This brings up a very interesting topic I've been wanting to explore.

Has anything been added to the tools in Silo with this update?  Any new workflow enhancements or features?  Any bug fixes or stability improvements?  At this point, I have to think there's a very limited market for a bare bones, dedicated modelling software that is intended to perform just one type of production module, and nothing else.  You would think in the absence of such a software, many upstart companies would have stepped up to the plate and put out something to take over this niche, while Nevercenter slept for years on v2, but that didn't happen.

Seems Nevercenter and Daz, Inc. could just sit on their current software indefinitely, and still face no real challengers to their specialized markets, because the user base isn't growing, it's either stagnant or unchanged.  Instead of an update of substance, it's one of monitary gain, just capitolizing on a very narrow user base by opening it up to Linux users, and giving people a reason to buy into it again.  I really thought Nvil would have smashed this tiny market wide open by now, but a lot of people seem to dislike the appearance of the UI so much, that it hasn't really taken off.  I could understand that, but I disagree with it in principle.

I understand why Hexagon would appeal visually to a beginner, but in spite of the intuitive UI, Hexagon quickly loses out to it's competitors with a counterproductive workflow, which constantly reminds you to validate after using a tool, as if you, the user, are the one prone to instability.  While it does have customizable hotkeys, the Icon-driven UI is locked in a perpetual novice state.  I like the idea of a dynamic geometry, but it falls flat in Hexagon, as many essencial modelling tools that would make a procedural model useful, are not even present in the software.  The selection tools for making complex poly, edge, or vertex selections, are very limited.  Good luck if you need to make a dot or skip loop selection of every other, or every third, vertex in an edge loop with 20+faces.

There seems to have been a serious decline in the interest of standalone modelling apps, and there may be more to it than the stalled development they have seen at the hands of their developers.  In fact, there may be a reason why development has stalled.  It might have a lot to do with how fast people progress their skills, and the need or wish to move on to bigger and better things, without re-learning how to walk again.  Today's younger users look to invest their time and effort in a software with synergistic tools, something to seamlessly move between different tasks, rather than learning a dedicated specialty software that isn't optimized to work together with other apps fluidly, and use old tech to transfer meshes back and forth.  Today's younger users would rather just switch tabs, or click a button, to jump from modelling to texturing, or rigging to animation.  This is the GO-Z and APPlink workflow generation.  A generation who like it all in one, or have it at least appear as such.

These dedicated apps are fine for entry-level modelling, or even for people who only ever intend to do modelling, and nothing else, in the CG industry.  In a studio, it's very common to be specialized in one given task, but in a studio there's also a need for modularity, and tools that can be programmed to do more than what they were designed to do.  Anyone who's ever worked on a really big, time-sensitive production knows the value of a tech director, and working with software which allows you to write scripts that bring new functions to the software, or handle mundane or repetitive tasks.  If the modellers find themselves needing a new primitive object, it's beneficial to have the ability to write a plugin that can bring this to you.

So is there really any room in the industry for these dedicated modellers?  Competition sparks growth and innovation.  So far, in the world of the dedicated modelling software, we aren't seeing much growth or innovation, except possibly Nvil. However, Nvil doesn't seem to resonate.  Some people thought Blender would cause the demise of some big name 3D applications, but in fact, it seems to have had no affect on the hold that companies like AD have on the industry, and it may have actually fueled the innovation of tools in companies like The Foundry and Maxon.  Ironically, Blender may be the very reason smaller companies of dedicated modelling apps have been grinding to a halt, and losing consumers. Food for thought.