Re: Computer software

[P3D Larry Berlin <lberlin@xxxxxxxxx>]

>Date: 18 Nov 96 15:34:21 EST
>From: P3D Marvin Jones  writes:
>
>> The demos supplied provide a glimpse of their software which seems to be
>> mostly the conventional 2 1/2D stuff. You can make objects and view them in
>> a viewer that spins them around. Nothing in the demos had any referrence to
>> stereo anything. My guess is their other software is similar with the
>> addition of output for stereo options. Not overly impressive so far.
>> 
>This sounds very much like a program available in software stores called
"3D VR"
>or something similar. It's a viewer program for "computer 3D" models which
>allows them to be rotated and moved about in space. It is capable of creating
>anaglyphs of the model which can also be moved about, and I THINK, but am not
>sure, it can also generate alternate-field images. It functions solely as a
>viewer, not as any kind of graphics creation program. It was demonstrated at a
>recent meeting of the movie division of the Stereo Club of Southern California,
>and the consensus was that it was mildly amusing, but had virtually no
practical
>value.

Yes, that's it, called *Stereo VR*. Their other *main* product is a graphics
generating program called *VR Workshop+* but seems less featured than I
would want at a minimum. The package includes 3 integrated functions one of
which is a 3D shape modeling program called *3DPro*. One of their demos is
an introduction to this small utility. It makes and views 3D objects. Other
than *Stereo VR's* output to anaglyph or interlaced video, nothing else
about their software seemed overly impressive (to me). At least they seem to
see the 3D demand arriving and are early in adding the stereo output utility
to their product line.

I know what it would take to get me excited about 3D software and it's
probably not written yet. I wouldn't get excited just over advanced features
either. Usability by the novice artist or new computer person rates high in
my estimation. Some think that means writing it for a kids level of thinking
but you can have full features without confusing people. It only takes a
short while before one learns to use this stuff and then you want to
actually do something with it. Lots of software has lost all value by the
time you reach this point. (The big tease!) It's disappointing to spend $50
on a CD-ROM and discover it doesn't have what it advertises except by the
stingiest of definitions. More than once I've found free and inexpensive
software to do 500% more than supposedly full featured commercial software.

When it comes to 3D shape modeling, I found the demo version of TrueSpace to
be far in advance of MOST other 3D modeling programs of any sort. Other than
not allowing you to save your work, it did just about anything the full
program does, including letting you set up stereo viewing windows for your
work. If you really want to save something you can do a screen capture, but
you can't save the scenes for later work. It' s best feature is that it
works very close to your intuitive creative flow so you don't have to do as
many separate functions to get results. Anyone curious about 3D in a
computer should at least try the demo version. (Highly recommended for
beginners!!!) Many computer books relating to 3D have the demo included on
their CD-ROM disc. (Best Instruction: Be Patient, give it time!)

With a demo like that around, it's hard to swallow the claims of some 3D
software that asks a relatively high price for surprisingly less function
and utility. They have to exceed the standard of common demo software (from
several years ago) before I'm willing to spend money on what's offered in a
new commercial package.  I'm waiting and looking...

Larry Berlin

Email: lberlin@xxxxxxxxx
http://www.sonic.net/~lberlin/
http://3dzine.simplenet.com/


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