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I installed the *free* SH3d, as described in other thread. <br /> <a class="post-url" href="http://www.posetteforever.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=3951&p=45088#p45088">http://www.posetteforever.com/viewt...&p=45088#p45088</a> <br /> <br /> After wrangling interface, I opened one of the dozen free plans, then exported it to OBJ format. <br /> <br /> Took me several attempts to get into Poser, as I had the scale horribly wrong. Finally, managed it at 500%. <br /> <br /> This is not quite right, but I've found a '6 ft Scale' on a freebie site, will try again later...

I'd begun using TurboCAD deluxe on my old PC just before it crashed and locked me out. I did salvage most of the files, but I've taken a year longer than expected to build and commission my CAD Tower. <br /> <br /> When I came to install my 'student license' TurboCAD Pro 2016, the download link was invalid. After 'due diligence' checking my product license and serial, the help desk kindly supplied a new link... <br /> <br /> Okay, that worked... <br /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> <br /> And the activation code was accepted-- It's alive ! It is ALIVE !! IT IS ALIVE !!! <br /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/ayeah.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/ayeah.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/ayeah.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/ayeah.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/ayeah.gif" alt="" /> <br /> <br /> Now I must either convert all my Medieval-ish arch and other modules to the more robust ACIS internal format, or start again... <br /> <br /> And, I must re-think many of the plan's details, as there were some niggling 'uglies'. <br /> Also, I lost some notes to that crash. I must 'reverse-engineer' a bunch of stuff... <br /> But not tonight ! <br /> <br /> Also, 'Robbie the Ratter' aka'005½' has just returned from her 3AM feline patrol <b>soaking wet</b>, is demanding food and fuss...

'Oops' moment. I'd imported the entire SH3D room, walls, furniture and all. I can't hide parts to 'look around' or work the 'measure'. Too much clutter. Tomorrow, I'll try to chop that plan about in SH3D, cut it down to basics and an open-sided set, try again... <br /> <br /> With my TurboCAD Pro now installed, I've begun doodling Medieval-ish stuff again. Filled half-a-dozen pages of 'Reporter' note-pad, figured several <b>very obvious</b> work-arounds for sundry plan 'uglies'. Became too hard to keep track of options on lined paper. I soon had four or five different scales per page, all annotated with essential dimensions and 'Do NOT Scale', to be sure, to be sure... <br /> <br /> I hunted about, found a dusty pad of 5mm square-ruled paper on shelf. Grabbed spare 'builders pencil' from my cordless drill case, opened pad... <br /> <br /> Surprise ! The first three, busy pages held some of my notes from 2005, with calculations and scraps of plans !! Even better, they make sense !! <br /> <br /> I soon laid out the basics of Red Tower's complex 'Keep' corner, this time with the tower offset to better align the fort's quad. Cats stole my eraser, so there's already several 'typos' to correct. Then, an idea struck me; instead of tediously drawing, erasing and re-drawing at one square to the foot --Approx 1:60-- with much bad language as I shuffle walls, I could model portions of the ashlar masonry 'trace' using Lego (TM)... <br /> <br /> With one 'pip' per foot, a bucket of pre-loved '2x4' blocks and some budget base-plates from A*z*n should let me work out critical details of wall lines before drawing them. <br /> <br /> Meanwhile, I'll inventory the 'Arch-ery' models from my archive, see what I've got. Given I'll be using TC Pro's robust 'ACIS' model engine instead of TC Deluxe's older, buggy version, I may just start over from primitives. With those old models as a guide, I should be able to set up a brisk' work-flow, confident the <b>unprintable </b>3D Boolean Legacy Bug is not going to interrupt me yet again, yet again... <br /> <br /> Okay, the cats have come in from patrol and my bronchitis is *finally* settling down, so I'll try to get some sleep...

Okay, some genuine Lego, many clone-blocks and ten (!) 48x24 stud base-plates duly arrived. <br /> <br /> Amazon van-man, shaking large box warily, "Rattles, may be broken." <br /> Me, "Lego blocks." <br /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> <br /> <br /> After brunch, I transferred my part-plan, fixed several contentions 'on the fly'. Kept going. And going. And going. Totally ran out of base-plates and red 2x4 blocks. <br /> <br /> While more of both come, I'm doing 'inventory' on my TurboCAD files from ~2005. I've listed the 'Arch-ery' modules, and they <b>are </b>sized to fit modular-16 floor heights. They're 14 feet tall, so suit floors that are two feet thick. I now know what sizes of arch modules are available for the plan's rooms and three halls. <br /> <br /> I then had a bit of a panic; Did I, um, screw-up the spiral stair 'vice' calculations ? Seems not. Well, not that I can see... <br /> So, 19 @ 10.2 inch risers, 18 'runs' plus two 'landing' wedges, 20º each step... <br /> <br /> <br /> Feeling brave, I've finally cleared Kath's nice, 'L-shaped' 'Home Office' desk. Removed potted plants etc. Re-arranged lights. Dusted world-globe. For better or worse, desk is now re-purposed as a 'Graphic Design' and writing area...

Had another look at spiral stair calculations, decided 10 inch was too big a rise. So, I'm doubling steps to two turns per floor, with landing mid-way, plus a niche to perch ... <br /> <br /> That's 5 inch rise per step, as we have at Kath's side of bed... <br /> <br /> Laying out well, sluice areas and bath-hall on paper, I realised I'd missed a trick, will have to revert to an earlier version and widen part by ten feet... <br /> <br /> Perhaps I should have bought that electric eraser ?? <br /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/wink.gif" alt="" /> <br /> Ooh, a box of 2x4 bricks has just arrived, but an hour too late for me to head out to DIY for list of stuff. Good time to change cat-litters... <br /> <br /> Added: And drag bins out for tomorrow's collection... <br /> <br /> Then realised I must re-arrange sluice / bath-hall area again, lengthen it by ten feet. <br /> <br /> While doing that, I saw the building was getting out of proportion. The ends and sides must be bigger by two bays... <br /> <br /> On paper, I could <strike>interpolate</strike> <strike>interpose </strike>insert a sheet. On a Lego base-plate, I'll just have to shuffle everything on RHS along...

After studying my 10', 20' & 30' arches, nothing made sense; why did I pick those arch-brick / Voussoir numbers ?? <br /> <br /> Baffled, suspecting I <i>may </i>have miscounted a couple of whatsits, I looked at my many door-ways & windows. <br /> <br /> 22" inch doorway, 11 whatsits, so cut from a 22-'ogon. <br /> 26" inch doorway, 13 whatsits, so cut from a 26-'ogon. <br /> 38" inch doorway, 19 whatsits, so cut from a 38-'ogon... <br /> <br /> Gotcha. <br /> <br /> The 10', 20' and 30' arches were the first I'd made, 'sized by eye'. Doorways were 'second generation', from when I knew better. <br /> <br /> Another 'gotcha' is that eg 10' arch = 120" inches would need 60 whatsits, cut from a 120-'ogon. No key-stone. But a 118" arch would need 59 whatsits, <b>including </b>a key-stone, at the cost of an inch either side. <br /> That's a win !! <br /> <br /> Now I just have to make them with the still-unfamiliar ACIS tool-set. First, though, I've to retrieve the screen-layout template from old TC, hide some of the zillion tool-bars that clutter TC16_Pro's default views... <br /> <br /> <br /> Um, I've decided 10" ( 10.x") inch riser spiral steps are too steep. I'll switch to 5" (5.y") risers, with a landing half-way. This also allows mezzanine access if required... <br /> <br /> Waiting for postie, then off for some groceries. Dental check-up this afternoon...

The extra Lego (TM) base-plates arrived sooner than expected, as did a really big box of 2x4 blocks, so I set to work. <br /> <br /> Despite repeatedly miscounting corner's hall size, I added two extra bays to each side of quadrangle. Hard to describe in words, so I took some 'WIP' pics... <br /> <br /> I also took tripod 'mapping' photos of the base sections lest low-flying cats trash my model !! <br /> <br /> Remaining corners will have similar layout to corner's hall, but taller, with balconies on those flanking 10x30 arches. <br /> <br /> I haven't finalised the missing VIP wing's layout, not even spiral vs regular stairs...

Here's a typical mapping pic. <br /> Square with central, white spot is tower's spiral stairwell...

Lego blocks celebrated their 60th birthday yesterday <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/biggrin.gif" alt="" />

<img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/eusa_clap.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/eusa_clap.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/eusa_clap.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/eusa_clap.gif" alt="" /> <br /> <br /> I wonder when it went off-patent ?? <br /> <br /> -- <br /> <br /> I woke at some daft hour this morning, shouted, "HA !! PRIVATE SPIRAL STAIRS FOR EACH VIP SUITE !!" <br /> <br /> Luckily, I also grabbed note-book and sketched lay-out so I could reverse-engineer my solution over brunch... <br /> <br /> Now to doodle the details...

Turns out that a spiral stair with 18+2 segments per turn, 18º per segment, with a 5 inch rise, will be up by 20 inches when it reaches a landing on quarter-turn. <br /> <br /> And, a wall being two feet ( 24 inches) thick, that's just enough for four steps down with riser 5 inches and run 8 inches to access private room off the spiral. Think of those Medieval buildings with a peep-hole to watch proceedings in the Hall below... <br /> <br /> Getting the straight VIP stairs for that wing just needed a 6 inch rise, 12 inch run, with a landing every 4 feet rise, the one at 8 feet rise being wider and 'U' shaped...

Just a mo... <br /> <br /> If I made those private spiral stairs with eg 8 inch risers, I could keep the 'cut through' between the private rooms *level*. No tricky steps in VIP suite... <br /> <br /> Also have to watch head-room under such level parts... <br /> <br /> Back to the drawing board to figure the detail !!

Playing with spiral stairs, it is very hard to draft steps that are not standard paper's 2, 5 or 10º. <br /> <br /> But, I found a site that does custom increments, on a wide choice of page sizes, as free PDF... <br /> <a class="post-url" href="https://incompetech.com/graphpaper/polar/" target="_blank">https://incompetech.com/graphpaper/polar/</a> <br /> <br /> I've just dialled up 20º spokes, 5 rings (representing 2', 4', 6', 8' & 10' feet) and an open centre for least clutter. <br /> FWIW, this facility may also be handy as a 'reality check' when laying out arches... <br /> <br /> They also do traditional 'squared' format and a zoo of other stuff...

I fired up TurboCAD Pro 16 to take a closer look at my old, archived stuff, soon got lost in the menus... <br /> <br /> After a while, I realised I could put TC across two screens, with 1+4 views open per my decade-old (!!) TWL layout file. Use my left screen for icons and windows' File Explorer. Leave TC's off-line HELP mega-PDF (1541 pages <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/new_shocked.gif" alt="" /> ) open on the squarer, old screen at right... <br /> <br /> After rather longer, I found where and how to increase icon & font sizes, then switch to 'CLASSIC' style, which is legible 'dark-grey-on-white', rather than 'smudged greys on black'... <br /> <br /> I think I'm nearing my limit for tonight-- To get much more done, I'd need so much caffeine, I'd be up beyond dawn...

I've just found how to turn REDSDK off; drawing is slower, it says, but I cannot see a difference, and the smaller views don't bug me for arcane stuff...

Tried to print a page, discovered my HP series A3 networked printer will no longer talk to Windows 10. Downloaded enormous new driver pack, went through everything, ran a test page, fine. <br /> <br /> But print a document ? Forget it !! <br /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/new_cussing.gif" alt="" /> <br /> Un-install, re-install, does everything but actually print a document.... <br /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/new_cussing.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/new_cussing.gif" alt="" /> <br /> Rinse & repeat, still no document printing... <br /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/new_cussing.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/new_cussing.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/new_cussing.gif" alt="" /> <br /> <br /> Enough is enough. It is headed for the re-cycle. <br /> <br /> A new all-in-one printer with an A3 scan bed, a document feeder and DUAL paper trays is arriving next week...

Printer was supposed to arrive Monday, but successive e-mails claimed Saturday, then Friday. So today, Thursday, I dashed out for some groceries, got home to a card on the mat, 'While You Were Out'. Yes, its HUGE crate was cyber-squatting a bemused neighbour's door-mat like a mini-Tardis. Took my fulsome apologies, my folding sack-truck and several bungee ties to get it home... <br /> <br /> Only problem was the menu which told the Beast that Tray #02 held A3 rather than more of Tray #01's A4 was deeply, deeply buried down the 'supervisor' options. Logic was this let you lock down such options with a password, preventing expensive 'Oops'. But, surely, such options should be readily accessible *until* locked down ? <br /> <br /> D'uh...

With re-arranging some of my Medieval-ish plan's rooms, I've now realised I need some new 'grand' arches after all. Upside, they should look really, really good...

I've made a 150 x 150 cm worktop out of plywood and twin-slot shelving risers, ready for laying out Lego or paper plans to allow an 'overall' view of my Medieval-ish project. <br /> <br /> I've an 'admin' day tomorrow, then hope to attack TurboCAD, re-boot my familiarity with the complex menus...

Making the semi-circle of arch bricks ('Voussoirs') baffled me. <br /> 1) It was easy. <br /> 2) I forget how... <br /> <br /> Digging through the vast TurboCAD PDF manual (1541 pages <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/new_shocked.gif" alt="" /> ) looking for something else, I found a tool which makes rotated copies. It can variously turn eg a thin, flat sheet into a 'Vegas' fan of cards or a kitchen fruit segmenter. <br /> <br /> The resulting whatsit, appropriately applied as a 3D Boolean, can chop a solid arch into an array of evenly gapped bricks... <br /> <br /> Or, create an arch from one (1) wedge-shaped brick ?? <br /> <br /> Whatever, it is an essential piece in the work-flow jigsaw !!

Haven't done much with Poser for several weeks. Each time I tried, I got totally snarled in the clothing menus. Well, TurboCAD was going no-where fast, either ! <br /> <br /> Took time out to do DIY --Trailed some Cat6 cable, got all my IPCAMs working, fitted an infrared floodlight to cover a 'dark spot'. <br /> <br /> Played around with PMX editor, exported several neat Anime MMD figures via OBJ to Poser, posted render of one cute poppet. <br /> <br /> As most outfits are ambidextrous, took me a while to notice-- They appear in Poser swapped L/R from the PMX !! <br /> <br /> Must be *something* in the OBJ import options I've missed-- Any ideas ??

Hi Nik <br /> <br /> I haven't done anything with Poser since month... <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/connie_ashamed.gif" alt="" /> <br /> Getting Spring here, finally, so I spend more time outdoors, what's a good thing after all <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> <br /> <br /> About the import option... <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/eusa_think.gif" alt="" /> it says you can flip U and V texture coordinates. I never tried anything with it. <br /> <br /> <br /> Good luck, I need some sleep <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/TFR718 (6).gif" alt="" />

The Poser UV texture options did not seem to make a difference. <br /> <br /> Fix was to use obscure 'Mirror' option in the PMX editor prior to export. <br /> PmxView, Edit(E), Mirror Model (M), Are you sure ? Yes/No. <br /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/eusa_clap.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/eusa_clap.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/eusa_clap.gif" alt="" />

Good it worked <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/thumb.gif" alt="" /> A workaround would have been to use Blender or Wings3D for this job...

I had been using Poser 11.1 on macOS High Sierra until March 22 of this year. When I try to start the program, I now get an error message: "Maximum number of activations for this license has been exceeded." I had activated the Fitting Room in hope of expanding the wardrobes of some third-party human figures, such as the Sixus1 Project Human couple. <br /> <br /> For now, I am falling back on DAZ Studio 4.10 and Poser 10. Do I need to buy another license for Poser 11?

I'm sorry, I have no idea how the Mac version is licensed. Have you re-installed several time ? Switched to better hardware without un-installing program from old kit ? Transferred to an SSD ?? <br /> <br /> May I suggest contacting Smith Micro directly, as they would have records of the installs ? <br /> If the hardware those ran on is now trash, they should be able to help. <br /> <br /> One way for them to be sure, to be sure is to send you a new license number. You'd have to un-install every instance of old, blocked license, then register with the new one. <br /> <br /> Make sure your libraries are safe before then !!

<img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/eusa_think.gif" alt="" /> No help from me either, sorry. I'm still stuck with P7...

<blockquote class="quote" cite="viewtopic.php?p=45155#p45155"><div class="quote-user">Nik wrote: [<a href="#_somewhat" onclick="javascript:open_postreview('show_post.php?p=45155');" class="genmed">View Post</a>]</div><div class="post-text">I'm sorry, I have no idea how the Mac version is licensed. Have you re-installed several time ? Switched to better hardware without un-installing program from old kit ? Transferred to an SSD ?? <br /> <br /> May I suggest contacting Smith Micro directly, as they would have records of the installs ? <br /> If the hardware those ran on is now trash, they should be able to help. <br /> <br /> One way for them to be sure, to be sure is to send you a new license number. You'd have to un-install every instance of old, blocked license, then register with the new one. <br /> <br /> Make sure your libraries are safe before then !!</div></blockquote> <br /> <br /> Nik, I went to the Smith Micro site and found License Manager in the Support menu. Unfortunately, the sign-in form won't accept my username and password. But I have backups of Poser Pro 11.1 and all my downloaded/purchased content on an external drive.

Have you tried using the 'Reset my Password' facility ? <br /> <br /> IMHO, SM do make contacting them harder than necessary...

Several, uh, six months of not getting much 3D stuff done. <br /> <br /> I'd written several short stories, put WIRS into the Reddit Halloween competition. <br /> To my total astonishment, it won its category. Emboldened beyond sanity, I wrote two wry sequels, am working on a third... <br /> <br /> ( WIRS is in our PF 'Short Stories' forum. I'm posting sequels chapter by chapter on 'Deviant Art' etc; If your preferred search engine cannot find them, PM me... ) <br /> <br /> In between such, I've been trawling for freebies and sales. <br /> <br /> I've a large collection of SciFi-ish props and sets, am always looking for plausible interiors, widgets, greebles and other scene dressings. <br /> <br /> One problem is the growing chasm between the Poser and Daz Studio (DS) environments. Better wits than mine have addressed this. Suffice it to say that Daz' 'Terms of Service' now prohibit their modellers including OBJs, perhaps from fear of 'Second Life' piracy. Everything seems to be DUF/DSF. <br /> <br /> Happens there are inexpensive tools which can usually extract a passable OBJ from a plain-text or zipped DSF. However, this process does NOT produce a MTL file, and there is no access to DS mapping, textures etc. In effect, it requires a complete external unwrap & re-map, something I've never had work well. In fact, remembering my efforts from P4 days, I'd say it was really, really hard. <br /> <br /> With most models now a much higher polygon count, re-mapping is also harder by an order of magnitude or more... <br /> <br /> Daz Studio ( 'free' ) claims to be able to export objects in CR2 or OBJ format. <br /> <br /> I've yet to find how to export CR2. <br /> <br /> Every month or two, I 'gird my loins' and have another go, fail... <br /> <br /> I've tried and tried with even the simplest of models, but DS goes through many, arcane CR2 export options, produces NOTHING at the end. Today, in exasperation, I tried to create a file with a 'unique' identifier, then set Windows' Explorer hunting across my C:, E: & F: drives. <br /> <br /> ( This took a while as E: & F: both run to ~ ½ Terabyte... <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/wink.gif" alt="" /> ) <br /> <br /> I found a classic, longer-named TrekkieGrrrl Poser freebie, but NOT my exported CR2... <br /> <br /> There are three ways of looking at this... <br /> 1) It was a Prop so, logically, should not export as a CR2. In which case, there should be a relevant error message. <br /> 2) I'm doing something else wrong. <br /> 3) All of the above... <br /> <br /> Finally, I shrugged and tried to export as OBJ. I could do this via those budget tools, but I thought I'd give DS a go. <br /> <br /> To my astonishment, DS by-passed those arcane CR2 export options, produced both an MTL file and an OBJ. <br /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/new_shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/new_shocked.gif" alt="" /> <br /> Opened in 3DOC, the OBJ complained about a missing texture. Misplaced, rather, as it was lurking in the freebie's DS Content tree. With that copied to an 'accessible' location, the test object rendered correctly... <br /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/lmao.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/lmao.gif" alt="" /> <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/lmao.gif" alt="" /> <br /> <br /> I have no idea how this will work with complex interiors, but it sure beats re-mapping complex stuff... <br /> <br /> Upside, with the various materials flagged, it means I may be able to pull an OBJ+MTL pairing into a 3D modelling program and hack them about...

<img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/wink.gif" alt="" /> I see, you had happy holidays. <br /> <br /> I myself stick to Poser still, for two reasons. <br /> First is the open platform, just need a good text editor in most cases... <br /> Second is, I'm too lazy to learn something new at the moment, and I'd really need a better rig for this. <br /> <br /> I use to look for new freebies still, mainly at RR and sCG, also at MostDigitalCreations, kind of a freelancer, still. <br /> Most of the stuff is Studio now, but most of it, at least at the first two places, isn't worth downloading and trying a conversion. We had better quality for Poser 15 yrs ago. IMHO