870646c@aucs.UUCP (barry comer) (12/06/87)
For the last few months I have been doing some desktop video on my Mega 2 ST
from Atari. The program is called "CAD 3D 2.0", this comes complete with
an animation language called "CYBERMATE". This package is a first rate prg.
for a micro, it allows you to control lighting, small changes in detail
frame by frame, the prg. creates stand alone animations as well. There are
a full range of support programs for editing your animations frame by frame,
there are liab. disks already made up of human figures, future design figures,
and buildings, the sky is thew limit. One of the best support prgs. is called
"CYBER CONTROL" this allows you to do batch animations. To top it all of all
the animations can be done in "REAL" 3D, there are a set of electronic 3D
glasses that are hooked into the Mega's cart. port, the glasses contain 2
electric shutters and are wired to switch off and on in sync with two images
on the screen, I hear the effect is very good. Is there anyone out there that
is already using the system, and if so how do you like it. The only problem
is that is requires 1 meg. of memory to run(if your stand alone animations are
less than 512k they will run on the 520ST also). The other bad news is that
it doesn't cost a "MILLION" dollars to get a complete system, so if you are
used to getting hosed when buying software(hardware for that matter) you better
be careful when you see the reasonable price on the Mega 2, and CAD 3D 2.0
prg. Don't forget these machines have .5,1,2,4 megs. of memory and are 68000
based.
later
Barry(Hope this message is of interest to some people)
P.S. I am not involved with the producers of any of these products, I just
thought that some may be interested.ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo L. Schwab) (12/08/87)
In article <626@aucs.UUCP> 870646c@aucs.UUCP (barry comer) writes about
CAD-3D on the Atari ST.
It should be pointed out that similar software packages exist for
the Amiga. Among these are:
o VideoScape 3D (Aegis)
o Sculpt 3D (Byte by Byte)
o Forms in Flight (<dunno>)
o Silver (Impulse)
o Photon (MicroIllusions [coming Real Soon Now])
Sculpt and Silver are ray tracing packages. VideoScape and FiF use
a polygonal shading model. I've only see a short demo of Photon; I have no
idea what it is.
It should also be pointed out that the Amiga's video (in general)
more closely conforms to the NTSC standard. Or, to phrase it more
accurately, it's not as far off the NTSC standard as the ST. Also, all of
the Amiga's video modes are NTSC compatible, and can be recorded directly
onto videotape (though it will look cruddy. If you're serious, you'll have
to get a box to clean up the signal). In addition, the Amiga is capable of
generating a full video (overscan) image.
Because of the greater number of colors the Amiga has to work with,
images are noticeably better. This is particularly important to remember if
you're using a polygonal shading model and more than, say, three colors.
Since Amiga has more color registers, shading of the objects will be
smoother. VideoScape in particular performs dithering on the polygons, thus
increasing the number of perceived shades. Amiga's HAM mode is also helpful
for generating smoothly shaded images.
Admittedly, the user interfaces for these software packages is, in
my opinion, not as well developed as the interface for CAD-3D. This is
being addressed, however, in the form of Modeller 3D (for VideoScape), and
InterChange, an object translation program which translates object
definition files between VideoScape, Sculpt, Forms in Flight, and even
CAD-3D. Similar programs are sure to follow.
If you wanted the ideal set-up, you would, of course, buy both
systems: the Atari for object creation, the Amiga for rendering. (0.5 :-))
I'm not trying to start a MCIBTYC war. I'm simply pointing out that
other systems exist that warrant attention. If I have made inaccurate
statements, please point them out to me in my mailbox. Thank you.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape ihnp4!ptsfa -\
\_ -_ Recumbent Bikes: dual ---> !{well,unicom}!ewhac
O----^o The Only Way To Fly. hplabs / (pronounced "AE-wack")
"Work FOR? I don't work FOR anybody! I'm just having fun." -- The Doctor