Max - Why ?
Author
Why does Max swap Y and Z over ?
The front view represents X and Z, the Top view is X and Y. This is maintained in the exported X file.
It doesn''t matter hugely, but why did they have to be so annoying?
Because MAX was developed origially by the autocad guys - which are engineers, and engineers use that type of coordinate system for their CAD applications and math and so forth.
[Insert cool signature here]
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Go shoot id software then, becuase they use the same system. Hell, shoot me too because I use it.
:o>
:o>
Author
OK, where do you live ? 
I''m sorry it just does not make sense to use that co-ord system. If you read any gfx book, or math book or 99% of other references, or look at most API''s, say DX, Renderware, Sony Libraries, etc, none of them use this coordinate system (as standard).
I am not being patronising here, I am interested. Are you a professional in the games industry ? Do your games get ported to other machines ? Does this coord system cause a problem on other (more fixed) API''s like the Sony libs? Why do you choose to work with this coord system ?
I''m sorry it just does not make sense to use that co-ord system. If you read any gfx book, or math book or 99% of other references, or look at most API''s, say DX, Renderware, Sony Libraries, etc, none of them use this coordinate system (as standard).
I am not being patronising here, I am interested. Are you a professional in the games industry ? Do your games get ported to other machines ? Does this coord system cause a problem on other (more fixed) API''s like the Sony libs? Why do you choose to work with this coord system ?
If you think about it, both methods make sense and its just a matter of getting used to looking at things differently.
Computers have always represented the screen coordinates in terms of X and Y. When Microsoft started to work with 3D, they made the decision to just add a Z coordinate to represent depth, rather than changing the way things had been done for years.
If you look at it from a mathmatecian''s perspective, X and Y would represent the coordinates on a graph paper sitting on a desk (similar to what is represented in 3D Studio Max). 3D Studio Max was created with this notion in mind, so the added Z pointing upwards.
In my opinion, the Z pointing up should be considered more correct, since math and graphs have been around a whole lot longer than computers. But you can do the same thing using both methods and can transpose objects from one to another fairly simply, so I guess it doesn''t matter anyway.
Computers have always represented the screen coordinates in terms of X and Y. When Microsoft started to work with 3D, they made the decision to just add a Z coordinate to represent depth, rather than changing the way things had been done for years.
If you look at it from a mathmatecian''s perspective, X and Y would represent the coordinates on a graph paper sitting on a desk (similar to what is represented in 3D Studio Max). 3D Studio Max was created with this notion in mind, so the added Z pointing upwards.
In my opinion, the Z pointing up should be considered more correct, since math and graphs have been around a whole lot longer than computers. But you can do the same thing using both methods and can transpose objects from one to another fairly simply, so I guess it doesn''t matter anyway.
Math books use an upward Z axis also mostly, especially vector calculus books (About Cal3 for those still in college).
For graphics, like JimboC said, since the screen was already represented by X and Y, adding Z for depth was just a logical step. I do not think MS made the standard though.
TrueSpace is also on the list of Z-up software.
For graphics, like JimboC said, since the screen was already represented by X and Y, adding Z for depth was just a logical step. I do not think MS made the standard though.
TrueSpace is also on the list of Z-up software.
Author
OK, but on all the projects I have worked on or had contact with, it has automatically been developed with Y=UP. It seems to be pretty much the norm in this industry. So by working with Z=UP aren''t you being different for the sake of it ? And aren''t you making it more difficult for other people (who are likely to work/think along the lines of Y=UP) to maintain or port your code ?
Sorry to make a big deal over this, but I have never come across a team working with this coord system before.
Sorry to make a big deal over this, but I have never come across a team working with this coord system before.
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