|
|
| Not surprisingly, the effort to create a grassroots effort whose mission is to upgrade the credibility and use of 3D on the Macintosh has produced a variety of questions. In this area, we will endeavor to provide answers to the most frequently asked questions. If you have questions that are not answered here or you have tips you would like to share, we encourage you to email them to Join3DTeam@aol.com. |
|
FREQUENTLY ASKED GENERAL QUESTIONS |
|
Q: |
Why a Mac 3D Team? |
|
A: |
Two reasons: (1) In the 1980's, the Macintosh was the dominant platform for 3D. This changed in the 1990's. There occurred a major decline in the use and credibility of 3D on the Mac and Windows NT-based systems became dominant in 3D. With 3DJoy and the Mac 3D Team, we can turn this around. (2) 3D programs on Windows NT are expensive, in the $1,000's, hard to use, and not as effectively tied to paint and video sloftware as they are on the Macintosh. This makes it difficult for kids, schools, hobbyists, and others to gain access to effective 3D tools. With the increase in interest and use of 3D in advertising, film and video animation, and especially the Internet, this increases the digital divide for many who can't afford or don't have the expertise to use the advanced tools provided on Windows NT systems. With the Mac 3D Team, you can get 3DJoy, a powerful 3D modeling, render, and animation solution, the well known and effectively tied together benefits of graphics and video software on the Macintosh, and the contributions of fellow team members in the form of models, tutorials, plug-in development to increase 3DJoy's capabilities, and the sharing of ideas and problem solving. See About Us for more information about the Mac 3D Team's background and mission. |
|
Q: |
How can I join the Mac 3D Team and get 3DJoy? |
|
A: |
You can join the team and get 3DJoy by providing support for our effort to expand the usage and recognition for 3D on the Macintosh. Check the Get3DJoy Area and the CD Area to join and get the full version. |
|
Q: |
Why don't you advertise the Mac 3D Team and 3DJoy? |
|
A: |
There is no advertising because the Mac 3D Team effort is not a commercial enterprise. It is a grassroots effort that depends on the support of its members for promotion and development. We offer an upgraded version of the software originally available for $2,000 to Mac 3D Team members on a CD with documentation and support materials for a small donation, leaving no budget for advertising. |
|
Q: |
What is the advantage of supporting the Mac 3D Team with a donation and getting the 3DJoy CD? |
|
A: |
It enables us to provide you with much more then would be possible to download and you won't have the problems that often occur in a download. These include the long download session being interrupted and the inability to decode and unstuff the downloaded files. The 3DJoy CD includes the unlocked version of Modeler and Presenter, a Phong shader, a Ray Tracer, the MacRenderMan plug-in, animation plug-ins, import-export routines totaling 500 Megabytes. For documentation, the CD includes the reference materials in printable form plus a wide range of tutorials, models, and animation examples that will make it easier to learn and use the software. In addition to the learning and use advantages of all the material we provide, you gain a long-term advantage because your donation will make it worthwhile for us to continue supporting the website, supporting third party development of OpenGL and animation and object effects plug-ins, and providing upgrades to 3DJoy. |
|
Q: |
Why did it take a year for 3DJoy to be ready for distribution to the Mac 3D Team? |
|
A: |
It took a year to reconstruct all the modules and plug-ins that make up 3DJoy currently is in final beta. The software originally existed as many separate modules with differing data handling routines that were created using a combination of C and Pascal language development systems. These modules have been changed over the last two years, but have not been integrated to work together. This has made the development of 3DJoy a significantly more difficult process and required more effort than was originally expected. The effort to put all code into the C language, providing a consistent data handling structure for all modules and plug-ins, and fixing the bugs these efforts introduced required a major effort and commitment from us and we made it. |
|
Q: |
Does 3DJoy have any improvements over the original $2,000 software? |
|
A: |
By sharing common data handling routines and a common development system, the resulting software will be more stable, easier to debug, and perform more efficiently on PowerMac-based computers. Plus it will have improved RenderMan capabilities and DXF translation. By providing a Plug-in Development Toolkit, additional improvements in motion and special effects, renderers supported, and OpenGL support can be made by individuals and schools. |
|
Q: |
Will 3DJoy work on 68K-based systems? |
|
A: |
No. |
|
Q: |
How can I join the Mac 3D Team and help expand the use of 3D on the Macintosh? |
|
A: |
Information for joining and contributing can be found on the Join page. |
|
Q: |
I heard that 3DJoy had great RenderMan support. Since RenderMan for the Macintosh is no longer available from Pixar, how can I get it? |
|
A: |
You can get RenderMan for the Macintosh from the Valis Group at http://www.valisgroup.com/mac-MacRenderMan.htm. |
|
FREQUENTLY ASKED TECHNICAL QUESTIONS |
|
Q: |
Where do the RenderMan shaders go? |
|
A: |
To use 3dJoy and RenderMan shaders with MacRenderMan, your Macintosh System Folder
must contain a "Shaders&Textures" folder. This folder must be spelled
correctly with no blanks between any characters. This folder will contain the compiled
shaders that 3dJoy "interrogates" to determine the names and data types
of the shader parameters. If you install MacRenderMan, the Shaders&Textures folder will be created automatically. You can drag the shaders to your existing Shaders&Textures folder. |
|
Q: |
How can you import a model into a current project? You can
only have one mdl file open at a time right? So if there are specific, previously created objects in several other models that you want to add to a project, how do you go about doing that? |
|
A: |
3DJoy has one of the most powerful and least know capabilities, the Library option. With one model file open, all you have to do is open as many other files as libraries using the Open Library command under the File menu. Open libraries will be listed in the Libraries Palette under the Windows menu. You can then place, size, and color the objects. If you save this and make changes to the library files, the changes are automatically applied to the file containing them unless you unlink the object from its library. Information on this is available on the 3DJoy CD in the Modeler Reference documentation. |
|
|