I didn't know you could see the content of the Extras CD online. This should be linked to in the online store if it isn't already.
http://www.hash.com/amtutes/X_Vol001/Menu/

Yes, but for a while the zip files weren't there to download so the location wasn't well known.
I just checked some random links and it appears the links work for downloading. (Exception: The tutorial resources files aren't there)

It should be noted that this is NOT the content of the Extra DVD available via the Hash Inc store.
While much of the content here should be on the DVD this Extra CD was released several years before.
Note: The Extra DVD doesn't have this spiffy menu. (But it could if there was enough interest)

Glad to see it's back online!

I'd be curious to know if anyone has thoughts or suggestions regarding the Extra CD menu.
You know... for when we do eventually get around to compiling the next Extra DVD.

See the link above for an example from the inaugural A:M Extra CD.
The Extra DVD almost had a customizable/searchable/annotatable menu (via Tiddlywiki).
I'm sure there are other options as well.

My Robot I gave away isn't included there. How can I get it added?



I will give the whole scene (Project), Streetlamps, parking Meter, Guns, Crowbar, Hammer, Etc...

You just did!

I've no idea when the next Extra DVD might be formatted and released but every day we move a little bit closer to that day.
If there are enough resources (and I now there are) who knows... perhaps several DVDs could be headed our way.

I do want to take what we've learned from the past efforts and plus them up for the next release.
I'd love to use Tiddlywiki but alas... it doesn't play nice with every browser. It'll display but I'd love it if everyone was able to edit and annotate their resources listings and run searches for what they want throughout the database.

Perhaps an Extra USB (as Jason once suggested) or something along those lines would be ideal for that kind of read/write access.
In such a case, the user could back up the data first (highly recommended!) but then use the resources as a starting place to produce the next great American/International film.
I have a few theories on what will work best but what I want is irrelevant.

What will be the best possible experience for A:M users?
Think big. Stop. Then think way bigger. Reinvent the way we do business.
Then bring all that back down to earth so we have at least a little chance at success.

Keep looking for word on progress here.
In the meantime A:M assets can be uploaded and ran through their paces here.



Thanks for the first official contribution to the next Extra!
(and thanks of course to everyone else who has contributed their time and resources over the years)

It would be really usefully if there was a way to set up the viewer for the contribution forum.
Just a suggestion.

I think it would be great to have a central place, where all this great contributions like the technocrane and the lightsaber for instance could be found...

To which viewer do you refer?

http://www.hash.com/amtutes/X_Vol001/Menu/

Or something like it.
It would be helpful to have something you can browse since the amount of models have made a forum setup a little tedious to use.

Returning to this topic for a moment and also to bump up this resource for those that aren't familiar with it...

Important Note: This is not the content of the Extras DVD available via the Hash Inc store. This is the predecessor to that.

.

In considering the next Extras release this is something under consideration.
It should be noted that while some of the process was automated, Vernon Zehr built the framework and manually added all of these resources and descriptions into the menu you see in the Extras CD content. He even coordinated the use of the Pure DOM structure with it's author who thought it was a great idea. All of this was no small task and he did it gratis.

Moving forward to the next 'Extras' release I'd love to discuss alternatives.
The format and means of distribution (more than the content) will ultimately dictate the timeframe of the release. A tentative target is mid to late 2012 we'll say Jan 2013 to be safe. Sustained interest can accelerate this schedule.

All methodologies have their pros and cons and when in doubt we'll probably revert back toward the classic Zehr menu. While the goal would be to maintain a free distribution, in order to keep it always available one option might be to charge a nominal subscription fee that grants access by way of SVN? Cloud computing? Not sure here, so we're entering the realm of 2012 pre-Extras R&D. Obviously, access directly from inside of A:M would be the ideal. I've seen several thoughts on that aspect.

One of the best asset sharing schemes is done over at luxology with modo. basically any registered owner is allowed to upload and or download to Luxology shared asset site any shared assets contributed. That includes images, meshes, textures, rigs ---they get rated as well.

I always thought it was an awesome way to give something to the registered owners something the pirates cannot get. Smiles. Anyhow it works good for them.

unity also has an interesting online asset store system, that can be reached directly from within unity,
and where users are also able to sell assets and asset-packages from plug-ins to modelpacks etc.

While its undoubtfull a great thing, that almost everything in the AM comunity, is free, it could also probably give
some boost to the comunity, if creators would be motivated by the possibilty of creating some -if minor- incomes.

Just think of the - excuse me to use that word - poser comunity, that is almost entirely driven by that model.

I guess, if you keep the prices low like in the range from 5,- to 10,- $ and leave all the old stuff for free,
this could be a model worth thinking about.

Have a look at the unity store. You can register there for free with unity base version.

I always liked that idea of a store / sharing-platform.
I'll have a look at that and see what can be done there.

See you
*Fuchur*

Several in the community have approached the store/sharing platform before and it hasn't worked for a number of reasons. Hopefully, we can learn from those experiences and try again.

There was an article in the latest 3D World that described an effort to rate models so that purchasers knew what they were buying was of a high quality created with ideal methods. The skeptic in me thinks this may also be something of an effort to keep prices higher as the market gets more saturated thus forcing the lowering of prices. All of that was interesting but the big takeaway for me was that the average price for a model was $349.

Now I don't know about you but I'd say the average A:M User isn't likely to want to pay that price.
My own thought in the matter is that subscription access could be a good way to provide access because once you pay your subscription you have access to all models.

Another question (longer term):
How does one compensate someone for a resource of higher quality?
The concept you are fighting against is a simple one. You don't want someone to download your high quality model for free, convert it and sell it elsewhere for $349. Would someone actually do that? People will do a lot of things for money.

So, the driving model in the A:M Community has been free resources to the community. If a price is paid it's mostly as a handshake or a tip of the hat thank you that goes toward maintenance of (not the product) but the platform the resources rely on. Folks that have thought they'd be paid handsomely for their products might then gravitate to programs that (by design) don't let the user model.

I think it'd be great to see a iTunes-like application that had hundreds of models for .99 cents and profits were generated in volume. But while not impossible it isn't quite practical at this time. Any methodology that shares A:M resources would have to be right-sized and for that to happen one must consider the unique environment we are in where people tend to balk at paying $79.

Thusly, we have a forum area for sharing resources (A:M Exchange) that is not easy to navigate but for the moment at least seems right-sized.

Added: I should have also said that resources of a higher quality/higher price do get exchanged but that is often one-to-one behind the scenes (i.e. work that is contracted)

Hi Rodney,

I see things slightly different:

>Several in the community have approached the store/sharing platform before and it hasn't worked for a number of reasons.


<If you think hard, the store principal already works, it`s just not supported by Hash right now.

Just think of fake AO, Stians Hdri files, X-taz models, Luuk Steitners plugin, you could add AM paint(has Hash support now), Tutorials, the squetchrigg and TSM2 would be worthy , just to name a few.
This all could be centralised and organized by Hash , just make the prices low (like 5 - 20 $) and let Hash have a share and the creators have a fair share.
I am certain, that it would push development. Most developments stopped or move very slow because of lack of motivation (by money).
And we all could benefit from it.

Another big step would be to make AM compatible to the polygon world, though I recall Martin stating once, that would be impossibnle resourcewise.
Well, I am not a programmer and I don`t know, if this might have changed over the years.
This might be a wortwhile endeavour for men like yoda or ludosi to open up AM to a whole new market, that`s really huge.

(The fraud of stealing your work you described can never be really prevented, be it polygo or patchworld, so simply don`t care for it.)

TSM2 was a retail product that was generously donated to the community by Raf Anzovin, so the only one that has any right to profit from it would be Raf. The Squetch Rig is a community rig that many people donated their time for free to build, so I don't think it would be right to charge for it either.

To make things clear: I don`t want anybody to charge for these things, they were just meant as examples, for stuff I think people would be willing to pay a certain amount , lets say 10$ (don`t nail me for that amount), worthwhile store content....