tredeger
08-25-2004, 05:25 AM
Going through the tutorials for foundation. For the most part I am pleased--I think they have been put together quite well in terms of aquainting the user with some of Soft's interface particulars in the context of a real workflow. The interface is soo daunting and it can be difficult to present it in any order that makes sense. I think they have done a pretty good job of this. (I am talking about the cobblestoneAlley tute).
Well, I've moved on to the modeling tutorial (tutorial 3 or the Tutorial I group) and have found inconsistencies between the explicit instructions and the predicted results for some steps. I've repeated the processes several times and hunted around and can't solve my problem. This is most frustrating because I know there is a really simple explanation and that I'm a click or two away from the solution. But to get there I need a solid understanding of the UI which is why I'm doing the tutorials in the first place. Since the tutes aren't going overly into depth about the theory behind each step, the steps really need to be reliable to give a picture of workflow and how it all builds up into a finished result.
First problem: (tutorial 2: editing properties)
Some views have been preset so that things like GET>primative>curve>arc result in an object whose CVs are highlighted in the view. This is for the sake of the tutorial, but there is no explanation as to how to exit this mode. It isn't standard for a new scene. And in other views in the scene, the same selected object just shows the white wireframe without the blue points. I think the lack of clarity here is quite confusing.
Second problem: (tutorial 3: polygonal modeling/ bolting down the tank parts)
You make a bolt then are supposed to duplicate it along a circle. The instruction has you select the bolt, then Modify>Poly.Mesh>Duplicate Poly along Curve. I assume this tool works by first selecting the object, then invoking the tool, then picking the curve. Once this is done, they have you delete the original poly object, leaving the array of duplicates.
Now, these duplicates only seem selectable as a group--clicking one selects them all. You're supposed to rotate, scale, translate this group over to another object. But all the transformations seem to occur to each of the objects individually and not as a group. For the life of me, I can't find the right options in the interface to get them to tranform as a unit. They transform in unison but individually. It is exactly control of this kind of behavior that a tutorial like this should be demonstrating, not obfuscating. I know the solution is simple, BUT it isn't simple to discover in unfamiliar terrain. And I've now given over a great deal of my life to solving a problem that shouldn't be.
This is just the very first part of the most basic tutorials. Am I in for more of the same with the 60 odd hours of learning materials on the other 6 disks that shipped with Foundation? That would be a design for a CG Circle of Hell. (hey, now *there* is an idea for the next great time wasting thread--don't do it!)
HELP. please.
I think the general design of these tutorials is fantastic, but a few simple BUGS can really make them difficult and frustrating. Manuals need be user tested and debugged just like the software itself if they are to work. Btw, I'm a strong Maya user migrating to XSI and can only imagine how difficult this sort of thing must be for the newbies.
thanks in advance and
cheers,
Jazz
Well, I've moved on to the modeling tutorial (tutorial 3 or the Tutorial I group) and have found inconsistencies between the explicit instructions and the predicted results for some steps. I've repeated the processes several times and hunted around and can't solve my problem. This is most frustrating because I know there is a really simple explanation and that I'm a click or two away from the solution. But to get there I need a solid understanding of the UI which is why I'm doing the tutorials in the first place. Since the tutes aren't going overly into depth about the theory behind each step, the steps really need to be reliable to give a picture of workflow and how it all builds up into a finished result.
First problem: (tutorial 2: editing properties)
Some views have been preset so that things like GET>primative>curve>arc result in an object whose CVs are highlighted in the view. This is for the sake of the tutorial, but there is no explanation as to how to exit this mode. It isn't standard for a new scene. And in other views in the scene, the same selected object just shows the white wireframe without the blue points. I think the lack of clarity here is quite confusing.
Second problem: (tutorial 3: polygonal modeling/ bolting down the tank parts)
You make a bolt then are supposed to duplicate it along a circle. The instruction has you select the bolt, then Modify>Poly.Mesh>Duplicate Poly along Curve. I assume this tool works by first selecting the object, then invoking the tool, then picking the curve. Once this is done, they have you delete the original poly object, leaving the array of duplicates.
Now, these duplicates only seem selectable as a group--clicking one selects them all. You're supposed to rotate, scale, translate this group over to another object. But all the transformations seem to occur to each of the objects individually and not as a group. For the life of me, I can't find the right options in the interface to get them to tranform as a unit. They transform in unison but individually. It is exactly control of this kind of behavior that a tutorial like this should be demonstrating, not obfuscating. I know the solution is simple, BUT it isn't simple to discover in unfamiliar terrain. And I've now given over a great deal of my life to solving a problem that shouldn't be.
This is just the very first part of the most basic tutorials. Am I in for more of the same with the 60 odd hours of learning materials on the other 6 disks that shipped with Foundation? That would be a design for a CG Circle of Hell. (hey, now *there* is an idea for the next great time wasting thread--don't do it!)
HELP. please.
I think the general design of these tutorials is fantastic, but a few simple BUGS can really make them difficult and frustrating. Manuals need be user tested and debugged just like the software itself if they are to work. Btw, I'm a strong Maya user migrating to XSI and can only imagine how difficult this sort of thing must be for the newbies.
thanks in advance and
cheers,
Jazz