variable vanishing points for 3D maker and transparent materials

the 1st video demo i watched for 3D maker wasn't the best. it only used blunt animations, mostly 360 degree rotations for everything with no subtle effects like gentle ripples and didn't even touch on the materials subject so i wrote the program off as too basic. then i saw a much better video that showed some better animations and the materials editor and lighting editing. that made me think again about using the program for my own teeshirt designs as well as logos and/or web banners.

one feature that to me would be essential for such a program that i didn't see touched upon was the ability to change your vanishing points. it looks like 3D maker only does one scale where text or whatever looks not much bigger than 1 foot wide. if i used the program, i'd want to be able to bring the vanishing points closer to make text etc. look giant sized too. in fact, i'd use it more for that effect than any. if it is already a feature, cool, if it isn't, it should be.

another feature i didn't see was the ability to do translucent and transparent extrusions. i'd like to be able to make 3D models in transparent crystal and internally illuminated translucent (like lights inside plastic) would be a nice feature for simulating storefront signs.

as to animations, i already had the idea for rippling letters before i saw your program could do them, but would suggest more variety in that effect eg. rippling letters like piano keys being played with adjustable heights and speeds, an effect where the letters twist like they're on a ribbon and other less gaudy effects than rotations. i'm not impressed by those myself. subtle effects are classier to me.

speaking of rippling effects, how about one where the actual faces of the letters themselves ripple like they're made of water... there's another use for that "crystal material" feature. it'd be cool to design a logo and have it's face look like someone dropped a pebble in water.

another similar and subtle effect i'd like to see is one where each letter bounces around a little at different angles... again, keeping it subtle, but i guess you could put a slider on he motion and let it get as radical as a user prefers.

another bouncing feature that'd be cool would be if the letters looked like they were made out of stretchy rubber, kind of like dancing buildings in old 1930s cartoons.

does the program do textures as well? i really liked that feature in my copy of photoimpact and applied speckled textures to banner text as well as a sort of shattered effect to chrome. 3D maker does chrome and gold? right? it should. for that matter, it'd be nice to be able to import surfaces from user photos like rusted old paint taken from an old car or truck and apply that to the image face.

how about color/material changing effects? a cool one would be variations on text being broken through like the map burning on ponderosa, but there's a ton of ways you could do color effects too like maybe food coloring dropping in water and creating clouds, simple "wipe fades" where one color scrolls to another and so on... particle effects and so on.

these are the ideas i can think of off the top of my head, but the ability to simulate different scales seems to be an essential one to me, especially as i intend to create some 3D fonts that would use different perspectives.