Zero wrote:

> Where are the days when all you needed was a renderer like POV-Ray and a good
> insight in 3d space to create CSG objects?  Now it seems even for the simplest
> scene you have to use NURBS or sweeps just to be considered a good modeller.
> Anyway, that's just how I feel.  Anyone else have a different view on this?

Not so different... My own take on this subject is that we've become more
demanding in term of visual quality and complexity. CSG based on the classic
primitives is limited in scope, as are procedural textures. These are great,
powerful techniques, and fun to use for long-time coders, but there are too many
things you cannot do with them, unless you restrict your work to the few genre
scenes where CSG-only modelling is still appropriate (like math/abstract, some
sci-fi etc.). People now expect from 3D the sort of modelling and texturing they
see on TV everyday : smooth, hyperrealistic or cartoonish objects and
characters. Straight things should be slightly bent, flat things should be
slightly dented, dirt textures should be really irregular and random etc.
Another reason is the present availability of free or relatively cheap modellers
and models, and the ability of present low-end computers to manage large meshes
and large image maps. When I started using Povray in 1993, CSG was simply the
only way to go (and a pleasant one), but this has changed a lot in the past 3 or
4 years.

G.
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