Messing around in 3D Studio R4: Rendering a couple of the sample files

I couldn't find video footage of any of the DOS-era versions of 3D Studio on YouTube anywhere, so I figure I'd upload a few "time capsule" type clips. Nothing too interesting, but it's kind of neat to see how rigid the interface was of this early-90s suite compared to the more fluid and natural 3D software that's on the market we have available today.

The pre-MAX 3D Studios were rather weak tools for modeling; you could create basic shapes, and you could Loft 2D shapes. But it did not include modeling capabilities we take for granted today such as subdivision modeling or sculpting. And yet somehow there were talented artists back then who had the patience to put up with the very limited modeling feature set (the Lofting editor was about as complex as it got, which is primitive by today's standards) and create shapes that went very well beyond the primitive ones!

In this video I render the two example files included on the product's CD that have always been my favorites: CHAPEL.3DS was a scene from the Trilobyte game The 7th Guest, which was rendered almost entirely in 3D Studio (if it was also modeled entirely in 3D Studio, then that's truly amazing). PCACITY.3DS is the scene of the Chrysler building surrounded by some other buildings, used on the box art for 3D Studio Release 3; but I am unsure who exactly created that scene.

The chances are unlikely, but if anyone might happen upon this video who was a professional 3D artist back in the early 90s and had to model in this program, I'm curious to hear how you made extremely intricate shapes (intricate by this program's standards) out of the rather limited feature set in 3D Studio's modeling tool repertoire. Or, as I might be guessing, was 3D Studio always looked at as, literally, a "studio" more than a "workbench", and you used other software to do the modeling?

In the near or distant future -- whenever I find the time -- I will also be uploading footage of the 2D Shape Editor and Lofter, the Keyframer, the Materials Editor, and other curiosities.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• 3DS4
• 3DS3
• DOS
• 3DStudio
• Autodesk

[LanternWorkshop]

This is a fun trip down memory lane. I used the DOS version of 3DS from version 1 thru 4, though more as a hobbyist than a professional (it did lead to later work, however).

I agree with you that the modelling tools were crude (and often buggy), and completely unsuitable for organic shapes. I could do very precise artificial objects, but the most natural models I ever managed were asteroids.

But hey, aren't you a little young to remember 3DS? :)

Thanks for posting this.

[valcaron]

@LanternWorkshop Not too young -- my parents bought me 3DS when I was 13. They also got me Animator Pro, which I still have somewhere back at their house. I'd be surprised, though, if the floppy disks still function ;_;

I was a fool, though. The moment they bought me a modem about half a year later, I completely lost interest in teaching myself 3D modeling, and instead spent all my time on BBSes, playing door games, and hacking my local library system's dialup system to get on the Internet.

[BranislavDJ]

How to run this under winxp other than dosbox&virtual pc?

[valcaron]

I don't think it's posssible. I used to run it decently under Windows 98, before Blender was an option, since Win98 was, like Win 3.1, run on top of DOS.

[accd1d]

I remember I actually made a ram drive to run this program back in the days... hahah

[rickonami]

Oh My God !! I forgot how to use this program, last time it was 1997 , and then i moved to MAX ......

thx

[Anubis22197434]

to think cell phones do this much faster and better in real time.. dam times have changed.. i was there for the end of 3ds R4.. memories

[LanternWorkshop]

@InflameVideos: I used to use Animator and AniPro a lot from 1992-97, until I switched to Photoshop. Yes, it was great for palette manipulation, but those kind of tools are only useful these days for achieving a retro 8-bit look.

[MrLemonyFresh]

Wow that's epically slow. I feel sorry for people using the program back then.