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May 14, 2007
lsgl: have monster, need ram
by sven at 11:59 pm
It's been both an interesting challange and a boggling headache... But I think I've finally got the Elder Thing model rigged.
Here are some crucial features I built into the CG armature:
- torso/feet isolation -- when the torso moves, the feet don't slide across the ground
- a separate control for moving the torso up-and-down
- a separate control for tipping the torso at an angle
- a separate control for moving the torso forward
- a control that allows me to pick the entire thing up, including its motion paths, and put it somewhere else (including at a different angle)
- leg tentacles that keep their S-curves... so long as you don't over-extend them
- posable arms (these could still use some work)
- eyes that can blink
But of course there's a problem. The model is so complicated, I'm lacking the processing power to animate it. There's a couple seconds of lag time between when I grab a body part and when the computer can display it in a new place. Right now, posing is nearly impossible.
There are two possibilities. I might be able to speed up processing time by allocating more RAM to LightWave. (I don't know how to do it, but know it can be done.) Or, I can buy more RAM.
...Given that I only have 512 MB of SDRAM on this machine right now, I suspect that I may be going out to make a purchase tomorrow. It's a problem that I knew I'd have to deal with eventually -- now it's landed squarely in my lap.
posted by sven | May 14, 2007 11:59 PM | categories: let sleeping gods lie