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Jack Fulmer

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Everything posted by Jack Fulmer

  1. RE: Mapped Shadows I left VW at v8.5 and moved on to Maya. But I have a question/suggestion regarding the mapped shadows. Mapped shadows are generated from a disk-based map, which determines the size and shape of the shadow. The larger the geometry, the "rougher" the shadow. In a 3D package such as Maya, one can increase the resolution of the shadow map, which increases the quality of the shadow generated. In Maya, in particular, there is also a filter variable that can be adjusted to blur the edges for a more realistic rendering. My question: Is there a way in VW9 to increase or adjust that resolution? Let me know, I'm curious.
  2. Okay, let me try my hand at explaining this. As someone with experience in both MiniCad/VW, and 3D modeling packages such as 3D Studio Max and Maya, I believe I understand what tom_k is asking. At its core, VW is an architectural CAD package. In other words, when creating a structure in VW, one typically works from plan view, giving objects height and dimension and Z value from the 2D perspective. You can always switch your view and working conditions to 3D, and change parameters of elements via the Object Info palette. However, to create a model in the 3D perspective from the start would be too cumbersome with VW (in my opinion). That is where a package like Max or Maya comes into play. The drawback to high-end 3D modeling packages such as these is that they don't have any of the "built-in" architectural features that most CAD packages have. I'm talking about existing libraries of symbols and plug-in objects such as doors, windows, stairs, etc. In addition, you won't find a Roof tool or a Floor tool in Max or Maya. Does this provide any helpful info? Maybe I've made the explanation too simplistic, but I tried to approach it from a different angle. On a final note, I greatly admire the VW/RW package and find it to be an extremely intuitive and fairly efficient software bundle (the renderer still needs quite a bit of work). Understand that my viewpoint is coming from more of a modeling background than an architectural background. Hope I could help. Jack Fulmer
  3. Okay, let me try my hand at explaining this. As someone with experience in both MiniCad/VW, and 3D modeling packages such as 3D Studio Max and Maya, I believe I understand what tom_k is asking. At its core, VW is an architectural CAD package. In other words, when creating a structure in VW, one typically works from plan view, giving objects height and dimension and Z value from the 2D perspective. You can always switch your view and working conditions to 3D, and change parameters of elements via the Object Info palette. However, to create a model in the 3D perspective from the start would be too cumbersome with VW (in my opinion). That is where a package like Max or Maya comes into play. The drawback to high-end 3D modeling packages such as these is that they don't have any of the "built-in" architectural features that most CAD packages have. I'm talking about existing libraries of symbols and plug-in objects such as doors, windows, stairs, etc. In addition, you won't find a Roof tool or a Floor tool in Max or Maya. Does this provide any helpful info? Maybe I've made the explanation too simplistic, but I tried to approach it from a different angle. On a final note, I greatly admire the VW/RW package and find it to be an extremely intuitive and fairly efficient software bundle (the renderer still needs quite a bit of work). Understand that my viewpoint is coming from more of a modeling background than an architectural background. Hope I could help. Jack Fulmer
  4. Well, you've done everything the exact same way I did. The only difference is that I did not create any new strings or DWORD values, but simply edited the existing ones. But I don't think that should matter. The other MAJOR difference is that I had this problem with Win2000 and you're having it with WinME. Maybe that's the source of the problem. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. Did you try calling Tech Support? Good luck. Jack Fulmer
  5. yoyo - Are you upgrading to WinME? If so, then follow the registry edit instructions I listed in the previous post. That should work for you. Jack Fulmer
  6. Reading this entire thread, you can almost be assured that this is a driver issue. But, that fact that it is a driver issue means that it IS related to whatever OS and software one is using. Which places blame on everybody. As far as the Mac users are concerned, I would place most of the blame on your notoriously buggy and finicky OS. Whether or not X will fix anything will remain to be seen, far down the road. Plan on at least a year from now before most of the 10.0 bugs will be worked out. However, your video card options as a Mac user are pretty limited, so it's really a rock and a hard place for you guys, and I sympathize. I, personally, have been using MiniCad/VW since 6.0, and have never had a display problem, except for the well-known "buttons turning black" issue, which was theoretically a driver issue, but never really solved. Finally, keep in mind that while VW/RW is (IMO) an excellent architectural CAD/rendering package, to this day is not optimized to utilize the amazing capabilities of most current mid to high end video cards, unlike many other comparable programs, whether CAD or 3D modeling. Which should give you some idea about how much priority Diehl/NNA gives to video card compatibility. Again, I have none of the display problems indicated in this thread. Currently running VW/RW on top of Win2000 SP1, using an Oxygen GVX1 with a 600 P3 and 256 RAM. BTW, Win2K runs VW/RW flawlessly. My $.02, Jack Fulmer
  7. Opens just fine in Internet Explorer (5.0).
  8. If I understand correctly, you are creating perspective view renderings of 15Mb files. Are they fully textured? Are you including raytracing? How many light sources do you have? All of these factors, of course, increase rendering time. While I don't often convert to lines, the amount of time you are experiencing for rendering seems about right to me.
  9. Sounds almost assuredly like a graphics card/driver issue. Your upgrade from 8.6 to 9.0.4 should be the clue. The original driver (i.e., the one that WORKED) must have been moved/removed/replaced/overwritten. Do you have another card you can pop in there? (preferably not an ATI card). If not, get a cheap one and check it out.
  10. Doubt that there's anything that needs to be changed from a hardware standpoint. You should have plenty of muscle with the set-up you have. BTW - the graphics card isn't much of a factor with VW/RW (unfortunately). In fact, if you take a look at these boards, lately it seems that the software is operating better with older cards (I presume due to more stable drivers). What are you trying to render, and how long is it taking? I find RW to be a fairly good renderer, but mind-numbingly slow (especially if you incorporate raytracing).
  11. Considering all the current display issues with the G4's in addition to all the apparant conflicts between OS 9.XX and VW/RW, I'd probably consider a wintel machine. The P4's REALLY FLY when it comes to 3D rendering, but I'm assuming (based on experience) that the architecture of VW will not be taking advantage of the revised SSE structure of the P4 chip. In fact, VW is currently unable to maximize on the awesome capabilities of most current mid to high end graphics cards. That being said, I can't even imagine what kind of nightmares will ensue when OS X is unloaded. Therefore, I'd go with the P4's. It's a better investment in the long run (hoping that VW 9 will be a major revision). BTW - I run VW/RW on 600 P3 with 256RAM and an Oxygen GVX1. I'm running it on top of Windows 2000 (SP1) And, VECTORWORKS NEVER CRASHES. I repeat VECTORWORKS NEVER CRASHES. And I push it to the limit with some serious 3D modelling and animation. (I also use Maya and 3DS Max). I kid you not - Absolutely no Vectorworks problems with my setup. And I've seen side by side comparisons between G4's and PC systems very similar to mine and the speed difference is negligible. Hope that helps. - Jack Fulmer
  12. I recently posted this repsonse to a question about hardware configurations, and am posting it again here in response to this thread because it seems relevant: I'm pretty sure that VW/RW isn't currently designed to make use of today's blazingly fast and wonderfully designed graphics accelerators and their respective GPU's. You'll have to ask NNA why. Check the approved application specs on most mid to high end cards (Elsa, 3DLabs, Hercules {which actually is Guillemot}, etc.) and you won't see VW mentioned anywhere. That being said, for the current release of VW/RW you should focus on CPU and RAM. Get the fastest and most you can, respectively. JF
  13. I'm pretty sure that VW/RW isn't currently designed to make use of today's blazingly fast and wonderfully designed graphics accelerators and their respective GPU's. You'll have to ask NNA why. Check the approved application specs on most mid to high end cards (Elsa, 3DLabs, Hercules {which actually is Guillemot}, etc.) and you won't see VW mentioned anywhere. That being said, for the current release of VW/RW you should focus on CPU and RAM. Get the fastest and most you can, respectively. JF
  14. I had the EXACT SAME problem when I upgraded from Win98 to Win2000. Several different reinstallations did not correct the error. I was able to correct the problem by editing the registry, and including the serial number for Renderworks at the following address: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Graphsoft\Vectorworks\Registration. However, I highly recommend that you contact tech support before editing the registry. But I am thoroughly confident that the above remedy will correct the situation. I suspect it's a bug within the registry structure of Win2000 that caused the error.
  15. Same thing occurs under Win2000. The Task Manager generally reports 100% CPU usage whenever VW is running, even without a file open. And, yes it is the only program I have that behaves that way. I'm including Photoshop, Illustrator, 3DStudioMax, Maya, and Lightwave in that statement. Have no clue why this is, but common sense would tell you that there's no way that VW is using 100% of the CPU's power, because I can still open and use other programs while it is running. VW is, in general, a pretty sluggish program. I'd be curious to see whether or not the CPU usage is different with a machine running VW only and not a VW/RW bundle. Let's hope our statements generate some NNA feedback on this topic, even if it is only for curiosity's sake.
  16. I have an HP 1120Cse, which was the precursor to the 1220 and is very similar. I assume the drivers are also similar. When I first began using it, I encountered what appeared to be memory problems whenever I would try to print an 11x17 image. I was selecting the Print command after rendering directly from within a file. In other words, NOT using the Render as Bitmap tool. Sometimes only part of the image would print, but most times I would just get a blank page. Numerous conversations with both VW and HP tech support were fruitless (both blamed each other, of course). On the surface it looked like a memory problem, but I had plenty of RAM and VM, so it was some type of compatibility issue between VW and the HP driver. At any rate, my workaround was to ALWAYS Render as Bitmap with an image that large, and then print the rendered bitmap. I have never had any problems since. I should also state that this problem only occurred when trying to print full page perspective renderings (you know, with lots of lighting and lots of textures), and not simple floor plans or elevations. Furthermore, the 1120 and the 1220 are SUPERB machines. I think superior to the Epson (though the 1270 is a pretty nice machine). I'm sure I'll take some flak for that comment. To this day, I still don't understand what the compatibility problems were, and honestly ran out of time trying to figure it out. I guess part of the problem is the fact that, if you ask VW to print an image you just rendered (outside of the Render as Bitmap command), then VW has to re-render to send the image to the printer (correct NNM?). Besides, you're way better off rendering as a bitmap, and then tweaking the image in Photoshop (you have so much more control). So, uhh, try rendering as a bimap, and, good luck.
  17. I, too, use an HP 1120cse and am very pleased with it. I use the 11x17 outputs for presentation materials. However, I don't think that HP is making the line of 1120 printers anymore. I believe that they have replaced the 1120 with the 1220, but I may be wrong about that. Another comparable printer in the same price range is the new Epson 1270, which apparantly uses a six-color printing process. Hope that helps. Good luck.
  18. My only experience with that particular error message is when the two masses you are trying to subtract are not actually intersecting. In other words, they share no mass. While it may appear that the two objects intersect from one angle, your best bet is to check all views to ensure intersection (i.e., top; left; right, etc.). Of course, same applies to Solid Addition and/or Intersection as well.
  19. My only experience with that particular error message is when the two masses you are trying to subtract are not actually intersecting. In other words, they share no mass. While it may appear that the two objects intersect from one angle, your best bet is to check all views to ensure intersection (i.e., top; left; right, etc.). Of course, same applies to Solid Addition and/or Intersection as well.
  20. No question about it, RAM, RAM, RAM. However, you inquired about the P3 vs. Celeron. My experience and research leads me to believe that the SSE (Streaming SIMD) Extensions capability of the Pentium significantly outperforms both the Celeron and most AMD devices. But, don't hold me to it. I know a shop that relies heavily on rendering and they lover their 1GHz Athlon. Jack Fulmer
  21. Seems that there was a function that would "replace all" instances of a symbol. Maybe it's been buried somewhere else. As a work-around, within the Resources palette, you could edit that particular symbol and replace both the 2D and 3D components (if both exist) with the desired replacement. Make sense? Don't know if it will help you, but it should work. Jack Fulmer
  22. Yes, it is VERY good to know. Until this revelation, I would noodle around with the ambient light settings for each layer, then render to see the result. That, as you know, is a rather time consuming processs. I don't see any reason why it is bad, or at least I haven't run into or can think of any need for the individual linked layers to have their own ambient light settings within a rendered layer link. So, thank you for the response - I appreciate it. FYI, just upgraded to Windows 2000 Professional, and the speed of the rendering process seems to be greatly increased over Win98SE, without any crashes or apparant bugs (as of yet). BTW - Running on a 600MHz PIII with 256RAM. Thanks again. Jack Fulmer
  23. What is the interactive effect (if any) of different values/parameters of the ambient lighting for individual layers within a linked layer. Does that question make sense? Let me rephrase for clarity. Say I have a layer link that includes walls, roof, ceiling, floor, etc. Does providing different settings within each one of those layers that are linked have any effect on the final rendering of the linked layer, or does the ambient light setting for the linked layer override all of the other settings? Hope you understand what I'm getting at. I'd like to hear from Paz on this one, if possible, and thanks in advance for your response. Jack Fulmer
  24. Have run into an odd problem after a Win2000 upgrade from Win98 SE. I had Vectorworks v8.5 with Renderworks installed prior to the upgrade. After the upgrade I can open VW just fine, but Renderworks is acting as if it was never installed. It does not show up in the Render drop down menu, and the serial number does not show up in the About VW Help drop down menu. HOWEVER, the odd thing is that it does show up and can be accessed as a workspace. But if I select and try to use the Render Bitmap tool, I get a message box saying that "Requires Renderworks". I have tried to uninstall and reinstall both VW and RW, but to no avail. in fact after uninstalling and reinstalling VW I am not required to re-input my serial number. It is still remnant on my machine somehow. Obviously this is a huge problem for me, and hopefully not some Bug that cannot be overcome. I anxiously await your response. Thanks..........Jack Fulmer
  25. Is the current Windows release of Vectorworks/Renderworks (v 8.5) compatible with the Windows 2000 OS? Thank you.
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