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  Latest Download: Shape Aware Texture Mapping (Version A) | Last updated on Monday 7th September 2009

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Jamie Gwilliam

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3ds Max Design Quick Tutorials

These tutorials cover a broad range of topics covering key concepts in the use of Autodesk 3ds Max Design in the AEC community. Presented by Jamie Gwilliam of Autodesk.

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Welcome to the 3am Solutions Civil Visualisation Community

The 3am Solutions Civil Visualisation Community is designed to allow you to stay current with the latest developments in the civil visualisation industry.

The primary aim of this site is to empower users of Dynamite VSP and associated technologies to share and contribute information to help improve visualisation skills throughout the civil engineering design community. The community is open to all, although some areas of the site are restricted to Dynamite VSP users holding valid software maintenance contracts.

Announcing Dynamite VSP Version 3.6

Well, it’s taken a little longer than anticipated, but we are finally able to confirm the imminent release of Dynamite VSP Version 3.6.

Including greatly improved support for Civil 3D 2009, and a range of other improvements driven by you - our community members, Dynamite VSP Version 3.6 will be available from Monday 18th August 2008 as a downloadable service pack.  The service pack (SP4) may be applied to Version 3.1, Version 3.5, or Version 3.51.

I’d like to thank everyone for all the valuable feedback that we have received via this site - hopefully you’ll see that lots of your comments have been incorporated into this release. For the ones that didn’t make it this time, please be assured that all comments are still somewhere on the development plan for future inclusion.

We hope to post an AVI later detailing some of the main improvements in this release, but in the meantime here is a link to the full release notes which were posted to the main 3am Solutions web site today.

Dynamite VSP Version 3.6 will use the same licence key as Version 3.51. If you plan to upgrade from any earlier version of Dynamite VSP, a licence file update will be required. Updated licence files are available from 3am Solutions on request to users holding valid annual maintenance contracts.

Jamie Gwilliam - Our Newest Community Blogger

You might have noticed a new User Blog section taking shape on the community site recently. We already have Mark Parkinson in Durban, South Africa and Brian Rogers in Arizona, USA contributing with some occasional Dynamite VSP tips or techniques they have discovered as part of their work.

I’m delighted to announce that Jamie Gwilliam from Autodesk has also now joined the community as a regular blogger.  Although not technically a user of Dynamite VSP, Jamie is well placed to provide tips and techniques on the use of 3ds Max - in fact it’s his job to have an intimate technical understanding of how to get the most out of 3ds Max.

Jamie is a Design Visualisation Specialist for Autodesk. Jamie specialises in the use of 3ds Max and Combustion. His production-proven skills cover advanced animation techniques, photorealistic texturing, lighting and complex modeling. He regularly gives presentations throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa about 3ds Max and its advanced use.  In fact, many of you will remember Jamie from our European User Conference last year, where gave a practical demostration of the use of Mental Ray daylight systems in 3ds Max.

So, take a few moments to visit Jamie’s blog. It’s highly recommended - in fact, I’ve already picked up a few tricks myself.

http://www.3am-solutions.co.uk/community/userblog/

Engineering Software Marketplace Partners with 3AM Solutions

Engineering Software Marketplace (ESM), an affiliate of Transoft Solutions Inc. – developers of industry leading transportation engineering software, announce a new partnership with 3AM Solutions from the United Kingdom. As an appointed reseller, ESM will provide North and South American distribution of 3AM Solutions’ Dynamite VSP and Dynamite SIM civil engineering visualization software products.

Using Dynamite VSP, civil engineers can, with little or no prior experience, render 3D visualizations of projects. For projects developed using AutoCAD Civil 3D, Bentley MX, Inroads or Geopak, or I2D Model, designers, engineers, or planners can communicate and illustrate their design ideas to stake holders or to get a better visual understanding of the design before the constructions phase. Additionally, the generated renderings and AVI animations maintain a dynamic link to the civil model, keeping visualizations updated with design changes.

“ESM’s partnership with 3AM Solutions is especially exciting as we can now offer these powerful visualization tools to a growing number of clients who desire to work in 3 dimensions,” commented Johanna Navas, Business Development Vice President. “3AM Solutions’ Dynamite VSP software complements the high quality civil engineering design application products we currently have available.”

3AM joins a growing list of ESM’s partners. A complete listing of software products and promotions are available on ESM’s website at www.esmcad.com.

About 3AM Solutions

3AM Solutions is a UK based privately owned technology company that develops cutting-edge visualization software specifically for the civil engineering industry. 3AM Solutions also provides world-class highway design consultancy services, software development and visualization services/training.

About Engineering Software Marketplace (ESM)

As an affiliate of Transoft Solutions, Inc, the Engineering Software Marketplace (ESM) is the direct resource for the global engineering community. We offer premier engineering design software at an affordable price to government agencies, design consultants, and engineering professionals worldwide.

Dynamite VSP Road Map 2008

I thought I would take a few moments to outline our planned road map for Dynamite VSP in 2008.

We are planning three no fewer than three new releases of Dynamite VSP this year, and we feel that it is important to outline some of our plans in advance to ensure that our customers have plenty of time to prepare for some important changes in the way that we provide support for Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk VIZ.

As many of you will already be aware, Autodesk’s range of Media and Entertainment products has evolved considerably of late. The launch of 64-bit versions of 3ds Max, the demise of Autodesk VIZ, and the launch of sister product 3ds Max Design have all contributed to creating a degree of confusion in the user base. We, as developers, currently provide either full or partial support for no less than nine different flavours or versions of 3ds Max and Viz. This situation will change considerably in the next twelve months as we start to realign our own products with the latest Autodesk Media and Entertainment product range.

In this article I will outline each of the new releases of Dynamite VSP that are planned for release in 2008, and provide a full list of Autodesk host applications that will be supported in each case.

For Autodesk VIZ users, it is vital to note that we will be ending support for this application later this year, so we want to provide plenty of notice to any users that might be affected by this move to help plan their migration to 3ds Max Design 2009.

Planned Dynamite VSP Releases in 2008

Version 3.51 (Released 15th May 2008)

The purpose of this new release (available now) is threefold:

• to add support for Autodesk 3ds Max 2009 and Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2009 which requires a recompile of the Dynamite VSP plugins.
• to provide 64-bit versions of the Dynamite VSP plugins for users who wish to render or review their visualisations using 64-bit versions of 3ds Max or 3ds Max Design.
• to provide an update to the DynLM licensing system specifically for laptop users in order to ensure that the licence manager binds to the correct Network Adapter during the license request process.

Other than the above changes, this release is unchanged from Version 3.5 in terms of general functionality.
Version 3.51 is available as a downloadable service pack for Version 3.1 (or higher) and is free to users holding current and valid annual software maintenance contracts from 3am Solutions.
To download Version 3.51, please visit the new downloads section of the 3am Solutions Online Community site. Please note that the license file format has changed in this release which means that a new licence request must be made after installation of this service pack. We would therefore recommend that you check the status of your annual software maintenance contract before proceeding with the installation of this service pack.

Dynamite VSP Version 3.6 (Planned Release Date 15th July 2008)

In Dynamite VSP version 3.6, we will be introducing a number of new features, productivity enhancements and bug fixes. Here is a preview of what we have planned:

• A full Mental Ray based workflow and material library including support for mental ray daylight systems, exposure controls and physically accurate sky maps.
• The ability to define “Country”, “Project” and “Personal” Resource Kits in three separate customisable locations, replacing the current single Dynamite VSP Country Kit. This improvement is intended to help large and medium sized workgroups to better manage their visualisation resources by allowing Dynamite VSP users to identify styles, materials and object library content as shared, project specific, or personal.
• Much improved support for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 via a completely rewritten exporter for Civil 3D, and associated support for a newly enhanced vsp3d file format in Dynamite VSP.

There are plenty of smaller enhancements planned for this release too. Further details will be posted to the 3am Solutions web site nearer to the release date.

Please note that Dynamite VSP Version 3.6 will be the final release of the product featuring support for Autodesk VIZ. Autodesk VIZ users are encouraged to take advantage of Autodesk’s current promotion to crossgrade to 3ds Max Design 2009 for a negligible fee (available until 12th July 2008). Please contact us if you would like further details.

Dynamite VSP Version 4.0 (Planned Release Date December 2008)

In Dynamite VSP Version 4.0 we will be introducing the long awaited full support for 64-bit versions of Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk 3ds Max Design. This will potentially allow far larger datasets to be used.

With a whole host of other exciting new functionality planned, this release plans to mark yet another milestone in the development of Dynamite VSP. We hope to unveil this release publicly at December’s Autodesk University 2008 in Las Vegas.
Dynamite VSP Version 4.0 will support Autodesk 3ds Max 2008, Autodesk 3ds Max 2009, and Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2009 in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions throughout.

Support Matrix for Autodesk Media and Entertainment Products

The following tables provide a detailed overview of support for each version of Autodesk VIZ, Autodesk 3ds Max, and Autodesk 3ds Max Design in each forthcoming release of Dynamite VSP.

Win a BE Award with DVSP

We would like to congratulate Graphics Engineering Solutions and Services (Pty) Ltd (GESS) in South Africa for their recent success in the 2007 Bentley Empowered (BE) Awards of Excellence.

The BE Awards of Excellence program is held annually by Bentley Systems in order to “honour Bentley users worldwide who are improving global infrastructure through some of the world’s greatest projects”.

In particular, we see that on pages 24 and 25 of the most recent BE Magazine, that GESS was a 2007 finalist in the “Civil Visualisation and Simulation” category for their visualisation of De Hoop Dam in the Limpopo province of South Africa.

This adds to their success in the BE Awards of the previous year, where recognition was given for another GESS produced visualisation – the K90/K157 Interchange north of Johannesburg International Airport in South Africa. Their visualisation is featured on page 66 of the 2006 BE Project Yearbook.

Curiously enough, it appears that nowhere in any of these publications has Bentley mentioned that both of these visualisations were created using Dynamite VSP and Autodesk VIZ, which last time I checked – were not Bentley products.

More Information

Bentley Empowered Awards of Excellence
Bentley Announces Winners of 2007 BE Awards of Excellence
Dynamite VSP Case Study – A Company with Vision
www.gess.co.za

DVSP User featured on BBC’s “Countryfile”

Congratulations to DVSP users PB in Cardiff who had their visualisation for the M25 Widening Project in London featured on the BBC TV programme “Countryfile” on Sunday.

Countryfile is presented by John Craven and broadcasted weekly throughout the UK on BBC1. The programme focuses on topical countryside and environmental issues affecting farming and fisheries, rural living and business, outdoor leisure, and UK wildlife.

The M25 is one of Europe’s busiest roads, forming a circle around London. The UK Highways Agency is planning a £5bn road widening project for the M25. This will change most of the remaining three-lane sections on the northern side into four lanes. 

In this Countryfile report, John Craven got to grips with the challenges of farming within the M25 and discovered what plans to widen motorways could mean for the British countryside. With the help of PB’s visualisation produced in DVSP, Civil engineer Scot Steadman explained how the project will be implemented, taking the surrounding environment into consideration.

This Countryfile episode can currently be viewed online using the BBC’s IPlayer, and is expected to be online for around two weeks from the original date of transmission (24th February 2008). BBC IPlayer is currently available in the UK only.

More information

Countryfile on BBC IPlayer, Broadcast Date: 24th February 2008
Countryfile Web Page
UK Highways Agency
Parsons Brinckerhoff

For more details, contact Paul Brown at PB in Cardiff, UK

New Nordic Distributor Appointed

I am delighted to announce that with immediate effect, CityData Future CAD AB is now appointed as distributor for Dynamite VSP throughout Scandinavia. This appointment marks yet another important step in 3am Solutions ongoing plan to further expand international market share in the civil visualisation arena.

Established as the Swedish distributor for Autodesk products for over 15 years, Future CAD is uniquely placed to develop the growing potential for Dynamite VSP in the Nordic market. Future CAD will apply their extensive knowledge of the Nordic civil engineering industry to help fulfil the needs of Civil Engineering Consultants and local Authorities that wish to add high-end civil visualisation to their portfolio of services. This commitment will be supported by a number of new Dynamite VSP resellers across Sweden, Norway, and Iceland including AEC, CAD-Q, CAD Software AB, Moratech, NTI Nestor AS, Snertill, Tekis AB, and Tyréns AB.

About CityData Future CAD

Future CAD is the distributor for Autodesk’s AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction), Geospacial, Manufacturing, and Media and Entertainment products in Scandinavia, working through the Autodesk Authorised Reseller Channel.

More information: www.futurecad.se

R.I.P. Autodesk VIZ

Hot on the heels of Autodesk’s announcement of 3ds Max Design, Autodesk has today confirmed the end of development for Autodesk VIZ. There will be no Autodesk VIZ 2009.

As part of this announcment, Autodesk has confirmed the launch of a highly attractive one-off crossgrade promotion to enable current Autodesk VIZ users to crossgrade to 3ds Max Design for a negligible fee. This is an excellent “once in a lifetime” opportunity to convert your Autodesk VIZ licences into 3ds Max licences, but the offer only applies for customers who purchased Autodesk VIZ prior to 12th February 2008, and only applies for a limited period.

This news obviously has important implications for Autodesk VIZ users, and we will shortly be contacting customers who purchased Autodesk VIZ from 3am Solutions in order to outline what this means for you. 

In basic terms, if you are currently an Autodesk VIZ user you will fall into one of three categories:

• Autodesk VIZ 2008 user with Autodesk Subscription: For these customers, a highly attractive crossgrade promotion will be offered by Autodesk from 31st March 2008 allowing users to easily crossgrade to 3ds Max Design 2009. The crossgrade is expected to cost in the region of EUR300. Autodesk VIZ subscription will automatically be converted to 3ds Max Design subscription - there will be no further subscription fees to pay until your next normal renewal date.
• Autodesk VIZ 2008 user without Autodesk Subscription: These customers may also make use of the above mentioned crossgrade promotion, but must also purchase subscription for 3ds Max Design at the time of ordering the crossgrade. The combined cost of the crossgrade and subscription for 3ds Max Design is expected to cost in the region of EUR1100.
• Autodesk VIZ 2007 user without Autodesk Subscription: Please contact us for further details if you are in this situation.

This crossgrade promotion will run from 31st March 2008 to 17th July 2008

In many ways, this is great news for Autodesk VIZ users as this opportunity provides the chance to benefit from the more advanced features of 3ds Max without the normal cost of crossgrading. Two valuable features in 3ds Max that immediately spring to mind are sub-object animation capabilities and full network rendering with Mental Ray.

From our point of view, this is also fantastic news as it means all Dynamite VSP users will be using the same host application, which allows us re-double our efforts on supporting the full benefits of 3ds Max Design from this point on.

Here is the full text of today’s press release from Autodesk:

Autodesk announces “3ds Max Design”

Autodesk has just announced that from March 31st 2008, two flavours of 3ds Max will be available - 3ds Max and 3ds Max Design. The key difference between the two flavours of 3ds Max is that each product is tailored specifically for customers in different industries. 3ds Max Design is aimed at architects, designers and visualisation specialists, while 3ds Max is a tool of choice for professionals in the games, film, and television industries.

So what does all this mean for existing 3ds Max users?

What is 3ds Max Design?

3ds Max Design 2009 is essentially a customised installation of 3ds Max 2009, which is designed to provide an optimised user experience for architects, designers, engineers and visualisation specialists. 3ds Max Design 2009 has the same functionality as 3ds Max, with the addition of new Exposure™ lighting analysis technology. The 3ds Max Software Development Kit (SDK) is not provided. Other differences between the two products include user interface and application defaults, tutorials, sample files, and product websites.

Compared to 3ds Max 2008, 3ds Max Design 2009 introduces a number of key new and enhanced features, including Exposure technology for lighting analysis to assist with LEED 8.1 certification. New rendering functionality includes the Reveal™ rendering toolset, which streamlines iterative workflows and gives designers dramatically faster, finished renderings, and the ProMaterials™, a library of manufacturer-related materials. 3ds Max Design 2009 also delivers updated user interface and workflow features, which, together with improved data compatibility, enhance digital continuity between 3ds Max Design and products from the Revit® and AutoCAD® software families. This includes Recognize™ scene loading technology that significantly improves inter-application workflows with Revit Architecture 2009, through the accurate import of lights, materials and cameras.

“Vanilla” 3ds Max will be aimed at entertainment based industries from this point on.

Why is Autodesk creating two “flavours” or versions of 3ds Max?

In order to optimise the user experience for both entertainment and design visualisation customers, it has been decided to create two flavors of 3ds Max. Entertainment users commonly specialise in areas such as character rigging, lighting, texturing, and animation. For these customers, 3ds Max 2009 continues to build on its legacy as an industry-leading content creation tool in the games, film, television industries. 3ds Max Design is directed towards maximizing a high-quality “out of the box” design visualisation experience for generalists in the architecture, civil engineering, industrial and manufacturing industries.

Each “flavour” of 3ds Max will be specifically tailored for its intended audience; from learning resources and sample files, to application defaults and even carefully selected features such as the Exposure lighting analysis technology for designers and visualisation specialists.

What features are the same between 3ds Max and 3ds Max Design?

With the exception of the SDK, 3ds Max Design has 100% of the features in 3ds Max. This means that both applications will be able to simultaneously advance from a technological perspective. Dynamite VSP will support both versions of 3ds Max.

Can I run 3ds Max Design and 3ds Max side-by-side?

Not on the same computer system. You must uninstall one product to install the other product.

Is there a crossgrade path from Autodesk VIZ 2008 to 3ds Max Design 2009

We understand that Autodesk is planning some one-off promotions for Autodesk VIZ users to migrate to 3ds Max Design, but we don’t have details at this time. Please contact us if you would like further information.

New Irish Distributor Appointed

I am delighted to announce that with effect from 1st February 2008, Cadco is now appointed as distributor for Dynamite VSP throughout Ireland. This is another important step in 3am Solutions ongoing plan to further expand international market share in the civil visualisation arena.

Established as the Irish distributor for Autodesk products for over 17 years, Cadco is uniquely placed to develop the growing potential for Dynamite VSP in the Irish market. Cadco will apply their extensive knowledge of the Irish civil engineering industry to help fulfil the needs of Civil Engineering Consultants and local Authorities that wish to add high-end civil visualisation to their portfolio of services. This commitment will be supported by a number of new Dynamite VSP resellers in Ireland; Amicus Technology, C-Cad Computing, Diatec, Paradigm Technology and Pentagon Solutions.

About Cadco

Cadco is the distributor for Autodesk’s AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction), Geospatial, Manufacturing, and Media and Entertainment products in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, working through the Autodesk Authorised Reseller Channel.

Cadco also provides technology training, project costing software (Exactal’s CostX), drafting services, design visualisation services, and CAD consultancy through its reseller channel and directly to architects, engineers, designers and quantity surveyors to help them get the most from engineering technology.

Cadco is also an Authorised Autodesk Training Center, ATC.

More information: www.cadco.ie

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