Accessible and Affordable
Written: Oct 28 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Intuitive GUI, Excellent Range of Tools, Price
Cons: Some Engine Troubles
The Bottom Line: A user-friendly, affordable 3D program that goes the extra mile, with a few bumps along the way.
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| cr56's Full Review: Caligari TrueSpace 4 Full Version for PC |
When one thinks of computer graphics and the 3D industry, if one is prone to know anything about them, the applications that first spring to mind are Lightwave, 3D Studio Max an Maya. trueSpace came onto the scene in 1994, and has been growing and changing ever since. I have been a user since version 2, and since then the program has improved leaps and bounds.
The Ups
The thing trueSpace is well known for is it's intelligent user interface. The majority of tools and actions that are available are accessed through a variety of icons, ranging from the standard primitives up to NURBS and Surface Sculpting tools. The various 3D instruments available to the user are astounding, and allow for in-depth 3D modeling and rendering with a moderate amount of ease.
The simplicity of the tools available allows any user to start creating right away, and the depth of the tools in general seems to increase the more you use the program. The more you create, the more you learn. Some highlighted tools include:
NURBS - Allowing for realistic, organic modeling through subdividing the surface of an object for a more "rounded" appearance.
Metaballs - Also useful for organic modeling, metaballs can have a positive or negative effect on each other, allowing the user to mold and shape an object to their liking.
Inverse Kinematics - Create hinged objects, joints, and skeletons to build a complex character for animation. Support for muscles and skin also included.
Physical Simulation - Give objects their own weight, set the gravity and watch them interact with each other in real time.
Radiosity - The effect of light bouncing off a surface and therefore lighting another surface, including color bleeding. Slow, but very effective.
The Downs
I have few complaints about this product, but the problems I have had are quite detrimental to overall use at times.
Firstly, the DirectX engine used underneath trueSpace for real-time rendering seems somewhat unstable. At times, DirectX simply wouldn't be detected or initialize correctly and occasionally the program would crash completely. Many attempts to reinstall both trueSpace and DirectX never seemed to completely eliminate this problem.
Also, some of the tools are very finicky. For example, the Boolean tools, which allow you to spatially combine or subtract objects from one another. The engine would sometimes refuse to actually perform the operation, giving an error message, and then give you a half-baked version of what you wanted, incapable of being undone. This is very frustrating, especially if you have been working on a particularly complex object.
The best way to work around both of these problems is to save often! Because some operations can be undone, and others can't, it's best to save your work very regularly to avoid extensive frustration.
Overall
Granted, trueSpace is generally considered a "low-end" piece of graphics software. And that may be true in some respects, especially in the eyes of those people who have used more powerful (and more expensive) applications.
But trueSpace gives something to users that those other programs do not. Accessibility and affordability. With an extensive range of tools within the most novice users grasp, and a price that can't be matched, anyone can begin delving into the world of CG in no time.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
cr56
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Member: Colin Regamey
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Education, theatre, dinosaurs, computers! When will the madness end?
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