GeeJay

Concering the decimation / still retaining hard edges, what are your settings for this? Do you use resample?

Thanks for the reply. I am not really a CAD modeler I just have to create a lot of hard surface models. I could have been clearer in that regard, the measurements don't have to be 100% precise but on the other hand most operations using a brush are out too because they are too imprecise. I was looking for something that is faster and allows shapes to be combined, holes to be punched more easily than in a poly/NURBS application but still retains an acceptable amount of sharpness and correctness. I'll still have to see if 3D-Coat makes this possible, for example I'll still have to retopo in the end. It's more of an experiment right now. If someone uses 3D-Coat for this I would be very grateful for tips and pointers.

Wow, thank you so much for taking the time for this post. The bas-relief tool! See, that's what I meant: I would never have gotten the idea it could be used for this, but now that I have an idea that it can be applied this way a whole lot of possibilities open up.

Hi! i am currently investigating how to use 3D-Coat for precise hard surface modeling and I find it much more challenging than sculpting because it is so unforgiving. So I'd like to ask from time to time how to model a specific shape I am having problems with. If this is the wrong place for this topic please move it! The first shape is this: The end has to be an exact circle. The problem I am having is with creating this circular shape and also with deforming the whole object, I tried the free-form primitives and the free-form pose mode, but the deform cage either has not enough control or it is too dense. I can't get a good selection. I am certain the tools are there to do it, I just don't see them, so I'd like to get some tips to get into the 3D-Coat way of thinking. And one more questions: Are there methods for doing precise selections, can I type in a radius or snap to the grid with the selections? Thanks!

About the dot at start of stroke bug under Linux, this was fixed a long time ago but it seems it didn't stick... I remember Sergey sending me a couple of different .exe's when I reported it and it was fixed there.

What method do you use to detect where the 3D-Coat executable is? I am on Linux and after export 3D-Coat simply doesn't start. Is there a way to tell the applink where I've got 3D-Coat installed? Speaking of which, what is the correct or recommended way to install 3D-Coat on Linux? After all it's just an archive.

Could you try with a non-CUDA version? I am on the latest build as well, just not the CUDA version, and Voxel Grow doesn't work with masks. Extrude etc. does.

What I meant was that the grow brush doesn't respect the mask at all. Also the machine stutters even with a small brush size and low resolution while showing not even displacing the object. I am now pretty sure this is a bug.

That grow with masks workflow looks really cool, the problem is it doesn't seem to work in my version? Is it standard voxel mode with grow and a mask applied? Because that is really slow, doesn't displace the surface at all and doesn't respect the mask. Could this be a bug or am I missing something?

Cool! How did you get the stock and the grip to be so smooth yet clean?

Hallo! Bei mir läuft die gleiche Kombi (Octane, 3D-Coat, Ubuntu 10.04) mit der Treiberversion 256.53 und Cuda 3.0 Ich habe allerdings nicht die aktuelle Linux Octane version, die vor ein paar Tagen erschienen ist.

I reported a bug regarding this yesterday and just got an email that Andrew assigned it to himself, so he is working on it.

The build with the fix hasn't been uploaded yet AFAIK.

Freezing is a very nice possibility that I've just started to explore. But it is not quite what I had in mind.. I would like a button to completely lock down a layer against any kind of manipulation but still displaying it without any visual difference. I need this when I am finished painting a layer, I often find myself drawing on the wrong layer. I guess I'll add a feature request on mantis. Generally speaking I am hoping for an overhaul of the Painting Room layer and masking system to bring it more in the direction of Photoshop from the point of functionality and workflow (Groups, Locking, per Layer Masks etc.) Thanks!

Maybe I am missing something (I hope so) but is there an option to lock a layer so you see it but can't paint on it anymore?

That's true but what I want is to paint a 2D grayscale layer and use that as a mask for another 2D layer. Painting in 3D-Coat is still painting a 2D image, only that the brush and the object is in a 3D space and the strokes get transformed to 2D. For example an occlusion layer in the paint room is a simple 2D image, nothing 3D about it.

mill, is there another normalmap on the object? Did you bake it from voxels? Because then the bug with the black spots is already fixed in the upcoming version.

Thanks for taking the time to do the mock-ups. What I don't understand is, why do they have to be 3D Objects? I am only talking about the paint mode. On second tought, dynamically masking voxels would be cool too.. But I think for a start adding this functionality to the painting room is a rather low hanging but essential fruit.

Hi! I've recently started painting the first complete project in 3D-Coat and I really miss having per-layer masks. I've tried the masking function in the Blending panel but it is not only well hidden and cumbersome but most importantly it doesn't work as expected. It masks where there is transparency and is opaque where there is paint. Any paint. As the textures I want to use for masking are grayscale images this is not really an ideal workflow. Of course I could paint grayscale, then freeze and delete but that is really not the way to get something done in time. When I do textures I don't only need diffuse/spec/bump but also a lot of grayscale masks to blend shaders and influence other aspects of the material. It would be nice to be able to lay down a solid layer of paint, and then mask those, say, with some scratches without painting in the color layer. I also don't always want to use a mask directly in the brush and "bake" the scratches in the color map, so to say. Is there a workflow making this possible? Do others think this is needed?

It would be nice to be able to use ptex with per pixel mode too. I wonder if there is a reason it's MV only?

BUILD: 3.5.09A OS: Ubuntu 10.04 64bit BUG DESCRIPTION: Adding a folder of .psd brush alphas via "Add existing folder" does not work. STEPS TO REPRODUCE: Download the "All Alphas" from: http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/downloadcenter/alpha/ unzip into folder and add with the function "Add existing folder" A new folder gets created but no brushes are added I am adding this as critical because I need this brushes for my work and don't want to import them one by one. Feel free to move this bug to lower priority.

Haha, like kids in a candy store, and daddy Andrew will have to pay the bill

Wow, nice find. I have no idea how feasible it is to even think about implementing but the possibilities are huge.

I can confirm that behavior on Linux too and I can also confirm that it's annoying.

I'm on linux 99% of the time and love it but getting those devices you mentioned working will be an absolute pain, especially for a newbie. I wouldn't recommend switching OS for a small performance boost, a new OS is like learning an additional application and in case of linux it has a very steep learning curve. Linux is not a drop-in replacement, you will have to make some ammends. That said, I am using it pretty much exclusively for six years for work and home and never looked back.