Subject: Pointless Speculation
From: [email-masked] (Kevin Bjorke)
To: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 28 Jul 94 15:31 PDT

Hopefully, by the week-end people with real answers will be back from
Florida, clean and sober and willing to talk (ha!)

> NewTek's LightWave 3D Goes Multi-platform
> $995 for Amiga, SGI, or Windows PCs
> 
> Orlando, Florida. July 25, 1994

Siggraph. Last Siggraph: the Screamer. This is not a criticism, but simply
a reminder to stay calm.

> NewTek Inc, creator of (etc).. LightWave 3D, the award winning (etc)...
> will be released as a standalone package for Windows, Windows NT, SGI,
> and Amiga systems...

It has already been asked here -- wither PowerPC? My guess: SGI first
(using OpenGL under IRIX 5.x), then NT under Chicago (OpenGL built-into
the next rev, so some work already done), then Windows (Windows API stuff
already worked-out). PowerMac's QD3D is still far away and unavailable to
developers (another ball dropped: way to go, Apple).

> competitive upgrade pricing for users of other comparable 3D packages.

Read "3D Studio." Want more customers? Include Electric Image and the like.
A new Pentium machine and software together would be less than EI's
modeler-less software alone.

> LightWave 4.0 includes a number of new features, including inverse kinematics
> for character animation. There will also be a new plug in filter system that
> will allow users to add features like real world physics or advanced animation
> features. LightWave Modeler will also feature multiple undo and redo, and
> Metaform, which allows simple creation of organic and aerodynamic objects.

Don't dawdle, NewTek -- 3DSv3 has most of this now. 3DSv4 (shipping who knows
when) also has IK. It costs more than $995, however.

> LightWave will offer the same basic feature set on all platforms as well as
				^^^^^
> full cross-compatibility. This will allow users to bring scenes, objects,
> textures and other LightWave files from one platform to another, such their
> home-based Amiga or PC to the SGI they use at work.

> This compatibility also means instant-access with the large body of
> third-party products already available for LightWave 3D, which has the
> immediate benefit of  expanded opportunities for developers.

My guess is that this is instant access is limited to models and textures.
Macros? Forget 'em... that's what the new not-IPAS-but-IPAS-like plug-in
system has got to be for.

Now about that RMan compatability...
k "color me jaded" b
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  Kevin Bjorke         |  If you draw a picture, and then draw more and
  Animation Scientist  |  more pictures, and put them on TV, then dino-
  Hi Tech Toons        |  saurs will turn into birds! - Rebecca