sini forensic
| | price Free Company Sini Software Website www.sinisoftware.com
A scene checker and repair tool, this free plug-in for 3ds Max could save you time
W orking with other people’s files, especially if they’re from a third party and made with a different piece of software to 3ds Max, can be a real pain. Crashes and slowdowns are common when working in this sort of multi-disciplinary environment. That’s where Forensic comes in.
Sini Forensic is a scenechecker and repair tool. It basically runs a scan on the scene and reports back a load of information. This information can then be selected, repaired or fixed. The plug-in is a utility plug-in, so it’s easily accessible from the Utilities panel of the Max interface. The actual Forensic interface is tidy and informative. There are no unnecessary rollouts and the key parts are split into two main tabs: Scene Info and Modifiers. Also, when the plug-in is performing the scan, there’s a progress bar at the bottom that provides feedback. This is really helpful, especially on more complex scenes.
For a free plug-in, Forensic is incredible and I wish I’d had access to it years ago! For me, this plug-in truly comes into its own when working with AUTOCAD files that have been imported into 3ds Max. I feel I’ve spent what seems like years of my life cleaning up AUTOCAD files so that they can be imported into 3ds Max without crashing my system. This plugin would have made my life an absolute breeze. neat and nifty The interface is split up into multiple sections, including Scene Information, Problematic Items, Scene Contents, AUTOCAD Items and Unused items. Each of these is incredibly useful. The AUTOCAD Items enable you to repair CAD blocks and xref scenes and objects. The repairing is quick, easy and stable – the complete opposite of trying to do it inside of AUTOCAD.
The Problematic Items section is more geared up to 3D objects and lights that you’ve created or have obtained from a third party. It enables you to delete empty objects, repair scaling issues as well as identify lights that are in the scene but don’t match the current renderer. This is particularly useful if you’re working on large scenes and regularly switching renderers. plain sailing If you want to avoid workflow problems, crashing and prolonged simulation times then this plug-in will most definitely help. It takes five minutes at the start of the project but will ensure headaches are avoided. Using it prior to rendering or even part-way through a project will help to keep your project working and as lightweight as possible. It’s free as well, which is incredibly generous. And the good news is the developer has promised to keep it that way. Verdict