Just a quick heads-up to let those interested know that Vue 8.5 Infinite and xStream are now available as pre-release for maintenance subscribers. Look like a lot of useful additions that will help me to use Vue better. Haven't downloaded yet. (will get it tonight), but here is the list of additions from the press release:

• Global Gamma Control: the ability to fully control the gamma in Vue ensures perfect coherence all along the user’s pipeline and will result in much higher fidelity of color and light in the final images. Users can fully control input and output gammas as well as the gamma used for displaying textures and colors inside the application.
• Interactive Cloud Control: cloud layers can be manipulated, rotated or resized interactively using the standard manipulation gizmos. They can also be animated using standard animation tools.
• Animated Planetary Cloud Density Maps: users can define animated maps to control the density of cloud layers on a planetary scale (e.g. to create animated hurricane shots).
• Diagnosis Render Passes: users can easily detect rendering bottlenecks and optimize render times by using the diagnosis render passes. For each pixel in the image Vue can indicate total render time of the pixel, number of anti-aliasing rays, number of texture anti-aliasing samples, total number of sub-rays in the pixel, total number of shadow rays, max recursion depth reached by a sub-ray, and number of final gather samples for that pixel.
• Unlimited Material Painting: the material painting tool allows painting distribution maps with any arbitrary number of materials. These painted materials can also be used as paint masks to constrain painting of other materials inside existing distribution maps.
• Zone Extraction: specific areas of a procedural terrain can be extracted by simply selecting a zone and converting it to a separate procedural terrain. This is ideal to create customized textures on specific areas for instance.
• New Terrain Sculpting Tools: Vue 8.5 introduces 4 powerful new sculpting brushes: Pinch, Flatten, Plateau and UniSlope. Also new in Vue 8.5 is the ability to use a bitmap for reference when sculpting in the terrain editor.
• Advanced EcoSystem Control: with Vue 8.5, artists can easily control the influence of the color variations on EcoSystem populations, drag multiple objects or plants from a browser into the EcoSystem population list, EcoSystem painting can be constrained using the underlying EcoSystem material rules (for instance, using influence of slope and altitude or the coloring rules) and more...
• Improved OpenGL Engine and Viewport Display: auto-exposure is now reflected in OpenGL views, terrain maps can be viewed directly in the terrain editor, the display quality of EcoSystem instances can be changed on individual population elements, OpenGL preview displays normal mapped surfaces, the EcoPainter brush size is now displayed in xStream for 3ds Max and C4D.
• Other improvements: the Z-Depth buffer can now be (optionally) anti-aliased, preview a Dynamic EcoSystem anytime by clicking the Preview button in the EcoSystem material, the user may define his own shortcuts in editors (panning, rotating, etc – for instance to match settings of other applications) together with many other improvements.

I especially like the sound of an anti-aliased Z-depth buffer and the new terrain sculpting and material paint tool.

Ciao
TD

Arrgh, just realized that I mistyped Vue in the thread title...  :blushing: Now it's too late to edit. Wish the forum software would allow more time to edit... :cursing:

Oh, well....

Compared to the 7.5 update the features do sound very promising. Especially the fact that you will be able to manipulate cloud layers with gizmos so that they can be rotated is just awesome. Some of the other new "features" are issues that should have already been solved a long time ago and I find it to be a disappointing that you will have to pay for another incremental update to get anti-aliased Z-depth maps and better dynamic population previews. Such things should be free to all Vue users and not exclusive to a .5 release.

Those gripes aside it sounds like a very good update (I'll keep my fingers crossed for it to be stable for everyone who pruchases it). I am looking forward to Vue 9 when I will be able to use those features, too. :-)

Download atm. :biggrin:

Mazak

The price drop for maintenance makes it now very interesting for all Vue Infinite user!

Mazak

The diagnosis buffer addition is extremely useful. You can see all kinds of info on a by pixel basis. Thus it is now possible to easily figure out why a render went from 5 minutes to 5 hours all of a sudden or to optimize things for animation. Attached is an example with one of the included scenes. Shown is the diagnosis buffer with the number of shadow rays. Other options included render time, global illumination, texture and object anti-aliasing and several others. Very useful in my book.

Didn't have much time to try the additions to the terrain sculpting, but the plateau function is excellent for my applications.

Back to playing
Ciao
TD

I got a email from e-on that I have been given a complimentary 30 day maintenance plan for upgrading from Vue 7 to Vue 8 does anyone know if I eligible for the 8.5 upgrade?

Upgrading to Vue 8.5 xStream might make some sense for those using 3ds Max 2011, Maya 2011, or Softimage 2011 (I don't know how messed up xStream is).

But paying for a Vue 8.5 Infinite in any way shape or form these days is just insane.  The included bundle of un-fixed bugs from version 8.1 through 8.4 should be a huge red flag for anyone thinking of buying into E-on's scheme.

I have Vue 8.5 installed and it does have a few good features added.

However, this did not solve the issue I saw importing Poser figures when "Poser Shader Tree" was turned ON. That same problem still exists and I have been told will until it is supported. They only officially support "Poser 7" and "Poser 8" at this time. There is no Poser Pro support since the code has been changed as shown by the removal of "Poser Pro" from the settings. What I know so far is they are working on Poser Pro 2010 support in a "future update", most likely Vue 9.x. Older versions of Poser are NOT supported at all.

Also, this was not a setting or lighting issue as they said some users are having success with using the "Poser 7" setting but not everyone. It seems to be an issue they may have to work with Smith Micro on as well so the shaders/mats don't get messed up when importing. For now, the only apparent solution to work around this is to make sure to turn OFF the option to import using "Poser Shader Tree".

I am currently testing Vue 8.5 Beta as not much time to play with it but will post anything else I find.

I think, when looking at some comments on the official e-on software that the most important change in this version has been totally overlooked.
The implementation of a real gamma linear workflow (and a well implemented one at that, very similar to the one used by 3ds max for mental ray), is something EXTREMELY important. 
Not only, it will make the life of professionals a lot easier (working with xStream, outputting images in float for further compositing... ), but it will have a very big impact on hobbyists (like me).
Most people will start to really realize this (if they use it properly) the first time they will try to make, an interior or semi-interior render. 
When using a quadratic light, they will also start to behave as they do in the real world, not this very harsh light that totally disappear within a few meters unless you crank it up like crazy. Instead, a light that slowly fade away, like what you are used to in your everyday life.
I've seen wonderful images by extremely talented artists in the gallery that looked "wrong" (honestly, mine didn't look better and even worst since I was far to be as talented as some of this artists). Bright zone, harshly turning into dark, extreme color saturation near the lights. The introduction of a real gamma workflow (once properly understood) mark the end of this era.
For those who are curious to know what I am actually talking about, a modo user posted a very well done "beginner introduction to linear workflow" on you tube. It is meant for modo, but all the information are relevant for the new functionalities in vue.

NB: I don't work for e-on, I'm not a beta tester and I do pay for both, my vue and my subscription. I only post this because I do think it's REALLY what finalize vue's transition to the professional world

Ab

 sadly the  most  significant change for me is a worsening of poser import.  It's like IK is left on in the legs, and if I choose to keep poser shaders it crashes when it gets to about 65% of the rendering done.  consistently.
Love esther
ps the new lighting does look great -but the twisted leg thing spoils it.

Okay so how come some of you have 8.5 yet I have a maintenance plan (even though it is for 30 days) stating I am eligible for all 8.x upgrades until 8 May?

Quote -  sadly the  most  significant change for me is a worsening of poser import.  It's like IK is left on in the legs, and if I choose to keep poser shaders it crashes when it gets to about 65% of the rendering done.  consistently.
Love esther
ps the new lighting does look great -but the twisted leg thing spoils it.

Be sure to report this to e-on with a support ticket.

I am working with a tech and we are trying to resolve the "Poser Shader Tree" issues. If you have anything specific I will pass it along, but need full tech specs such as your Vue version, Poser version, what type of figures, how many figures, etc. They may also request your PZ3 file you are having trouble importing too. If you can PM me here and put that info and other details I will see if they can replicate it or anything they may suggest.

The price drop in not upgrading to every version of vue that comes out is amazing.

Beats the maintenance scam by a long shot.

I guess I just like to keep my money in my pocket.

If e-on wants to raise upgrade prices I will upgrade less so the costs is the same to upgrade when I do.

Therefore if the upgrade price is $600  (rip off) and I used to upgrade for $200 I will upgrade every 3 versions.  This way I pay the same amount and I am not coerced by the upgrade spike in price.

CobraEye,
do you even use Vue?
you haven't added anything to the galleries in THREE YEARS, yet still moan and kvetch here. Why?! You maybe a fantastic artist, work for ILM for all I know, but I don't see you showing us that.

If you don't like Vue, why don't you go use Carrara, bryce, or Lightwave? :)
or if yer budget you complain about can stretch to it, 3DMAX or Maya...wait until you see their upgrade costs... :/

Quote - Be sure to report this to e-on with a support ticket.

Non-subscribers are just now getting responses back from E-on on bugs reported for the previous build saying their builds are not supported.  LOVE.

I'm happy with my current build. Sure it's buggy and sometimes crashes for no good reason, but I can't remember a time when Vue was perfect or even close to the stability you find in most other programs. Every new upgrade contains a host of bugs, sometimes reoccurring.

The ecosystems and atmospheres make Vue indispensable for me, but I have that already. 

 the bugs at present make 8.5 hard to use but it is only a beta.  the new lighting is sensational!

Forget it I won't ask again I'll just slither off into a corner. ;)

Paganartist,

The download for Vue 8.5 shows up on the My Account page under downloads. At least it does for me.

Hope this helps.

Quote - Paganartist,

The download for Vue 8.5 shows up on the My Account page under downloads. At least it does for me.

Hope this helps.

Thank you but it's not there I have a feeling by the time 8.5 is released my 30 day maintenance deal will be over. I only have 8 days left anyway par for the course LOL!!! But thanks for the info.

Copy paste from Lee Randall at e-on maintenance forum:

*"Hi Everyone

If you didn't get your download automatically, contact us at the support site (tech or sales rep) and we'll get you a link. You will have to place an order for a free upgrade so the system can generate a serial number for you

Cheers,
Lee* "

Mazak

I got a new E-Mail from e-on; Vue 8.5 final is ready for download.

If you were using the pre-release version of Vue 8.5 Infinite, you may want to download the final relase now!

Mazak :biggrin:

Thanks got that email too. Downloaded but not installed yet haven't had a chance.