 

Wow. I hope you've discovered some magical optimization that can be exploited! :)

 

 

Glad to hear you are animating (even if in over your head).

Living the dream! :)

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I'm not sure if this is a bug, or just a change of mind. But I've noticed that holding down the shift-key while starting a new spline no longer connects it to the control point you click on. It places it in the same place, but it's not joined. This used to work. I've had to go back to the old way of doing it where I click away from the control point, then hold the shift key to add it to the control point and once I've finished the spline, I have to go back and delete the extra bit of spline.

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Hey I use Mac too and I can tell you that .jpgs do not work. They might import. They might allow you to decal, rotoscope, etc. But you will crash in rendering unless you convert them to .tga or .png. Also, you will discover that rotoscopes barely work in any format and layers do not present themselves unless rendered. There are known graphics issues with mac and I believe somewhere I read that A:M prefers .tga. I am building some models now and my rotoscope images are entirely unreliable regardless of .jpg or .tga which sucks. If you have any other Mac questions, please let me know. I just may have wrestled with it, maybe not. I think overall, A:M works best on PC but the mac version ain't shabby. I use it constantly and love it .

 

-Adam

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I'm not sure if this is a bug, or just a change of mind. But I've noticed that holding down the shift-key while starting a new spline no longer connects it to the control point you click on. It places it in the same place, but it's not joined. This used to work. I've had to go back to the old way of doing it where I click away from the control point, then hold the shift key to add it to the control point and once I've finished the spline, I have to go back and delete the extra bit of spline.

 

 

I have noticed this too in the PC version. It seemed new but wasn't sure if I'd just remembered it wrong.

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Hey I use Mac too and I can tell you that .jpgs do not work. They might import. They might allow you to decal, rotoscope, etc. But you will crash in rendering unless you convert them to .tga or .png. Also, you will discover that rotoscopes barely work in any format and layers do not present themselves unless rendered. There are known graphics issues with mac and I believe somewhere I read that A:M prefers .tga. I am building some models now and my rotoscope images are entirely unreliable regardless of .jpg or .tga which sucks. If you have any other Mac questions, please let me know. I just may have wrestled with it, maybe not. I think overall, A:M works best on PC but the mac version ain't shabby. I use it constantly and love it .

 

-Adam

 

Thanks, Adam. Always good to have another Mac user on the forums.

 

I generally use PNG files for everything and haven't had a problem using them as rotoscopes or layers. One thing to consider with layers is that unless you change the default settings, they are affected by the lightng of the cho. There is an option to have them "flat shaded" and I use that often. I usually use layers for the sky.

 

This time out, I'm only using the Mac version, so it will have that distinction over the other two films.

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Another issue is quickrender not working. At least with the camera set for multipass, it gets stuck on "pass 17/16" and I have to force quit. A little inconvenient that I have to render out a frame to file to see what something looks like. :-)

 

I've noticed this in the choreography window, and frankly have been too chicken to try it anywhere else for fear of having to force quit.

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