Frequently Asked Questions
21st Century Solutions Enterprise
F.A.Q.
General remark : we offer all models in formats
.fbx, .wrl, .3ds, .dxf, .obj, .lwo, .c4d, .stl, many in .igs,
and some in .sldasm - but the direct download files are normally
.fbx, .obj, .max, .mb only - one or two of these can be loaded by the better
animation programs. It may be sensible if you downloaded
then free "fbx converter" from Autodesk to obtain earlier fbx
versions or .3ds files.
On Shipping and Handling (CDs)
On 3D formats and compatibility
How to order
About textures
How to pose and animate figures
License and Royalties
PoserTM problems,
Ordering a "combo"
Precision levels of models
Students, schools and teachers/educational rebates
1) Q: What to do if I donīt find any answer to my question in this FAQ file ?
A: No Problem - just mail
, we will be happy to help.
All files are download files, DVDs will be shipped
only where necessary, and on demand.
2) Q: Which 3D formats do you supply ?
A: If unasked, we will at least supply .obj format - we have
found this to be most universal at the moment. On the other
hand we do have special versions of most models for
software like Lightwave, 3dsMax and Poser
and definitely for the CAD programs -
if in doubt, please mail us.
Here is a list of the 3D formats we CAN provide:
.3ds
.lws, .lwo
.tri (Alias)
.obj (Wavefront)
.x (Direct X)
.dxf
.fbx (Kaydara)
.iob
.lp (Lightscape)
.c (Open GL C)
.pov
.slp (Pro/E)
.3dmf (Quickdraw)
.vis (Strata)
.cob (Truespace)
.wrl (VRML)
Viewpoint VET
.stl (stereolithography)
.igs IGES is sometimes possible,
when models can be transformed to NURBS -
please ask about this.
Please take note that in the case of downloadable models,
the available formats will be stated in the descriptive web
page.
You can always download many formats at once -
if in doubt, contact us. We will go to lengths to get you
a format that will satisfy your needs.
3) Q: Is your ordering process secure ?
A: Ordering at our sites is completely secure - we provide
order processing via SWREG to offer the best overall
functionality and security, it has been tested to work fine
for most if not all customers.
SWREG has been the first payment providing company
on the Internet of them all and is as such a very respected institution.
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4) Q: Do your models come with textures ?
A: There are models which have UV-textures and
whenever the models need them they have them -
they are often supplied only at an additional charge.
There are however 3d formats unable to carry
such "fitting" textures - in fact, quite many of them.
For these formats (.dxf is an example),
our models come with ready-to-use material colors.
We also supply dozens of adequate tileable textures.
Many of the pictures at our
site show models rendered without use of
any textures at all, just material colors -
to give you an impression of what they look like
when you do just that (render them withOUT textures),
and in about ANY 3D software imaginable.
A word on the side :
many quite expensive models on the market today
look very nice and realistic, but only if used in special
software (i.e. 3dsMax) and with the use of very heavy
texturing and lighting techniques like radiosity -
not to mention the post-processing in Photoshop...
without that and the textures, these models would often
look pretty awful. Large textures are also very bulky
and they may not work in exactly the same way in each
and every software parcel.
As a rule, 3DSpecial models show up like what you see on the
pictures at our site, even if you do not
meke any heavy efforts - with an adequqte program.
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5) Q: Do human figures and characters generally
come with animation "bones" ?
Not so far.
6) Q: License - do I have to pay Royalties if I use
your models in a game ?
A: No - we generally license our models to you for use in
any sort of animation or pictures or games - you can use
them freely but NOT pass them on or even resell them
AS 3D MODELS in ANY 3d format.
As long as what you sell is 2D, it will be all right.
On the opposite, if you pass on a model to
a "friend", that will be an infringement of copyrights,
and we will have to legally pursue the issue -
the world of 3D graphics is a closed circle,
and trespassers are easily found out-
there are "site" and "planetwide" licenses
for that kind of thing, if the users belong to
the same organization (not "mankind")...
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7) Q: I am having problems with loading a model
in Poser - please help.
A: Poser is the sort of specialized software that doesnīt
simply "load" objects in one file - there are several parts
which have to be installed to special folders first.
Of course Poser can *importÜ all sorts of 3D files, but only
the more simple of those will be very useful if imported...
If possible, use Wavefront .obj format for imports.
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8) Q: I would like to buy a special "combo" but canīt find it.
A: We offer all sorts of reduced 3D combinations -
- so if we failed to mention
the combination that would best fit your special needs at our sites,
just put it together yourself and tell us yabout your ideal.
T
9) Q: I would like to know more about model complexity !
A: A question that we can only answer for defined objects.
10) More questions ?
Mail us !
About educational rebates for students, schools and teachers :
Rebates are a subject we can and should talk about, they depend on the product.
Things also depend a lot on who you are, and the payment methods used.
We also make nice offers for multi-place licenses in general.
Please just mail us about all this, thanks.
