[geeks] O2 graphics compared to entry-levelOctanegraphics?

[Kurt Huhn]

> I rather like Lightwave's modeller.  Much nicer than NURBS in my opinion,
> but pretty weak compared to other subdivision surface modellers.
> 
> The character animation tools are better than Max's used to be out of box,
> but Max had amazing plugins that really helped out.  But, it had enough
> to allow for a lot of fun.

Played with Max for a while, it had a lot of good rendering plugins, but
I found the modeler to be only "okay" for my purposes.  I never got a
chance to work with NuRBS in Max.  I made the move to Rhino a few years
ago and never looked back - NuRBS modeling in Rhino made sense to me. 
It 'worked' exactly like I thought it should - and visualizations went
straight from my brain to the software.  It also allowed for manual
point entry - which is effing convenient.

I notice that LWM has the ability to do manual point entry as well,
though I haven't used it yet.  I imagine it's probably slightly
different from Rhino, but powerful once I learn the hang of it.

> 
> > Mostly it gets used for building stuff in 3D before I go out the garage
> > and cut up wood to make them.  I'd rather make mistakes in virtual space
> > than slice a piece of $60 oak plywood the wrong way.  I just started
> > using it, replacing Rhino on the Windows box.  Rhino is nice, but I like
> > not having to use windows for this type of work.
> 
> For what you do, it sounds like a nice mechanical cad package would be more
> appropriate, but that would probably break the bank.

I have Pro/Engineer (I think) media for Solaris (maybe HP/UX and Irix
too, dunno).  Problem is, I can't get it to run without license keys,
and the manufacturer doesn't want to give out license keys for old
versions :(  I think it's Pro/E anyway, I'll look at the media when I
get home.  It's something very nice, as I recall - having run it at
client sites occasionally.

> 
> Still, how hard would it be to build such a program specifically for wood
> working.  We would need a drill simulator, a saw simulator, a bend simulator,
> lathe, screws.  What else?
> 

Even that might get too complicated.  Wood is easy to shape, even with
the most rudimentary of tools.  However, something has started turning
inside my head.  
Add a piece of 4x8 plywood
rip it in half (allow for blade width and subtract it)
	animated skillsaw saw runs across the surface
measure it out and slice to length (allow for blade width...)
	animated skillsaw runs across surface
I nead a rectangular hole atarting 4 inches form the north side and 27
inches from the west side, continuing to [blah]
	Animated jigsaw slices hole

This might have a market if it were cheap enough.  Unfortunately, my
coding skills are not up to par.  It would be very cool though.
-- 
Kurt
kurt at k-huhn.com