I have Vue 5 Esprit and I like it, but to get the optimal set of tools, I still have to invest something. Poser6 is great for people and animals. For making new items I use Cinema 4D 6 at the moment. I also have Xfrog 3.5. First option would be sidegrading to Vue 5 Infinite. Nice render engine, great ecco system and all the other benefit from Vue. Unfortunately I see limited export capabilities, especially the great ecco system will not work. Second option would be upgrading to Cinema 4D 9.x, plus Xfrog 4.x and Vue Fusion. Great render engine, unified workflow, integrated modeller,... Yet I'm not sure, what Vue Fusion will do in Cinema 4D. e-on's homepage doesn't say too much. Is Vue Fusion just for integrating Vue scenes to Cinema 4D or is it a functional module like Ozone or Xfrog? Do you need Vue5I anyway? The Lightwave deal looks great, but I don't want to change my tools again. I'm quite used to the way C4D works now...

Well, fist - for xFusion (name is changed) - you need a full license of Infinite. So this is a must have. Then in the first "wave" i think only Maya and 3DS Max will be supported. The others come in the second wave - Cinema as well, when i understood it right. I hope so, i have Cinema too. xFusion will make Infinite completely be integrated in the host application. So you work with Infinite (tools, Ecosystems etc) on Infinite items and with the host application on the rest. All integrated in one scene. A really innovative and new way to work. So again - yes, you will need Infinite for it. And a license for xFusion too. My gut tells me that e-on maybe will come up with a "bundle" when they introduce xFusion to the market. But that is only a gut feeling, nothing more. This is what e-on said a couple of days ago about the price: ############ # RE: How much is X Fusion going to cost? by sbell (e-on staff) on October 5, 2005, 10:09:31 AM. This hasn't been set in stone yet, but expect something around 500 bucks per license. You have to buy a separate license for each application/renderer you want to use xFusion with. Best regards. #############

Jeez that sounds expensive for something that links two applications I already shelled out for. I'm hoping there's going to be incentives, packages etc to sweeten the deal for home users.

thing is, xfusion isnt targeting home users, its target group is professionals. 500us$ sounds like a pretty nice price range in my humble opinion, although im not sure about charging 500us$ per application/renderer, i would have opted for 500us$ for the first one and then a lower price for additional licenses.

Hmmm, that doesn't sound good. As I'm in Europe, I will have to pay even more. Sidegrade to Vue 5 Infinite - EUR 399 Vue xfusion - EUR 500 This is just EUR 900 to be able to render nice landscapes in C4D. Compared to that C4D R9.5 as a professional program is quite cheap (EUR 699). Think I'll wait and see until xFusion is released. Maybe they really provide a bundle...

I would think xFusion is targetting anyone who wants to use their V5I landscapes in their accompanying 3D apps, which is me. I would buy xFusion for Lightwave, it seems silly to price it beyond my ability to justify a huge amount. Upping the price because they're targetting professional users is a bit premature IMO, Vue is made up mostly of home users.

I'm also curious about how they deal with the store items. Is Infinite and xFusion tied together, so that I can use an item in in Infinite and C4D as well, or is this not possible with copyprotected items. The professionals also need to look at their budgets and I don't think they will sell that much.

Productivity is the key here. realistic ecosystems on one hand, realsitic models and studio professional animation & modeling tools on the other hand. Make them talk to each other, and save hours of closing/reopening/compositing... Definitely for the pros. I agree Vue has more of a hobbyist follow up, and e-on wants this to change, hence Infinte and xFusion. And I think that if it works fine enough, it will sell. You can't beat ecosystems right now. But Terragen 2 is coming soon... so e-on had to find something to stay ahead. something with an x!

Actually I'm not surprised. I'm in the same boat as you DMM: a Lightwaver that has been drooling for a way to have a tailer-made solution for creating and rendering vast landscapes in Lightwave. So, I try to look at it this way: xFusion (where'd that "x" come from anyway... did anyone else get the memo?) is more than a plug if it works as expected. It will make your hosting app (LW for me) a completely new application. Look at what FPrime has done for LW. It could be seen as a simple plugin that that fits comfortably on a floppy disc with room to spare but it turns LW into, well, way more than LW. At least that way $500.00 doesn't hurt so much. Think of it as "Lightwave-Extreme Edition". Now, who's butt do I kiss to get on the beta tester list?

Back of the line buddy ;) :D you kiss mine, and I'll be sure to pass it down the chain :D Anyway, jokes aside I hope the pricepoint will be somewhat more reasonable.

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expect something around 500 bucks per license.
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Ouch, it seems that I have lost my bet with Agiel.
This is not good news, I hope that E-on thinks again about it. 500 Euros price tag means 600 Euros with VAT + shipping - I will definitely have to give it up. With much sorrow :-(

Message edited on: 10/14/2005 08:05

Agree, Orio, it's pretty pricey. it's a plug in, not a program. you need your C4D ( or other) licence + your Infinite licence + xFusion. And, it's not a 100% integrated, since Vue objects will have to be edited in Vue, not like let's say Xfrog 4, which is fully integrated, and costs less. But I guess they are targetting studios, and not individuals, and as I said earlier, lots of time saving= lots of money saved for the big guns.

Terragen already has C4d transfer for free via plug-in, so I think I'll wait for T2. Better looking landscapes, although I do like the ecosystems a lot...

Well, TG2 will support vegetation & rocks instancing, so maybe it's a good idea to wait. I was fed up with waiting, since we should've had boulders and better water system in TG since almost a year, and from what I see in the few TGD Alpha renders, it's quite impressive on the atmosphere, clouds, terrains and rocks features. still no vegetation visible, and dunno about global illumintion, supposed to be implemented, but when? C4D transfer plug in for TG? Never heard of it. Interesting... But it's definitely not the same as xFusion, which integrates Vue interface & scene in Max/Maya...

So it would be great to have a C4D plugin for T2. For plants I could use Xfrog and Poser for animals and people. Unfortunately the eco system is still missing...

There was some talk on the TG yahoo list months ago about an import of native Xfrog format in TG2. But TG2 developpements have been very hush hush lately.