What's new in 3D Crafter 10.1 Build 1800
Jul 21, 2017
- New in 3DCrafter 10 is a set of Open Source extensions. The idea is to make it easier for people who “write their own” features. The biggest feature right now is the FBX exporter which is commonly used for games.
- New in 3DCrafter 10 Classic:
- The Navigation Controls is gone. Gone forever. It was more trouble than it was worth. People tended to get lost, get things turned upside down etc. It has been replaced by “Orbit”, “Pan”, and “Zoom”. These are on the toolbar, but they can also be accessed via the center mouse wheel/button. Orbit is the center button, Pan is the shift key held down with the center mouse button, and Zoom is the scroll wheel.
- The Edit Control is now “compact”. It is basically the same thing, but making it “compact” makes the various surfaces easier to click on because I can orient things more suitably. The one thing you’ll notice is that the vertical scale/move are gone. But, all you have to do is right-click on the surfaces to get vertical scale/move. Just like if you were clicking on an object to move it up and down. I want to get rid of the Edit Control completely at some point, but there are really too many things to do, and I want to put out something as a starting point.
- When you select a single shape, the bounding cage now has “handles”, that allow you to resize a shape. When resizing with these handles the shapes edges snap to other objects in the scene as well as the grid.
- Shapes now auto-align to the grid and other shapes when being moved. (the bottom right corner is the snap to point – rotate to a different view to snap to a different corner)
- Autodesk FBX exporter, primarily for exporting for games, including Train Sim World. (Coming soon as a separate download)
- Open Source extensions (formerly called plug-ins) for exporting, importing and processing geometry. They can be installed into both the freeware and Pro versions.
- Simplified interface for novices (optional)
- Improved separation of Modelling and Animation modes
- Support for Java Scripts including in the freeware version
- Windows Store certified installer, with auto-updating (optional). (Coming soon)
- Many 3DCrafter Pro features are now part of the freeware version including:
- exporters for virtually every train simulator including Dovetail Game’s Train Simulator
- 3D Studio (3ds) exporter
- 3DCrafter Pro’s additional modelling operations
- Several Amabilis written extensions (formerly called plug-ins) including the Train Simulator Wizard
New in 3D Crafter 9.5 Build 1691 (Jul 21, 2017)
- This update includes support for scripts written in JavaScript.
New in 3D Crafter 9.5 (Jul 21, 2017)
- The freeware version now includes many additional exporters including for Dovetail Game’s Train Simulator as well as many other rail simulation formats
- All of the 3DCrafter Pro Modelling Operations are now included in the free version as well as a number of Amabilis written extensions. User written extensions and scripts now can be used in the freeware version
- Amabilis has created a number of new extensions including an FBX exporter which are installed separately
New in 3D Crafter 9.5 Build 1685 Beta 3 (Jul 8, 2017)
- The freeware version now includes many additional exporters including Dovetail Game’s Train Simulator as well as many other rail simulation formats.
- All of the 3DCrafter Pro Modelling Operations are included in the free version as well as a number of Amabilis written extensions. User written extensions and scripts now can be used in the freeware version.
- Amabilis has created a number of new extensions including an FBX exporter. These extensions are Open Source and available at GitHub. These extensions will be available for download when 3DCrafter 9.5 is officially released.
New in 3D Crafter 10.1 Build 1222 Alpha (Jan 12, 2017)
- I have organized the main toolbar, the “ribbon” by modelling phase: “Build”, “Paint”, “Layout” and “Animate”. Each of these phases has a toolset associated with it. There’s a toolset button on the left side of the ribbon.
- There are three user modes available: “Novice”, “Intermediate” and “Expert”. These are available on the “Options” tab. Novice is really just for beginners. It hides many features so that beginners are not overwhelmed. I expect most people will want to use Intermediate, which has all features enabled. Expert is for those who want to work more like 3DCrafter version 9. It combines the Build, Paint and Layout phases into one. Unfortunately this results in a crowded toolset, but I’ll be working to improve that.
- The Navigation Controls is gone. Gone forever. It was more trouble than it was worth. People tended to get lost, get things turned upside down etc. It has been replaced by “Orbit”, “Pan”, and “Zoom”. These are on the main toolbar, but they can also be accesssed via the center mouse wheel/button. Orbit is the center button, Pan is the shift key held down with the center mouse button, and Zoom is the scroll wheel.
- The Edit Control is now “compact”. It is basically the same thing, but making it “compact” makes the various surfaces easier to click on because I can orient things more suitably. The one thing you’ll notice is that the vertical scale/move are gone. But, all you have to do is right-click on the surfaces to get vertical scale/move. Just like if you were clicking on an object to move it up and down. I want to get rid of the Edit Control completely at some point, but there are really too many things to do, and I want to put out something as a starting point.
- When you select a single shape, the bounding cage now has “handles”, that allow you to resize a shape.
- The biggest new “feature” is the ability to draw primitives. How it works
- pick a primitive
- click to start, drag, (use the scroll wheel to get the detail level you want)
- click to indicate the size you want
- drag again for height (use the scroll wheel to get the vertical detail level you want)
- click to finish
- with v10 context is everything. You should only get functions that are related to the modelling phase you are in, and what (if anything) you have selected. This will have to be progressively refined through the alpha/beta period.
- One of the goals is to make it so that normal modelling tasks can be completed without ANY toolbars, panels etc visible, AND without having to remember any complicated key-combinations. I’m still working on this one, but it’s coming along. The key is that the ribbon can be minimized and important tools and operations can be placed in an are called the “Quick Access Toolbar”. I’m going to need help in choosing the standard tools and operations to add to it. Select, Select Point/Edge/Face, and Extrude are obvious ones I’d say. But there are certainly others.
- The panels that normally were located along the left side now have to be shown using the View tab. Only those panels that are relevant to the toolset you are using are available. During modelling I don’t think any of them need to be displayed normally. Just every once in a while. I imagine it like this: model… model… model… need to look at the layers – show the panel – do something with layers – hide it … model… model… model… need an oddball operation not on a context tab-show the panel use the operation-close it… model… model… model…. When in Paint mode I kind of think it is the same. You choose a material, and then close up the material panel. But that might not always be the case.
- The settings for an operation (if any) are immediately shown after you apply it to a selection because this is typically when you need them. I’ve tried to make it so that it doesn’t get in the way, but sometimes it does. It isn’t moveable, or closeable. I’d rather it not be. My experience with closing these tool settings is that they always seem to be gone when you need them-and operations almost always need some adjustment to settings. My experience with moving them is that they just end up in the way again in a couple of minutes, so they are constantly being moved and in the way. The way I have done it they are consistent, and it really isn’t that hard to ctrl-center click to pan the scene if something is obscured. That’s just my opinion of course, not everyone is going to agree.
- The “Info” panel on the right is now context specific also. I “hope” it can always be closed during modelling unless doing a tutorial. I’ll need feedback on this. The panel can be closed either by clicking on the divider, or dragging it to the right. It can be re-opened by clicking on the divider or dragging it to the left.
- There is a simple “material palette” on the paint/expert toolsets.
New in 3D Crafter 9.4 Build 1654 Beta (Jan 12, 2017)
- This release improves performance.
New in 3D Crafter 9.3 Build 1591 (Jun 30, 2014)
- The main new feature is a plug-in for texture baking. More information is upcoming.
New in 3D Crafter 9.1.1 Build 1236 (Nov 3, 2011)
- New View Options:
- Each scene view now provides quick access to common view options via auto-expanding option buttons. Immediate previews of the options are applied to the scene via hover-over previews.
- View Options Saved:
- Options for a particular view are now saved to allow swapping back and forth between view modes without losing view position, orientation, grid mode, or view mode.
- Auto-Aligning Edit Control:
- The Edit Control can now be aligned to the current selection, to reduce the amount of mouse movement required to complete common tasks.
- Enhanced Selection Box:
- The selection box that outlines shapes, now includes a color-coded direction indicator to show what direction each of the Edit Control functions will affect.
- In-View Quick Access Operation Buttons:
- Quick access to operations can now be displayed in-view.
- Improved World and Component Coordinate Modes:
- These modes now take into consideration the current viewpoint to simplify the use of the Edit Control.
- Context Sensitive Navigation:
- When a shape is selected, rotation will be around the selected shape. If a shape is selected, zooming (including mouse-wheel zooming) will be directed towards the selection.
- Compact Controls:
- The Navigation and Edit controls can now be displayed in a more compact form, to provide more viewable space.
- Redesigned Group/Pivot Point Indicator:
- The Group/Pivot Point indicator has been redesigned to be more visible and now displays x, y and z to give a better indication of direction.
- New Link Child Groups Option:
- A new option is available to link the movement of child groups to their parents.
New in 3D Crafter 8.2.4 (Mar 3, 2011)
- All import formats are now included in the freeware version of 3DCrafter.
New in 3D Crafter 8.2.3 Build 1061 (Feb 22, 2011)
- This version includes French translations of most tutorials.
New in 3D Crafter 8.2 Build 1506 (Jul 2, 2010)
- Improved Constraining:
- Coordinates can now be constrained using world coordinates.
- New Oriented Editing Option:
- Holding down the R key while faces are selected in the standard modelling mode now restricts tool and operation orientations to directly along the X, Y and Z axes.
- Icons in Menus:
- Menus now include icons to aid in finding functions.
New in 3D Crafter 8.1.7 Build 1418 (Apr 28, 2010)
- This is a maintenance release, with no new functions
New in 3D Crafter 8.1.6 Build 1390 (Apr 20, 2010)
- This is a maintenance release, with no new functions.
- Please note that it is necessary to uninstall any previous version of 3D Canvas 8 before installing this version.
New in 3D Crafter 8.1.3 Build 1340 (Feb 22, 2010)
- This version completes the re-implementation of 3D Canvas 7 features previously excluded from 3D Canvas 8.
New in 3D Crafter 8.1.3 Build 1326 (Feb 17, 2010)
- This version completes the re-implementation of 3D Canvas 7 features previously excluded from 3D Canvas 8.
New in 3D Crafter 8.1.2 Build 1321 (Feb 17, 2010)
- This version completes the re-implementation of 3D Canvas 7 features previously excluded from 3D Canvas 8.
New in 3D Crafter 8.1 Build 1267 (Feb 2, 2010)
- This version includes enhancements to the Rail Simulator exporter..
New in 3D Crafter 8.1 Build 1240 (Feb 2, 2010)
- This version includes re-implementation of video recording, POV-Ray materials and the train simulator exports for 3D Canvas Pro.
New in 3D Crafter 8.1 Build 1208 (Jan 25, 2010)
- This version includes updates to the POVRay export, Snapshots and POVRay rendering (3D Canvas Pro Feature).
- 3D Canvas' user interface has been fully revised.
- Tutorials are now available directly on the Properties & Information Panel
- The Construction and Properties & Information panels have been improved to provide better docking/undocking and pinning/unpinning.
- Undocked panels can now be resized.
- Docked panels can now be expanded in size.
- The properties of components can now be reached by double-clicking
- Parameters for bones can now be adjusted while a skeleton is not relaxed.
New in 3D Crafter 8.0.0.1 (Jan 25, 2010)
- It is now possible to have an arbitrary selection of scene components. It is no longer necessary to select an entire group, or entire hierarchy.
- Undo and Redo now work on changes made to the scene by scripts and plug-ins.
- Plug-ins can now work on bones, lights, animation cameras, and groups
- Groups now have a representation within the scene that can be selected.
- Properties, including the hierarchy, are now located on a panel separate from the construction panel. This panel provides a quicker way to the properties of a shape. It also allows for the hierarchy to be fully visible while adding shapes to a scene.
New in 3D Crafter 7.1.1.2 (Jan 25, 2010)
- A default background color for scenes can now be selected.
- The Scene Details plug-in now displays additional scene information.
- The Optimize operation now corrects more geometry problems.
New in 3D Crafter 7.0.2.3 (Jan 25, 2010)
- 3D Canvas now loads up to seven times faster for systems running Windows Vista with NVIDIA based graphics chips. Most users will see load times at least 50% faster.
- Documents that use many textures now load up to three times faster.
- The main 3D Canvas window can now be resized with Windows' "Show windows contents while dragging" enabled.
New in 3D Crafter 7.0.2.2 (Jan 25, 2010)
- You can now indicate specifically if you want to choose Points, Edges or Faces, by holding down the 1, 2 or 3 buttons when using the Point and Face Selection Tool.
- 3D Canvas now supports 32 bit and 24 bit depth buffers so overlapping shapes render more accurately when in the distance.
- The CanvasApplication shape now includes the new method GetUnits.
New in 3D Crafter 7.0 (Jan 25, 2010)
- Simulated reflections are now supported via spherical environment mapping.
- Simulated specular highlights are now supported via specular mapping.
- shapes can now be cloned using instance cloning. All changes made to a cloned shape are immediately applied to all clones.
- It is now possible to view shapes ten times closer than in previous releases.
- 3D Canvas' title bar can now be hidden to provide more modeling space.
New in 3D Crafter 6.6 (Jan 25, 2010)
- The 3D Canvas 3D renderer has been completely re-written so as to allow for the new rendering features of today's 3D graphics cards.
- True shadows can now be rendered in real time.
- The new 3D Canvas renderer supports Dot Product 3 bump mapping.
- Real-time Cartoon Rendering is now supported.
New in 3D Crafter 6.5 Revision 5 (Jan 25, 2010)
- Boolean operations now produce fewer faces and points.
- The 3D Canvas renderer now displays multi-layered translucency and transparency.
- The Divide operation has a new option to allow for horizontal and vertical divisions.
- The Crease operation now creases faces that have collinear edges.
- The new Repair Geometry operation corrects problems with model geometry such as collinear edges and concave facets.
- 3D Canvas now automatically re-creases after many operations in order to correct creasing problems introduced by geometry changes.
New in 3D Crafter 6.0.2.2 (Jan 25, 2010)
- All versions of 3D Canvas now import the DirectX (x) files.
New in 3D Crafter 6.0 Revision 4 (Jan 25, 2010)
- shapes can now behave as subdivision surfaces where the shape is automatically smoothed in real time as changes are being made.
- shapes can now be automatically mirrored in real time.
- Many operations can now have their parameters adjusted without opening pop-up windows.
- New keyboard shortcuts allow for temporary overrides of the current modeling constraints and the current modeling coordinates mode.
- Operations now support User defined parameters defaults.
- The parameters for primitives can now be adjusted without the need to open a pop-up window.
- Primitives now support user-defined parameter defaults.
New in 3D Crafter 5.7a (Jan 25, 2010)
- Creases all shapes in a scene.
- The Extrude operation is now more accurate on heavily deformed faces.
New in 3D Crafter 5.6 (Jan 25, 2010)
- Export to the Shockwave 3D (w3d) format is now supported.
- The DirectX export has been updated to conform to DirectX 8.
- The Extrude Operation now extrudes edges as well as faces.
- Wavefront (OBJ) files are no longer triangulated on export.
- The Extrude Tool is now capable of creating 2-d extrudes.
- Now supports all available compression formats.
- Supports water and coal intakes for tenders.
New in 3D Crafter 5.0.5 (Jan 25, 2010)
- Train Simulator Wizard Plug-In (3D Canvas Pro/LP only):
- A wizard that assists in configuring and exporting models to Microsoft Train Simulator format.
- Flat-Wireframe Rendering Mode:
- A new rendering mode where the faces that make up an shape are rendered outlined.
- Normalize Fames Plug-In (3D Canvas Pro/LP only):
- Sets all of the scene's frames to the default orientation while retaining the appearance of the scene.
- Fill Untextured Plug-In (3D Canvas Pro/LP only):
- Fills all untextured faces with the current material from the material palette.
- Count Untextured Plug-In (3D Canvas Pro/LP only):
- Counts the number of untextured faces.