2008

The following describes the orientation of the first shape at level 0:
■ The pivot point of the shape is located on the path at the current path
level.
■ The positive Z axis of the shape is aligned with the tangent to the path at
the current path level.
■ The local Y axis of the shape is aligned with the local Z axis of the path.
Sometimes, aligning the positive Z axis of the shape with tangent of the path
does not produce the result you want. You can flip the orientation of the
shape by pressing Ctrl while getting the shape. Pressing Ctrl aligns the shape
so that the negative Z axis of the shape is aligned with the tangent to the path.
SHP Files
SHP is the 3D Studio R4 (DOS) shape-file format. You can import these files
into 3ds Max.
The .shp file contains polygons created in the 2D Shaper in 3D Studio.
When importing an SHP file that contains multiple shapes, the software gives
you the option to either merge them all into one object or make multiple
incoming objects.
The shape importer looks at the vectors on incoming splines, and if they're
collinear within a couple of percentage points, it changes the angle to a
smoothed Bezier (otherwise, it's a Bezier corner).
Skylight
In the real world, daylight does not just come from direct sunlight; it also
comes from skylight that is scattered through the atmosphere. 3ds Max offers
great realism and accuracy by calculating not only sunlight, but calculating
this scattered light as well.
In 3ds Max, the sky is modeled as a dome of infinite radius placed around the
scene. Daylight computes the illumination of a point in the scene with
reference to all directions around the point where the sky is visible. The sky
brightness is not constant over the sky dome, but rather it changes depending
upon the position of the sun.
Glossary | 7931