Hi scottpara,

Just had a quick look at your website.
Some nice rendered shots. I notice you have used SU Podium, Vray and Artlantis Studio 2.
I didn't see any examples of Hypershot.
Do you have any to view?

As you seem to have experience of using all these renderers can you give some impressions of what you think of them?
Having taken a quick look at them myself, Vray seems to produce the best results (beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I know). and has a reputation for being fast.
But I also found it to have the most stark interface with a steep learning curve. For best results it also requires you to use its own optimised materials. For Sketchup, these seem to be in very short supply. There are suggestions for converting the vast material libraries available for 3DS MAX for use in SketchUp. For such an expensive program that seems pretty ridiculous!

SU Podium seems to be the most user friendly and well integrated option for use with SketchUp. The next version with its new features, sounds like it could make it a powerful tool.

I believe Artlantis Studio 2 requires you to export SketchUp files and then import them.
I have always thought this to be too much of a kludge. I prefer integrated solutions.
However, I suppose the results are more important.

I would be interested to hear your views.

Regards
Mr S

Just to add to the mix somewhat...

There are those who argue that money should not be wasted on these scientific experiments but should instead be spent on more worthy issues such as solving global climate change or ending world hunger. I am curious as to where this line of thinking goes.

Presumably, these people want everyone in the world to have the same standard of life as experienced by those in the "first" world. It simply wouldn't work to just end hunger in those poor countries. Once that was achieved, they would then want the material benefits of the "first" world.

That means everyone in China, India and Africa and other "third" world countries owning their own homes, cars and all the other modern technology available. That would involve the building and development of property, roads and a whole infrastructure on a scale the like of which the world has never seen before.

Assuming you find this a desirable goal, what impact on global climate change do you think all this activity would have?

I have always wondered whether those of a liberal disposition, who obviously have the best of intentions, have ever considered the end results?

Of course, none of this will ever happen, for many reasons.

A couple of reasons being:

There simply is not enough arable soil on Earth to feed over 6 billion people.
(Even including genetically modified food).
There is not enough fresh drinking water for over 6 billion people.
At the moment, there is not enough energy resources to meet the demands of 6 billion people.
(There is going to be a struggle just to maintain the energy levels we have).

All this warm fuzzy thinking about "world peace" and "ending hunger" is just that.
Fuzzy thinking. It should be confined to beauty pageants.

I'm afraid these issues are usually solved they way they have always been solved.
By War, Famine or Disease.
Not a pleasant thought I admit.

Regards
Mr S

Hi,

I think this provides an excellent answer as to "why".

@unknownuser said:

Q: Can you tell me why we are doing this experiment? I can understand that you are hoping to reveal the origins of mass by smashing tiny particles together but what advantages (besides increase in knowledge) do you expect to obtain from this?

@unknownuser said:

A: Experiment is the basis of the scientific method, without which there would be no modern world as we know it.

The quest to understand the smallest building blocks of nature and the forces that hold them together arguably began with the ancient Greeks, but it was only when we began to conduct experiments that we discovered the electron (1897), quantum mechanics (triggered by precision observations of the light emitted by elements when heated), X-rays, the atomic nucleus, radioactive decay... the list is practically endless.

Without these experimental discoveries, and the subsequent deepening of our understanding of the Universe, there would be no electronics, no silicon chips or transistors, no medical imaging technology, no nuclear power stations, no X-rays or chemotherapy treatments for cancer... again an almost endless list.

What this should teach us is two things. First, it is virtually impossible to deepen our understanding of Nature without experiments. Second, understanding Nature has never been a bad idea - indeed without the pioneers of the past century, our civilisation would be immeasurably poorer.

I do not know what the continuation of this long and illustrious quest will lead to, but I would be extremely surprised if a writer called upon to defend scientific enquiry at the turn of the 22nd Century does not point to the LHC as the foundation of a hundred new technologies, each considered essential to our quality of life.

Answer supplied by: Professor Brian Cox who is one of the LHC scientists at Cern.

A near perfect explanation in my view.

Oh boy, I really like this guy!

He finishes his interview with this gem:

@unknownuser said:

I am in fact immensely irritated by the conspiracy theorists who spread this nonsense around and try to scare people. This non-story is symptomatic of a larger mistrust in science, particularly in the US, which includes intelligent design amongst other things.

The only serious issue is why so many people who don't have the time or inclination to discover for themselves why this stuff is total crap have to be exposed to the opinions of these half-wits.

Regards
MR S

Hi,

Alan, thanks for that link to the video.
That has to be the one and only time I have enjoyed listening to rap "music".

I liked this comment that appeared there as well:

@unknownuser said:

I love hearing from Creationists who do not believe in the Big Bang warning us ,about creating ANOTHER Big Bang

I also prefer my money being spent on this type of scientific research which hopefully helps extend mankinds knowledge of who and what we are.
A far better investment better than all the billions given in foreign aid to corrupt regimes.

Regards
Mr S

Hi James,

Yes, that link takes you back to the original solution provided to me.
But I have had a CAD file supplied to me with site survey data illustrated in text format on a flat 2D CAD site plan.
For me to go round all the height elevations indicated and try to create levels based on those values would be like me carrying out the site survey yet again.
Do I simply ask the site survey guys to supply me a 3D CAD file as opposed to a 2D one?

Regards
Mr S

Hi,

Sorry to bring up an old topic again, but I'm still struggling to get this right.
Some time ago I was provided with an excellent guide on how to create terrain in SketchUp from topographical data supplied by those who do site surveys.

Please see attached .skp file which was posted to help me out.
(My apologies, I forget who created this guide).
It works great, but what file type/format should I be requesting to import in to SketchUp?
I want the site survey marks in 3D avoiding having to plot them all indivdually.

Any help appreciated.

Regards
Mr S
=======SvySymbol_2_Surface_V2.skp

Hi,

I requested a file be sent to me that would enable me to create a terrain mesh for a project I am working on.
I have usually received an Autocad file which contains the 3D information I need. On this occasion I have been sent a file with the .see file extension name. This is associated with a program called Liscad. Vist: http://www.liscad.com/liscad/

Has anybody had any experience with these type of files?
Is it worth attempting to find a way to use it with SketchUp?
Would I just be better off requesting it be supplied in another format?
If so, which would be best?

Previously I have used Autocad files.
I delete whats not needed, import it in to SketchUp, add centrepoints to all the plot points and then triangulate them all. Bobs your Uncle, I have a terrain!
A quick and neat technique I learned from you guys here using cool ruby scripts.

But I'm still unsure about what file format I should be requesting from the land surveyors.

Any help appreciated.

Regards
Mr S

There you go again, Alan.

Providing accurate historical data showing the contradictions, absurdity, plagiarism
and plain nonesense propagated by the adherents of religion.
And will you receive a sensible rebuttal of any kind?
Nope! Most likely you will just receive another quote from one of their holy books.

Regards
Mr S

Hi Eric,

The term "stupid Americans" was what the video was listed as.
It was not my choice of words.
"But..." was a reference to my use of stereotypes, not my view of Americans.
I said there was an element of truth to them.
Not all British people have a stiff upper lip and keep their emotions under control.
Not all Latin Americans have a fiery nature and use their hands and arms to express themselves. But these characteristics are common enough amongst these peoples to be able to distinguish them from one another.

Yes, we could all be subjected to a range of questions that would ultimately make us look as though we need further education. But the questions asked on the video was a pretty simple geographical one. Not rocket science.

My question really was how ignorant (not stupid) of the rest of the world is the "average" American.
Yes, I know you can ask me to define "average" but I'll let you decide that.

I just wonder whether America is similar to the Roman Empire?
When you are the greatest superpower on earth who cares about the rest of the world!

For the record, my limited contact with America and Americans has been very positive.
Americans share too much in common with us Brits for me to feel any differently.

(pav_3j - Sorry, I must be a bit stupid. What does "rinsed" mean?)

Regards
Mr S

Hi,

Just watched a clip on YouTube under the general heading of stupid Americans.
Now before anyone gets hot under the collar I know that not all Americans are like this.
But stereotypes only exist because there is an element of truth to them.
I'm curious to hear from our American friends just how ignorant the "average" American is about the rest of the world.

Anyway heres the link to the clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANTDkfkoBaI&feature=related

If it is of any compensation against the slur, the woman featured is hot!

Regards
Mr S

Thanks a lot.

Regards
Mr S

Hi,

I found this to be a really interesting article.
And what he proposes makes a lot of sense to me.

Visit: http://www.takimag.com/site/article/the_bell_curve_tolls_for_thee_especially_at_school/

Regards
Mr S.

Alan,

I have found it is nearly always a complete waste of time trying to have a rational debate with religious types.
You are faced with the difficulty of discussing issues with someone who has "faith".
When discussing anything you are forever confronted with obscure quotes from their chosen "faith" book.
Logic, reason and evidence mean nothing to them.

I did, however, once have a very long discussion with a close friend (he insisted, because of my non-belief) and after many, many hours of long debate he had to agree that religion was nonsense.
The end result? He lost his belief in Christianity. And I lost a good friend.
I know he blamed me for taking way something that he regarded as important in his life.
Ironically, as an ex-christian he couldn't forgive me for for that.

I am an atheist, and despite this unfortunate experience, I am delighted that Richard Dawkins has at long last managed to challenge just some of the many absurdities of religion. This is not just some abstract argument to be won on an intellectual level. Religion impacts on all our lives on so many levels. I truly believe that the day mankind can break away from all these silly superstitious beliefs the world will be a better place.

Regards
Mr S

Hi cheffrey,

He was actually my best friend at that time.
And it still saddens me today that our friendship was broken over this.
However, if you believe something to be true you should not be afraid to say so.
Obviously, if I could have had this discussion and kept his friendship I would have preferred that.
Would I still have acted as I did knowing the outcome?
Yes. Sometimes the price is just too high to not say what you truly believe.

What saddens me even more is that in todays politically correct climate most people are terrified of discussing "controversial" issues honestly. They don't want to lose friends, family or sometimes even their careers for holding unpopular views.

"To a human lemming, the logic behind an opinion doesn't count as much as the power and popularity behind an opinion"
Captain AHM Ramsay

Regards
Mr S

Well, my original point was that after all the thought and consideration given by Plot Paris towards enhancing SketchUps animation controls it would prove difficult to find or expect anyone to do all that work when the final output could still be let down by the fundamental shadow flaw that exists in SketchUp.

I don't regard that as going off topic.

To repeat myself, any new animation controls could only be appreciated when used in conjunction with third party renderers. But could these added controls work well with all the alternatives now available? Wouldn't such an author be overwhelmed with demands for these new animation features to fit in to the workflow of Vray, SU Podium, Fryrender, Kerkthea etc.

To me, that is the wrong way round.

The core animation features within SketchUp should work properly, then it would be down to the coders of each individual third party renderer to ensure their own product works correctly with SketchUp.

I thought I was making a valid point, but I apologise to Plot Paris (and only him) if he feels that I have taken his post in a direction which he didn't want.
I appreciate all the thought, time and effort he has given this subject.

Regards
Mr S

To "johnsenior1973"

Perhaps if more stamp their feet over this issue then maybe, just maybe, Google may decide to make it a priority to fix it. I have found that nowadays that unless you are prepared to make a lot of noise about something it is hoped that you and your complaint will just go away.
However, if I, and others do manage to persuade Google to act on this issue (I may just wet my pants if that happens) then you can just enjoy the benefits.

I would not keep banging on about this if SketchUp was still owned by AtLast. They were a small company with limited resources. Google is the exact opposite.
If they really wanted to solve this problem they have everything at their disposal to do so.

If you are happy with the situation and have nothing positive to contribute then why not just keep quiet?

Regards
Mr S

Hi,

A more versatile and professional animation addition to SketchUp as you suggest would be most welcome.
But while the shadow bug (still not fixed after 9 years) is still present why would anyone waste all their time and effort on producing something like this.
What would be the point of enabling us to produce better animations with these new tools only for the final output to be ruined by the horrible mess of the SketchUp shadows.
Some may take the view that animations can be produced without shadows. Whats the big problem? But Sketchup Pro is supposed to be a professional 3D application.
Shadows form an important part of 3D work and as part of a profeassional application should work correctly.

To me, this situation is a bit like Adobe saying Photoshop is a professional 2D editing application but it doesn't work correctly with JPG files. But don't worry, you can work around this by using other file types. Madness!

The addition of better animation tools would only be of use if seamlessly intergrated to work with third party renderers such as Vray, Fryrender, SU Podium etc.

Regards
Mr S

Has anybody any experience of using iClone and SketchUp?
I am interested in trying to use SketchUp with: iClone, Antics or Daz3D
But I am not sure which one of these works best.

iClone has just released Version 3.0 and looks as if they have taken some serious steps in making it work smoothly with SketchUp.

Visit: http://www.reallusion.com/iclone/3dx_software_sketch.asp

Does anybody have any hands on experience of this software?
Any examples to show?

Regards
Mr S

Wow Alan!

Another one of your hidden talents.
You must have have spent many man hours crafting all those human models.
They all look top notch.
If you ever find any spare time (unlikely I know) a small tutorial on this process would be very much appreciated.

Regards
Mr S

Hi Stinkie,

Sorry about that, I made the assumption that Vray 4 SU HQ was some third party site providing tutorials etc.
I didn't realise you were refering to the ASGVIS website. Doh!

Regards
Mr S