Autodesk Posted this Year's Rules
 

Theme: Design an Invention for Your Community

Length: 30 seconds

Deadline: Friday, Feb. 15, 5:00 pm Pacific time

Details on FIRSTbase:
http://firstbasefrc.autodesk.com/?nd..._visualization

Re: Autodesk Posted this Year's Rules
 

Are there going to be regional competitions this year? I didn't see anything mentioned.

Re: Autodesk Posted this Year's Rules
 

I didn't see anything either. That's disappointing; so is the elimination of the Honorable Mention & Rookie Awards.

Last year there was no mention of regional awards, but later Autodesk changed their minds put them back in.

Re: Autodesk Posted this Year's Rules
 

Did anyone see anything for or against photoshop for texture maps?

Re: Autodesk Posted this Year's Rules
 

I'm sure PhotoShop is fine for maps. We've used Paint Shop Pro (poor man's PhotoShop) for the past few years.

Re: Autodesk Posted this Year's Rules
 

Looks like it may be time for another petition. I sure hope not.

Re: Autodesk Posted this Year's Rules
 

Was it just me or is Autodesk requiring all work to be done in 3Ds Max, including post-production? Could you export several scenes and assemble them in other video editing software, i.e. Final Cut or Premiere? We didn't compete last year so we are a little behind on rule changes

Re: Autodesk Posted this Year's Rules
 

They want everything to be done using a 3ds Max product (with the exception of Maya), but photoshop and final cut are used by nearly everyone. This year they are trying to get Combustion up (photoshop for animations basically), but theyre having some trouble.

~Setsanto

Re: Autodesk Posted this Year's Rules
 

So if Final Cut was used, would that be grounds for disqualification? I can see that Autodesk is trying to level the playing field, what are your opinions?

Lee

Re: Autodesk Posted this Year's Rules
 

I barely use final cut, but seriously, how would they be able to tell? If everything is compressed into one .mov file, how can you tell? you know?

Re: Autodesk Posted this Year's Rules
 

Isn't the whole concept at FIRST that we all follow the rules....you are on your own to police yourself. You should use 3Dmax if it is a requirement.

Perhaps that is what Dean was trying to say at kickoff.....too much emphesis on "winning" instead of competing for the enjoyment.

Re: Autodesk Posted this Year's Rules
 

I understood it to mean that, if Autodesk doesn't upload Combustion by a reasonable date, you can use any software (After Effects, Premiere, Final Cut, etc.) for post-work. There is nothing directly saying that the other software *isn't* allowed, though nothing implicitly specifying that other software *is* allowed.

Re: Autodesk Posted this Year's Rules
 

I think it would be unfair of Autodesk to not allow any post-production programs. If they can upload Combustion in time, sure great, were all set. But otherwise, voiceovers and stuff would be impossible and we somehow need to convert the .avi/.wmv files to .mov. Photoshop and video editing programs have been used since the beggining by teams by what I've seen, and its almost impossible to live up to their format requirements without them

Re: Autodesk Posted this Year's Rules
 

I can see Autodesk requiring just their products, after all they are a sponsor, but in looking at some of last years animations 3Ds Max was not the only software used for animation. I even think some was done using just Aftereffects. I personally would like to be able to use other products for modeling then import into 3Ds Max for final animation/rendering. Then use Final Cut for final scene assembly and audio post work, but thats just my opinion and work-flow.

Lee

Re: Autodesk Posted this Year's Rules
 

You can easily use the Video Post feature in max to do everything through max so you don't break any post-processing program rules. This is what our team has done in the years prior.