Today Daz announced they will launch Carrara 7 Beta in mid November. The Beta release will be will be open to the public!

Here are the new features and enhancements that I gathered from DAZ's official Carrara Forum..

1. 3d paint capability

2. Real display of Bump and Specularity inside 3D Paint

3. Vertex modeling in assembly room

4. LOD (Levels Of Detail)

5. UV enhancements (UV mapping and tools in Carrara 7 are now very similar to how   

    they work in Hexagon. This also means, no more UV dialog because it's all integrated 

    into the 3DView and the properties tray)

1. Add Relax Seams to the UV Editor

2. NLA (Non Linear Animation) merge tracks

3. A lot of focus on addressing bugs and enhancing existing features.

4. OpenGL enhancements including support for larger texture sizes in Open GL display

5. Multipass rendering

6. Reduced memory allocation errors during render.

7. Optimization of content shaders to greatly reduce cases where the same shader is

      loaded multiple times.

1. Hair dynamics enhancements

2. Zero a content figure, will be split up, so you can zero the pose and morphs separately

3. COLLADA Export

4. The ability to turn off constraints without also turning off the joint.

5. Improved content support, including Michael 4 compatability.

(By the way did I mention M4 has been released...psst...pass it on.)

1. New splash screen

If time permits: saving to PNG

Daz is looking into an alternate solution for moving scenes between Daz Studio and Carrara. Time permitting; this might make it into Carrara 7.0.

Dynamic cloth is independent of Carrara as it is being developed by Optitex. (or not, it depends on what rumors you listen to)

I'm hoping Mark Bremmer will produce a C7 tutorial! How 'bout it Mark?

Yes, great news. I read the Beta info from a post on the DAZ forum. Thanks for gathering/listing the info JonnyBravo. Carrara is my main 3dcg app, and it sure looks like its getting some very nice enhancements and features.

I am looking forward to all the fixes and new features. Go, team. Go, team.

Note to content users: Michael 4 is not compatible with C6, but the figure is free and DAZ is putting the fix into C7. So anyone interested in the new character can pick up some of the free and/or cheap stuff now and hold onto it until the C7 release.

Those are great news and is great to see that Daz now have the open beta like Newtek did for Lightwave!

It all looks good but It's a shame we still end up having to pay for the bug fixes.

This happen in all softwares... I never know a softer that dont have bugs.

I've used software that didn't have bugs plenty of times.

I saw bugs in Lightwave ( a lot of them) and even in Maya. My PS Elements have bugs... sometimes we do a lot of things that we dont see the bug and sometimes we try to do things that hit right the bug. I saw that a lot of problem are related to the OS and users too... so no one is perfect... can we say this about software?

There is no perfect software.  But there is excellent software written by excellent programmers.  And then there are the programmers that don't give a sh*t.

No doubt that different machines, OS and users contribute to a larger bug base. And all apps have the odd bug.

I still think it's a shame that Daz is charging us for the bug fixes we should be getting by making us pay for a new version. Which will have new bugs. Does that mean we are going to have to buy C8 to get the bug fixes for C7? That is what we are doing now. Does not seem right to me.

Sueposer.
I have Michael 4 installed into the Carrara 6 Pro Runtime Browser quite comfortably--for me anyway.

I gather the problem is with Poser6

Brian

Quote - Does that mean we are going to have to buy C8 to get the bug fixes for C7? That is what we are doing now. Does not seem right to me.

It's an internal conflict that each of us must decide on.

My favorite new feature has to be last one, New Splash Screen. My gawd, how long I have waited for that ;-)

Carrara Pro 5.1 is still my choice.

Hi, BWTR. I have not tried it, but the word from the Carrara forum at DAZ is that you cannot bend M4's shoulders (in Carrara)  beyond the centerline of the body without ERC issues.
Full disclosure: I do not know what ERC means.   : )
Some users at the DAZ forum have expressed great distress. I have plenty to keep me busy with other renders until the C7 fix is out, but I do like the appearance of this character and its morphs.
For now, I trust the DAZ people to deliver some enhancements with C7, as opposed to only bug fixes. (But I want the fixes, too!) We shall see...

Brian

Quote - Note to content users: Michael 4 is not compatible with C6, but the figure is free and DAZ is putting the fix into C7. So anyone interested in the new character can pick up some of the free and/or cheap stuff now and hold onto it until the C7 release.

Thanks for pointing that out. There are some issues with M4 in C6 especially around various joints when posing. I think the shoulders are the worst offender. The C7 developers are working on it and I fully expect them to fix it.

There are a lot of unhappy C6 users who feel they should have bug fixes for C6 and to be honest they have a point.

If you take the bug fixes out of the equation, would you upgrade to C7, to get the new and improved features? If not, then you definately have an argument.

I'm upgrading because the new features and enhancements will make my 3d experience more pleasant and productive. I enjoy working in Carrara and want to have the latest version with all the bells and whistles

Would I pay for bug fixes alone? No way. I'd migrate to another app. That's just how I roll

Brian

Could you do another render with enhanced lighting and closer view of the shoulder and chest area? I can't see much detail in you're example because of the shadows.

Whats the problem?

Brian

Quote - No doubt that different machines, OS and users contribute to a larger bug base. And all apps have the odd bug.

I still think it's a shame that Daz is charging us for the bug fixes we should be getting by making us pay for a new version. Which will have new bugs. Does that mean we are going to have to buy C8 to get the bug fixes for C7? That is what we are doing now. Does not seem right to me.

Am I missing something here? Wasn't the upgrade to Carrara 6 free for version 5 owners? I know my upgrade from C5Pro to C6Pro was free anyway. I don't expect free to 7 but DAZ has been very reasonable with their software upgrade pricing for the past two years or so. Bryce 6 was $6! Sheesh! That wasn't even an upgrade price!!!

*" Am I missing something here? Wasn't the upgrade to Carrara 6 free for version 5 owners? I know my upgrade from C5Pro to C6Pro was free anyway."

*I think you have confused the buy C5Pro and get the C6pro upgrade with those that already had C5Pro.

*"I don't expect free to 7 but DAZ has been very reasonable with their software upgrade pricing for the past two years or so. Bryce 6 was $6! Sheesh! That wasn't even an upgrade price!!!"

*Nobody has said they expect C7 for free. That is your imagination. Some of us think that we should get those bug fixes that we should have had for C6 before having to ugrade to C7. I would think the upgrade price would be reasonable.

Shoulder area:

Example 1 was just to show that, yes you can work with M4 in C6.

2-3 were angles to show the issues mentioned above.

JB

Gosh!
Really, what % of users would really care--NEED to care?

Sorry

Brian

Quote - JB

Gosh!
Really, what % of users would really care--NEED to care?

Sorry

Brian

I was merely demonstrating the issues a user would face with M4 in C6. The point is, some users care and they should be aware.

bwtr, his shoulders look dislocated.  If people are upgrading to C7 so they can properly do M4, then C7 has a very different customer base and market these days.

Thanks for posting the pictures of M4 , everyone. From the vitriol in the DAZ forum, I thought the M4 issue was something insurmountable. The pictures that I create can always have the odd prop thrown over an offending body part, while I wait for the fix from DAZ.

Sorry to (sort of) threadjack, but does anyone know if Carrara 7 will have a 64-bit version?

Quote - Sorry to (sort of) threadjack, but does anyone know if Carrara 7 will have a 64-bit version?

64 bit support will not be ready for C7.0

New C7 with all those features sounds great.
On the other hand, I'm still waiting for a Carrara scripting language that you can find in other 3D softwares such as Lightwave.

Do you mean something like Python?

Theres a thread at Daz where Craig talk about this, its in the plans but not for version 7.

I so hope that Carrara doesn't use python! Poser 7 is always crashing and self-corrupting. I've had to reinstall the whole program twice in one year, always for some python issue.

Blender and others use Python without problem.

So it is a poser + python issue, I suppose. It is one of the reasons I switched to Carrara. Simple Poser functions work fine, but any time I use any of the more specialized scripts, Poser crashes after 2 or 3 trials. Especially when using several of the python scripts within one session.

Quote - > Quote - No doubt that different machines, OS and users contribute to a larger bug base. And all apps have the odd bug.

I still think it's a shame that Daz is charging us for the bug fixes we should be getting by making us pay for a new version. Which will have new bugs. Does that mean we are going to have to buy C8 to get the bug fixes for C7? That is what we are doing now. Does not seem right to me.

Am I missing something here? Wasn't the upgrade to Carrara 6 free for version 5 owners? I know my upgrade from C5Pro to C6Pro was free anyway. I don't expect free to 7 but DAZ has been very reasonable with their software upgrade pricing for the past two years or so. Bryce 6 was $6! Sheesh! That wasn't even an upgrade price!!!

The only way you would have gotten a free version is if you paid for a version when it was getting ready to go out. (So essentially paying full price for an old version) Even the free magazine versions require an upgrade, usually under $200 per version. People simply are uncomfortable w/ having to pay another 180 to get possible bug fixes they never received. The not receiving the bug fixes is the biggest concern, paying for them is secondary. Basically it sets a tone people are not comfortable with.

I would add that someone should take the reference to Optitex out of the original post, since Daz stated this is NOT being worked on for Carrara.

Quote - I would add that someone should take the reference to Optitex out of the original post, since Daz stated this is NOT being worked on for Carrara.

Dynamic Cloth for Carrara was announced by Daz, then they tried to deny it. Posters were able to find various posts that show the announcements. Doesn't matter, it's not gonna happen now. I was less than happy and well...through a bit of a tantrum over it. Should've just shrugged it off...oh well. Dynamic Cloth, while a very nice feature, isn't a show stopper for me.

Wish I could edit my original post, to delete the Dynamic Cloth comment but can't seem to find the edit button. Am I blind? How do I do it? The best way to hide something from me is put it right in front of my nose.
Jonny

You only have a certain amount of time to make any changes to your post. The it would take a mod to do it for you.

*"Dynamic Cloth for Carrara was announced by Daz, then they tried to deny it. Posters were able to find various posts that show the announcements. Doesn't matter, it's not gonna happen now."

Where did you find this fact. I thought Daz said that the DS version would be first, then the Carrara version.

Communication is not one of Daz's strong points unless it's hype for one of thier latest and greatest products that will ,of coarse, change the CG communitiees way of life forever.

Quote - Where did you find this fact. I thought Daz said that the DS version would be first, then the Carrara version.

Communication is not one of Daz's strong points unless it's hype for one of thier latest and greatest products that will ,of coarse, change the CG communitiees way of life forever.

Here's a thread to read if you want to check it out:

http://forum.daz3d.com/viewtopic.php?t=97748&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=54

The only constant in the Universe is change...DAZ is in harmony with it

LOL, I have just finished reading the thread before checking back in here. What a fun read.

Too bad, no dynamic cloth in the forseable future. But does tell you that the only way we will get any bug fixes, is to buy C7.  That sucks the big one don't it.

Quote - LOL, I have just finished reading the thread before checking back in here. What a fun read.

Too bad, no dynamic cloth in the forseable future. But does tell you that the only way we will get any bug fixes, is to buy C7.  That sucks the big one don't it.

LOL...yea we have some lively conversations there.

I don't think it's fair C6 users won't get bug fixes. I'm upgrading so it doesn't really affect me but I feel for everyone who just want the C6 bugs fixed. Now they're put in the unfortunate position of paying for it or live with bugs and work arounds. It's a shame.

Modelling in the assembly room, but no mention of improvements/additions to the modelling tools themselves.

I can't see anything there that would make me want to upgrade.

Yeh, I forgot you can't edit after awhile. The thing is there is no guarantee the bugs are going to be fixed in C7. I am sure some will, but whether they will get down in the program and fix the others. There are quite a few that still keep showing in C6 and every update broke stuff when it was fixing others. It's all relative though for some people these aren't issues or enough of a issue. All depends on what you use it for and your satisfaction level. At least the beta will be public and here soon.

At least Carrara won't shoot up in price like Vue just did, which doesn't have enough new features to make the upgrade worth the price. 

What Vue did that was tempting, though, was have a FREE (!) learner's version. That was tempting, but then I shook myself back to reality, where I only have time for one 3D program.

There are some nice features in VUE. The company isn't warm and fuzzy tho. The macros are a nice addition. Blender is also planning that for 2.50.

i am picking up that VUE is becomming an important plugin (Vue people don't be offended by that word, be proud) for Lightwave and other higher priced/featured 3D apps for terrain/landscape.

I am disapointed also about the dynamic cloth and I guess the way I'd characterize my outburst was also a tantrum. Unlike Mr. Bravo however, no cloth IS a deal killer for me. I can't use Carrara for what I do.

:::::: Opera :::::