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Carrara F.A.Q (Last Updated: 2024 Dec 23 6:48 pm)
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“For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible.”
[Stuart Chase]
You have a point. I guess soon for DAZ is in the next 6 months. Heck, I have been longing for a Hexagon update that will allow it to run on OSX Leopard reliably for more then a year. The thing with DAZ is that they have very few developers on hand, so they "share projects". Or at the very least that is the case between Hexagon and Carrara.
I am also transitioning to modo but it has a steep learning curve and a lot of depth. Hexagon is simple and very straight forward, which is it's charm. Sure, modo is a lot more powerful, but I am a lot more comfortable with Hexagon at this stage. I have had modo for six months more or less and I am just beginning to tap in to it's real power. But boy, does it take time. Working full time and having a family does not aid much on this endeavor (5 year old boy and 3 year old girl).
"Hexagon is simple and very straight forward, which is it's charm."
Was it's charm.
I understand trying to find the time for the learning curve. It's worth it though. At least Luxology IS doing something with Modo and they also let us KNOW what it is thier doing and they have version upgrades/ bug fixes that don't cost us out of our pocket.
I agree, and that was the reason why modo was purchased. I am more then half way through Dan's book, but I still need to get some more video tutorials. The thing is that aside from animation, modo trumps Carrara and Hexagon in one swoop. Carrara still has some features like morph targets and bones that modo does not have. So it depends. But modo's rendering..., Carrara can't even come close.
Just to be fair you guys are comparing a $895 3D package (Modo) to one that cost $550 , although I paid less than half that for my copy originally (Carrara 6 for $150 plus a $99 Daz membership). I jumped ship from Strata 3D because of constant upgrade costs for minimal features and stability.
I'm still not perfectly happy, but it's a step up from what I had and good for the money. If money and ease of use wasn't a factor we'd all be using Maya wouldn't we?
Well that is part of the problem. Sure modo is a lot more expensive then Carrara. But why is that? Think about it. Part of the problem that DAZ has is lack of developers. That is why they take so long to update there code. Well if they could hire more developers, this problem could be solved. But if they did that, they would have to increase the price of their packages also.
Hexagon at one point was sold for $2.00 dollars. What kind of development can you expect from such a vision-less move. It was meant to increase Hexagon's user base. Yet more then two years have passed and Hexagon has seen little to no development. Do you think this might be because DAZ lacks resources?, and if you agree with this, then you have to agree that revenue is tied to development, and development to efficiency and quality. That is why for a professional using these tools for his/her business, having the backing of a well funded application is more important then price alone.
Carrara is one of those packages that has enough strengths to fit in a professional's tool set, but when you stumble in to a show stopping bug, and believe me, they are there, you need to know that you can count on DAZ to solve the issue expeditiously. This will not happen if they keep on selling their software at bottom of the barrel prices. Also DAZ with their insane discounts create a market mentality of "why should I pay full price, when I can wait for a special". I guess they think they can off set this by selling larger volumes. Maybe this has worked for Carrara, but Hexagon seems to be a casualty of this dumb marketing strategy.
Hi Pinklet... the problem is a user money base, not a developer base. When I choose Carrara I need to find a software that fit in my pocket... I am a long time Lightwave user, b ut I only work with it, never have a chance to buy it... so when Daz out Carrara in my hands for 150 bucks and Hexagon for 1,99 I said YES!
Now I am a seller at Daz and here at Renderosity for products and have the eyes in the developers to make shure that thing are going well too...
If really I could use Maya to work... but I think I still will have Carrara in my tool box.
Follow me at euQfiz Digital
I agree that DAZ has a market, and you are part of their demographic. Don't get me wrong, I like Carrara and Hexagon a lot. But why has it been two years. Two full years with very little development if any with Hexagon?, and why is modo moving so fast as far as development? At some point you need to factor in revenue streams and development cycles. If Hexagon was making money for DAZ like modo is doing for Luxology, you bet that it would be in their best interest to aggressively develop it. Sure selling Hexagon for $2.00 dollars seems like a good deal at the time, and it probably is, for you, but not for DAZ or Hexagons future, because development cost money, and that money needs to come from somewhere. That is my point.
I know that DAZ has it's market demographic and it's good that they make great software available to users at an accessible price point, but $2.00 was a mistake, because you depreciate the perceived value of the package, and you can't conceivably fund future development with such small margins, regardless of volume. If Hexagon has not been updated, it's because of lack of resources.
If you are using Hexagon on Windows, you would not fully perceive how atrocious and bug ridden Hexagon is under Mac OSX 10.5 Leopard. Yet Carrara runs O.K. I do think that DAZ will one of these day renew development with Hexagon, but as a professional, I could no longer wait and I moved over to modo.
Since I have modo, I now realize I don't need Carrara as much ether, since it has a magnificent rendering engine. modo is not perfect, it crashes at times with complex setups and it has it's share of bugs also. But their is no caparison productivity wise with Hexagon and modo. When you have a deadline, the last thing you need is problems in your pipeline.
I just stopped by to see what was going on with Carrara. I've owned from version 1 till 6, but I rarely used it past version 4. I moved to Cinema 4D several years ago (at a pretty penny)—haven't looked back since. It's a shame that Eovia sold Carrara. I loved that program, but after investing in C4D I decided I had to pick one ap and concentrate on it. C4D is a great full featured suite and far more robust but Carrara has very advanced features for the price (even does a thing or two better) but I don't think Daz does Carrara justice—it's a shame.
I admit it is a difficult call. The US economy, not to mention global economy has been going south for a long while. Unless changes immediately are made, this may continue. I have seen little evidence that anyone in power is willing to really make changes that need to be made for the broader population, instead of the elite few. So the money issue is a real one. When you factor in multiple sw packages, hw and other expenses, it can add up real fast.
No need to think outside the box....
Just make it
invisible.
I luckily had the money to upgrade to C7Pro. Glad I did then because I don't have the money now. With a little more attention to detail, DAZ could turn Carrara into a real money maker. Then they would have more money to really develop it. There is so much potential in it. But the bad economy really is slowing everything down.
"...anyone in power is willing to really make changes that need to be made for the broader population,..."
Ah yes, a Fascist economy -- the ultimate end to a Capitalist economy when mixed with sufficient elements of "anyone in power," serving the masses with a populist agenda, of course. Benito Mussolini (the father of Fascism) once explained during an interview, that the more accurate term for Fascism is "Corporatism." Does that ring a bell?
Most people have this image of Fascism as being boot-jacketed goose-stepping military thugs. Well, got news for you, it all started with a really bad world economy, and a lot of help from "anyone in power," who dedicated that power to the "broader population."
I just couldn't resist commenting on ren_mem's aside -- which triggered my aside (which has nothing to do with Carrara.) ; )
I agree with you on the Carrara 64-bit comment. Since using Vue 64-bit, so many problems went away, that going to Carrara (though it's a much better modeler than Vue) 32-bit is a dismal experience. All the cool features in the world don't amount to much, when one hits the memory wall head-on. A couple of years ago, Carrara developers had an opportunity to make Carrara the premiere modeling / landscape package, but since DAZ purchased it I feel it's days are numbered. I could have gone like this: Carrara; advance the landscape capabilities to match Vue, with decent modeling included. Hexagon; advance the modeling capabilities to the very high end.
DAZ primarily wanted the content crowd to pick-up Carrara and generate content for DAZ content sales. I realize economics drives these decisions, but one might assume the DAZ content cash stream might allow for more Carrara / Hexagon development. Not so, so it seems?
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Has there been an upgrade since release of Carrara 7?
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