Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Appendix A
Plug-ins and
Programs
Something that has always struck me about
the community that has gravitated to Light-
Wave is the amazing sense of, well, “com-
munity.” I've used all the major software
packages and
only
found this sense of open-
ness, sharing, camaraderie, and support
among the users of LightWave. These feel-
ings of connection exist with LightWave
artists from all areas of the globe, regard-
less of language, belief, or computer
platform.
I'm not quite sure why this is so with
LightWave — maybe it has something to do
with the initial intent of Video Toaster as a
“paradigm shift” or something. The point is
that there are incredibly talented artists,
programmers, and programmer/artists
working with LightWave who have done
some amazing things, and out of their own
feelings of connection with this community
have
chosen
to share what they've created
with the rest of us. These are plug-ins,
LScripts, and external programs that save
hours
of time or make you sit up and say,
“Dude! That's
cool
! I never would have
thought of that!”
As a firm believer in giving back, and
someone who uses these additions to
LightWave on a constant basis, I am very
thankful and deeply indebted to the works
of these honorable people. What they have
created are things that would sell for hun-
dreds, if not thousands, of dollars were we
using Maya, XSI, or 3ds max. These are
incredibly helpful
tools. Once you start using
them, you won't want to work without
them.
I am equally thankful to each of the art-
ist/programmers who have let me include
the plug-ins that I use most frequently on
the companion CD. I encourage you, if you
have a leaning toward programming, to
make note of the things you've always
wished existed in LightWave and code
them, adding to the wealth of things that
make the LightWave community the awe-
some “concept in action” it is.
This chapter outlines brief descriptions
of the plug-ins and programs that are on
the companion CD. These descriptions
describe the basics of what they do, giving
you an idea of whether or not they're some-
thing you want to add to your own toolbox.
(Most of these are
free
,
full versions
of the
software, while some are demos of com-
mercial products. All are included with the
permission of their authors.)
The directory structure for the plug-ins
is
Plugs_n_Programs\Creator\Program
Name\Computer Platform\
.
Each included plug-in (or program) has
its own README file in either its
Program
Name
or
Computer Platform
directories.
The README files will get into much
more depth about how to use and set up the
plug-ins (or programs).
A snippet of the creator's web site is
included under the
Creator
directory, as is a
link to the web site itself. You'll be able to
get the most recent versions of the files
