Cerbera

Is that policeman touching an exterior surface without gloves ? 😉 'Bout time we had a thread on this with some levity in it. CBR

The reduction in work while all this is ongoing is quite disturbing and more than a little stressy for those of us who make most of our living from 3D. My workload isn't quite at zero, but it's has definitely dropped off. I also had a job that disappeared on me half way through doing it... I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to have spaffed quite a lot of my savings on a new PC just before all this kicked off. With hindsight, as nice as it is to have a shiny new toy to be stuck at home with, I can't help the feeling that I might have needed those savings for other things... There will be additional knock-on effects too. I tried to order a new ipad for my mother yesterday only to find they were out of stock everywhere (UK), with no expected stock date for the foreseeable future, so that could be an issue for people trying to get new hardware for months after this is over... Challenging times ahead by the looks of it, and best of luck to all of us in it 😕 CBR

Considering the old-school-ness and correspondingly rather limited capabilities of Pyrocluster, the last 3 seconds of that are actually getting pretty passable, but the preceding seconds could definitely benefit from some extra love... I would increase PC quality settings a bit in addition to the advice above, at the expense of longer render times, and then get some lens-flarey, glowy post action going to obfuscate the flames, which I'd say are the weakest part of this at the moment... and I would try and remove the darker bits from the edge of the flames because they are making it looking 'pre-composited.' which is something we should avoid if we can... Also I think you want an orange light (visible / volumetric or otherwise) up the back there so the light on the craft itself can approximate what is happening below it. CBR

It's true a lot of film / VFX guys want Houdini as their main tool. But that doesn't mean Cinema is a toy anything... CBR

There are key differences. Houdini is almost entirely parametric, so most modelling and anything else can be done via nodes, which is as advantageous to some situations as it is disadvantageous in others. But it has ultra-powerful particle, simulation, smoke, fire , water and ocean sims - and huge complex mograph-like systems, and all eminently user-codable - you name it - all can be done there, and it is ludicrously cheap for the power it offers. So while, yes, there is some crossover in functionality, and they are both DCCs, they are not really in direct competition with each other - Cinema is not trying to be fully parametric, and shouldn't do, because some tasks, for example modelling, are 100 times faster with traditional pipelines. Imagine having to add and setup a (sometimes quite complex) node for every single stage of modelling a form ! There is room in a workflow for both apps. To use a blunt little tool of analogy; If Cinema is like hand-painting a beautiful picture in a nicely lit studio, Houdini is like trying to paint a hallway through a letterbox - ie a LOT harder initially, but capable of great great things once mastery is achieved and you get used to its way of working... if you have both, a TPR and some decent post, you are pretty much ready for film VFX. Personally I tend to fall asleep while I am learning Houdini, so I remain largely Cinema-centric where I already know most of the things, and modelling is all nice and familiar and no more parametric than I want it to be... CBR

No, exactly like it was before they changed it - internal, no browser ! CBR

Welcome to the cafe 🙂 I'm all about the modelling, so our paths shall probably cross again. Anyway happy learnings and rewarding poly-pushing ! CBR

Thankyou's to @DMcGavran and MAXON, who are doing a number of things to make working from home an easier / better thing whilst we're all trying our best to remain indoors and not fall over... The highlights there are: FREE CINEVERSITY FOR 30 DAYS ! NAB goes online More on that here... CBR

Hi Ben and welcome to the cafe 🙂 May your learnings be rewarding, and your renderings spectacular ! CBR

Welcome to the cafe ! 🙂 CBR

This one's out of left field a bit, but thought you'd all enjoy it, so here's the share... I am continually impressed by what can be achieved with 3D, even when there isn't a DAW involved ! Such is the case with this upload from master builder Silverret, who has been doing his thing again in Planet Coaster... For anyone that doesn't know, Planet Coaster is probably the best of the coaster sims available (by quite some distance IMO), and every year expands its abilities until it has now become something of a mini-world builder in itself. And I haven't found anyone so far that demonstrates just how to win the war of imagination over poly count better than this guy, and his epic Sky City Volvara. Also featuring a seriously impressive symphonic score that elevates this to the realms of the the exceptional. So while we're all sitting at home, at least there are lovely things to see, so please enjoy... CBR

Just checking you have seen this one, which is one of the good ones... He also has a module on GI which is equally excellent. CBR

Just checking you heard this... tell me you weren't rockin' when the half time kicked in 😉 CBR

That periphery track is possibly my favourite guitar sound of all time ! That is some killer Djenting they have going on there 😉 But, as partial as I might be to some prog metal fun (and there Liturgy and Animals as Leaders win the crown for me) I don't find it helps with the 3D's (too full-on and distracting), so I'm with Igor on the nice chilled out epic orchestral soundtracks there - Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings is a strong favourite, as is anything by John Williams, Trevor Morris, Bryan Tyler or Hans Zimmer. CBR

Chris Schmidt's long-awaited 3-parter on advanced cloth wrinkling has commenced. Part 1 up now... CBR

Welcome to the cafe 🙂 No, please post in the section most relevant to the specific issue you are having. You can read our How to Post section if you need more info. Please also make sure your profile version is correct - 18 Prime seems unlikely as it hasn't been for sale for at least 3 years. CBR

Yeah, my bad - somehow the roaming bit got left out of my path above. Mine is the same as yours 🙂 Glad it's working... CBR

Yep, that's all working for me. GOOD FIND btw, so maximum thanks for sharing 🙂 I ignored their instructions and put the files where they should be, which in my case (PC) was /users/your login/appData/Roaming/MAXON/RXXXX/Plugins/LWcad R21. (the folder in gold I had to create myself). After restart of Cinema, it should appear at the bottom of extensions menu, and does for me. CBR

Despite is many other flaws, the unique landscape editor in Bryce 3D was instrumental in inspiring me to get into 3D as a whole, but after it stopped development that seemed to be the end of its brilliant terrain editor, which I haven't really found anywhere else since. Until WC came along, and not only reminded me what I was missing, but also did it several hundred times better than Bryce ever did. I love my landscapes, and haven't come across a toolset that has made me smile this much in a very long time. Well done WC team - awesome job so far... CBR

Welcome to the cafe 🙂 You found the very best place for C4D people 😉. Happy learnings... CBR

'Timmy almost certainly died during the process'... have been laughing about that all day 🙂 Excellent tutorial there, fully deserves all the likes it is getting... CBR

No, I don't think so. CAD is doing a different thing altogether - Cinema has never been about replacing that or competing with it. So that is coincidence alone I think. We have a pretty decent CAD importer now in R21, but that did only come in quite recently so may not be in your version. I work with one Theatrical Production Designer quite a lot and we both use Cinema for those projects. You're right, it is lacking a bit in quickly setting up and maintaining real-world precise dimensions, but he always seems to manage... CBR

Oh good - the first one of these has arrived. Things may have gone a bit plot-mental, but the force remained strong with the VFX department 😉 My favourite bit was when they said... CBR

Votings complete 🙂 I wanted to see him crash the spaceship into the building. I know how I'd do it but am intrigued to see what he does differently ! CBR

Perhaps read @Igor's reply again... just because you don't get feedback and thank-yous doesn't mean nobody is listening... If you need an example of when MAXON listened, look no further than a month ago when they reinstated offline help entirely as a response to user feedback... did you also miss the recent tweet from our CEO which said 'YoU'Ve been heard' ? I see evidence on a daily basis that MAXON constantly listens to their userbase and beta team. Lastly, have you considered that perhaps some, or even all of your ideas might already have been suggested and might already be under discussion or development ? You wouldn't know until years later... CBR