#3D modeling
2 messages in this thread
John,
I actually don't care which program is better in the future. I will
continue to use which ever better fits the particular project I am
working on. If r5 blows Lightwave away, great. Heck, if Real 3D
becomes the PC equivalent of Power Animator, fantastic. I will use
what ever program suits me best. One thing for sure is that the
release of Lightwave on the PC will better the entire market, and
possibly turn it on it's ear. Who knows what animation program will
reign supreme at the end of next year. Maybe we'll see an under
$1000 r5<g>. Actually that wouldn't suprise me a bit. For the near
future at least, the $600 Lightwave will be competing directly with
the $3000 3DS. If I had to pay for one of the programs out of my own
pocket I know which one I'd buy. I finally received my r4 upgrade
yesterday. With the exception of the IK, I am less than impressed.
Leaving out the patch modeler really hurts. If the Lightwave upgrade
is as good as I am hearing, things could get interesting. Do you
know if the r5 upgrade will be out after the standard 1 1/2 years?
If so, it will probably be competing with Lightwave 5.0, not 4.0, yet
another twist in this bizarre tale.
I disagree that 3DS has better color richness and depth. I know 3DS
uses a 64-bit color palatte, but I would never have known by looking
at the output. The only area I have noticed 3DS is better depth wise
is in black and white gradients. I usually only use procedurals for
water and to dirty up objects. The rest of the time I use image
maps. Image maps tend to actually be sharper and "deeper" in
Lightwave. Side by side comparisons talk, not memory. I'd wager
that If I had access to your dragon mesh and textures I could make
them look better in Lightwave without spending much more time than
you did. The lens flare IPAS module you referred to is meaningless.
If I can't put it on my hard drive it means nothing to me. Also I
don't doubt that 3DS can nearly match Renderman's output. I
completely agree that the programs output quality depends on the
skills of the animator. Off the top of my head I can think of 6
Lightwave users that combined couldn't animate sludge.
BTW thanks for responding to the guy who wanted to know about the 3DS
IPAS modeling enhancements. I lost the message and by the time I
retrieved it you'd answered him. You know alot more about modeling
in 3DS than I do, so it's probably better you answered him.
>>One thing for sure is that the release of Lightwave on the PC will better the
entire market, and possibly turn it on it's ear
Agreed.
>>the $600 Lightwave will be competing directly with the $3000 3DS
Ahem. You mean the $995 vs $2995; those are the_list_prices (not
street) I've heard. I do think that this will change 3ds's pricing in
a similar manner to the Topas/3ds model I described, though probably
in the 1500-1000 range.
>>With the exception of the IK, I am less than impressed.
W/the additional exception of the scripter, I'd agree w/you. However,
I_really_like both of them.
>>Leaving out the patch modeler really hurts.
From what I understand, it was left out at the behest of the beta testers; I'd
have liked to judged for myself it's usefulness.
>>I disagree that 3DS has better color richness and depth.
Fair enough.
>>Do you know if the r5 upgrade will be out after the standard 1 1/2 years
Based on the current deveopment cycle, it may be out before or by Siggraph,
which would prob. have it competing w/4.5. Again, I don't claim to have the
inside track on this, just guessing based on what I do know.
>>The lens flare IPAS module you referred to is meaningless.
Not in context; all I said in that section was a response to your quality
comments, and that was one of the things I had to offer into the discussion. If
placing it on your hard drive is important (I'm sure it isn't, as you're happy
w/Lightwave's), the Digimation set of IPAS should be out by Thanksgiving.
>>Off the top of my head I can think of 6 Lightwave users that combined
couldn't animate sludge.
:^). Went I was at school a few years back, I saw something a friend did in
Sculpt 3d on the Amiga that still blows me away when I think about it.
I'll decline the challenge to make the dragon availible, because I intend to
have a serious bout w/improving him and having a decent animation (plus the
fact that, because he was set up for skin, he'd be unusable without a great
deal of additional work on my part for use in Lightwave). Perhaps you could
make him look better; I know I will. I'd again reitterate that it would be more
a function of your skill than Lightwave, whatever the results.
I'm going to drop out of this thread, because it looks like it may turn to name
calling (not saying it would, but it's been a good discussion and I'd like it
to remain as such). There are a lot of points you've made that I agree with,
and I hope I've made that clear. However, 3ds still remains the better
tool_for_me_, and that's based on my experiences; I too am more interested in
what works best right now; for you Lightwave is the better overall tool, for me
3ds. I'm always open to better packages (Lord knows I keep looking ;^). Maybe
when Bill Gates releases MicrosoftImage, we'll all have to get a new package
:^(. I do look forward to being able to write my own tools w/ the different
scripting modules (contrary to popular belief, I can program my way out of a
paper bag, provided it's real thin and very wet :^). It's been an interesting
discussion; you've made your points intelligently, hope I've done the same. And
if I can get the video team to upgrade, perhaps I'll get the chance to use
Metaform.
John Stetzer
JWS