Subject: Lightwave enhancements?
From: [email-masked] (David Oxley)
To: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 2 Aug 1994 16:32:25 +0000

Following Sean Cunningham's wishlist of features for LW4.0, I would like to
add mine :-)  I've only had LW3.5 for a week: a week that I've thoroughly
enjoyed so far, but I've noticed some areas where IMHO LW could benefit
from features in other programs like Real3D.  I apologise in advance if,
through my inexperience with LW, I have missed these features in the
manual.

1. Recordable Macros in Modeler

I'd like to see something like Real3D's Record Macro commands, where you
tell it to start recording, enter your normal object creation/manipulation
commands and then stop recording.  What you get (which you can save in a
file and execute repeatedly) is a set of (in Real3D's case) RPL commands
for the commands you just issued.  It's incredibly useful as the basis of
user-written macros.  In Modeler's case, I'd expect it to generated ARexx
commands, but the priciple is the same.

2. Selective targetting/targetting envelope

It would be useful to have the camera (or a light) target different objects
at different points in an animation.  The LW3.5 manual says that you can
only target one object throughout the entire animation.

I guess you could target the camera to a null object and whiz the null
object around in the scene.  But that would still suffer from having to
define a motion path for the null object that matched the motion paths it
was following, and changing one of those paths would mean changing the null
object's path as well.

3. Multiple texture/image maps per surface

I can't find an option to apply more than one map of the same type (say
surface colour map or diffuseness map) to one surface.  Such a feature
would be useful, especially if coupled with a 'fade' control (envelope?) to
determine how strongly the current map should be applied, permitting others
to show through.

4. Texture mapping angle

I'd like to be able to apply image maps at angles other than along the  X,Y
and Z axes.  I don't always want, say, wood grain or a grid to run down the
length of an object.  It would be nice to orientate it freely.

5. Mini-sliders on all % fields

The new mini-sliders are excellent for quick and easy setting of
percentages. Currently the texture % fields do not have these mini-sliders.
It would be very useful to have them on all % fields.

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  / David Oxley, Logica UK / SH5/HR 75 Hampstead Rd / +44 71 637 9111 x1800 /
 / <[email-masked]>  / London NW1 2PL England / +44 71 344 3633 (fax) /
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