Frequently Asked Questions
On Shipping and Handling
On 3D formats and compatibility
How to order
About textures
How to pose and animate figures
License and Royalties
PoserTM problems,
Ordering a "combo" cd ModelBank
Precision levels of models
Students, schools and teachers/educational rebates
About selling your models at our sites
All about PayPal / How to pay (or get paid) on the Net
More...
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.
A short piece on shipping cost (cds) : if not instructed differently,
we use international priority air mail for shipping - it costs 15 world wide,
and that means S+H all included - no matter which cd product you order.
Air mail these days may take up to ten days
to reach you. IF you prefer courier delivery (2-4 days),
we must ask for a surcharge of 20.
2) Q: Which 3D formats do you supply ?
A: If unasked, we will at least supply .3ds 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 PoserTM -
if in doubt, please mail us. Here is a list of the 3D formats we can provide:
.3ds
.max
.lws, .lwo
.tri (Alias)
.obj (Wavefront)
.x (Direct X)
.dxf
.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 -
in the case of cd libraries, .3ds format will be supplied
whenever the software you are using can import that format without fail -
as an example, we will out of experience supply .3ds to a
Truespace and sometimes to an AutoCad user (both programs have no trouble with .3ds),
but a Lightwave user will need his own format... if in doubt, contact us.
We will go to lengths to get you a format that will satisfy your needs -
PLEASE MIND that many 3D formats have a special version
for Macintosh computers.
3) Q: Is your ordering process secure ?
Why are you offering several different order forms ?
A: Ordering at our sites is completely secure - we provide ordering
via Paypal to offer the best overall functionality and security,
which has been tested to work fine for most people.
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4) Q: Do your models come with textures ?
A: There are models which have UV-textures and whenever the models have them,
they are supplied at no 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 textures, tileable and not ,
for use with the models on every single cd collection.
About 90 per cent 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 a special software
(i.e. 3dsMax or PoserTM) and with the use of very heavy texturing...
without the textures, these models often look pretty bad.
Large textures are also very bulky and they may not work
in exactly the same way in each and every software parcel.
If somebody offers you a very realistic human character
at "10000 polygons", make sure that you have the right software...
odds are that if your soft canīt handle the UV texture of that model,
it may show neither hair nor eyes nor any other such details.
Cacheforce models show what you see on the pictures at our site,
even if you do not use textures at all.
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5) Q: Do human figures and characters generally come with "bones" ?
What to do if my software canīt use bones ?
A: That depends on the software - if you are a PoserTM-, Lightwave-
or 3dsMax-user, we have a lot of "boned" models for you
(at other sites, such models are often called "animated").
Many models on Planet People Pro have bones -
for Poser, Character Studio/Max or Lightwave/Inspire 3D,
but will also be very useful for users of, say, Truespace, Cinema 4D,
Strata Studio, Carrara and almost all others -
though we canīt supply bones for those formats yet.
AutoCad users, for example, will probably be better off
with Planet Architect. That product contains figures
which are already in poses or possess individual limbs
that you can rotate and move without the use of "bones".
6) Q: License - do I have to pay Royalties if I use your figures 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.
So if you use a 9 Cacheforce figure in a game and sell that game at 5 million ,
we will congratulate you (it would be good of you to mention our copyrights :).
On the opposite, if you pass on that 9 model to a "friend",
will be an infringement of copyrights, and we will legally pursue the issue -
the world of 3D graphics is a closed circle,
and trespassers are easily found out.
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7) Q: I am having problems with loading a model in PoserTM - please help.
A: PoserTM is the sort of specialized software that doesnīt
simply "load" models - they have to be installed to special folders first.
Of course PoserTM can import all sorts of 3D files, but only the simplest
of those will be very useful if imported...
If possible, use Wavefront .obj format for that (see below).
For PoserTM, all the worldīs a stage - if you have purchased models
especially made for PoserTM and want to install them,
be aware that PoserTM wants all of them
inside itīs "runtime" folder on your computer.
"Props" are easiest (in fact, if you rename a Wavefront "obj" file to "pp2",
you will have a PoserTM "prop" without a thumbnail picture),
but characters consist of several different files
that need be shoved to the right place
inside special folders inside "runtime"...
There are "cr2" files, "rsr" files and "obj" files -
Basically you will be all right if you install a "cr2" file
(responsible for motion and morphs) inside the "libraries"
- but watch out where. The "obj" file is the geometry (Wavefront)
that the "cr2" file will look for and it belongs inside the "geometry" folder -
only watch out where in that folder -
maybe you will have to create a new sub folder for a figure.
To know exactly how the "path" for the geometry must look,
load the "cr2" file in a word processor and read itīs header -
It is really pretty easy once you know how to do it...
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8) Q: I would like to buy a special "combo" of cd libraries but canīt find it.
A: We offer all sorts of reduced 3D library combinations -
that is what "ModelBank" is about - so if we failed to mention
the combination that would best fit your special needs at our sites,
just put it together yourself !
There are 8 basic model collections,
and they are all explained in detail - you can combine them
in any way you like (read our "3D ModelBank" file on the left).
If you need more info, please mail sales@cacheforce.com,
and we will try to be of help !
9) Q: I would like to know more about model complexity !
A: A question that is a bit hard to answer...
let us say we have all sorts - human figures are generally of high complexity,
about 15000 + polygons, having separate eyes and teeth etc.
(they are usable even without any textures if you prefer that) -
but we have some very low-resolution models especially
on the architecture-oriented cds because many customers
need sketchy objects for their backgrounds - say, a car of 250 polygons
rather than 25000 so as not to have to keep rendering for hours on end...
For orientation, we use the terms "low-res" (100-2000 polys),
"med-res" (2000-8000 polys), and "high-res" (above that up to 150000 polys,
which is where we usually draw the line...)
You can rely on us to try and deliver the best compromise
from experience, which is pretty much based
on what customers before you have told us.
10) More questions ?
Mail us !
Finally, All about PayPal and other payment solutions :
We have been using PayPal more and more since February, 2003
(and changed over to SWREG since mid 2004, but thatīs another matter).
This is due to the fact that we have tested lots of payment processing methods
and agents and found PayPal a reliable, simple and secure method,
and also one of the cheapest.
We have been using iBill , which was fast and efficient,
but also quite expensive. We have even been using Northstar Solutions ,
an infamous shareware sales company from Kansas that turned out to be
cheating, unreliable and amateurish, if not downright criminal.
Anybody using online payment/banking services should certainly
check their credentials before dealing with them.
Paypal, on the other hand, fails to serve customers from some countries,
and those customers who can use it may get irritated
when on entering the PayPal site they have to pay something
to "become a member" -
though that money will come back to them soon.
What PayPal tries to do is create a circle
of verified users by testing out
their credit card connection.
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.
About selling your models at our sites :
If you want to sell your own models at our sites, just mail us-
irīs very uncomplicated. We pay 60 percent commission.
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