The ground plane is not visible
Make sure that perspective projection is on ('Camera/Perspective' in view popup menu).
Check that 'View properties/Input/Orientation guides/Ground plane' is set.
Turn 'Grid draw' option off (disables ground plane drawing to avoid visual confusion between the two).
Select 'View Orientation/Reset' from the view popup menu.
Cannot RMB-Ctrl-scroll a toolbar
Move the mouse pointer over a toolbar area that does not activate a button, and check that 'Scrolled' is set using the toolbar's popup menu.
A window is missing
Check that the window in question is set in the 'View' pulldown menu.
Make sure that the window is not in a minimized state.
Check that the window is included in the 'Windows' folder of the program installation (in case you have accidentally moved/deleted the file - if so, you may have to re-install suitable parts of the program).
The window position may be outside the visible screen after loading a project from a higher resolution or a dual monitor system. To recover, add the startup parameter '-forcetoscreen' to the program's desktop icon or set the respective option using the Startopts program.
The screen is not updated correctly in OpenGL when moving/closing windows
Update the driver library of your OpenGL accelerator.
Switch to GDI mode and then back to OpenGL.
The program occasionally crashes in OpenGL mode
Update the driver library of your OpenGL accelerator.
Use the native wireframe drawing instead of OpenGL.
Cannot see an object or parts of the object are not visible
Open the property window and make sure that 'Gen/Invisible in real time rendering' and 'Wire/Hide Geometry' are not set.
Select the object and use 'Camera/Auto Focus' from the view's popup menu. The object may be too far or behind the camera (outside the clip range).
Part of a fractal plant is missing and an error message 'maximal plant complexity reached' appears
Open the property window, select the plant and increase the Maximal complexity value.
Fractal plant's UV coordinates are not continuous (form a checkered pattern)
Open the property window, select the plant and enable the Set UV option.
Components of a Boolean operation are not visible
Make sure that none of the Boolean sub objects has 'Property Window/Gen/Hollow' set.
Verify that use of 'Volume Inverted' object property is consistent. This option may become unintentionally set when experimenting with Booleans and moving objects around in hierarchy.
A surface renders with a noisy random pattern
You have performed a Boolean operation where two cutting surfaces overlap exactly. Move either of the components slightly (1 micrometer is enough), make sure that the 'drill' is long enough, etc.
An object is missing from ray traced images
Select the object and check that 'Property Window/Gen/Invisible in real time rendering' is not set (check also the parent levels).
A parallel mapped texture renders with a noisy random pattern on the target surface
If you are using 'Finite' options of the parallel mapping, the target surface should be properly inside the mapping cube.
File rendering shows a different image than the view window
Make sure that the project includes a camera object, and that the camera and view orientations match. Set 'Current' option for the desired camera object, in case there are multiple cameras included.
The file rendered image appears stretched
Verify that the aspect ratio of the current camera object and the output resolution are consistent (taking into account the pixel aspect ratio of the planned target media).
Cannot see through transparent objects, or parts of transparent objects appear black
Make sure that 'Recursion Depth' of the rendering settings you are using is high enough. For example, 'Speed over quality' does not show transparency.
Cannot change the color of a backdrop object
A backdrop surface is usually 'self-illuminating' - light sources do not affect it. To change the color, open the property window and go to the 'Col' tab. Select 'Illumination' from the 'Attribute' property list and define a new illumination color using the gadget below the property list.
NURBS curves are not visible in rendering
Check that 'Property Window/Gen/Invisible in photo realistic rendering' is not set.
Rendering halts immediately and gives an error message 'channel xxx not found'
Go to the Channels tab of the select window, create a new channel and rename it as specified in the error message.
Cannot use network rendering
Windows95/98 have limitations in TCP/IP services required by network rendering.
Network rendering is slow
Save texture maps as JPG images for fastest network render times.
Check network configurations - the client may spend time in unsuccessfully trying to connect to a server.
A server system in network rendering cannot render the current project
Check the texture file paths of the project. For example, a hard disk may be mapped to another letter in the server system as in the client.
A transparent material renders white
Add 'Color=Constant(0,0,0) to surface properties. The default diffuse color is always white, and you have to eliminate diffuse shading.
Cannot see effect of a fog-like material
Fog effects are heavily scale dependent. A fog material that looks good when mapped to a one meter wide object is practically invisible when mapped to a candle flame. Adjust the 'Turbidity' or 'Density' parameter of the fog.
Check the rendering settings. Volumetric options should be set and recursion depth should be high enough (try a value greater than 2).
The camera does not keep its focus in the desired point after key framed rotations
Set the pivot point of the camera to the desired center of rotation before key framing the camera.
A key frame-animated object rotates to the opposite direction to what was intended
Add a key frame in the middle. Rotation chooses the shortest way to new positions and the new key shows the right way.
Simulation does not affect the objects
Check that the parent level has 'Properties/Spec/Simulation' enabled.
An object does not follow exactly a given path
Path animation keeps the initial offset between the object and the path. Select the object and the path, then apply the Unmap tool of the 'Lattice Mapping' tool tab. Then move the object to the correct position (use point snapping if necessary). Re-map the object to the path.