I use MAC OS 8.1/Poser4.0.0.88/RDS 5.5.1/Painter3D 1.0 Never had any problem importing 3DS files in Poser 3 or 4 except when the model was so big that the camara was lost inside somewhere. The Maconverter or Applescripts (PC 3DS,DXF,OBJ) should work. If not, then you may be able to aquire the 3DS file (after conversion) into Painter 3D and re-export as obj format.

The booleen combinations are very unpredictable with most curved surfaces unless you have a very high poly count on the srfaces. You may create the cube with the rounded corner openings within the free form modeler. Start with a box on the cross section, add a round corner box inside on the same cross section, group them and combine as compound. Then just extrude them to proper width.

Eric There is a MAC version of UVMapper. It's up to version 0.2.4B now and is a very capable program. It dosn't have all the latest bells & whistles as the PC version but does a terrific job none-the-less. I use it to create the tex-map and obj and then import & apply tex-map into P3D to do the actual painting. Still have better control & more immediate preview that way. Ihawk- Sword looks great! You might consider spliting the model into two seperate files and posting part A & B for download.

I also heard that the originators of both Poser and Bryce still own at least a part if not all of the original code to their programs. Fractal Design Expressions was also a part of the Metacreations Mix. The original developers, creaturehouse, has stated on their web page that they have "taken back" the rights to publish the program again and are coming out with a long-overdue update. The creators of Poser and Bryce have stated that they are no willing to see there efforts die on the vine. All of that is beside the point, these programs are really pretty good as they are right now even if worst comes to worst. I've seen some really "cheesy" stuff done on great (&expensive) software and also some great stuff created on "hobby" software. In short, I wouldn't worry about the future of the software. In reality, the spirit and innovations of these programs lies within the Bryce/Poser user communities. Without the innovations, utilites and shared knowledge found here these programs would not be used by more then a handful of people, periode. In fact, the forums have done more to keep these programs alive and did a better job of promoting them then did Metacreations Corp!

Just dl'd the MAC patch & it is 8.2 meg. Transfered @ around 80KB/sec so took less then a couple minutes (digital). I used I.E. 4.5 for browser.

I plan on sticking with RDS 5.5 until I see if MC is going to support the MAC version of Cararra, not just say they are. Been using it on G3/233 desktop with 288 mg ram & havn't had any trouble except in the mesh form modler which is a cross-platform problem. RDS 5.5 is a Big improvment over RDS3D, many more features and much faster renders. Don't think there are that many new feaures in cararra. I don't consider the UI a feature, it's an annoyance. I'd preferr to have other apps running and visible on the desktop without switching. Quite often I like to have another graphics program open with referrence material.

MArtinC, Sorry 'bout that wrong URL & I'll change it. I get enthusiatic when I discover another Mac-User. White Raven, MartinCs' utilities will open up a whole new world for you, see: http://www.main-rheiner.de/homepage/soft.rabbit

I havn't upgraded to Cararra yet so can't comment on that. RayDraem 5.5 renders much quicker the Bryce 4, the trade-off is in the final quality of image but it isn't significant for most things. The camera controls, multiple view windows and overall flexibility of RDS gives it an edge for multiple uses. You can also use a scanned or otherwise rendered image as a backround in the scene settings. The post-render glowes and special effects filters for depth of field etc., are nice and can add a sense of realizm but they add substantialy to render times. It's much quicker to do most of them in a paint program.

I didn't mean to quible about the price. I'm sure there are several people who would give stuff away just to see it published somewhere. I only mean to let people know what it is that they are relinqueshing their rights to. There are many artists who create some very unique and well-done charicatures. If you give up all of your rights to that charicature then you have no right to use it yourself or to sell it to anyone else. That's OK as long as you know what your sellig.

Full rights for around $1.00 an hour? Is that full and exclusive reproduction rights for all media or non-exclusive reproduction rights for web-based usage? Does the artist retain any copyright to their creation?

I have both P4 and P3 set-up two ways. At work both are same hard drive. At home one is on Jaz drive and other on main drive. You can run both programs at the same time if you want. Yes, most ot the Poser 4 geometries can be brought into P3 but you may need to create some new folders. Nick is right on the double-click launch, it will automaticly default to the latest version.

Use "save as" wavefront obj from RDS instead of "export. This seems more reliable. If you split the different colored objects apart in RDS before saving as obj then UVmapper will be able to re-map each individual part (still one tex map). Go back to the freeform model and add control points and create cross sections before and after each silver part. Duplicate model and rename to "silverparts". Then jump in and disconnect the silver parts from the other. Do the opposit on the original and you will end up with two groups in perfect position. One for silver parts, one for balance of pen. Now they can be "shaded" in RDS or Bryce or can be run through UVMapper for new map.

I've had the Jungle 3D CD for several months but have only done a couple of experiments with it so far. These can be used for postwork OR prework (in the form of texture maps that are mapped to terrains). You just need to have a paint program that supports alpha channels, tileing and floaters. I Think Painter 3DSE will work for this and it is a feebie on some of the other MC apps. The savings in render times are significant when compared to "real" 3D. Check out some of the tutorials at their site to get an idea of the potential.

Link for PoserWorld CD PCtoMAC fix AppleScripts: http://home.main-rheiner.de/soft.rabbit/pw_scripts.sit

smallspace, large pace change with that teriffic image. Very, very nice, keep it up.