.3ds or .gsm?

[Anonymous]

Hello,

This is pretty basic - with the objects at www.archibase.net I see there are two different types, .3ds or .gsm. I have been downloading some of these objects and just dragging the .gsm object into a library to open in Archicad and trashing the .3ds. Is this correct? Do I also need the .3ds object? What's the difference? Sometimes there are other items that are also in the downloaded folder - such as images. Should those go along with the .gsm object. Could I also use items that are .3ds?

Are object from sites like these good to use, or are they not as good for some reason?

I know these are basic questions, but I appreciate any help.

Thanks.

[Laura Yanoviak]

GSM files are AC library objects. 3DS files are 3D Studio files. You can convert the 3DS files to GSM using the "Import 3D Studio file" Goodie, but GSM is ultimately the format you want. Associated image files could be for material textures, etc., so you may want to keep those with your GSM.

The biggest drawbacks to using these objects are that they usually contain an enormous amount of polygons, and aren't parametric (that is, you can't alter their size without distorting the shape of the object) -- but, of course, there are exceptions.