"Y" must ALWAYS be up, just like they taught you in 8th grade math. Why else would they call it "Z-buffering", if "Z" wasn't depth?
My problem is, I have an instinctive tendency that makes me think "Y" when I make a move to make something go up and down in a 3D app.
The first guy who ever taught me 3D was teaching me Softimage, and he showed me what I've come to call, "The 3D Gang Sign": Make the 'gun' finger position pointed upwards, thumb sideways (that's 'X'), and index pointing up (that's 'Y'). Hold them flat, along the same plane. Now point your middle finger out, perpendicular to the other two, so that it's pointed at you, or another viewer. That's 'Z'.
Maya and Lightwave use XZ as the ground plane and Y as up. Max uses XY as the ground plane and Z as up because Max came from 3D studio, which came from Autocad, which is an architectural package and it draws building plans on the ground on the xy plane.
Replies
My problem is, I have an instinctive tendency that makes me think "Y" when I make a move to make something go up and down in a 3D app.
The first guy who ever taught me 3D was teaching me Softimage, and he showed me what I've come to call, "The 3D Gang Sign": Make the 'gun' finger position pointed upwards, thumb sideways (that's 'X'), and index pointing up (that's 'Y'). Hold them flat, along the same plane. Now point your middle finger out, perpendicular to the other two, so that it's pointed at you, or another viewer. That's 'Z'.
3D-side... Reprahzent...
I would say Z is height, but probably mostly as I think of X/Y as a piece of paper on the table.
ah well leaves work for export conversions