Rendermap/ultimapper using hardware renderer

[Matt Lind]

Anybody have success using rendermap or ultimapper with the hardware renderer 
(openGL)?

If yes, were you able to get rendermap or ultimapper to recognize custom 
realtime shaders applied to the object(s) written in OpenGL, GLSL, HLSL, Cg, or 
DirectX?

We can get the hardware renderer to record an image, but it seems to evaluate 
the mental ray shaders, not the realtime shaders as expected.  I would like to 
hear if anybody has any success stories.

Using SI 2013 SP1.

Matt

RE: face_list or faceless?

[Matt Lind]

Those might be coming from mental ray's geometry core.

Activate debugging in your render settings, then render portions of the frame 
using the render region in a divide and conquer approach as only the tiles 
inside the region will be rendered and reported in the log.  There will be a 
TON of output, so be patient.  The error should reveal itself before too long.

Matt



From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Ponthieux, Joseph 
G. (LARC-E1A)[LITES]
Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 11:45 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: face_list or faceless?

I've got a scene that is giving me these errors. I've got a lot of models in 
the scene. Any ideas on what I should be looking for or how to narrow it down 
to the offender without deleting every model one by one?

# ERROR : GAPM 0.16   188 MB error  091017: zero faces in face_list
# ERROR : GAPM 0.16   188 MB error  091071: retrieval of data base items for 
surface conversion and curve conversion and  approximation failed
# ERROR : GAPM 0.16   188 MB error  091007: retrieval of data base items for 
surface conversion and curve conversion and approximation failed

--
Joey Ponthieux
LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)
Mymic Technical Services
NASA Langley Research Center
__
Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not
represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.

Re: face_list or faceless?

[Ed Manning]

I guess you could do a binary tree deletion model if you really have to,
i.e. delete 1/2 the models in the scene, see if the error goes away,
repeat, etc.  That goes WAY faster than 1 by 1.




On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 5:44 PM, Ed Manning  wrote:

> is that all you get from the logfile in "debug" mode?
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 2:44 PM, Ponthieux, Joseph G. (LARC-E1A)[LITES] <
> j.ponthi...@nasa.gov> wrote:
>
>>  I’ve got a scene that is giving me these errors. I’ve got a lot of
>> models in the scene. Any ideas on what I should be looking for or how to
>> narrow it down to the offender without deleting every model one by one?
>>
>>
>>
>> # ERROR : GAPM 0.16   188 MB error  091017: zero faces in face_list
>>
>> # ERROR : GAPM 0.16   188 MB error  091071: retrieval of data base items
>> for surface conversion and curve conversion and  approximation failed
>>
>> # ERROR : GAPM 0.16   188 MB error  091007: retrieval of data base items
>> for surface conversion and curve conversion and approximation failed
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Joey Ponthieux
>>
>> LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)
>>
>> Mymic Technical Services
>>
>> NASA Langley Research Center
>>
>> __
>>
>> Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not
>>
>> represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.
>>
>>
>>
>
>

Re: face_list or faceless?

[Ed Manning]

is that all you get from the logfile in "debug" mode?


On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 2:44 PM, Ponthieux, Joseph G. (LARC-E1A)[LITES] <
j.ponthi...@nasa.gov> wrote:

>  I’ve got a scene that is giving me these errors. I’ve got a lot of
> models in the scene. Any ideas on what I should be looking for or how to
> narrow it down to the offender without deleting every model one by one?
>
>
>
> # ERROR : GAPM 0.16   188 MB error  091017: zero faces in face_list
>
> # ERROR : GAPM 0.16   188 MB error  091071: retrieval of data base items
> for surface conversion and curve conversion and  approximation failed
>
> # ERROR : GAPM 0.16   188 MB error  091007: retrieval of data base items
> for surface conversion and curve conversion and approximation failed
>
>
>
> --
>
> Joey Ponthieux
>
> LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)
>
> Mymic Technical Services
>
> NASA Langley Research Center
>
> __
>
> Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not
>
> represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.
>
>
>

Re: I'll be back...

[Ed Manning]

Have you tried instantiating new Image nodes rather than editing the paths?
Or rebuilding the shaders from scratch (yuck)? You could also try your path
fix, then while it's still working, save the entire shader out as a
RTcompound (NOT a preset), then delete the old material shader completely,
and load the compound.  (Compounds, IIR, are just xml descriptions of the
nodes and their connections, so instantiate fresh nodes on loading.)

Sounds like it could be some corruption in the shader node.

By any chance was the model saved out of an early release of SI 2012?
That's when we had that nasty bug with the disappearing shader connections.


On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 5:21 PM, Ponthieux, Joseph G. (LARC-E1A)[LITES] <
j.ponthi...@nasa.gov> wrote:

> It's a new scene. But some of the objects are older Model exports that
> have been imported.
>
> So for the resolved paths that's the weird thing. When I brought the
> models in they were pointing to a defunct path. I edited the paths and they
> pointed to the new location just fine. Rendered with the texture just fine.
> But then after a while they get disconnected(go red).
>
> They still point to the new location, I can access the location and the
> file just fine through Windows explorer, but when I click on Refresh in
> External Files Manager they stay red as though they are defunct and report
> a status of invalid. I can select one of the files and "Browse Selected
> Path" the directory will open and I can see the file. If I double-click the
> file it will update and make the file valid again(grey). But if I wait a
> while or look at it again tomorrow, it will go invalid again at some point.
>
> I see this problem frequently. I think I may have even commented about it
> on this list before. Would be nice if I can figure out what is causing it.
>
> --
> Joey Ponthieux
> LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)
> Mymic Technical Services
> NASA Langley Research Center
> __
> Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not
> represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.
>
> -Original Message-
> From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:
> softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Luc-Eric Rousseau
> Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 3:15 PM
> To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
> Subject: Re: I'll be back...
>
> Softimage remembers the last place it resolved a file name, and tries that
> place when you load the scene.
> it's a cache, you cannot find it in the external file list.
> if all the images resolve to a new path and you save the scene, you should
> be good.  It's probable that if some images don't resolve it continues to
> try that cached location. So fix all those path that do not resolve in the
> External File List
>
> On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 3:05 PM, Ponthieux, Joseph G.
> (LARC-E1A)[LITES]  wrote:
> > While troubleshooting erros in a scene I stumbled across this error in
> > the script editor:
> >
> >
> >
> > # INFO : 4000 - Server '\\SERVER_NAME' is unreachable. Marked as
> > invalid for the next 300 seconds
> >
> >
> >
> > "SERVER_NAME" has been out of service for years. Its not even plugged
> > in anymore. I'm currently using a scene that contains some older
> > geometry that was built during a time when SERVER_NAME was in service.
> > Now the scene is apparently looking for the server.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > I've searched for SERVER_NAME in every project in the current database
> > of Project Manager. Nothing found there.
> >
> >
> >
> > I've searched for it in the External Files Manager. Nothing found there.
> >
> >
> >
> > I've searched for it in the Render Manager. Nothing found there.
> >
> >
> >
> > I've search for it in Explorer/Sources/Images and queried each image.
> > Nothing found there.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > I've been unable to find it anywhere I thought to be a relevant place
> > to look. Any ideas on what I might be overlooking?
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> > Joey Ponthieux
> >
> > LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)
> >
> > Mymic Technical Services
> >
> > NASA Langley Research Center
> >
> > __
> >
> > Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not
> >
> > represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.
> >
> >
>
>
>

Re: I'll be back...

[Alok Gandhi]

Possibly some internal scene corruption. Also try to merge your scene in 
a new scene and see if that solves the issue.

On 11/20/2013 5:21 PM, Ponthieux, Joseph G. (LARC-E1A)[LITES] wrote:

It's a new scene. But some of the objects are older Model exports that have 
been imported.

So for the resolved paths that's the weird thing. When I brought the models in 
they were pointing to a defunct path. I edited the paths and they pointed to 
the new location just fine. Rendered with the texture just fine. But then after 
a while they get disconnected(go red).

They still point to the new location, I can access the location and the file just fine 
through Windows explorer, but when I click on Refresh in External Files Manager they stay 
red as though they are defunct and report a status of invalid. I can select one of the 
files and "Browse Selected Path" the directory will open and I can see the 
file. If I double-click the file it will update and make the file valid again(grey). But 
if I wait a while or look at it again tomorrow, it will go invalid again at some point.

I see this problem frequently. I think I may have even commented about it on 
this list before. Would be nice if I can figure out what is causing it.

--
Joey Ponthieux
LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)
Mymic Technical Services
NASA Langley Research Center
__
Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not
represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.

-Original Message-
From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Luc-Eric Rousseau
Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 3:15 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: I'll be back...

Softimage remembers the last place it resolved a file name, and tries that 
place when you load the scene.
it's a cache, you cannot find it in the external file list.
if all the images resolve to a new path and you save the scene, you should be 
good.  It's probable that if some images don't resolve it continues to try that 
cached location. So fix all those path that do not resolve in the External File 
List

On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 3:05 PM, Ponthieux, Joseph G.
(LARC-E1A)[LITES]  wrote:

While troubleshooting erros in a scene I stumbled across this error in
the script editor:



# INFO : 4000 - Server '\\SERVER_NAME' is unreachable. Marked as
invalid for the next 300 seconds



"SERVER_NAME" has been out of service for years. Its not even plugged
in anymore. I'm currently using a scene that contains some older
geometry that was built during a time when SERVER_NAME was in service.
Now the scene is apparently looking for the server.





I've searched for SERVER_NAME in every project in the current database
of Project Manager. Nothing found there.



I've searched for it in the External Files Manager. Nothing found there.



I've searched for it in the Render Manager. Nothing found there.



I've search for it in Explorer/Sources/Images and queried each image.
Nothing found there.





I've been unable to find it anywhere I thought to be a relevant place
to look. Any ideas on what I might be overlooking?



--

Joey Ponthieux

LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)

Mymic Technical Services

NASA Langley Research Center

__

Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not

represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.







--

ALOK

GANDHI

/ directeur technique senior- senior technical director


alok.gan...@modusfx.com 

T:

*450 430-0010 x225

F:

*450 430-0009
www.modusfx.com 

-


MODUS

FX


120 Rue Turgeon,


Sainte-Therese (Quebec) CANADA J7E 3J1


Follow us on

Facebook 

&

Twitter 
**

RE: I'll be back...

[Ponthieux, Joseph G. (LARC-E1A)[LITES]]

It's a new scene. But some of the objects are older Model exports that have 
been imported.

So for the resolved paths that's the weird thing. When I brought the models in 
they were pointing to a defunct path. I edited the paths and they pointed to 
the new location just fine. Rendered with the texture just fine. But then after 
a while they get disconnected(go red). 

They still point to the new location, I can access the location and the file 
just fine through Windows explorer, but when I click on Refresh in External 
Files Manager they stay red as though they are defunct and report a status of 
invalid. I can select one of the files and "Browse Selected Path" the directory 
will open and I can see the file. If I double-click the file it will update and 
make the file valid again(grey). But if I wait a while or look at it again 
tomorrow, it will go invalid again at some point. 

I see this problem frequently. I think I may have even commented about it on 
this list before. Would be nice if I can figure out what is causing it. 

--
Joey Ponthieux
LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)
Mymic Technical Services
NASA Langley Research Center
__
Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not 
represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.

-Original Message-
From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Luc-Eric Rousseau
Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 3:15 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: I'll be back...

Softimage remembers the last place it resolved a file name, and tries that 
place when you load the scene.
it's a cache, you cannot find it in the external file list.
if all the images resolve to a new path and you save the scene, you should be 
good.  It's probable that if some images don't resolve it continues to try that 
cached location. So fix all those path that do not resolve in the External File 
List

On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 3:05 PM, Ponthieux, Joseph G.
(LARC-E1A)[LITES]  wrote:
> While troubleshooting erros in a scene I stumbled across this error in 
> the script editor:
>
>
>
> # INFO : 4000 - Server '\\SERVER_NAME' is unreachable. Marked as 
> invalid for the next 300 seconds
>
>
>
> "SERVER_NAME" has been out of service for years. Its not even plugged 
> in anymore. I'm currently using a scene that contains some older 
> geometry that was built during a time when SERVER_NAME was in service. 
> Now the scene is apparently looking for the server.
>
>
>
>
>
> I've searched for SERVER_NAME in every project in the current database 
> of Project Manager. Nothing found there.
>
>
>
> I've searched for it in the External Files Manager. Nothing found there.
>
>
>
> I've searched for it in the Render Manager. Nothing found there.
>
>
>
> I've search for it in Explorer/Sources/Images and queried each image.
> Nothing found there.
>
>
>
>
>
> I've been unable to find it anywhere I thought to be a relevant place 
> to look. Any ideas on what I might be overlooking?
>
>
>
> --
>
> Joey Ponthieux
>
> LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)
>
> Mymic Technical Services
>
> NASA Langley Research Center
>
> __
>
> Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not
>
> represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.
>
>

RE: I'll be back...

[Ponthieux, Joseph G. (LARC-E1A)[LITES]]

Yes, I checked the workgroups, nothing appears to be pointing in that 
direction. Tree, Workgroups, Plugins, SPDLs etc all seem to be pointing to the 
right locations

--
Joey Ponthieux
LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)
Mymic Technical Services
NASA Langley Research Center
__
Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not
represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of David Barosin
Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 3:14 PM
To: xsi
Subject: Re: I'll be back...

Are there any workgroups with shaders or plugins?

Else start systematically deleting objects, materials, etc.. to see if the 
error goes away.

On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 3:05 PM, Ponthieux, Joseph G. (LARC-E1A)[LITES] 
mailto:j.ponthi...@nasa.gov>> wrote:
While troubleshooting erros in a scene I stumbled across this error in the 
script editor:

# INFO : 4000 - Server '\\SERVER_NAME' is unreachable. Marked as invalid for 
the next 300 seconds

"SERVER_NAME" has been out of service for years. Its not even plugged in 
anymore. I'm currently using a scene that contains some older geometry that was 
built during a time when SERVER_NAME was in service. Now the scene is 
apparently looking for the server.


I've searched for SERVER_NAME in every project in the current database of 
Project Manager. Nothing found there.

I've searched for it in the External Files Manager. Nothing found there.

I've searched for it in the Render Manager. Nothing found there.

I've search for it in Explorer/Sources/Images and queried each image. Nothing 
found there.


I've been unable to find it anywhere I thought to be a relevant place to look. 
Any ideas on what I might be overlooking?

--
Joey Ponthieux
LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)
Mymic Technical Services
NASA Langley Research Center
__
Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not
represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.

RE: I'll be back...

[Ponthieux, Joseph G. (LARC-E1A)[LITES]]

Deleted both images and materials:

Application.DeleteUnusedImageClips()
# INFO : deleting those
Sources.Materials.DefaultLib.Material219,( IT REMOVED HUNDREDS OF THESE, ETC, 
ETC, ETC..)
Application.DeleteUnusedMaterials("Sources.Materials.DefaultLib")
Application.DeselectAll()
Application.DeselectAll()
# INFO : 4000 - Server '\\SERVER_NAME' is unreachable. Marked as invalid for 
the next 300 seconds


No joy.

--
Joey Ponthieux
LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)
Mymic Technical Services
NASA Langley Research Center
__
Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not
represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Alok Gandhi
Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 3:09 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: I'll be back...

Did you check the external files in the file menu and delete the unused files.
On 11/20/2013 3:05 PM, Ponthieux, Joseph G. (LARC-E1A)[LITES] wrote:
While troubleshooting erros in a scene I stumbled across this error in the 
script editor:

# INFO : 4000 - Server '\\SERVER_NAME' is unreachable. Marked as invalid for 
the next 300 seconds

"SERVER_NAME" has been out of service for years. Its not even plugged in 
anymore. I'm currently using a scene that contains some older geometry that was 
built during a time when SERVER_NAME was in service. Now the scene is 
apparently looking for the server.


I've searched for SERVER_NAME in every project in the current database of 
Project Manager. Nothing found there.

I've searched for it in the External Files Manager. Nothing found there.

I've searched for it in the Render Manager. Nothing found there.

I've search for it in Explorer/Sources/Images and queried each image. Nothing 
found there.


I've been unable to find it anywhere I thought to be a relevant place to look. 
Any ideas on what I might be overlooking?

--
Joey Ponthieux
LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)
Mymic Technical Services
NASA Langley Research Center
__
Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not
represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.


--

ALOK

GANDHI

/ directeur technique senior- senior technical director

alok.gan...@modusfx.com

T:

450 430-0010 x225

F:

450 430-0009
www.modusfx.com

-


MODUS

FX


120 Rue Turgeon,


Sainte-Therese (Quebec) CANADA J7E 3J1


Follow us on
Facebook

&
Twitter

Re: I'll be back...

[Luc-Eric Rousseau]

Softimage remembers the last place it resolved a file name, and tries
that place when you load the scene.
it's a cache, you cannot find it in the external file list.
if all the images resolve to a new path and you save the scene, you
should be good.  It's probable that if some images don't resolve it
continues to try that cached location. So fix all those path that do
not resolve in the External File List

On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 3:05 PM, Ponthieux, Joseph G.
(LARC-E1A)[LITES]  wrote:
> While troubleshooting erros in a scene I stumbled across this error in the
> script editor:
>
>
>
> # INFO : 4000 - Server '\\SERVER_NAME' is unreachable. Marked as invalid for
> the next 300 seconds
>
>
>
> “SERVER_NAME” has been out of service for years. Its not even plugged in
> anymore. I’m currently using a scene that contains some older geometry that
> was built during a time when SERVER_NAME was in service. Now the scene is
> apparently looking for the server.
>
>
>
>
>
> I’ve searched for SERVER_NAME in every project in the current database of
> Project Manager. Nothing found there.
>
>
>
> I’ve searched for it in the External Files Manager. Nothing found there.
>
>
>
> I’ve searched for it in the Render Manager. Nothing found there.
>
>
>
> I’ve search for it in Explorer/Sources/Images and queried each image.
> Nothing found there.
>
>
>
>
>
> I’ve been unable to find it anywhere I thought to be a relevant place to
> look. Any ideas on what I might be overlooking?
>
>
>
> --
>
> Joey Ponthieux
>
> LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)
>
> Mymic Technical Services
>
> NASA Langley Research Center
>
> __
>
> Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not
>
> represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.
>
>

Re: I'll be back...

[David Barosin]

Are there any workgroups with shaders or plugins?

Else start systematically deleting objects, materials, etc.. to see if the
error goes away.


On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 3:05 PM, Ponthieux, Joseph G. (LARC-E1A)[LITES] <
j.ponthi...@nasa.gov> wrote:

>  While troubleshooting erros in a scene I stumbled across this error in
> the script editor:
>
>
>
> # INFO : 4000 - Server '\\SERVER_NAME' is unreachable. Marked as invalid
> for the next 300 seconds
>
>
>
> “SERVER_NAME” has been out of service for years. Its not even plugged in
> anymore. I’m currently using a scene that contains some older geometry that
> was built during a time when SERVER_NAME was in service. Now the scene is
> apparently looking for the server.
>
>
>
>
>
> I’ve searched for SERVER_NAME in every project in the current database of
> Project Manager. Nothing found there.
>
>
>
> I’ve searched for it in the External Files Manager. Nothing found there.
>
>
>
> I’ve searched for it in the Render Manager. Nothing found there.
>
>
>
> I’ve search for it in Explorer/Sources/Images and queried each image.
> Nothing found there.
>
>
>
>
>
> I’ve been unable to find it anywhere I thought to be a relevant place to
> look. Any ideas on what I might be overlooking?
>
>
>
> --
>
> Joey Ponthieux
>
> LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)
>
> Mymic Technical Services
>
> NASA Langley Research Center
>
> __
>
> Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not
>
> represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.
>
>
>

Re: I'll be back...

[Alok Gandhi]

Did you check the external files in the file menu and delete the unused 
files.

On 11/20/2013 3:05 PM, Ponthieux, Joseph G. (LARC-E1A)[LITES] wrote:


While troubleshooting erros in a scene I stumbled across this error in 
the script editor:


# INFO : 4000 - Server '\\SERVER_NAME' is unreachable. Marked as 
invalid for the next 300 seconds


"SERVER_NAME" has been out of service for years. Its not even plugged 
in anymore. I'm currently using a scene that contains some older 
geometry that was built during a time when SERVER_NAME was in service. 
Now the scene is apparently looking for the server.


I've searched for SERVER_NAME in every project in the current database 
of Project Manager. Nothing found there.


I've searched for it in the External Files Manager. Nothing found there.

I've searched for it in the Render Manager. Nothing found there.

I've search for it in Explorer/Sources/Images and queried each image. 
Nothing found there.


I've been unable to find it anywhere I thought to be a relevant place 
to look. Any ideas on what I might be overlooking?


--

Joey Ponthieux

LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)

Mymic Technical Services

NASA Langley Research Center

__

Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not

represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.




--

ALOK

GANDHI

/ directeur technique senior- senior technical director


alok.gan...@modusfx.com 

T:

*450 430-0010 x225

F:

*450 430-0009
www.modusfx.com 

-


MODUS

FX


120 Rue Turgeon,


Sainte-Therese (Quebec) CANADA J7E 3J1


Follow us on

Facebook 

&

Twitter 
**

I'll be back...

[Ponthieux, Joseph G. (LARC-E1A)[LITES]]

While troubleshooting erros in a scene I stumbled across this error in the 
script editor:

# INFO : 4000 - Server '\\SERVER_NAME' is unreachable. Marked as invalid for 
the next 300 seconds

"SERVER_NAME" has been out of service for years. Its not even plugged in 
anymore. I'm currently using a scene that contains some older geometry that was 
built during a time when SERVER_NAME was in service. Now the scene is 
apparently looking for the server.


I've searched for SERVER_NAME in every project in the current database of 
Project Manager. Nothing found there.

I've searched for it in the External Files Manager. Nothing found there.

I've searched for it in the Render Manager. Nothing found there.

I've search for it in Explorer/Sources/Images and queried each image. Nothing 
found there.


I've been unable to find it anywhere I thought to be a relevant place to look. 
Any ideas on what I might be overlooking?

--
Joey Ponthieux
LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)
Mymic Technical Services
NASA Langley Research Center
__
Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not
represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.

face_list or faceless?

[Ponthieux, Joseph G. (LARC-E1A)[LITES]]

I've got a scene that is giving me these errors. I've got a lot of models in 
the scene. Any ideas on what I should be looking for or how to narrow it down 
to the offender without deleting every model one by one?

# ERROR : GAPM 0.16   188 MB error  091017: zero faces in face_list
# ERROR : GAPM 0.16   188 MB error  091071: retrieval of data base items for 
surface conversion and curve conversion and  approximation failed
# ERROR : GAPM 0.16   188 MB error  091007: retrieval of data base items for 
surface conversion and curve conversion and approximation failed

--
Joey Ponthieux
LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES)
Mymic Technical Services
NASA Langley Research Center
__
Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not
represent the opinions of NASA or any other party.

RE: Softimage and Alembic?

[Matt Lind]

>> We're not permitted to divulge resource levels.

That's the first I've heard of that.


Matt





-Original Message-
From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Graham Bell
Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 5:48 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: RE: Softimage and Alembic?

You should know better to ask a question like that. :-) We're not permitted to 
divulge resource levels.

I've replied to some people off list re: Alembic, but if people have questions, 
then feel free to contact me.


G


-Original Message-
From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Matt Lind
Sent: 19 November 2013 19:25
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: RE: Softimage and Alembic?

How big is the maya team anyway?



-Original Message-
From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Luc-Eric Rousseau
Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2013 11:24 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: Softimage and Alembic?

On Tue, Nov 19, 2013 at 12:54 PM, Mirko Jankovic  
wrote:
> "Well, we're responsible for the windows port of Alembic and other 
> integration work.  And we develop feature with it like the GPU cache, 
> alembic caching in xgen, support in scene assembly and other 
> things."... for Maya.. forgot to add that ;)
>
> Sry couldn't resist. Keep making Maya better addon for Softimage 
> Cheers

That's my job even more than ever! I've recently become the head of the maya 
user interface team.

Re: Softimage and Alembic?

[Luc-Eric Rousseau]

the term user experience sounds like some marketing thing, but it's
important. When we worked on xgen, we had technical users who had however
never used xgen coming in a lab, and we studied  them trying to complete a
list of preset tasks.  then we took the data and changed the xgen user
interface to remove many of the road blocks that people run into.  that
doesn't mean you don't have anything to learn to use it, it's still a
technical tool (writing expressions, for example) , but it makes more
sense,  generally, than where we had started from.


On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 11:35 AM, Guillaume Laforge <
guillaume.laforge...@gmail.com> wrote:

> And I could add:
>
> User Experience Rule 3: If you can't do it in ICE use Fabric Engine :P
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 11:34 AM, Guillaume Laforge <
> guillaume.laforge...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> User Experience Rule 1: Don't use ICE.
>> User Experience Rule 2: If the "user experience" doesn't provide what you
>> need, use ICE.
>>
>> :)
>>
>>
>>

Re: Softimage and Alembic?

[Alok Gandhi]

<<< text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1: Unrecognized >>>
<>

Re: Softimage and Alembic?

[Guillaume Laforge]

And I could add:

User Experience Rule 3: If you can't do it in ICE use Fabric Engine :P


On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 11:34 AM, Guillaume Laforge <
guillaume.laforge...@gmail.com> wrote:

> User Experience Rule 1: Don't use ICE.
> User Experience Rule 2: If the "user experience" doesn't provide what you
> need, use ICE.
>
> :)
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 11:23 AM, Alan Fregtman 
> wrote:
>
>> To me ICE is an analog to a sort of *space-age programmable calculator*.
>>
>> Just like with a scientific calculator, if you know a bit of math, you go
>> a long way! If you haven't grasped math too well yet, it's cool, it'll just
>> take a little longer to understand and you won't be making the most out of
>> your calculator for now.
>>
>> Of course it's oversimplifying it a little, but over the years from the
>> types of ICE questions I've observed, a large chunk of them distills to 
>> "*what
>> math do I need to do X?*" more so than the usability or intuitiveness of
>> its interface, both of which I think are quite good. Context manipulation
>> is probably the hardest concept to grasp after the math, but you do *get
>> it* eventually.
>>
>>
>> You know what was pretty hard though? Being in the beta for XSI7 when
>> Moondu-- errm ICE didn't have almost any documentation and trying to make
>> sense of the workflows and its potential. If you thought ICE was confusing
>> on first sight, try picturing yourself without documentation or video
>> tutorials existing and only a handful of developers to pick the brains of.
>> :p
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 10:58 AM, Peter Agg wrote:
>>
>>> Yeah, I think there's a big difference between ICE being difficult to
>>> understand and difficult to use. I've seen people with a good maths
>>> background start doing shots after a half hour introduction and I've seen
>>> people with no maths knowledge struggle to use it after years of experience.
>>>
>>> I do think it's objectively better than either Maya's or Houdini's
>>> equivalents.
>>>
>>>
>>> On 20 November 2013 15:37, Guillaume Laforge <
>>> guillaume.laforge...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
 I agree with Sergio.

 Lets not oversimplify the user experience. Of course ICE is not a
 simple user interface as it is not just some menu/buttons/PPG to clicks on.
 But it is very well designed for what it does and it does is quiet well
 ! I'm still impressed by such technology knowing that XSI was not design
 for ICE at its beginning.

 Cheers

 Guillaume Laforge

 PS: As soon as I'm hearing the word "user experience", I'm scared and
 run far away from any Apple store :).


 On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 10:18 AM, Sergio Mucino <
 sergio.muc...@modusfx.com> wrote:

>  I guess I'll have to be a part of the minority here. I had never
> worked with XSI before 2 months ago (although curiously, I got started in
> 3D with Softimage ~ 18 years ago). I jumped into ICE a few days, and it
> literally took me less than an hour to wrap my head around it. Granted, 
> I'm
> not using it for super advanced stuff yet, and my experience with XSI is
> limited to the rigging department, but I found ICE to be one of the most
> user-friendly node-based environments I've used (along with Modo's
> schematic workspaces). I was delighted with how easy was to understand 
> what
> the nodes do. Their names are clear, and their ports have names that
> actually depict what they do (in contrast to Maya's nodes, which require
> plain experience to understand what they do... and good luck if you're
> trying a few nodes by yourself at first!). Maya's nodes could really use a
> kick in the butt (a hard one) in the usability department, and Softimage
> should be the model to follow here.
> As for the rest of the Maya UI goes, I really don't understand what is
> the problem people have with it. I find it easy to go around once you know
> where things are (which will happen with ANY application you move into
> anyway), and I can work at a pretty good pace with it. I guess it's just a
> matter of familiarity... SI was difficult for me the first week. After
> that, I was able to start being productive.
> Anyway, I don't want to make this unnecessarily longer than needed. I
> just wanted to share my experience with SI in the usability department 
> (and
> being an ex-software designer, I tend to unconsciously keep an eye on 
> these
> kind of things).
> Okay... my only pseudo-nag is the overall plastic-y look of the SI UI
> (and it's brighter-than-I'd-like, non-customizable gray color scheme). It
> looks like my blender at home. That's all! *ducks* ;-)
>
>
> On 20/11/2013 7:58 AM, Luc-Eric Rousseau wrote:
>
>  Given the rate of development judging by past releases I'd say it's off 
> by
> at least another
> three years, and even only if you guys manage to 

Re: Softimage and Alembic?

[Guillaume Laforge]

User Experience Rule 1: Don't use ICE.
User Experience Rule 2: If the "user experience" doesn't provide what you
need, use ICE.

:)


On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 11:23 AM, Alan Fregtman wrote:

> To me ICE is an analog to a sort of *space-age programmable calculator*.
>
> Just like with a scientific calculator, if you know a bit of math, you go
> a long way! If you haven't grasped math too well yet, it's cool, it'll just
> take a little longer to understand and you won't be making the most out of
> your calculator for now.
>
> Of course it's oversimplifying it a little, but over the years from the
> types of ICE questions I've observed, a large chunk of them distills to "*what
> math do I need to do X?*" more so than the usability or intuitiveness of
> its interface, both of which I think are quite good. Context manipulation
> is probably the hardest concept to grasp after the math, but you do *get
> it* eventually.
>
>
> You know what was pretty hard though? Being in the beta for XSI7 when
> Moondu-- errm ICE didn't have almost any documentation and trying to make
> sense of the workflows and its potential. If you thought ICE was confusing
> on first sight, try picturing yourself without documentation or video
> tutorials existing and only a handful of developers to pick the brains of.
> :p
>
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 10:58 AM, Peter Agg wrote:
>
>> Yeah, I think there's a big difference between ICE being difficult to
>> understand and difficult to use. I've seen people with a good maths
>> background start doing shots after a half hour introduction and I've seen
>> people with no maths knowledge struggle to use it after years of experience.
>>
>> I do think it's objectively better than either Maya's or Houdini's
>> equivalents.
>>
>>
>> On 20 November 2013 15:37, Guillaume Laforge <
>> guillaume.laforge...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I agree with Sergio.
>>>
>>> Lets not oversimplify the user experience. Of course ICE is not a simple
>>> user interface as it is not just some menu/buttons/PPG to clicks on.
>>> But it is very well designed for what it does and it does is quiet well
>>> ! I'm still impressed by such technology knowing that XSI was not design
>>> for ICE at its beginning.
>>>
>>> Cheers
>>>
>>> Guillaume Laforge
>>>
>>> PS: As soon as I'm hearing the word "user experience", I'm scared and
>>> run far away from any Apple store :).
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 10:18 AM, Sergio Mucino <
>>> sergio.muc...@modusfx.com> wrote:
>>>
  I guess I'll have to be a part of the minority here. I had never
 worked with XSI before 2 months ago (although curiously, I got started in
 3D with Softimage ~ 18 years ago). I jumped into ICE a few days, and it
 literally took me less than an hour to wrap my head around it. Granted, I'm
 not using it for super advanced stuff yet, and my experience with XSI is
 limited to the rigging department, but I found ICE to be one of the most
 user-friendly node-based environments I've used (along with Modo's
 schematic workspaces). I was delighted with how easy was to understand what
 the nodes do. Their names are clear, and their ports have names that
 actually depict what they do (in contrast to Maya's nodes, which require
 plain experience to understand what they do... and good luck if you're
 trying a few nodes by yourself at first!). Maya's nodes could really use a
 kick in the butt (a hard one) in the usability department, and Softimage
 should be the model to follow here.
 As for the rest of the Maya UI goes, I really don't understand what is
 the problem people have with it. I find it easy to go around once you know
 where things are (which will happen with ANY application you move into
 anyway), and I can work at a pretty good pace with it. I guess it's just a
 matter of familiarity... SI was difficult for me the first week. After
 that, I was able to start being productive.
 Anyway, I don't want to make this unnecessarily longer than needed. I
 just wanted to share my experience with SI in the usability department (and
 being an ex-software designer, I tend to unconsciously keep an eye on these
 kind of things).
 Okay... my only pseudo-nag is the overall plastic-y look of the SI UI
 (and it's brighter-than-I'd-like, non-customizable gray color scheme). It
 looks like my blender at home. That's all! *ducks* ;-)


 On 20/11/2013 7:58 AM, Luc-Eric Rousseau wrote:

  Given the rate of development judging by past releases I'd say it's off by
 at least another
 three years, and even only if you guys manage to cram Bifrost into it in a
 usable way like ICE
 was crammed into Softimage, and do some major rework of the GUI.

  ICE in a conversation about usability? It's the most complex thing you
 need to spend time learning in Softimage, and I think most users have
 not wrapped their heads around it (? would need s

Re: Softimage and Alembic?

[Alan Fregtman]

To me ICE is an analog to a sort of *space-age programmable calculator*.

Just like with a scientific calculator, if you know a bit of math, you go a
long way! If you haven't grasped math too well yet, it's cool, it'll just
take a little longer to understand and you won't be making the most out of
your calculator for now.

Of course it's oversimplifying it a little, but over the years from the
types of ICE questions I've observed, a large chunk of them distills to "*what
math do I need to do X?*" more so than the usability or intuitiveness of
its interface, both of which I think are quite good. Context manipulation
is probably the hardest concept to grasp after the math, but you do
*get it*eventually.


You know what was pretty hard though? Being in the beta for XSI7 when
Moondu-- errm ICE didn't have almost any documentation and trying to make
sense of the workflows and its potential. If you thought ICE was confusing
on first sight, try picturing yourself without documentation or video
tutorials existing and only a handful of developers to pick the brains of.
:p



On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 10:58 AM, Peter Agg wrote:

> Yeah, I think there's a big difference between ICE being difficult to
> understand and difficult to use. I've seen people with a good maths
> background start doing shots after a half hour introduction and I've seen
> people with no maths knowledge struggle to use it after years of experience.
>
> I do think it's objectively better than either Maya's or Houdini's
> equivalents.
>
>
> On 20 November 2013 15:37, Guillaume Laforge <
> guillaume.laforge...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I agree with Sergio.
>>
>> Lets not oversimplify the user experience. Of course ICE is not a simple
>> user interface as it is not just some menu/buttons/PPG to clicks on.
>> But it is very well designed for what it does and it does is quiet well !
>> I'm still impressed by such technology knowing that XSI was not design for
>> ICE at its beginning.
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Guillaume Laforge
>>
>> PS: As soon as I'm hearing the word "user experience", I'm scared and run
>> far away from any Apple store :).
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 10:18 AM, Sergio Mucino <
>> sergio.muc...@modusfx.com> wrote:
>>
>>>  I guess I'll have to be a part of the minority here. I had never worked
>>> with XSI before 2 months ago (although curiously, I got started in 3D with
>>> Softimage ~ 18 years ago). I jumped into ICE a few days, and it literally
>>> took me less than an hour to wrap my head around it. Granted, I'm not using
>>> it for super advanced stuff yet, and my experience with XSI is limited to
>>> the rigging department, but I found ICE to be one of the most user-friendly
>>> node-based environments I've used (along with Modo's schematic workspaces).
>>> I was delighted with how easy was to understand what the nodes do. Their
>>> names are clear, and their ports have names that actually depict what they
>>> do (in contrast to Maya's nodes, which require plain experience to
>>> understand what they do... and good luck if you're trying a few nodes by
>>> yourself at first!). Maya's nodes could really use a kick in the butt (a
>>> hard one) in the usability department, and Softimage should be the model to
>>> follow here.
>>> As for the rest of the Maya UI goes, I really don't understand what is
>>> the problem people have with it. I find it easy to go around once you know
>>> where things are (which will happen with ANY application you move into
>>> anyway), and I can work at a pretty good pace with it. I guess it's just a
>>> matter of familiarity... SI was difficult for me the first week. After
>>> that, I was able to start being productive.
>>> Anyway, I don't want to make this unnecessarily longer than needed. I
>>> just wanted to share my experience with SI in the usability department (and
>>> being an ex-software designer, I tend to unconsciously keep an eye on these
>>> kind of things).
>>> Okay... my only pseudo-nag is the overall plastic-y look of the SI UI
>>> (and it's brighter-than-I'd-like, non-customizable gray color scheme). It
>>> looks like my blender at home. That's all! *ducks* ;-)
>>>
>>>
>>> On 20/11/2013 7:58 AM, Luc-Eric Rousseau wrote:
>>>
>>>  Given the rate of development judging by past releases I'd say it's off by
>>> at least another
>>> three years, and even only if you guys manage to cram Bifrost into it in a
>>> usable way like ICE
>>> was crammed into Softimage, and do some major rework of the GUI.
>>>
>>>  ICE in a conversation about usability? It's the most complex thing you
>>> need to spend time learning in Softimage, and I think most users have
>>> not wrapped their heads around it (? would need some statistics). I'll
>>> never be at ease with it myself, you need to need it and invest in it.
>>>
>>> This isn't the right thread for it, but it's always good in any case
>>> to send feedback about what you think makes Softimage more usable. It
>>> often boiled down to familiarity as opposed to actual 

Re: Softimage and Alembic?

[Peter Agg]

Yeah, I think there's a big difference between ICE being difficult to
understand and difficult to use. I've seen people with a good maths
background start doing shots after a half hour introduction and I've seen
people with no maths knowledge struggle to use it after years of experience.

I do think it's objectively better than either Maya's or Houdini's
equivalents.


On 20 November 2013 15:37, Guillaume Laforge  wrote:

> I agree with Sergio.
>
> Lets not oversimplify the user experience. Of course ICE is not a simple
> user interface as it is not just some menu/buttons/PPG to clicks on.
> But it is very well designed for what it does and it does is quiet well !
> I'm still impressed by such technology knowing that XSI was not design for
> ICE at its beginning.
>
> Cheers
>
> Guillaume Laforge
>
> PS: As soon as I'm hearing the word "user experience", I'm scared and run
> far away from any Apple store :).
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 10:18 AM, Sergio Mucino  > wrote:
>
>>  I guess I'll have to be a part of the minority here. I had never worked
>> with XSI before 2 months ago (although curiously, I got started in 3D with
>> Softimage ~ 18 years ago). I jumped into ICE a few days, and it literally
>> took me less than an hour to wrap my head around it. Granted, I'm not using
>> it for super advanced stuff yet, and my experience with XSI is limited to
>> the rigging department, but I found ICE to be one of the most user-friendly
>> node-based environments I've used (along with Modo's schematic workspaces).
>> I was delighted with how easy was to understand what the nodes do. Their
>> names are clear, and their ports have names that actually depict what they
>> do (in contrast to Maya's nodes, which require plain experience to
>> understand what they do... and good luck if you're trying a few nodes by
>> yourself at first!). Maya's nodes could really use a kick in the butt (a
>> hard one) in the usability department, and Softimage should be the model to
>> follow here.
>> As for the rest of the Maya UI goes, I really don't understand what is
>> the problem people have with it. I find it easy to go around once you know
>> where things are (which will happen with ANY application you move into
>> anyway), and I can work at a pretty good pace with it. I guess it's just a
>> matter of familiarity... SI was difficult for me the first week. After
>> that, I was able to start being productive.
>> Anyway, I don't want to make this unnecessarily longer than needed. I
>> just wanted to share my experience with SI in the usability department (and
>> being an ex-software designer, I tend to unconsciously keep an eye on these
>> kind of things).
>> Okay... my only pseudo-nag is the overall plastic-y look of the SI UI
>> (and it's brighter-than-I'd-like, non-customizable gray color scheme). It
>> looks like my blender at home. That's all! *ducks* ;-)
>>
>>
>> On 20/11/2013 7:58 AM, Luc-Eric Rousseau wrote:
>>
>>  Given the rate of development judging by past releases I'd say it's off by
>> at least another
>> three years, and even only if you guys manage to cram Bifrost into it in a
>> usable way like ICE
>> was crammed into Softimage, and do some major rework of the GUI.
>>
>>  ICE in a conversation about usability? It's the most complex thing you
>> need to spend time learning in Softimage, and I think most users have
>> not wrapped their heads around it (? would need some statistics). I'll
>> never be at ease with it myself, you need to need it and invest in it.
>>
>> This isn't the right thread for it, but it's always good in any case
>> to send feedback about what you think makes Softimage more usable. It
>> often boiled down to familiarity as opposed to actual ease of use
>> (which should be measurable on a new user).   You will always find
>> your way around and be more productive in the software that you're the
>> most invested in, it becomes second nature to you.  You've got the hot
>> keys burned into your muscle, you've got your habits (sometimes
>> workarounds), etc.  It depends when you learn it, too. There is an
>> Anthony Rossano book out there about XSI that teaches new users in the
>> first chapter how to make XSI awesome by turning all the preferences
>> back to Softimage|3D emulation modes.  F** those sticky keys and
>> manipulators, right?  There is a certain age (the 30s?) when we stop
>> learning new things if we don't push ourselves in the butt..
>>
>> On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 3:22 AM, Stefan Kubicek  
>>  wrote:
>>
>>  Luc, that sounds like Maya will finally have it's user interface replaced
>> with a usable interface.
>> It's still a pity, I'd much rather see you working on Softimage than on
>> anything else :-/
>>
>> Five years ago I was arguing with a former colleague that if you'd start to
>> develop Maya in
>> the right directions it would still take at least five years to get it up to
>> the reliability
>> and userfriendliness we have in Softimage, and only if Softs development was
>> stagnant

Re: Softimage and Alembic?

[Guillaume Laforge]

I agree with Sergio.

Lets not oversimplify the user experience. Of course ICE is not a simple
user interface as it is not just some menu/buttons/PPG to clicks on.
But it is very well designed for what it does and it does is quiet well !
I'm still impressed by such technology knowing that XSI was not design for
ICE at its beginning.

Cheers

Guillaume Laforge

PS: As soon as I'm hearing the word "user experience", I'm scared and run
far away from any Apple store :).


On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 10:18 AM, Sergio Mucino
wrote:

>  I guess I'll have to be a part of the minority here. I had never worked
> with XSI before 2 months ago (although curiously, I got started in 3D with
> Softimage ~ 18 years ago). I jumped into ICE a few days, and it literally
> took me less than an hour to wrap my head around it. Granted, I'm not using
> it for super advanced stuff yet, and my experience with XSI is limited to
> the rigging department, but I found ICE to be one of the most user-friendly
> node-based environments I've used (along with Modo's schematic workspaces).
> I was delighted with how easy was to understand what the nodes do. Their
> names are clear, and their ports have names that actually depict what they
> do (in contrast to Maya's nodes, which require plain experience to
> understand what they do... and good luck if you're trying a few nodes by
> yourself at first!). Maya's nodes could really use a kick in the butt (a
> hard one) in the usability department, and Softimage should be the model to
> follow here.
> As for the rest of the Maya UI goes, I really don't understand what is the
> problem people have with it. I find it easy to go around once you know
> where things are (which will happen with ANY application you move into
> anyway), and I can work at a pretty good pace with it. I guess it's just a
> matter of familiarity... SI was difficult for me the first week. After
> that, I was able to start being productive.
> Anyway, I don't want to make this unnecessarily longer than needed. I just
> wanted to share my experience with SI in the usability department (and
> being an ex-software designer, I tend to unconsciously keep an eye on these
> kind of things).
> Okay... my only pseudo-nag is the overall plastic-y look of the SI UI (and
> it's brighter-than-I'd-like, non-customizable gray color scheme). It looks
> like my blender at home. That's all! *ducks* ;-)
>
>
> On 20/11/2013 7:58 AM, Luc-Eric Rousseau wrote:
>
>  Given the rate of development judging by past releases I'd say it's off by
> at least another
> three years, and even only if you guys manage to cram Bifrost into it in a
> usable way like ICE
> was crammed into Softimage, and do some major rework of the GUI.
>
>  ICE in a conversation about usability? It's the most complex thing you
> need to spend time learning in Softimage, and I think most users have
> not wrapped their heads around it (? would need some statistics). I'll
> never be at ease with it myself, you need to need it and invest in it.
>
> This isn't the right thread for it, but it's always good in any case
> to send feedback about what you think makes Softimage more usable. It
> often boiled down to familiarity as opposed to actual ease of use
> (which should be measurable on a new user).   You will always find
> your way around and be more productive in the software that you're the
> most invested in, it becomes second nature to you.  You've got the hot
> keys burned into your muscle, you've got your habits (sometimes
> workarounds), etc.  It depends when you learn it, too. There is an
> Anthony Rossano book out there about XSI that teaches new users in the
> first chapter how to make XSI awesome by turning all the preferences
> back to Softimage|3D emulation modes.  F** those sticky keys and
> manipulators, right?  There is a certain age (the 30s?) when we stop
> learning new things if we don't push ourselves in the butt..
>
> On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 3:22 AM, Stefan Kubicek  
>  wrote:
>
>  Luc, that sounds like Maya will finally have it's user interface replaced
> with a usable interface.
> It's still a pity, I'd much rather see you working on Softimage than on
> anything else :-/
>
> Five years ago I was arguing with a former colleague that if you'd start to
> develop Maya in
> the right directions it would still take at least five years to get it up to
> the reliability
> and userfriendliness we have in Softimage, and only if Softs development was
> stagnant during
> that period. In hindsight this estimate was overly optimistic.
> Given the rate of development judging by past releases I'd say it's off by
> at least another
> three years, and even only if you guys manage to cram Bifrost into it in a
> usable way like ICE
> was crammed into Softimage, and do some major rework of the GUI.
>
> In an attempt to think way out of the box I suggest we find a way to sneak
> someone Softimage-affine into the
> top ranks at AD$K to make decisions that are right for us instead of
> share

Re: Softimage and Alembic?

[Sergio Mucino]

  
  
I guess I'll have to be a part of the minority here. I had never
worked with XSI before 2 months ago (although curiously, I got
started in 3D with Softimage ~ 18 years ago). I jumped into ICE a
few days, and it literally took me less than an hour to wrap my head
around it. Granted, I'm not using it for super advanced stuff yet,
and my experience with XSI is limited to the rigging department, but
I found ICE to be one of the most user-friendly node-based
environments I've used (along with Modo's schematic workspaces). I
was delighted with how easy was to understand what the nodes do.
Their names are clear, and their ports have names that actually
depict what they do (in contrast to Maya's nodes, which require
plain experience to understand what they do... and good luck if
you're trying a few nodes by yourself at first!). Maya's nodes could
really use a kick in the butt (a hard one) in the usability
department, and Softimage should be the model to follow here.
As for the rest of the Maya UI goes, I really don't understand what
is the problem people have with it. I find it easy to go around once
you know where things are (which will happen with ANY application
you move into anyway), and I can work at a pretty good pace with it.
I guess it's just a matter of familiarity... SI was difficult for me
the first week. After that, I was able to start being productive.
Anyway, I don't want to make this unnecessarily longer than needed.
I just wanted to share my experience with SI in the usability
department (and being an ex-software designer, I tend to
unconsciously keep an eye on these kind of things).
Okay... my only pseudo-nag is the overall plastic-y look of the SI
UI (and it's brighter-than-I'd-like, non-customizable gray color
scheme). It looks like my blender at home. That's all! *ducks*  ;-) 

  

On 20/11/2013 7:58 AM, Luc-Eric Rousseau wrote:

  
Given the rate of development judging by past releases I'd say it's off by
at least another
three years, and even only if you guys manage to cram Bifrost into it in a
usable way like ICE
was crammed into Softimage, and do some major rework of the GUI.

  
  
ICE in a conversation about usability? It's the most complex thing you
need to spend time learning in Softimage, and I think most users have
not wrapped their heads around it (? would need some statistics). I'll
never be at ease with it myself, you need to need it and invest in it.

This isn't the right thread for it, but it's always good in any case
to send feedback about what you think makes Softimage more usable. It
often boiled down to familiarity as opposed to actual ease of use
(which should be measurable on a new user).   You will always find
your way around and be more productive in the software that you're the
most invested in, it becomes second nature to you.  You've got the hot
keys burned into your muscle, you've got your habits (sometimes
workarounds), etc.  It depends when you learn it, too. There is an
Anthony Rossano book out there about XSI that teaches new users in the
first chapter how to make XSI awesome by turning all the preferences
back to Softimage|3D emulation modes.  F** those sticky keys and
manipulators, right?  There is a certain age (the 30s?) when we stop
learning new things if we don't push ourselves in the butt..

On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 3:22 AM, Stefan Kubicek  wrote:

  
Luc, that sounds like Maya will finally have it's user interface replaced
with a usable interface.
It's still a pity, I'd much rather see you working on Softimage than on
anything else :-/

Five years ago I was arguing with a former colleague that if you'd start to
develop Maya in
the right directions it would still take at least five years to get it up to
the reliability
and userfriendliness we have in Softimage, and only if Softs development was
stagnant during
that period. In hindsight this estimate was overly optimistic.
Given the rate of development judging by past releases I'd say it's off by
at least another
three years, and even only if you guys manage to cram Bifrost into it in a
usable way like ICE
was crammed into Softimage, and do some major rework of the GUI.

In an attempt to think way out of the box I suggest we find a way to sneak
someone Softimage-affine into the
top ranks at AD$K to make decisions that are right for us instead of
shareholders only.
Any one around here with pointed elbows and a background in political
engineering willing to conspire ? ;-)

  
  


  

RE: Softimage and Alembic?

[Graham Bell]

You should know better to ask a question like that. :-)
We're not permitted to divulge resource levels.

I've replied to some people off list re: Alembic, but if people have questions, 
then feel free to contact me.


G


-Original Message-
From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Matt Lind
Sent: 19 November 2013 19:25
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: RE: Softimage and Alembic?

How big is the maya team anyway?



-Original Message-
From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Luc-Eric Rousseau
Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2013 11:24 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: Softimage and Alembic?

On Tue, Nov 19, 2013 at 12:54 PM, Mirko Jankovic  
wrote:
> "Well, we're responsible for the windows port of Alembic and other 
> integration work.  And we develop feature with it like the GPU cache, 
> alembic caching in xgen, support in scene assembly and other 
> things."... for Maya.. forgot to add that ;)
>
> Sry couldn't resist. Keep making Maya better addon for Softimage 
> Cheers

That's my job even more than ever! I've recently become the head of the maya 
user interface team.

<>

Re: Softimage and Alembic?

[Eugen Sares]

Could we take this Softimage vs. Maya user interface discussion to 
somewhere decent?

What would be a good place? Maya forum? Softimage forum?
It's a very interesting topic for sure!
I for my part want to learn Maya a bit more if I find the time, because 
I have the feeling that camp-thinking (like I often practiced) does not 
pay off in the end.


But as you say, some serious butt-pushing is necessary to dig Maya... 
necessarily so? It's not that I did not try...

(let's not go into any details here)

Anyway, much success, Luc-Eric, with that endeavor! Might come the time 
when we will profit from your efforts (again).



Am 20.11.2013 13:58, schrieb Luc-Eric Rousseau:

Given the rate of development judging by past releases I'd say it's off by
at least another
three years, and even only if you guys manage to cram Bifrost into it in a
usable way like ICE
was crammed into Softimage, and do some major rework of the GUI.

ICE in a conversation about usability? It's the most complex thing you
need to spend time learning in Softimage, and I think most users have
not wrapped their heads around it (? would need some statistics). I'll
never be at ease with it myself, you need to need it and invest in it.

This isn't the right thread for it, but it's always good in any case
to send feedback about what you think makes Softimage more usable. It
often boiled down to familiarity as opposed to actual ease of use
(which should be measurable on a new user).   You will always find
your way around and be more productive in the software that you're the
most invested in, it becomes second nature to you.  You've got the hot
keys burned into your muscle, you've got your habits (sometimes
workarounds), etc.  It depends when you learn it, too. There is an
Anthony Rossano book out there about XSI that teaches new users in the
first chapter how to make XSI awesome by turning all the preferences
back to Softimage|3D emulation modes.  F** those sticky keys and
manipulators, right?  There is a certain age (the 30s?) when we stop
learning new things if we don't push ourselves in the butt..

On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 3:22 AM, Stefan Kubicek  wrote:

Luc, that sounds like Maya will finally have it's user interface replaced
with a usable interface.
It's still a pity, I'd much rather see you working on Softimage than on
anything else :-/

Five years ago I was arguing with a former colleague that if you'd start to
develop Maya in
the right directions it would still take at least five years to get it up to
the reliability
and userfriendliness we have in Softimage, and only if Softs development was
stagnant during
that period. In hindsight this estimate was overly optimistic.
Given the rate of development judging by past releases I'd say it's off by
at least another
three years, and even only if you guys manage to cram Bifrost into it in a
usable way like ICE
was crammed into Softimage, and do some major rework of the GUI.

In an attempt to think way out of the box I suggest we find a way to sneak
someone Softimage-affine into the
top ranks at AD$K to make decisions that are right for us instead of
shareholders only.
Any one around here with pointed elbows and a background in political
engineering willing to conspire ? ;-)



---
Diese E-Mail ist frei von Viren und Malware, denn der avast! Antivirus Schutz 
ist aktiv.
http://www.avast.com

Re: Softimage and Alembic?

[Luc-Eric Rousseau]

> Given the rate of development judging by past releases I'd say it's off by
> at least another
> three years, and even only if you guys manage to cram Bifrost into it in a
> usable way like ICE
> was crammed into Softimage, and do some major rework of the GUI.

ICE in a conversation about usability? It's the most complex thing you
need to spend time learning in Softimage, and I think most users have
not wrapped their heads around it (? would need some statistics). I'll
never be at ease with it myself, you need to need it and invest in it.

This isn't the right thread for it, but it's always good in any case
to send feedback about what you think makes Softimage more usable. It
often boiled down to familiarity as opposed to actual ease of use
(which should be measurable on a new user).   You will always find
your way around and be more productive in the software that you're the
most invested in, it becomes second nature to you.  You've got the hot
keys burned into your muscle, you've got your habits (sometimes
workarounds), etc.  It depends when you learn it, too. There is an
Anthony Rossano book out there about XSI that teaches new users in the
first chapter how to make XSI awesome by turning all the preferences
back to Softimage|3D emulation modes.  F** those sticky keys and
manipulators, right?  There is a certain age (the 30s?) when we stop
learning new things if we don't push ourselves in the butt..

On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 3:22 AM, Stefan Kubicek  wrote:
> Luc, that sounds like Maya will finally have it's user interface replaced
> with a usable interface.
> It's still a pity, I'd much rather see you working on Softimage than on
> anything else :-/
>
> Five years ago I was arguing with a former colleague that if you'd start to
> develop Maya in
> the right directions it would still take at least five years to get it up to
> the reliability
> and userfriendliness we have in Softimage, and only if Softs development was
> stagnant during
> that period. In hindsight this estimate was overly optimistic.
> Given the rate of development judging by past releases I'd say it's off by
> at least another
> three years, and even only if you guys manage to cram Bifrost into it in a
> usable way like ICE
> was crammed into Softimage, and do some major rework of the GUI.
>
> In an attempt to think way out of the box I suggest we find a way to sneak
> someone Softimage-affine into the
> top ranks at AD$K to make decisions that are right for us instead of
> shareholders only.
> Any one around here with pointed elbows and a background in political
> engineering willing to conspire ? ;-)

Re: Softimage and Alembic?

[Rob Chapman]

marc petit was meant to be that person no?  insert meme picture of captain
luc picard holding his head in his hands
http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/001/582/picard-facepalm.jpg?1240934151


softimage princess locked up in her tower of doom - who will be her
champion now?


On 20 November 2013 08:22, Stefan Kubicek  wrote:

> Luc, that sounds like Maya will finally have it's user interface replaced
> with a usable interface.
> It's still a pity, I'd much rather see you working on Softimage than on
> anything else :-/
>
> Five years ago I was arguing with a former colleague that if you'd start
> to develop Maya in
> the right directions it would still take at least five years to get it up
> to the reliability
> and userfriendliness we have in Softimage, and only if Softs development
> was stagnant during
> that period. In hindsight this estimate was overly optimistic.
> Given the rate of development judging by past releases I'd say it's off by
> at least another
> three years, and even only if you guys manage to cram Bifrost into it in a
> usable way like ICE
> was crammed into Softimage, and do some major rework of the GUI.
>
> In an attempt to think way out of the box I suggest we find a way to sneak
> someone Softimage-affine into the
> top ranks at AD$K to make decisions that are right for us instead of
> shareholders only.
> Any one around here with pointed elbows and a background in political
> engineering willing to conspire ? ;-)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>  On Tue, Nov 19, 2013 at 12:54 PM, Mirko Jankovic
>>  wrote:
>>
>>> "Well, we're responsible for the windows port of Alembic and other
>>> integration work.  And we develop feature with it like the GPU cache,
>>> alembic caching in xgen, support in scene assembly and other things."...
>>> for
>>> Maya.. forgot to add that ;)
>>>
>>> Sry couldn't resist. Keep making Maya better addon for Softimage
>>> Cheers
>>>
>>
>> That's my job even more than ever! I've recently become the head of
>> the maya user interface team.
>>
>>
>
> --
> -
>   Stefan Kubicek   ste...@keyvis.at
> -
>keyvis digital imagery
>   Alfred Feierfeilstraße 3
>A-2380 Perchtoldsdorf bei Wien
> Phone:  +43 (0) 699 12614231
>  www.keyvis.at
> --   This email and its attachments are--
> -- confidential and for the recipient only --
>
>

Re: Dynamic ICE wireframe

[Tony Naqvi]

Thanks ED, gave it a try, but the shapes are fairly complex so can’t see a way 
of making that work.

Still need to have the dynamic element too – no nearer to seeing a way forward 
with that.

Cheers
Tony

Tony Naqvi
Creative Director

[cid:0E07D02D-2381-4866-BF7E-1EB49128A994]
Tel:+44 (0)1483 277765
Mobile:  +44 (0) 7841 199385
wearesmartcookie.com



This email and its contents are subject at all times to our Terms and 
Conditions.

From: Ed Manning mailto:etmth...@gmail.com>>
Reply-To: 
"softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" 
mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>>
Date: Tuesday, 19 November 2013 20:35
To: "softimage@listproc.autodesk.com" 
mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>>
Subject: Re: Dynamic ICE wireframe

I'd think about making something that could plausibly shrinkwrap onto both 
objects, if they're topologically similar, and use those shapes to drive the 
ICE cloud.


On Tue, Nov 19, 2013 at 3:30 PM, Tony Naqvi 
mailto:tony.na...@wearesmartcookie.com>> wrote:
Hi Alan.
Different meshes, averaging the number of points/vertices.

Cheers
Tony

On 19 Nov 2013, at 20:27, "Alan Fregtman" 
mailto:alan.fregt...@gmail.com>> wrote:

Are you after a morph between topologically identical meshes? Or completely 
different meshes?

If the latter, how would you expect to handle the changes in amounts of points?



On Tue, Nov 19, 2013 at 12:20 PM, Tony Naqvi 
mailto:tony.na...@wearesmartcookie.com>> wrote:
Evening all,
I need some help with an effect i'm trying to achieve.

I'm trying to create a wireframe of an object with ICE strands, that I can
then 'morph' into another shape.

I've got the wireframe bit done (although it's a bit too dense and some
tips on lightening it up would be greatly appreciated) using some tips I
found here searching for Plexus effect. Its basically taking an Add Point
node, Generate Sample Set, then plugging in my geo to create the
pointcloud, and then building an array to emit strands from the points to
re-create the mesh.

Problem is, I think the way i've done it perhaps isn't the best approach
for this type of effect. I say this because when I try adding forces to
add movement to the points/strands, it doesn't work (says No Simulation
Root found).

Is there another approach I should be taking using simulated particles
instead of Add Point?

Again, to recap, the effect I'm after is to recreate a mesh with strands,
the use a combination of forces and goals to 'morph' to the shape of
another mesh. And to have a degree of control over the density of the
amount of strands generated (but still keeping the overall (boundary?)
shape intact).

Thanks all.

Best.
T

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Re: Softimage and Alembic?

[Stefan Kubicek]

Luc, that sounds like Maya will finally have it's user interface replaced with 
a usable interface.
It's still a pity, I'd much rather see you working on Softimage than on 
anything else :-/

Five years ago I was arguing with a former colleague that if you'd start to 
develop Maya in
the right directions it would still take at least five years to get it up to 
the reliability
and userfriendliness we have in Softimage, and only if Softs development was 
stagnant during
that period. In hindsight this estimate was overly optimistic.
Given the rate of development judging by past releases I'd say it's off by at 
least another
three years, and even only if you guys manage to cram Bifrost into it in a 
usable way like ICE
was crammed into Softimage, and do some major rework of the GUI.

In an attempt to think way out of the box I suggest we find a way to sneak 
someone Softimage-affine into the
top ranks at AD$K to make decisions that are right for us instead of 
shareholders only.
Any one around here with pointed elbows and a background in political 
engineering willing to conspire ? ;-)






On Tue, Nov 19, 2013 at 12:54 PM, Mirko Jankovic
 wrote:

"Well, we're responsible for the windows port of Alembic and other
integration work.  And we develop feature with it like the GPU cache,
alembic caching in xgen, support in scene assembly and other things."... for
Maya.. forgot to add that ;)

Sry couldn't resist. Keep making Maya better addon for Softimage
Cheers


That's my job even more than ever! I've recently become the head of
the maya user interface team.




--
-
  Stefan Kubicek   ste...@keyvis.at
-
   keyvis digital imagery
  Alfred Feierfeilstraße 3
   A-2380 Perchtoldsdorf bei Wien
Phone:  +43 (0) 699 12614231
 www.keyvis.at
--   This email and its attachments are--
-- confidential and for the recipient only --