3D-Pangel

I have successfully tested the new Club Support products...and it all works very well!!! ;-) Thank you (and all the other moderators) for the training, support, and generally excellent management of this forum. Dave

Setting up the products for Club Support is the best option for me. I am not sure how sending me an invoice would work unless it contained some Paypal link to make payment. So when you get that set-up, please let me know. You've have probably guessed that I prefer to use Paypal and not too open to other forms of payment. Why? Well, I try to limit how many databases in this world hold onto my credit card information.....I know that is a struggle in futility, but at least I am giving it my best shot. Dave

So how does the support club work? I thought that was through Paypal donations as I have used that in the past. I have gone to the Cafe Store looking for "products" like Bronze, Silver or Gold Support but could not find any. Dave

You also need to include C4D Version number. Many times that is key to understanding a persons question/issue/help request. One other things for 2017.....what happened to the Donate button? Dave

Ahh...my assumption was that I could reverse engineering the materials in the starter pack but it sounds like that is not possible and better to work with the sample scenes. Relative to tutorials that go beyond learning the UI, any recommended sites? I had a quick read with this site which is good as it shows the effect that changing certain node values have on the render, but again defaults back to the cookbook format for the more complex shaders. Anyone have any other Blender Cycle tutorial recommendations? Dave

Well said. I do believe that ultimately we will all have to learn the logic of a nodal material system as I would expect that is in MAXON's development path. Hopefully, MAXON implements nodal materials similar to how they implemented Xpresso: something that "under the hood" to the existing interface and there if you need it to go deeper. So far, some of the Cycles 4D tutorials just kind of role out the nodes in a cookbook fashion: open these 7 nodes, link them this way and viola you have great art. What I am looking for is a deeper explanation behind the "why" of each node....maybe even a discussion of all the different ways to accomplish the same effect and then why some methods are better than others. If you are just going to slap nodes up there, I get quickly lost. But it is a mental shift as you alluded to. So the big question is how many mental shifts do you want to make if (like me) you believe that C4D will also one day implement a nodal material system? Also, should MAXON implement a nodal system, then that is one less annual maintenance fee I have to pay if I don't purchase Cycles4D.. I would be enticed to gamble on Cycles4D as I would love to play with materials being able to emit light. Also, I would like to know what is in the free Starter Pack you get should you order prior to 1/31/17. But so far, Insydium has yet to post any links to the content of that starter pack. I have written them twice about it and they keep promising to post that information...but so far nothing....which kind of works against providing the necessary motivation for purchasing before 1/31/17. Overall, nothing is moving me to rush out and make a purchase. Dave

People do NOT place enough value on Cineversity when they consider the overall benefits of an MSA. Gifts like these (along with the ease of getting them via the CV Toolbox) is pretty outstanding. While I have not done an exhaustive study, the combination of tutorials and tools with your service agreement is (IMHO) pretty unique in the industry. One of the reasons why I not only paid for my 2017 MSA agreement but jumped in an purchased an 2018 MSA agreement during their Black Friday sale (30% off). I am with you for the long haul! Please try to contain your excitement and/or utter disappointment! Dave

Okay...new member to the Cafe (0 posts) and his entry into the forum is with a well rigged, modeled, textured and animated spider-bot. Yeah...like that happens everyday. So before I comment on the work, I need to know if you are just new to the Cafe, new to C4D or new to 3D modeling and/or animation. In fact, on second thought, don't answer that. I don't want to hear the truth. I don't want to hear is that you are 17 who just picked up C4D Prime for Christmas. Why? Well, speaking for myself only, seeing so much talent in someone who is young is very discouraging to an old duffer like myself who has been banging away at this as a part-time hobby for the last 15 years. So let's just assume that you are a 25 year professional in cg and character animation, with the last 15 years working with C4D who just recently found out that the C4D Cafe was a pretty cool forum. Okay...relative to comments, I do have one. The design of the robot is pretty cool but it looks like the legs are supposed to fold back into the shell. Based on the design, I don't see how that is possible as the body cavity for the legs does not look like it would allow enough room for the leg joints. Maybe it does as I have not pushed it around enough to check, but I always love seeing cool designs that also look like they could really work. Seeing a little pocket for the leg pistons to fold up into when the legs retract would really help sell that this robot was designed by engineers rather than a character created by artists....and as such, read more "real". Small criticism to an otherwise really nice work!! Bravo! Dave

Very nice....not much more I would add. I also love the controls for adjusting that rig to other car types. Very handy. One thing I have never seen in a car rig is something to control the tail lights. Car comes to a stop and the tail lights glow red and stay red until the car starts moving again. Yes....you could key frame it, but that would be a bit tedious if were animating a group of cars in traffic....bumper to bumper traffic jams. Speaking of which, a whole plugin could be developed that animates such a simple thing as cars in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I guess my point is that there has been a tremendous amount of work done on car dynamics....but not a lot done on traffic dynamics. For example, say you have 3 cars following each other and the first car stops. There will be a slight delay before Car 2 stops and yet another delay until Car 3 stops after Car 2. The reverse happens when the cars start moving again. Car 2 will not start moving until Car 1 is some distance ahead and Car 3 will not move until Car 2 is some distance in front of it. Next time you are way down the line at a traffic light and the light turns green, watch how long it takes before it is your turn to start moving. This behavior is called queuing theory and the math is a little bit complex (read up on it here). Couple car dynamics with traffic dynamics and now you have something that I don't think has been done before. I could be wrong. The closest I have seen to that level of animation came out of Massive --- which is a bit overkill. Dave

Yes...I have Forester. Purchased last last Christmas (2015) when they were giving it a really good discount. One of the major reasons why I gave up on Plant Factory is because of Forester. Much easier to use with quicker results in C4D. Looking forward to Forester 2 (hopefully released later this year) where I hope they add local (rather than global) wind forces. You can get wind effects out of Plant Factory into C4D but it requires either the top studio version (big money) or Vue xStream. Dave

Wow. That is all I can say....just wow. Amazing modeling, texturing and lighting. Question: The best way to date the Empire State Building is by the spire...what antenna's and gear are placed on top. Not sure if I saw any cellular antenna's and/or microwave horns so it is hard to place the date. What date were you shooting for? Regardless, I think you hit a perfect balance with the top because if you look at an actual photo from 2007, the top of the building is just littered with antennas: All that antenna gear really kills the aesthetic beauty of the building...something your model preserves but still has the building looking "real". Honestly, if you were ever to sell this on Turbosquid, I would buy it just to look at it!!! It would be like owning a fine piece of art! Great stuff. Dave

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.