3d View in Motion

Hey -

Im kinda of a self taught CAD 3D-er. I have done simple 3ds in the past (using 3d shapes, extruding polylines, simple 3d blocks imported etc). I've used snag it to record the space while using the 3d orbit tool.

My objects typically don't have any material properties attached to them - I use basic CAD colors to represent my objects.

I have a problem. I've done up a pretty large 3d, and while using 3d orbit, my shapes are not staying shaded, the switch to Wire frame, and then once I stop rotating, it switches back to shaded.

I suspect my problem is that I have imported some 600 theatre chairs into the drawing, which I suspect is using up the memory or whatever?

Anyone have any Ideas as to how I can get this thing recorded in motion for a presentation I have tomorrow? (eep - short time line I know!)

Any suggestions would be welcomed!

Thanks!

Format->Options->System->click [Performance Settings]->Uncheck Adaptive degradation or set Degrade when FPS is below: to 1.

You will take a performance hit so make sure you save first in case it causes a crash.

OMG!

Thank you a million times over. I really was beginning to worry about it!!

Okay - It worked for a little bit. But now its not,

Is there any way of me making the file size smaller?

Its up at around 9,000 kb (cuz of all the chairs!)

As I typically work on 3d files creeping towards the 50mb range, trust me...I feel your pain. As far as simplifying and condensing them there are a few methods I usually employ.

Step 1) PURGE - Make certain the "Confirm each item to be purged" box is UNchecked (you'll only forget once ) and that "Purge nested items" IS checked.

Step 2) BLOCK - I'm assuming each of those chairs are a block. Is the block as simplified as possible? I know it's easy to keep adding layer upon layer of detail, but you need to decide where to draw the line. Also have all the elements of the chair been UNIONed that can be? In general, the fewer edges and faces the better. Perhaps you can combine section of chairs into a single block (I'd recommend using the dreaded EXPLODE or BURST command before combining them to simplify further).

Step 3) WBLOCK - You can WBLOCK the entire drawing into a seperate file as a last resort.

Kay - Thanks..

One more quick question. Any other way of recording a video of the file?

Snag It seems to be super Lo-res cuz of all details included?

Been awhile since I've used 2006 so I'm not sure if the command is the same, but I use ANIPATH quite a bit, basically you specify a path for a camera to travel, a path or point for the camera to target, and then it creates a series of renders as frames in an animation. You can set the resolution, shade quality, time and number of frames. Render times can vary wildly with settings so it takes some fiddling.