ARRRGHH!!!  Don't frisbee the disc!!!!!

I just picked up the 3DWorld issue with both Carrara 7 Pro and Mimic and it installed fine.  There didn't appear to be a button to install directly from the DVD though, so I clicked on the open folder containing files (or whatever it was).

1. That aside, can you use your Operating Systems Explorer to view the contents of the DVD?
2. Have you tried the DVD in a different computer or drive?
3. Since this is a double sided DVD, have you flipped the disc over to see if that side works?

If none of the above works, than you may have a bad disc.  Or, if only 1 side of the disc works, then it may also be a bad disc.  There is a contact listed in case such a problem arises.

If the disc works on another computer or drive, than you may have a bad DVD drive or it is only a CD drive.  I have had drives go out of alignment and some discs work and others don't.  It eventually gets worse, so I ended up buying another drive.

If you can see the contents of the DVD through your OS's Explorer, than just go to the folder and install from there.  This may also indicate a bad or corrupted DVD in which the part of the disc that loads the program is pooched.

Hope this gives you some things to try and narrow down the problem.

Al

There is a problem with one of the Microsoft service packs that does cause the issue you are having.  My sister had that problem with her Compaq laptop after getting her automatic updates.  I called Microsoft support, read them the key on the bottom of the laptop (which they said didn't match her OS), read them the large key on the registration screen (which they said wasn't a valid key) and was then told to buy a new OS.  I found out from a friend who had the same problem, that it is a Microsoft problem and pointed me to a link on their website which described the problem and how to fix it.  Can't remember where it was now, as this happened a couple of months ago.

First choice is to have your retailer fix it for you.  If you end up going through Microsoft support, don't let them give you any crap about it. 

Al

Ron's work is absolutely amazing.  It was his Jupiter 2 that started me on building a Season 1 Jupiter 2 as accurately and detailed as possible.  Kind of got sidetracked on it as I am converting it to Poser right now for another project.

I can't wait to see how Ron is re-imagining  the Jupiter 2 for the web series!

Al

Thanks for the info. 

Seems like we are a bit behind in issues up here in Canada.  3DArtist is at issue 116 and I usually buy 3D World.  The latest version of 3D World is issue 131 and it looks like Issue 133 is available in the UK.

Oh well.  Guess I'll patiently wait...
Al

Which 3D magazine and issue did you get your copy of Carera 7 Pro from?

Al

Hi Phil,

I tried importing the file through InterPoser Pro again.  The file location that InterPoser is looking for is:

C:Program Filese frontierPoser 7RuntimePythonposerScriptsPhilCWardrobe Wizardtemptemp004.obj

I created the path thinking that maybe it needed it in order to create the temp004.obj, but the dialog box that appears is trying to load that file.

I searched my entire hard drive for temp004.obj, and it doesn't exist anywhere on it.

As for the script that spawns the props and keeps the textures, I think the problem may be with the focus being taken away from the script window while it is running.  Once I closed anything that could interfere with the focus of the window running the script, it ran to completion.  This is something that I will note for the future.

Thanks for creating such a useful script Phil.

Al

Thank you everyone for your quick replies. 

It makes sense to turn off the scale option if it is going to scale each imported OBJ to the size of a human.  Will try that later on tonight.

I did try the script that PhilC linked to.  I could see it processing the different props and then hung part way through.  I eventually had to kill Poser 7.  I am running this in Windows 7 64 bit with 4 GB RAM.  Not sure if that had anything to do with it or not.

Also, PhilC, I was playing around with InterPoser Pro in an attempt to bring a Poser character into Cinema 4D, and I got a warning that several different 'temp00?' files were missing from the Wardrobe Wizard folder.  A quick Google search led me to your website.  Is Wardrobe Wizard required to bring Poser characters into C4D?  I believe it was the missing files that caused C4D to eventually crash during the import.  I was able to bring in other characters, but not the one that I wanted based on the Don character.  A work around is to export to OBJ, then import into C4D, but I then have to rig it and create all the actions for it (e.g. lip movement, blinking, etc.)

Thanks...
Al

My previous version was Poser 5 which I got free in a magazine.  I just bought the Poser 7 at $50.  Not quite as good as free, but still an outstanding bargain!

Al

Actually, C4D doesn't have it either.  The reason I am asking is that another software package I use (Animation:Master) does have it.  It is extremely handy as things can really start to slow down when you get over 10,000 patches.  A:M is a spline/patch modelling package.  And A:M is a fairly low priced package at just under $400 for a CD version or around $70-80 a year for a subscription version.

I can see using lower poly counts on some things, but on a multi-curved surface like the J2 hull, the lower poly count ended up in a segmented looking render.  In C4D you can adjust the phong shading which helped the surface, but along edges the segmentation was noticeable.

I suppose for outside shots of the J2, I can use a very simple extrement low poly interior with very detailed textures (rendered from the actual props).  When working on the inside shots, you wouldn't even need the exterior hull unless you were doing a walk from inside to outside in 1 continuous shot.

Anyone have any idea around homw many polys that Poser starts to get slow?  I am assuming this is a 32 bit so it woudn't matter how much RAM I was using with my 64 bit Windows OS.

Al

Does Poser support Proxy models?

By this I mean that you initially use a low poly proxy model for all your animating and tests.  Then when its time to do the final render, you swap your Proxy low res model for the good high res model without losing any of the settings, animating, etc.

Al

I tried turning off the shadows on the lights, but no luck with the render.

Next, I removed the poly's from the hull that were hidden by the fusion core.  Imported it into Poser, and the weird render stuff was gone from the hull.  Turned shadows back on and things were still good.

I am modeling the Jupiter 2 in Cinema 4D, then exporting to OBJ for import into Poser.  It is taking a bit of getting used to the work flow, but it seems to be working okay.  I can definitely confirm that the landing gear bays are separate meshes from the hull.  When I import into Poser, I am going with the default settings, making sure that "Weld identical vertices" is unchecked so that there is no chance of the individual meshes joining together.

Thanks once again...
Al

I tried turning Smooth Polygons off in both of those images and it still looked the same.

Not sure what you mean by micropolygons though.

First, the areas marked with an X (the landing gear bays) are separate meshes that are not physically attached to the bottom hull.

In the top image is the wire frame.  It is pretty straight forward.  A lathed profile for the lower hull, with 3 sections cut out for the landing gear bays.  You can also see the render settings being used in the bottom render.

In the bottom render there are areas that are rendering differently than the others (in marked areas).  I have verified that all normals are facing the correct way.  I have tried rendering with Smooth Polygons checked and unchecked, Final Render settings as well as the default render settings.

Again, any help would be appreciated.  I've been trying to resolve this for the past day or so now.  Everything else is looking okay on the hull.

Thanks in advance...
Al

Actually, by breaking the mesh up into separate pieces around the sharp creases pretty much solved my issues.  It is a bit more work in the building stage, but it works out great in Poser.

As for the high poly meshes, I reworked the Electrodata console and lowered the poly count considerably.  It went from 68K polys down to 15.5K polys and yet still looks pretty much the same.  It will definitely be less of a resource hog now and can use 3 consoles with less polys than just the 1.

I want to thank everyone who replied to this.

Al

Thanks for the explanation on how Poser treats the models it imports.  Interesting reading on the Reyes polygon smoothing.  I used to do a lot of graphics programming about 15 years ago, but haven't touched it in about 10 years now.

And, I don't mind if others post links to their stuff in my threads.  It is always fun to see what others are doing.

I looked at the ShareCG models, and although not bad, I am trying to achieve a lot higher level of detail and accuracy.

Al