Maya Playblast Fixes 2 (64bit)

So all the stuff below in the previous post is still valid, but it looks like the FFDS wrapper is causing memory issues and unstability when Playblasting. So, the answer after some hunting is to use the 64 bit Xvid installer below:

Xvid 64bit codec

This then gives you XVID back as a default compression option in Maya and runs much more stable than the FFDS every did.

Hotbox display issues

So, we've been haunted in every Maya release with different bodges for getting the graphics card to work correctly. Firstly there's all the environment settings that have been added and removed over the years.

MAYA_GEFORCE_SKIP_OVERLAY = 1 

MAYA_NO_VERTEX_ARRAY_SELECT = 1

MAYA_NO_TOPLEVEL_TBB=1
MAYA_NO_PARALLEL_DRAW=1

All of which have in the past been linked to fixing GeForce card draw issues. Now we're in QT as of 2011 most of these are defunct, so what now?

Well, now it seems that in Win7 it's actually more to do with people customizing their Windows settings. Below is a typical issue to do with the HotBox overlay and we've had 3 or 4 people round the studio moan at having this.

Fix is simple, go into Windows customize and set the theme back to Aero.... job done, all good and happy.

Now wouldn't it be nice if Autodesk would add at least the top level GeForce cards to the qualified hardware, lets face it, most games studios are running them.

Oh joys, more fixes to remember!

MasterClass Approved - Live Animation Binding

Just had the nod from Autodesk that the MasterClass I've been preparing for the last few months has been approved for the Autodesk MasterClass sessions for this years Siggraph! HAPPY DAYS! Should go live on the Area a few weeks before Siggraph late July. Just got to finish it now...