Modeler LayOut Saving Files

[Hector]

Hello:

I'm having a little bit of trouble trying to understand the relationship between modeler and layout when it comes to save changes.

I have modeled a building and created some textures in modeler. Now in layout I'm setting up my scene. When I need to create a new surface and asign it to an existing object (or polygon within an object) I come back to modeler create and asign it and then save the file. Again in layout I change the surface values according to my testing renders.

The question is, how do I save these last changes?

I am usign the "save all objects" command in layout. But I should be doing something wrong or the command is no very reliable?.

It takes ages to save. After saving it behaves erratically for a while and if I quit layout and then go to modeler and try to quit also, I got a message asking to save the file. I say yes and then I got this message:

File load or save incomplete due to input/output error or incorrect file format.

So I have to quit without saving and when I open the file again the changes are gone despite they had been saved with the "save all objects" command before.

Any idea?

What is the procedure to correctly save changes to the geometry or surfaces when you have both modeler and layout loaded?

Say you want to start working today with a file you had been working yesterday, what should I do,load the scene directly from layout or load first the related objects in modeler and then load the scene in layout?.

When should I use the "Synchronize to Layout" command in Modeler?

I'm using LW 7.5c on Mac OS X 10.2

The software is working fine in every other aspect.

Thanks

Hector

[dwright]

Hi there,

The best way to work in LW is by:

1. 3D Modeling, separate by layers, each layer a material
2. Setup basic surface attributes under modeler.
3. When you think the model is ready or almost ready, bring it into LW and continue modifying the surface parameters. Save the file from LW by saving all objects.
4. If modeling modification is needed then bring it into Modeler and work and save. And then you may start using the sync button.

Note: If the project is big, or if you plan to add plugins/motion envelopes/displacement to a layer of the object under lightwave is better to have those objects as separate files instead on a layer.

The main reason is because LW, wile loading and saving a scene file, it adds a hexadecimal name code to each layer and object. Let say that layer 7 contains an object that you want to add a motion plugin, and then with time you modify the object and move that layer to layer 8, LW will not necessarily record that change under the scene structure, and therefore a big mess can happen some other objet or layer will inherit the plugin attachment.

This is why we stay away of working with layered objects in LW. I strongly recommend using layers for modeling purposes and composite/compile the object as one when ready or by saving each layer into a sep. file. Let me know if you have more questions.

Cheers,

David

[garethace]

It took me sometime to get into using layers with Lightwave, but once you do it is simplisticity itself i find. Separating up layers by materials, is one of the best forms of cg model organisations i know. It is easy to remember afterwards, because the organisation is so straightforward to begin with.

I don't like some forms of organisations of modelling, which necessitate you to struggle through too many dialogues to find a 'layer'.

[Cesar R]

Hector,

What kind in MAC do you have? - I just got the powerbook 17" its pretty zippy, but I dont think its good enough for LW

[Hector]

Hello:

Thanks for your help.

Everything seems to be working now. No more extrange messages. The trick seems to be "patient" and wait until lightwave finish what it is doing. So I select "save all objects" and just wait (not switching to another software) until the watch icon is gone and that's it.

I'm using three objects (with several layers each, usualy one surface per layer). The model is very complex. It is working so far.

I have an emac 800 mhz and 1gb RAM. Modeler works fine but if I have all the layers in the foreground and select the texture view mode It gets very slow, so i work in wireframe.
The model is about 7 mb.

Layout works fine also but it seems to me that renders are a bit slow.

Thanks

Hector

[ingo]

In addition to what David said you can select the changed object in Layout and do a "save selected objects", much faster especially for high polygon count objects. Because you wont always see a sign that LW is still saving an object, sometime you even see the normal arrow cursor, i use a freeware called menumeters, that shows HD and system activity in the menubar. This way i have a better feedback when i do "save all objects".

Regarding the layer structure, i use layers for construction elements, like a layer for ceilings, one for walls..., this way i have two ways to structure my elements, by construction and by material. Otherwise for large elements its useful to make it an extra object, that is easier to handle for Layout.

HTH