Progress bar, upgrade, Rat Nest
Thu, 06/17/2010 - 14:03
Balancer works fine, and works awesomely.
1) It just that I wish Balancer shows the user a progress bar as it do thing instead of being unresponsive to the point Windows shows 'Not Responding' in the title bar.
2) Currently I'm using (purchased) education version, as I'm a student (and I'm using Max from student.autodesk.com). Anyway, is there an option to upgrade from sutdent version into commercial edition, once I'm graduate (still far, but better ask now 
)
3) The question number one is related to when exporting from Max, it gives the error 'Rat Nest'. I don't understand it either (being a student, and downloading free complex 3d models and all. But how come Balancer load .obj VERY slowly compared to 3D MAX? We're talking about loading and showing here. Could it be this 'Rat Nest' problem, since if I load the object that Balancer exported, it's quite FAST (then again it has been optimized and polygon reduced.
Thu, 06/17/2010 - 14:30
#2
Update 2:
There are thing you want to look into your product, and I think it's related to this quad (probably) thing.
If I load a quad based obj (if there is such thing????) into max, it load very fast, if I export it to obj again (yes obj --> obj ) and try to load it into Balancer, Balancer load it very slowly, up to 5 minutes.
If I load that model straight into Balancer, Balancer load it very slowly, up to 5 minutes.
If I load it into max, export it again but select Triangles instead of Quad in the obj export, then Balancer can load it very fast, instantly. (obj ----> obj triangle based --> Balancer).
I don't know where the problem really located, but you want to look into this, as people who purchased a lot of Quad bases obj models might complain that Balancer take up to 5 minutes just to load a models.
In MAX (2010)
Object Export Option --> Faces (Triangles, Quad, Polygon) dropdown, select Triangles.
That's all that I change and Balancer loading change from 5 minutes per model into instantly.
Thu, 06/17/2010 - 18:49
#3
Thanks a lot for your feedback!
1) progress bar
We are working on a major release now, and will add a progress bar in the upcoming version.
2) version upgrade: non-commercial to commercial
We don't provide the upgrade using the site interface right now. Please, contact info@atangeo.com when you will need it.
3) very slow loading of quad based meshes
Thank you for the detailed report!
Perhaps it is related to the 'rat nest' problem that Max complains about. 'Rats nest' typically means that the mesh topology is bad.
In general, Balancer should load quad based meshes as fast as triangle based meshes no matter what their topology is.
We will appreciate a lot if you could send us your model or a link to it (to support@atangeo.com), so we can investigate the problem with a real example.
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 08:58
#4
I don't think I can send you a model, but I can help you there.
1) go to digimation.com
2) click 'The Archive'
3) look at the sidebar,
4) click o the 'Sample Models' (your browser will download Sample Models.zip
5) Try opening .obj inside it with Atangeo.
6) Try opening the same models inside other 3d application, etc: max, maya, blender, whatver.
7) compare the speed.
I don't know about other application, but max can import these models instantly but it takes like 5 minutes for Balancer.
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 09:05
#5
oh, in some MAX forum, people say that it's about the model not being modelled in MAX or something.
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 09:17
#6
i don't think it's about the complexity of the models, since once it opened in balancer, and saved again, it can be opened instantly, despite the polygon/faces are not being reduced at all (still at 100%).
so I guess it's something about the format.
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 10:51
#7
Thank you for the reference to the digimation sample models!
Unfortunately, we cannot reproduce the slow model loading. 
All the three models are opening instantly.
There are some errors with MTL files of these models. See the log. The texture are not specified. But this does not cause any problem on our systems.
We will try them on more systems.
Does Balancer take CPU time when it is loading the models for 5 min?
Thank you again for the detailed feedback!
Update:
I just realize that if I export as triangles (from Max) instead of Quad (in the obj export setting) then Balancer will load it in an INSTANT!! instead of minutes (yes, minutes!!).
Phew, one problem solved.