I'll add my thoughts also. Let me say first of all, certain persons on this forum did a good job in promoting the newest release of Poser 8. But after using it for a while I can only say there was a lot of hype surrounding that promotion.
Pro's
- Starts up a lot faster..
- Scenes open and save a lot faster.
- Rendering is a lot faster (at least on WinXP home 32bit)
- OpenGL preview seems to be a bit better.
- Indirect Lighting is interesting.
Con's
- The new library system is a mess. I seriously wonder who tested it, it's full of bugs. Libraries go blank or missing, items cannot be applied. It's causing me a lot of problems.
- The new UI interface, isn't that new at all. OK, it looks a little bit different, but it's not as good as the old system. It actually blocks workflow, since you cannot move everything as freely around as you wish and could do with the pevious versions. Windows are parented now, while before you could place them anywhere you wished.
- OpenGL isn't as improved as I expected it to be and still doesn't make use of the full power modern gfx cards offer.
- The new content..... 1.5Gb really sounds impressive, but I found it very disappointing. The new figures look terrible, there's hardly any variaty in content.
- Indirect Lighting way to slow to use it in a more complex scene. It sure adds more realistic shadows, but it's not as mind-blowing as I expected it to be. It takes up more time to get the IL correct, then it took setting up 'old' light system (contrary to what we were made to believe). On top of that come long rendering times and still it lacks the impressiveness expected. I do understand the excitment, but once that wears off, I can see many people abandoning it because of it's slowness.
- The biggest con is the let down of new features. For the price asked there's hardly enough in it to justify the price. I know some will disagree, but compared to for example Vue (the versions that come in the same price range), Poser 8 hardly gives you anything new at all.
If I had paid the regular upgrade price of $129 I would have returned Poser 8 by now. Crashes, not properly working features, dissapointing features. BUT.....I was lucky enough to buy it at the $1.99 super deal, so I'm happy with it. For that price I can live with the shortcomings and lack of new features. The rendering speed improvement is worth the $1.99.
I felt for the hype, but I'm glad I only paid $1.99. If I paid more I would have seriously felt dumb for falling for the hype some managed to create......
Artwork and 3DToons items, create the perfect place for you toon and other figures!
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/index.php?vendor=23722
Due to the childish TOS changes, I'm not allowed to link to my other products outside of Rendo anymore :(
Food for thought.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYZw0dfLmLk
