[Kitsune]

GMAX?!
Last time I downloaded it, it only handles it's own formatting.

Unless the developers have finally created a useful export function or save as.

Great product in theory, but it's meant to create model files that only it can use itself. (Can't import .3ds or .max scene files.)

The makers however, are supposed to be selling patches to let you be able to save as game formats.  (At least that's what they said when I filled out the questionaire for them before I could download it.)

[wEvil]

the idea behind GMAX is you learn how to use it better than anything else, so when you go pro and you'll be looking to buy something, you'll buy their stuff, not somebody elses'.

Same with Maya PLE, only saves to its' own format so you can't open it with anything else.

the commercial version of GMAX will cost ya, possibly as much as the commercial version of MAX.

[Styxx]

Well, the gamehouses are supposed to develop or "buy" support for their own file formats if they want the community to be able to use if for mods... I don't think that or Interplay will be getting it POF support in the foreseeable future...

[wEvil]

Its part of the new big push.

.GMAX , .XSI all new formats that are so flexible you can base an entire engine around them.

Custom formats are out - why bother developing one that does less than an existing "open" format can?  Waste of resources.

[Styxx]

Waste of time is to build code to read complex formats with mostly useless information when you can read a much simpler format that does everything you need. I don't think we'll see that many games with these "standard" file formats that soon...

[beatspete]

well those calcs are intresting but i dunno exactly what they tell us.

Lets try and work out how much energy is needed to to vapourise the hull of the Orion as the lucifers beam does.

Using the volume of molybdenum effected, its density, latent heat capacity, heat of vapourization, boiling point and initial temprature (293 K which is probably wrong since the side that got hit was in the sun, so might be hotter)  and a few simpl-ish equations, the energy needed to vapourise the hull is:
2.38e14 J
How the beam of the lucifer suplies this? You'll have to ask , but its about the equivilent of turning a mass of 2.64 grams into pure energy, or the total output of 11000 large nuclear reactors, take your pick.

pete.

oh and dont try and show off with your big equations, your making me jelous

[Shrike]

Uh, all my calculations were right there.  So how come yours was so different?