now thats funny :) so you are the only guy in switzerland using xsi
here? :) i had a second thought when i read the .ch though hehe....
ring me when you got some time!
DB> the way using obj files seems the most secure for me too. collada seems
DB> to work from xsi2max but max2xsi seems to have problems with the
DB> animations. then the Y coordinate rotation is also a problem. i will dig
DB> in it some further and then decide the final workflow.
max uses y different then most programs. in max is y where in xsi is
the Z axis. that might cause the trouble!
DB> after the first 2 days i asked myself too why i wanna work further on
DB> max. there are two things, first i know it very well and second thing is
DB> the network rendering abilities that are very good. i started to like
DB> mentalray a lot and now with xsi it seems to be a costy thing to have
DB> the own render farm. since my final package of xsi ess has not arrived
DB> yet (i use foundation demo right now) i do not know if i can really
DB> render out on 4 network machines including the master using 2 licenses
DB> for the dual processor for free.
hm, network rendering is still a ridle to me in xsi ;)
i bought some smedge licenses (3) and then never touched the max
backburner again. i use it to render with xsi, max and fusion.
DB> the other thing is that i work a lot with CAD/CAM industry formats
DB> (IGES, SAT and so on) and the importer of xsi seems not very supportive
DB> for them. so, for a while i will use xsi for character/simulation and fx
DB> stuff and max for all the CAD-industry needs.
so, i do that too :) and i LOVE to do it in xsi because some hundred
thousands/million polygons dont make it crawl IF its in some big
objects and not in 100.000 different objects. thats the BIG if :)
the way i handle all these things is to use max as a importer (like
from dxf/dwg bc its great in that) and then export the 10000000
objects as obj. import in xsi using the cluster option and end up with
one object in xsi with some clusters (usually colors/layers from the
cad proggie)
currently i import chemical plants, and you might have an idea of how
much pipes, valvec, connection, tanks such a thing can be built of. i
get the stuff from microstation as dxf, import that in max (comes
superclean in) and export file by file as obj and combine them
alltogether for shading/rendering in xsi. max would never be able to
draw a single frame on the viewport.
DB> xsi reflects my dreams of userinterfaces that are simple and very
DB> powerful, that will be a big decision helper. i am surprised every
DB> minute i work on xsi, the worktools are so damn speedy.
this feeling wont leave you for a while :)
DB> thank you again franky to show up your workflow, this is exactly what i
DB> needed atm :)
DB> best regards,
DB> daniel
DB> Frank Lenhard wrote:
>> Welcome Daniel,
>>
>> i took the same way like you, added xsi not so long ago. meanwhile i
>> find my way around it but its still so much to learn.
>> my biggest mind shift was that xsi takes the concepts and builds the
>> tools around it, while in max its just a tool that does soemthing,
>> without much logic background. therefore xsi is incredible powerful
>> and flexible, IF you finally get the idea and start to combine the
>> tools it gives to you. render tree is a good example ;)
>>
>> for my workflow i need mostly models from max going to xsi. sometimes
>> with textures/coordinates. i stay away from using both apps on the
>> same scene. like animating in xsi and rendering in max. i dont see
>> this as a pratical way at all because you loose so much on the way.
>> i tried the new max8 import in xsi 5.1 but still it turns out to be
>> worse than pure obj import.
>> exporting the max scene into obj and loading that in xsi works very
>> well for me and i use it a lot!
>> never touched collada and as far as i read about it its a asset system
>> itself which should be incoporated into the pipeline and not just
>> serving as an import/export plugin.
>>
>> sorry that i cant help you much with the xsi->max question. but i
>> think you will find out that you wont need that anyway. beside some
>> plugin/effects work i dont see any reason to go back to max.
>>
>> and as a last resort you still should be able to import the max
>> camera(via the max8 import) into xsi and render out the character pass
>> and comp that over the max rendered backplates....
>>
>> ciao
>> franky
>>
>>
>> Thursday, April 20, 2006, 5:16:12 PM, you wrote:
>>
>> DB> hi,
>> DB> first i want to say hello to all of you. i own a small production
>> DB> company in switzerland, producing animation, industry viz and augmented
>> DB> reality apps.
>>
>> DB> i have added XSI Essentials to my pipeline 3 days ago and i am a
>> DB> complete noob on XSI. i am used to work on 3DS since 3DS R2 DOS.
>>
>> DB> my main interest is to combine both, XSI and 3DS, to pipe
>> DB> characteranimation data from XSI to 3DS and modelling (NURBS/POLYS) data
>> DB> from 3DS to XSI (and of course frickle on some mapping/modelling issues
>> DB> in zBrush).
>>
>> DB> i wondered if some of you use 3DS and XSI side by side too and can share
>> DB> some of their production experience to get me on track on how you use
>> DB> the pipeline and what toolset is needed for it.
>>
>> DB> i just installed colladaMax and was able to share some data (ok, most of
>> DB> it where messed up). so i think colladaMax could be a start. but what
>> DB> are your thoughts?
>>
>> DB> thank you for any hint,
>> DB> Daniel
>>
>> DB> PS: it is my first run on mailinglists as well, so if i made something
>> DB> wrong.... i am still learning ;)
>>
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