Subject: Re: SGI LIGHTWAVE IS HERE!!
From: [email-masked] (Ace Miles)
To: Multiple recipients of list <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 17 Dec 1995 14:40:44 -0500

>for those who are interested: the SGI LW is out finally.  I'd give a review
>of this final version except I haven't gotten my encryption key yet from
>XAOS Tools (I hate SGI's!!!).
>
>coming soon
>
>Josh Tsui

Yes it's here. We've had it for a couple of weeks now and there doesn't seem
to be a huge difference
between the last beta and the final version. 

The list of improvements that Xaos sends look like this:

*Layout & Modeler may be run from the command line or from icons.

*Layout and Modeler config files work properly. Each login account gets one
set of config files in it's home directory and this is where LW expects it
to be.

*All listed image/object file formats work properly, EXCEPT SGI movie format.

*Sve alpha works properly.

*File requestor problems have been fixed.

*Layout will now remember the render destinations that were set for a
previously saved scene file.

KNOWN PROBLEMS:

* There is a memory leak which causes RAM to fill up quickly when using
image sequences with file formats not supported internally by LW. This will
not happen with Targas or 24 bit IFF. Convert your images to these and all
is well.

*After a certain point, the render time, reported after each frame , is
wildly inaccurate.

*In modeler, a blank, incorrect, or non-image filename in the Background
Image file requester will core dump.

* Field rendering option writes even lines first as it's default. Most
devices expect odd lines first. Click reverse fields to remedy this.

*Resizing or iconizing the Modeler window during Background Image redraw
will dump core.

*Some keyboard short-cuts will not work as expected in Layout because it
buffers a held-down keystroke to a lot of single short keystrokes. (ex:
Limited region defenition and motion path tension don't work as normal).

*There is inconsistency in the entry fields. Some willl accept data if the
cursor is in the current window, which is as it should be, but others need
the cursor in to be in the field itself.

* Previews will be choppy at higher resolutions. Reduce the window size
before making your preview.

Well there you have it. We have found pretty much all of this to be true. We
have also had it crash for no good apparent reason. Most of our LW work is
done on Pentiums which means that it's not easy to get files back and forth
to the SGI (FTP is one way). 

Here's the BIG difference between LW 4.0 on Intel and the SGI (not sure
about Alpha)...

LW on SGI cost $2,495.00 AND does not support Screamer Net!!! That's right
you have to buy each and every seat of LW you want to render on! ( They did
say there would be some sort of discount for a site license).

We have a large number of SGI machines through out our building. It's a
shame we can't render on them with SN.  Don't think we'll be buying LW SGI. 

And no the rendering speed isn't that much better than a fast Pentium not
$2,495.00 worth.

-Ace

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*********
          Ace Miles  -  Senior Animator  -  Time Warner Interactive

                       "You're soaking in it!"  - Madge