[--Steve-O--]

back to modeling now on TS 3.2
all i really use booleans for is union of parts and subtraction (making indents) on basic shapes.
can any problems that arise be cured once i start triangulating finished parts?
should i avoid this?

[takashi]

if by boolean you mean extruision, then you should be fine. as long as you make sure all the normals are on the outside

[BS403]

only use booleans as much as necessary.  it just makes your life easier, sometimes the problems can't be fixed without redoing portions of the models. And never listen to takashi.

[Bobboau]

ever.

and avoid boolians as much as posable.
you need to be real careful to make sure you fix all the problems that will show up on the perimeter of the intersection. I would just not use them untill you are confedent that you could do the same thing without them.

[Black Wolf]

I use booleans as vertex creators to save myself some maths. Boolean in a particular shape on an angles urface, then delete all the faces and excess verts it produces, then manually recreate all the faces. Will this produce dodgy models?

[Water]

I use booleans as vertex creators to save myself some maths. Boolean in a particular shape on an angles urface, then delete all the faces and excess verts it produces, then manually recreate all the faces. Will this produce dodgy models?

That would work. Mainly it's a problem for people who can't see/visualize/sort out crap geometry. Conversion software for POF can only handle so much before getting confused.

[Vengence]

Though I use 3ds, booleans can become excessively painful when used unwisely. For example, using a boolean on a complex part of the mesh would more likely mess things up. However putting a boolean in a relatively simple part of the mesh should keep things simple. For instance, booleaning a cylinder into a simple box will work, but booleaning a cylinder into a sphere would make some unusual results in my book. However if it comes to that, you may have to manually fix the mesh.

[WeatherOp]

I would be really cautious in using booleans in TS 3.2. Most of the models I tried to convert with POFCS after using booleans, the model wouldn't convert so be careful on the ground you tread.

All tough, take advice from one poor soul who used TS 3.2 for a year and get off of it.

[--Steve-O--]

been eyeballing MAX

[Black Wolf]

Dooo eeet. Max is awesome, easy to use and has a tonne of tuts around. And you can get GMax (Max 6 without the renderer) for free from turbosquid, then use the .m3u exporter and lithunwrap to get your models into a readily readable format. Or you can download the 30 day trial period and cr...

*stifled by the piracy police*

[--Steve-O--]

now suppose i did switch to max...would i be able to yank my TS models out and plop them in max and continue to work on them? or are the model formats incompatible? 'cuz thats really the only thing holding me back from the switch.
i do like the sound of max's UV capabilites...TS's...sucks, and Lith and i dont really get along. you'd think that program caught me sleeping with its Bitmap wife.
please dont tell me i'll still need to use that hideous thing.
speaking of UV and crap...are there any good Freespace texturing tutorials for gimp?

[TrashMan]

I've been using booleans from day 1..  (using Truespace 5.1)
I used them on practicly every model of mine..had some problems only 2 times methinks..

the trick is to set up the parameters and the objects properly

[Scooby_Doo]

Is booleans in Truespace way different than in Max?
I use booleans quite a bit in Max with no major difficulties, outside of the usual vertex/poly cleanup.  And extruding is something totally different from booleans in Max.

now suppose i did switch to max...would i be able to yank my TS models out and plop them in max and continue to work on them? or are the model formats incompatible? 'cuz thats really the only thing holding me back from the switch.
i do like the sound of max's UV capabilites...TS's...sucks, and Lith and i dont really get along. you'd think that program caught me sleeping with its Bitmap wife.
please dont tell me i'll still need to use that hideous thing.
speaking of UV and crap...are there any good Freespace texturing tutorials for gimp?

3D exploration will convert COB to 3DS format, which Max can import/export.  Mind you, anything special like animations probably won't convert over, but that doesn't really matter here.

[chief1983]

Wow, that program is tough to find.  Almost every site with a version is either down or the link is dead.  The only one I found was v1.83, on a French site.  Any other version anywhere else?

[Vengence]

Indeed deep exploration will do the conversion but as I said either you stick with the trial or pay . Other than that and the hefty price tag on 3ds... oh. That is the problem, isn't it. Basic commercial 3ds can cost upwards of over $3000. I got 3ds7 educational for $600 and these days you MIGHT find a 3ds 6 or 7 for $150 if your lucky. Getting 3ds 9 for that price is dang near impossible. If you know anyone in college with a student discount, nag on 'em to order 3ds for you. Trust me man, 3ds is a superb unwrapper, modeler, whatever. If you have seen my models, they are all made in 3ds.

[Nuke]

Is booleans in Truespace way different than in Max?
I use booleans quite a bit in Max with no major difficulties, outside of the usual vertex/poly cleanup.  And extruding is something totally different from booleans in Max.

now suppose i did switch to max...would i be able to yank my TS models out and plop them in max and continue to work on them? or are the model formats incompatible? 'cuz thats really the only thing holding me back from the switch.
i do like the sound of max's UV capabilites...TS's...sucks, and Lith and i dont really get along. you'd think that program caught me sleeping with its Bitmap wife.
please dont tell me i'll still need to use that hideous thing.
speaking of UV and crap...are there any good Freespace texturing tutorials for gimp?

3D exploration will convert COB to 3DS format, which Max can import/export.  Mind you, anything special like animations probably won't convert over, but that doesn't really matter here.

booleans in max arent as destructive, though i perfer to attach things instead. that way i have more control over what goes into my mesh.

[Scooby_Doo]

Ah ok... I usually attach too unless I need to have both items properly welded together.

[WeatherOp]

now suppose i did switch to max...would i be able to yank my TS models out and plop them in max and continue to work on them? or are the model formats incompatible? 'cuz thats really the only thing holding me back from the switch.
i do like the sound of max's UV capabilites...TS's...sucks, and Lith and i dont really get along. you'd think that program caught me sleeping with its Bitmap wife.
please dont tell me i'll still need to use that hideous thing.
speaking of UV and crap...are there any good Freespace texturing tutorials for gimp?

Well it really depends on you. So far there are two types of modeling programs:

1. Panel style, 4 or so panels each showing different views.(3DS Max and G-Max, Milkshape, ect.)

2. Free roam, mostly one big panel.(Truespace, Blender, Wings 3d)

While I'll agree that Max is more powerful than Wings3d, it all depends on the hands that use it. But, I would suggest if you want something like TS but with far more power, try Wings3d.

[--Steve-O--]

wings 3d you say? how is its UV capabilities? even better question...can you do effective tile texture jobs with it?
and is it free or low cost?

[WeatherOp]

wings 3d you say? how is its UV capabilities? even better question...can you do effective tile texture jobs with it?
and is it free or low cost?

Quite good on both counts, if you look at the HTL Moloch, I did the model work and tile texturing in Wings. But the bigger plus is it's free.