WASD arrows switch / remap keyboard problem

If you suddenly cannot type A, W, S, D on your keyboard, maybe these keys were actually remapped to arrow keys. This could happen during playing a game.

Most keyboard can fix this if you press [Fn] key and then [w] key holding both pressed. This should switch the mapping of the keys back to letters and arrows.

More in this video here:

ALSO read:

Windows key not working

This can also happen. And I managed to sort it by pressing [Fn] key and then [Windows] key.

Maya viewport troubleshooting

This seems to be quite useful link from Autodesk Maya documentation to new Viewport 2.0 openGL renderer. If you are having problems with it, solution might be right here:
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2016/ENU/Maya/files/GUID-96B324B5-E9EF-4817-9CCD-1E324DB54FE3-htm.html

 

Next Generation of NVIDIA’s GPU - self driving cars

NVidia and Self-Driving Cars - very interesting.

Maya 2016 - parallel rig evaluation

Autodesk is adding new feature to 2016 and as a rigger I am quite excited to hear about it - Paraller Rig Evaluation (I think they mean Multi-Threaded?) and also GPU support. Since the performance of complex rigs is usual problem, this would help a LOT in production.

Nvidia windows kernel mode driver stopped responding

Recenly I bought new laptop with nVidia GeForce graphics card and I had this Kernel Mode Driver problem. Basically your 3d application or game freezes and Windows is blocking drivers from access to graphics card. I should say it was occuring when using 3d software Autodesk Maya, not in game. Since I managed to fix it, I wanted to share it here on my blog. Here is my system config:

LENOVO laptop
windows 8 64bit
GeForce GT 745M with 2GB memory
intel i7
8 GB system memory

Unfortunately no settings changes on nVidia card helped - I had to choose intergated Intel graphics card for Maya. This stabilized the application. With nVidia Settings you can selectively change which card is used for which application.

In case you still cannot resolve your problem, try this nVidia GeForce forum with other tips:
https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/709328/geforce-drivers/nvidia-windows-kernel-mode-driver-335-23-stopped-responding-and-was-recovered-successfully/2/

Robots in warehouse despatch center

This is really cool, robots used to despatch online orders:

Lagoa - cloud based 3d application

Imagine you collaborate on creating 3d design content in the same way you work on shared Google documents. This is now possible with new ground breaking cloud-based application Lagoa. The only thing you need is your laptop and web browser. All the rendering power is accomplished on cloud, that is, on servers that you are connecting to. More in this article and video below:

Fabric Engine platform

Today I was at the presentation of Fabric Engine 3d Creation Platform and I was really impressed. So here are couple of notes:

It is a development and TD environment project which has its own 3d application GUI (so you can run something that creates window with perspective view and buttons which look like Maya or XSI). That application has its node editor and it is node network architecture. Quite similar to Houdini. The main difference is that this provides access for developpers to absolute core of the system. Also it is OS independent and its purpose is to provide platform to process and visualize 3d data for visual effects productions. This is focused on those productions who have their R'n'D staff and TDs. These really can benefit from such advanced tool and they actually spend lot of time writing such custom tools. But here is a system which provides very good base and a lot of ready-to-use code dedicated to this purpose.
The platform allows for example implement custom real time rendering engine with easy to change parameters, supporting multi-threading and both CPU and GPU operations. One of its main focuses is to be competitive in scalability and performance and the architecture is built for that.
Another example is deformers, which can be implemented and then interfaced into Maya, XSI or other applications or it can be performed inside Fabric Engine 3d application. It actually can take FBX, Alembic or OBJ geometry, process it and export back to the same format.
What is also good to notice is that most of the developpers of this software are originally from Autodesk, originally developping Softimage XSI. Here is the team background.


Creation Platform CAPI Deformer in Softimage from Fabric Engine on Vimeo.

Pixar open source subdivisions

Pixar studios joined ILM and Sony Imageworks (Alembic, Autodesk Alembic) in sharing some technology as open source. Pixar has already been demonstrating algorithms from some of their CGI technology (see link below),

graphics.pixar.com/

however this first time I believe when they put the code online. Below is link to offical Pixar github:

https://github.com/PixarAnimationStudios

Here is a video with Pixar developer showing what is exactly their Open Subdiv project

id software beginnings

This is so far the most detailed documentary about how id software started. And some pictures I haven`t seen yet. Wow, as exciting as watching inventing first aeroplanes. Plus it reminds me old times around 1995 when me and two friends from highschool were also working on our game. For PC. Programmed in assembler. I did graphics with 256 color pallete and so on...

John Carmack and his VR prototype

John Carmack and his prototype of Virtual Reality Set


http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/06/06/john-carmack-is-making-a-virtual-reality-headset-500-kits-available-soon-video-interview-inside/

20th Wolfenstein Anniversary

very cool, John Carmack playing original Wolfenstein and going back to time of developping this classic. I`m not sure if everyone would enjoy this, but if you are into games technology this one is for you!

Also as part of celebrating 20 years from making this game classic, an online web browser version was made!
http://wolfenstein.bethsoft.com/
Just the fact that you can simply play this as an online app marks best how much computer technologies have advanced to this date, making playing games more accessible to everyone.

Rage for Macs

Yes, if you own an Apple computer (with a good graphics card!), you can now enjoy playing Rage on it, the latest title from creators of Doom. This is a single player only and can be downloaded here:
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/rage-campaign-edition/id468808410?mt=12

ILM Creating the Impossible

This is 6 youtube videos of a document about Industrial Light & Magic. It`s very cool (and that`s why it goes on my blog of course!) as it goes from 70`s Star Wars movies, there is Denis Murren and John Dykstra, the veterans of film visual effects that are still active until today, which is amazing, and it goes until today with last 6th part to ILM`s involvement on Iron Man with Jon Favreau or J.J.Abrams on Star Trek.
(you will see the rest of 2-6 parts when this video finishes or in the youtube sidebar)

Steve Jobs dies aged 56

An icon of the world of personal computers and technology died at age 56 years.

R.I.P.

( BBC News, Steve Jobs obituary/biography, apple.com )

Game render engine for film

It seems games technology is getting again closer to film. This is a a blog about using rendered images from Cryengine for actual movie "Raining Fire".

cryengine film tools

below is just one example from the engine:

http://download.vam-online.com/raining_fire_test_5.4_5.5.mp4

Mostly discussed is the balance between advantages (speed of render) and disadvantages (getting complex animation into the engine). I guess for the beginning it might do just with environments and take its first share on the market.

old woman accidentally disconnects all internet to Armenia

She was dubbed "spade hacker" :)
https://eideard.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/little-old-lady-cuts-off-web-access-to-whole-country-of-armenia/


czech version:
http://www.lidovky.cz/hledala-med-do-sberu-a-odrizla-armenii-od-internetu-fw3-/ln_zahranici.asp?c=A110411_094208_ln_zahranici_mtr

modeling your 3d

this is cool no?
moddler.com

Robot 90. anniversary

It was 90 years on 25th january when a word "robot" came public, which is today often used only as "bot". Czech author Karel Capek came with this name in 1921 in his play "R.U.R." to name artificial inteligent workers. "Robot" origins from czech word "robota", which is a term for labour work. More at engadget.

most popural science advancements of 2010

(czech language only)