Went with a Core 2 Quad core and 8 GB ram (only 6 GB working, that last stick gets me a blank screen, may be bad) and Windows 7 64-bit. Only things I kept from the old machine are the hard drive (brand new anyway) and the GeForce 9500 1 GB card, which should do just fine.

Again, not top-o-the-line, but will blow away my old system. My first build, lots of fun, learned a lot, and most importantly - it works!

Haven't had time yet to see how C7 Pro works on it, but I'll get to that. Still deciding when to upgrade to C8 Pro.

Thanks all,
Mike

Thanks for the quick replies!

I'm not going top of the line either, but I am going to pack as much ram into the new machine as I can.

Thanks again,
Mike

Used the spline modeler for the locomotive headlamp barrel and reflector, vertex for the side wings, reflector hood and hinge. Very easy and precise, just need more experience. I'm beginning to see the benefits of the spline modeler, and am starting to think about how to model each part in both spline and vertex, rather than just considering vertex. Would still be nice to have more flexibility with spline shader domains.

Mike

I did a test piece in the spline modeler of a typical section of locomotive frame, importing a compound object saved as Illustrator 8. The front and back faces with bolt holes are perfect, fidelity jacked up to 500. However, I need bolt holes thru the top and bottom faces as well. I duplicated the shader  and threw a texture map into the alpha channel - map had 3 holes (black with white background) which should have showed up where the red arrows indicate - and applied shader to the top face domain. The middle hole came in great, perfectly round so I know the map is oriented and projected correctly, but the 2nd and 3rd holes on either side don't show (or are very, very faint). The top hole has no sides of course, as it doesn't physically exist, but it looks good and I could live with it, if only the other "holes" would show. And I can't see any way to change shading domains short of converting to vertex.

Mike

Sully,

I've only recently come back to model railroading after being away from the hobby for 35 years, and really the only modeling I'll probably do is in 3D. I'm actually more of a reborn railfan. By the way it's a D&RGW K-36.

I've been using this software at work since RayDream but haven't really pushed or immersed myself fully into the program - it's not that hard to model and texture an aerosol can, after all. I've been honing my skills in the vertex modeler, looks like I'll have to dive into the spline modeler just as deeply as long as I can get the same degree of accuracy.

I'll keep posting my progress.

Mike

Well okay then, If tris aren't such a bad thing for a chunk of steel, that alone would make a big difference if I simply chose to go back and edit in the vertex room, I could easily cut the number of polys in half - or more. But I did run through the spline modeler tut last night and want to try a spline version. And I remember the automatic domain names, now that you mention it, because I deleted them and added new ones. Too much 3d, not enough time.

I work in Corel and export to Illustrator. My initial frame profile with just the large holes as a compound shape came into the spline modeler great, so I can go back and add the smaller bolt holes.

I guess you just have to consider each part and pick the most appropriate modeler.

Thanks again,
Mike

Shawn - No booleans, I don't trust them. Then again, it used to freak me out when I'd accidentally move the drawing plane, now I do it all the time on purpose. Maybe it's time I embrace booleans - where applicable.

Mark-
I actually imported the profile of the locomotive frame into the spline modeler (without all the bolt holes - added those later) then converted it to vertex. And, I'm just guessing here, I probably ended up using too many quads (did I say too many? meant to say WAY too many). At a glance, there's only one tri visible in the attached screen capture from the vertex room (just found another).

The model is supposed to be cast and machined steel, I want the bolt holes to be smoothly round so I've got 32 quads per hole right there (I can see a high fidelity spline model helping here). Then I transition the geometry from the hole to the flat plane of the frame side, and next thing you know I'm drowning in quads.

Am I too hung up on quads and tris? I may never send the model to another program, but I do want to use sound modeling techniques, just in case. While I want model efficiency, it is a complex machine, it will be a big model, a big file. I just can't let it get out of hand. I need to explore the spline modeler, I like the fact you can keep a model simple and jack up the fidelity for rendering.

Can you assign shading domains in the spline modeler?

By the way Mark, I go back to RayDream 2.5 (? or 3, can't remember) and went to Carrara when 1 came out (although I probably upgraded 2 or 3 times before I did more than open the program!). I probably learned more after an hour or two of following your VTC tuts as I did in 15 years on my own. Great tuts, thanks!

Anyway, back to work.
Mike

Thanks for the feedback Mark,

Worked thru most of your C6 tutorial at VTC, just starting on C7 tut. I'll try out your tips on the spline modeler for certain, I want the best detail for the least overhead. I don't mind doing something over if I can make it better. And this thing is only about 10% along so I need to be efficient as possible without losing detail.

Thanks again,
Mike

Another view from a lower angle.

Thanks people. It's good to hear from "users" as opposed to "reviewers".

The Radeon 4870 might be overkill for our needs. How about the better ATI FirePro cards, like the V8700?

Also, I read somewhere that 1 GB on the GPU should do quite nicely for a 3D program like Carrara. Whadaya think?

I've been using Carrara for 5 years almost every day (though I've had C for 10, was hard to pull myself away from RayDream to learn something slightly different). I'm capable enough with the program to use it for aerosol product label design visualization and building props for label images or product usage shots. I've developed working habits regarding vertex modeling, lighting, etc. that have been adequate at least. I think I'm becoming a better modeler, becoming more proficient at building different types of product containers and props.

I subscribed to the VTC tutorials to better understand shaders and shading, figuring I knew enough about everything else I could just skip ahead to that section. But instead I decided to start at the beginning, maybe I'd learn something anyway.

Holy moly! I've learned something new in almost every lesson, and I'm only as far as the vertex modeling lessons! I probably developed a bruise on my forehead for all the times I've slapped myself - "I could have done it that way!?" or "So that's what that tool does!"

I consider myself a seasoned user, by no means a pro (although I plan to get there) and the lessons have taught me so much and I've got a ways to go. I would highly recommend even a 1 month subscription to the tutorials even for long time users.

Cujos to Mark, not only for the fine work on the tuts, but also for his willingness to help the rest of us out on the forum. I hope to give back to the community myself as I learn more.

Thanks again,
Lumpy

Thanks, everybody. I'll try these tips out. Lots of good basic shader protocols and practices, applicable to shaders for other materials I'm sure.

GKD, yeah bubbles. Anybody have an idea for bubbles that doesn't include modeling them?

Condensation...?

The list goes on.

Thanks again.

Hey everybody, thanks for all the input. Lots of great tips, links, and information. I'll definitely start implementing some of this advice into my 3D workflow. Now, the problem is finding time to do everything.

Thanks again,
Lump

Too many dimensions, not enough time.

Thanks Mot, great information. Exactly the type of "rules of thumb" I'm looking for. I've been modeling for years, but in a vacuum, and while in the end the models work for me, not always sure I was doing them "right". Nice to know I've been mostly right.

'Preciate the link to CGTalk as well. Thanks again.

Ringo, If we buy the downloadable version now, how can we get the boxed version (manual, discs, etc.) when it comes out? Shipping charge, etc.? Thanks, Mike