Quote - Too bad any comment less than "singing the praises of Vue" is considered full of vile and contempt.

David,

Perhaps you need to reread my comments. They were made to inform you, not to insult you.

The things I mention, I would hope are helpful. As Alex pointed out, it's not uncommon to have one hour rendertimes per frame in this business. Max can't do all the things Vue can and vice versa. You certainly know renders can take from 1 minute to days depending on complexity, hardware, render settings etc.. The goal is to find the correct mixture.

I don't understand the disconnect. When you say one hour renders won't work for you, I'm just pointing out there are alternatives to one hour renders.

Frankly, the best alternative is what surveyman recommends, just download the free version of the PLE and take it for a spin.

Even if you do, chances are you may need some hand holding, as the learning curve can be a bit steep. You might want to check for some tutorials around for xStream/Max. A quick Google search located one at:
http://www.imakeu.com/Tutorials/Vue/

Another good idea would be to check in over at the e-on forums as there you may find those more knowledgable regarding xStream and Max.

Good luck,
Chipp

Quote - Cool.  I can wait for version 8 then for $295.  Maybe the trend will be maintenance customers get ".5" updates while everyone else have to wait.

Shawn,

While I have no such knowledge, I suspect you are correct in your observation.

Quote - As a hobbyist, I feel as though I am being forced to step down to a lower version of the software, or ultimately just give it up altogether. I have 6 Infinite now, but have already had to pass on upgrading to 7 Infinite due to job loss. The next upgrade, if I skip 7 Infinite, will be even pricier (based on what happened to people using 5 Infinite who had skipped upgrading to 6 Infinite but wanted to go to 7 Infinite when it came out), so I guess I am just going to have to give up. I just upgraded my Adobe CS2 Photoshop to CS4 for a reasonable upgrade price. I don't know why e-on can't be the same. Reasonable. It does seem that e-on are doing their best to lose hobbyist business. :(

I investigated this and Adobe have a very good upgrade practice. At the moment I have CS3 and will skip an upgrade and still be able to upgrade for the same price. It is a shame E-on don't follow suit. When I asked E-on about an upgrade from V5I to V7I the price was the same as the V5I -> V6I -> V7I route.

I feel much happier since receiving the latest newsletter. I hope this means that the people at E-on are finally listening to their customers.

Quote - The things I mention, I would hope are helpful. As Alex pointed out, it's not uncommon to have one hour rendertimes per frame in this business. Max can't do all the things Vue can and vice versa. You certainly know renders can take from 1 minute to days depending on complexity, hardware, render settings etc.. The goal is to find the correct mixture.

Good enough for me, no offense taken here (and we both agree we don't mean to offend).
We can't be a member of the vue forums becasue we dont own any of their software.

That was a bit of a sore spot with me in testing the Ozone 4.0 Beta, there was not a good vehicle to provide feedback. "Good" being relative to what I was used too, meaning access to a forum etc.

It is my plan to test out the PLE as soon as I get some free time....
David

Quote - > Quote - Cool.  I can wait for version 8 then for $295.  Maybe the trend will be maintenance customers get ".5" updates while everyone else have to wait.

Shawn,

While I have no such knowledge, I suspect you are correct in your observation.

Vue sent out an email today clarifying the 7 > 7.5 > 8 price path for subscribers and non-subscribers.  It won't be a gamble whichever path you choose to version 8.

Quote - I investigated this and Adobe have a very good upgrade practice. At the moment I have CS3 and will skip an upgrade and still be able to upgrade for the same price. It is a shame E-on don't follow suit. When I asked E-on about an upgrade from V5I to V7I the price was the same as the V5I -> V6I -> V7I route.

Which is one of the reasons I REALLY like Newtek and upgrading Lightwave. Even with the subscription program that they've implemented, you can STILL skip versions and upgrade at the same price. Yes, it really is too bad that companies like E-on are too greedy for their own good. xStream6 was my last E-on upgrade. Their tremendous price increases and upgrade policies have just made it way too expensive for our small production house to keep up. We don't use it as a hobby, but we are too small to continue upgrading at these ridiculous prices. I wonder what xStream8 will cost? $1995? xStream9....  $2295?...    etc. I suppose if you skip enough versions they'll force you to pay MORE than a new user since you should have been paying for ALL upgrades?  ;)

Chief Architect went to subscriptions for upgrades.  I just needed one version of the program though as it's just a hobby for me.  One program I like is TurboCAD which hasn't gone to subscription and still offers very cheap upgrades.  DAZ gives their old versions of Carrara Pro away.  So upgrades are free if you wait for the next version to be given away.

I like how ZBrush has free upgrades through various versions. I only paid for ZBrush once when it was version 1.55 and upgrading to version 4 will be free still.  Silo has a nice free price for any version 2.x releases.

...

I see many info about new version VUE named 7.5 and even 8.0 which have new functions. :woot:
What for new version ?

My very old version VUE Infinite named 7 (with newest updates !!!) still don't worked properly with Poser files. :cursing:

VUE 7 don't accept many deformers in imported files from Poser 7 or even Pro.
Deformers don't worked properly !

In new version 7.5 these deformers will be worked properly ???

I have doubts !  :tt2:

VUE 7 don't worked properly even...without Poser files. :lol:

New version will be ' crash-proof ' ???  I have doubts ! :tt2:

...but for all this faults **I still LOVE this soft !!! ** :tt1:

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