Mike A

Yes, I watched that, and just did so again. Very sad to see. The one thing that really got me on both viewings was Ang Lee thanking everyone down to his dog - apart from the guys and girls who actually created most of the movie... I've not really been following the economics of the movie VFX business over the last few years. Has anything really changed?

That was an interesting - and funny - story. A good read : ) One thing for the OP to note: working in 3D doesn't necessarily mean movie VFX - far from it. From everything I've read, including Dave's post above, working in VFX is just as 'bad' in terms of working expectations / conditions as working in advertising - if not more so. There are other niche areas for 3D - less popular, less glamorous, but maybe more viable as a long term career option: visualization for: architecture, scientific / medical, industrial, defence / military, etc. Realtime 3D for training and system simulations - and more. They require you to develop more specialist skills / knowledge, but might offer you another route to explore.

It's tempting to think the grass is always greener on the other side, so it's always interesting to read pros and cons like this. I've never used Max, but have thought about trying it more than once in the past as my work is much more 'visualisation' than 'mograph'.

@hobbyistThanks - that's useful info and sounds like a sensible analysis from the Hardware Unboxed guy. I'm not a great Jayz fan - but that was the only video I'd previously seen on the issue! Moral of the story: don't always believe what you read on the interwebs : )

@DasFrodo Ah, I didn't know that - I thought the capacitor type was the issue. Any reference to that uodated info? I'd like to read / view it. Total speculation on my part... But could they be covering this up a little? If it was the capacitor, then my guess is that replacing that physically would not be a simple swap - different pins etc, so would require redesign, new tooling etc = very expensive. Jayz did say, in that first video report, that this could be worked around using a driver update to reduce max boost clocks. So I wonder if 'its just a driver issue' might be an excuse?

Looking a which partners used an expensive chip or two, and those who were the cheapskates might be an indication of their respective product quality in general - so perhaps useful info : )

Ah, a man with a similar level of athleticism to my own! : )

Welcome Bil : )

...to fully appreciate this : ) Some great character work. Rendered in Redshift. https://pintsizechat.com/episode-water/

This should keep you busy : ) https://libraryofjuggling.com/

As an occasional juggler myself*... I particularly like frames 0 - 100 : ) Next step: clubs - or fire torches : ) + I can highly recommend juggling for back health. Plenty of exercise in picking up the drops 😉

Thanks Cerbera. Got it. I was right clicking in the wrong location. It's slightly odd that you right click > copy on one UD element, but can then paste the entire UD interface - hence my confusion. We'll that's my story and I'm sticking to it : )

I have a feeling I'm missing somethong obvious here... I have user data set up on one object. I want to copy and paste that user data interface to another object. There is the 'paste user data interface' command in the User Data menu in the attribute manager - but I can't see anyway to 'copy' the user data in the first place... Can someone point me in the right direction please...

Yes. But I guess if you're doing rendering jobs that need 48 GB's of VRAM you could probably afford / justify a couple of 3090's : )

Agreed with @Decade. I've been waiting for the data before I spec a new machine. I'm going to hang on to my current '3x 1070 Ti' set up until early next year, but I'm going to spec a machine that will accommodate a couple of 3080's - or Supers / Ti's if available with a bit more ram. The new cards are looking good. I don't think there is any hope of air cooling more than one of the FE cards if they are conventionally located on a motherboard. The inboard fan of the bottom card will exhaust directly into the intake of the card above. So I'm hoping there will be some decent air(?) or hybrid / AIO cooling solutions from the partner manufacturers.

I think it would be good for MAXON to write a blog post about the broad direction of Cinema's future development - because it's clear not everyone understanding what is happening... So let's see if I understand it : ) LOL! Cinema is being re-built internally - 'the new core'. R23 Scene nodes are the first obvious visible representation of the 'new C4D'. So currently you're seeing two systems working in parallel - 'scene nodes' (only the very beginnigs of) and the 'legacy system' - the C4D we are all used to. The low level nodes in the 'scene nodes' manager represent some of the building blocks that are being used in the construction of the new system. That new system will give users access to the scene node editor for low level manipulation of scene elements - a more developed version of what you're seeing today in R23. In addition the familiar higher level interfaces of the object manager (OM), interactive tools, etc will be rebuilt using the same underlying software building blocks. That tech foundation (low level nodes) can stay hidden for the majority of users who would prefer to simply use the familiar OM and interactive tools we are all used to. Here's an analogy: Think about the re-development of a major road interchange. The engineers need to keep the traffic flowing (legacy C4D) while building new roads, bridges, tunnels, flyovers etc. (new C4D). There maybe very limited use of parts of that new construction during development (scene nodes), but the old road system and new road system don't really interact with each other - they run in parallel (today's situation where scene nodes and OM don't interact). Once the new road system is more developed the traffic can fully swap from the old road system to the new and everything works 'as before - but better'. Hopefully. : )

If Olavo has a valid MSA at the date of software release he's entitled to it.

I couldn't agree more.

OK. So maybe this is the start of the end game. Whatever, I wish you guys well in getting the 'new C4D' delivered in full. I just find it so disappointing that after so much patience from your customer base the corporate culture - which comes from the top - has lurched towards short term profitability over long term customer satisfaction. I've had a long career in business. Every company I've seen do this has subsequently regretted it. Anyway, I'm leaving the matter here. It's clear that the person that sets the course has decided on a heading.

The new nodal based architecture looks very promising. The clear viewport speed improvement looks like it will bring C4D to the state it should be in. However, what does concern me is timescale. As Jon Moore has noted the 'new core' has been described as 'in development' for around 10 years. So, given 'scene nodes' currently look like a '0.5 Alpha' version, my guess is we aren't going to be seeing a C4D fully based on the new architecture for quite some time. This is reinforced by Rick Barret's recent comments hinting at 18 months of further building disruption. I understand DMcG has 'turned up the heat'' re the new core. Well, I hope the gas is on max - because I really do think you guys are running for a closing door.

Fingers crossed that will remain the case. But, as you say, who knows... What would be even better is if MAXON confirmed this was their intended policy - at least for the next 'R' version release.

Jon, For those of us, myself included, with nothing like your depth of nodes experience, could you expand on your comment above - ICE v Fabric Engine. I've no experience of either. Is this a positive or a negative? How would you summarise the difference?

In my understanding, If you have a current MSA you're entitled to R23. Report back in due course and let us know that you've received it!

Really? Your systems can check our licence validity automatically. You can sell subscriptions over the internet. Oh... sorry, just hang on a minuite... I can hear an alarm ringing... I think there is a very simple reason you won't put it on the website for online purchase. You don't want to.

It seems so...