I have created my first model in MoI, saved as a 3ds, imported into Viz, saved as a DWG and rendered in Artlantis. It is a mast tabernacle for a sailing boat. I'm interested to find a good cheap renderer that will reduce the number of steps.
MoI is now my favourite computer game. I have just downloaded the new beta and seen the info on scripts for shortcut keys. I will try to set up MoI with the same hotkeys I use in Autocad and Archicad. Thanks for a great program and your extraordinary generosity and energy. I look forward to V1.
Oh, and a 'wishlist' item - I would really like a 'stretch' command, to be able to lengthen objects with a marquee.
Also, is there any way to group a selection of items?
Charlie

Hi Charlie, that turned out really well, looks great!

> I'm interested to find a good cheap renderer that will reduce the number of steps.

Here are a few ideas: http://moi3d.com/forum/messages.php?webtag=MOI&msg=788.1

I would think you should be able to get something as a plug-in to Viz that would reduce some of your steps though, maybe something like VRay or Brazil?

I don't really know much about Artlantis, do you need to detour through Viz first to set up materials or something? Doesn't Artlantis support reading something like an .obj file directly itself?


> Oh, and a 'wishlist' item - I would really like a 'stretch' command, to be able
> to lengthen objects with a marquee.

I've got this on the wishlist. It's probably going to be a while though, the type of object structure that MoI uses just doesn't quite lend itself to manipulating objects by grabbing them by edges to move the edges.

One thing you can use in some situations is Transform / Scale / Scale1d - that will allow you to stretch things along one particular direction, you define the direction by drawing a line.

There is one other process that works more like your marquee stretch though, which is editing an object by control points. For a solid, you usually have to separate the solid into individual surfaces first before it will be possible to turn on their control points. You can then do a marquee select of say a top set of points and then drag those up, then re-join back to a solid. Solids don't let you turn on control points normally because it would be kind of easy to open up a gap between what is supposed to be a common shared edge... Each surface kind of has a separate sheet of control points, they aren't necessarily combined into a common set of points along their edge, that is what is a lot different than a polygon based structure.


> Also, is there any way to group a selection of items?

Nope, not yet - grouping and just object organization is one of the biggest underdeveloped areas in MoI right now. But this area will be a focus for version 2.0 .

- Michael

Hi all!

I'm very new here (actually this is my first post), but I was watching MoI growing and, reading most of the threads in the forum, it seems to me that the program has great potential and I could use it in my work too (I'm an architect, BTW...).

Now... speaking of cheap rendering apps, why don't you try Kerkythea?
Actually, it isn't a cheap program, it's a FREE one.
And it deserves a try.

Here's the link:
http://www.kerkythea.net/joomla/index.php

Best regards,
Dan