3D-Pangel

e-on just released Vue 2016 and Plant Factory 2016. The big new improvement is a heightfield terrains (with better erosion algorithms), GPU rendering, and better export capability. Overall, it feels very R17-ish in its feature list but I would imagine that either e-on wasted a lot of time with the Bentley merger and/or it takes a great deal of core rewriting to incorporate GPU rendering. While they did release something, my concerns remain. I also think the industry is moving away from them as well. In their "showcase" section, they would constantly be showing the major movies Vue had been used on. Well, the most recent movie listed is from 2012 (The Hunger Games). That's a bit too old. You would think they would keep that portion of their web-site up-to-date especially if they are slow on updating the software so I am inclined to think that Vue is not the de-facto go-to app for creating lush natural environments. All-in-all, Vue is feeling more like Lightwave to me...both are struggling and losing their once prominent positions in the industry. Dave

That comment struck a nerve because I do remember a particular discussion in a trade journal about the "next big thing" in CG. I mean, what is really the next big thing? We've successfully crossed the uncanny valley and can render trillions of polygons (the space station model in Star Trek Beyond topped out at 1 trillion). Speaking of which, the technologies to handle massive data sets are reaching such a nice level of maturity that we can convincingly simulate armies of all sorts of terrible creatures, conjure up fully realized fantastic worlds of incredible detail and richness and then dispatch them with equally graphic world ending disasters. Honestly, what is left in the imagination that CG cannot make photo real? For a number of years, there was always "the next big thing" coming in CG. So when asked what the next big thing was in that article, I was stuck for a moment wondering what it would be but was surprised by how deceptively simple the answer was: "Do everything we can do now, but only faster and cheaper" And I think that is why the focus has turned to GPU based render engines. Dave

I would like to know what Cycles 4D users think of this development? Cycles 4D is also a GPU renderer but with the added benefit of a nodal material system. But I have heard some troubling "rumbles" about the speed of Cycles 4D IRR and the need to increase samples significantly to get acceptable render results which in turn removes any speed benefits from GPU rendering. So will MAXON's implementation of the ProRender not be hampered by these same issues? Not sure. But I would imagine that Radeon resources exceed those of the Blender foundation with respect to engine development and MAXON's resources exceed those of Insydium's with respect to implementation. Also, lets assume for the sake of argument, that the ProRender implementation provides better quality at faster render speeds than Cycles 4D. Would you still get Cycles 4D for the nodal material system (all things being equal in terms of feature sets of both renderers....which do seem pretty evenly matched)? You know, I would not be surprised that the ever secretive MAXON is more forth coming about the development of ProRender because Insydium annoucned Cycles 4D. Had I no knowledge that ProRender was coming, I probably would have purchased Cycles 4D by now. But right now, I am going to wait. I have no idea how all of this is going to play out!!!! What is everyone else going to do and why? Dave P.S. To be fair, knowledge alone that ProRender is coming is NOT the only reason why I am not running to purchase Cycles 4D. Their annual license maintenance fees are very high and I have no idea about the pace of development from Blender to insure that high cost is justifiable. The render times at high sample rates to get acceptable results is troubling. Plus, after following a few tutorials, I have to say that nodal material systems have a steep learning curve...a very steep curve. Should ProRender be the much better and faster renderer such that I stop using Cycles 4D , that would a lot of wasted effort (along with cash too). As a hobbyist, time is on my side....so I wait.

Does anyone have any information on exactly what type of materials are included? The Insydium web-page for that product provides no further information (at least as I can tell) which is odd as most shader vendors always provide a grid of material samples. Also, for those who have purchased, did the materials arrive with the software or is an additional step required? Thanks, Dave

Downloaded the demo and installed in R18. No other installs were performed (e.g. it was not installed on R17, R16 which also reside on my machine). All was working fine until Win10 went through a huge update today (Win 10.1607) and now I get this message when I activate C4D: I sent a support request to Insydium but the acknowledgement message states that technical support for the Demo is limited and could take up to 5 days for a response. So I thought I would post here and the Insydium forum in case anyone else ran into this problem and has an answer. Thanks, Dave

I would imagine that they are busy incorporating ExplosiaFX into the program. I am not that familiar with ExplosiaFX, but from a "features" perspective, then what does it offer over the native fluid simulation capabilities within XP 3.5? It is voxel based as opposed to XP's FLiP implementation, but other than how the fluid simulation is solved, I am not sure how it compares. Also, ExplosiaFX controls were written to use the ICE node system. Does that mean XP will become node based? That could be a huge change to the program and something I know has been discussed in the XP forums. I would imagine that if that is what is going on (incorporating ExplosiaFX and implementing nodes), version 4.0 is probably going to still be awhile. Dave

70% off of CGAxis models was particularly noteworthy! Use code RONEN-BF16

Okay....I sent the following email to MAXON USA: This is what I got back (and rather quickly too): I hope this means "Sure Dave. Go ahead as we will be more than happy to bridge the two MSA programs" rather than "Sure Dave. Go ahead - we are always happy to take your money". I honestly believe the first but I've grown paranoid in my old age...life does that to you. If any of our Cafe family members who work for MAXON want to weigh in on this, that would be appreciated. Dave

Bezo, Could your provide more information as many different sites sell MILG tutorials. I went to both Hellolux and Motionworks but found nothing specific. I did find a "Cyber Monday" sale sign at Hellolux, but other than that, nothing was really shown as being on sale. Dave

So I just renewed my MSA in September. If MAXON allows the MSA's to be bridged (eg. buy an additional MSA now that will only take effect when the existing MSA expires --- in this case 9/2017), then I would definitely be purchasing an additional MSA for $520. To me, that is a great deal. I already sent an email to MAXON USA asking if they allow a person to purchase MSA's in advance and have them bridge service dates. I will keep you posted. Dave

Company: Pixel Lab (maker of C4D models and materials) Web-Site: https://www.thepixellab.net/ Offer: 30% off all items in store, 50% off the Mega Pack Discount Codes: 30% off anything: BigDealz30 50% off the Mega Pack: MegaDeal50 Restrictions: None listed Duration: Their site says "3 Days Only" but not which 3 days so I have to assume it is between 11/23 and 11/25. Comment: If you have downloaded any of their generously offered freebies, then you know the quality of the product. Had I not purchased a few packs in the past, I would be seriously considering the "Mega Pack" which is all 31 products (or Packs) for $360 after you apply the discount (versus $1425 list price or a 75% discount).

Wow.....many thanks Turboniko for prolifically and unselfishly sharing your knowledge. I will be visiting your page often. Relative to following you on Facebook, I am probably one of the few people who stay away from all social platforms. I just don't want to get caught up in following all of that. The best compliment I ever got was "you have a very low social networking footprint". I think it was meant to be a criticism. In any case, the Cafe is the only "social" networking site I visit (though I do lurk on CG Networks from time to time). So if you could post here when you have a new tutorial, that would be appreciated. Dave P.S. But for those social networking enthusiasts struggling with understanding this position, I could post a picture of my morning bran flakes and coffee at the Cafe from time to time if your desire is for me to be more "connected". Just be sure to "Like it" as we all need that affirmation!!!! ;-)

Company: Cyberlink (maker of editing software for video enthusiasts) Web-Site: Black Friday Sale Offer: Save 65% off PowerDirector 15, 65% off PowerDVD 16 Ultra, 40% off Director Suite 5, 30% off Media Suite 14, 50% off PhotoDirector 8 Discount Codes: BFSAVE20 Restrictions: None listed Duration: Ends 11/26/16 Comment: Honestly, I question the true value of these "savings" because I don't think I have ever seen them sell at full list price. The "discounts" are probably a little better now, but not at the percentages advertised.

Company: REALLUSION (maker of 2D animation software and plugins) Web-Site: https://www.reallusion.com/store/default.html?l=1 Offer: Save 40% for CrazyTalk Animation Suite and Get Free Bonus. Save 20% to 70% for iClone add-ons. Discount Codes: None listed Restrictions: None listed Duration: Ends 11/28/16 Comment: I have no idea why I got this email offer as I have never used any of their products, but so be it.

A few more: Offer 1: Company: BorisFX (maker of motion tracking and 2D graphics software and plugins) Web-Site: https://borisfx.com/blogs/news/black-friday-2016-deals Offer: 50% off on all bundles, 25% off all other products Discount Codes: None listed Restrictions: Sale is limited to one product purchase per customer. Sale is on node-locked licenses only. Duration: Ends 11/29/16 Comment: You only get one choice on this, so make it a good one Offer 2: Company: Corel (maker of Paint Shop Pro, Painter, CorelDRAW, AfterShot Pro) Web-Site: http://www.corel.com/en/special-offers/ Offer: Save up to 60% off plus free shipping (50% on Paint Shop Pro, 30% on Painter, 20% on Corel Draw, etc) Discount Codes: None listed Restrictions: None listed. Duration: Ends 11/23/16 at midnight Comment: So it ends on the Wednesday before "Black Friday"......not sure how that makes it a Black Friday sale?

All, Quick update which I should have provided about 3 weeks ago: e-on has released Vue Infinite 2016 and Plant Factory 2016. Still no word yet on their other products. New features for Vue is GPU rendering, height-field terrains, etc. Dave

Okay.... a few more Black Friday specials to share. Now some of these are along the lines of "Don't they offer that special very other month" and as such, don't really qualify as being "special" nor "Black Friday Special", but I will let you decide that for yourselves. So here goes: Offer 1: Company: NONECG 3D Model Store (very detailed models in various formats including C4D) Web-Site: http://www.nonecg.com/ Offer: 25% off all models Discount Codes: NonCG_BlackFriday_2016 Restrictions: None listed Duration: 11/21 to 11/27 (Monday to Sunday) Comment: I wish the discount was deeper because while their models look gorgeous, they are pricey. Offer 2: Company: Geek-at-Play Tutorials for Vue, modo, C4D, etc...etc.. Web-Site: http://www.geekatplay.com/tutorials.php Offer: 50% off all tutorials Discount Codes: happydays Restrictions: None listed Duration: Not specifically stated Comment: Note that this discount is good on their other products beyond just tutorials such as shirts and fine art prints. Who knew? Offer 3: Company: Motion Squared Texture paks Web-Site: https://store.motionsquared.net/ Offer: 50% off all texture paks Discount Codes: None listed Restrictions: None listed Duration: 11/20/16 to 11/25/2016 Comment: Normally pretty inexpensive and now just a steal. Offer 4: Company: Adobe Web-Site: https://creative.adobe.com/plans?promoid=D8F91SZ4&mv=other Offer: 20% off Adobe Creative Cloud Discount Codes: None listed Restrictions: None listed Duration: Ends 11/25/16 Comment: If only they extended that offer to single app licenses....but alas, it is for Creative Cloud only. Offer 5: Company: 3D Quakers (maker of Forester plugin) Web-Site: http://www.3dquakers.com/ Offer: No details yet just a statement in the CGNetwork forums that there will be a Black Friday (reference here) Discount Codes: None listed Restrictions: None listed Duration: Starts 11/25/16 and lasts about a week. Comment: So is saying that 3D Quakers will have a Black Friday the same as saying that France will have a 4th of July? Hey.....I just report the stuff. But, all that aside, there will be a Forester 2 in 2017. Fun times ahead! Happy shopping. Dave P.S. And if I could wish for a Black Friday Special then I would be hoping for something from Nitro4D!!!! C'mon Nitroman....jump on in!

Last year, there was some really outstanding Black Friday sales with vendors such as Evermotion, Video CoPilot, 3D Quakers, etc. Some of which I would not have known about if it weren't for casual mentions in unrelated threads at the Cafe. So given that I just got a Black Friday sales notice in email from C4Dzone, it occurred to me that it might be a good idea if we had a thread for people to post whatever news they might hear regarding Black Friday specials as they relate to plugins, model or texture packs or even other graphics software applications that are not C4D related. Please note that for ease of use it is probably a good idea to include (at a minimum) the following information in the post: Company Name Web-Site Nature of the offer (discounts, bundles, etc). Discount Codes Any relevant restrictions (new customers only, etc). Duration of the sale With that said, here is my first post of a Black Friday sale: Company: C4Dzone Web-Site: http://www.c4dzone.com/en/shop/ Offer: 50% off all plugins Discount Codes: None listed Restrictions: None listed Duration: 11/25 to 11/26 (Friday to Sunday) Happy Shopping! Dave

Ahhh....that might explain why I have not noticed it on X-particles because when I do get home and power up the workstation to use it, I am always on-line. Thank you for the quick answer. Once you understand what is meant by that statement, it makes sense but on first read it can lead to the wrong conclusions as it initially sounded that if you don't use C4D and the program for 30 days (even if on-line), something happens to the license. You may want to put some clarification into the fine print there such as: "Cycles 4D licensing is done online so you need an internet connection for normal use. You can use it offline, but only for 30 day periods at a time after which you must reconnect to the internet to refresh the license for the next 30 period of off-line use" So when will the demo be ready? This weekend? {keeping fingers crossed}. Dave

Okay....all I need is the demo and time to go through the tutorials and I will be making a purchase. As next week is the Thanksgiving Holiday in the US, that is a perfect time to learn as I will finally have some time at home to focus on it. Will the demo therefore be released soon? Also, one more question: The nature of my work has me doing international travel quite a lot lately (I have been in Mexico working with our manufacturers since September...and now you know why I am looking forward to taking all next week off). My travel for 2017 could potentially be China, Malaysia, Thailand, Poland, etc. So this is what I read on the Insydium order page: "must have a connection at least every 30 days (you can only be offline for 30 days)." As a hobbyist who is out of the country a lot, this is going to happen. Therefore, what happens when it does? Dave P.S. And now you know why my skill as an artist take soooooo long to develop. I cannot wait for retirement.

Hmmm.....I say we start a "Go Fund Me" page to "Bring Nigel to America" for some future Siggraph conference!!! ;-)

Ouch! Let's not go there....but you are always welcome to NH. Dave

Recommend skipping ahead to 5:16 minutes as that is when he actually starts talking about Cycles 4D.

Given all that shifting of land, I am waiting for the seismologists to determine if stress was relieved on the fault lines. A chilling fact with the Haitian earthquake a few years back was that even though one coastline sunk 20 feet and the other coastline rose 18 feet, the fault line was completely intact. No movement thus no stress relief. Go back into the historical records and you read reports that Haiti had a big earthquake in the 1800's and then 20 years later a really massive earthquake occurred. They are seeing repeat of that same pattern. They call it the zipper effect where the tectonic stress shift along the fault line rather than get relieved and then build again to something even more horrific. So again, hopefully the seismologists are looking into this and give an "all clear" for New Zealand. Nigel...if you don't get the "all clear" I would look into moving to New Hampshire...we are the Granite State after all....nothing moves that much!! Dave P.S. I wonder how WETA is doing? You will probably hear that Jame Cameron is once again postponing Avatar 2...this time due to the earthquake! ;-)

Hmmm....250 materials if you purchase before 1/1/2017. Now that is tempting. I hope one of them is that cool lava material used in Mike's tutorial. I would assume that each material can be examined in the node editor (not sure if there is the ability to use the material but lock out viewing/editing for those who wish to sell Cycles material sets in the future). Being able to examine other materials really helps with the learning process. Can materials created by the Blender users also be used in Cycles 4D? Dave