Vue dEsprit 4.1 Now Available E-ON SOFTWARE SHIPS FREE, FEATURE RICH UPDATE TO 3D SCENERY PRODUCT July 15, 2002. Beaverton, OR. e-on software is pleased to announce the immediate availability of a free, downloadable update to its award winning 3D natural scenery product, Vue dEsprit 4. Vue dEsprit 4.1, available for download to all registered Vue dEsprit 4.0 users includes the following new or enhanced features: - NEW! LightWave 6+ LWO2 file format import - NEW! Cinema 4D terrain exports - NEW! Direct static Poser scene imports for the Mac OS X version. - NEW! TrueSpace 5 file format import - Improved! Improved import of low resolution pictures into the Terrain Editor - Improved! Improved rendering of skies - Improved! Improved resolution when rendering enlarged materials Other improvements were made in the Function editor, animating planets, negative volumetric spotlights and importing Vue 2 scenes. Vue dEsprit comes with 2 CDs, bursting with 30 SolidGrowth 2 tree and plants, over 100 atmospheres, 100 different types of clouds, 300 materials, 250 high quality fully textured 3D objects and over 50 example scenes made by Vue master artists. A 360-page manual is also included. Vue 4.1 provides artists with the updated features they need to work with other industry leading products, said Nicholas Phelps, president of e-on software. e-on software will showcase Vue 4.1 at Siggraph 2002, held in San Antonio, Texas, July 21-26. e-on software will also release an update to its Lightwave plug-in Ozone for Mac OS X and Windows at Siggraph. About e-on software Founded in 1997, e-on software was established to develop and promote the highest quality graphics tools with professional strength features. Established by graphics enthusiasts for graphics enthusiasts, e-on software translates its passion for art into tools for the graphics community. E-on software is based in Beaverton, Oregon and Paris, France. The company has achieved worldwide reputation for its award winning 3D scenery generator Vue d'Esprit. Contact e-on software 503-646-4857

Good Job guys!!

Vue 4.1 and OSX Well, after downloading and going directly to "trying" to import, open, load a Poser file..... NOTHING ! Please make available explicit directions or a tutorial/file that works. PoserPro/Poser only runs in OS9.....Vue only runs in OSX...HUH? Also - the multi-colored text problem in the open/save dialog boxes STILL exists frustated with first look of 4.1 - I see no fixes or improvements

While the update works just fine, I had some peculiar things happen to my computer while using Vue: I still do not understand why E-On Software uses this idiotic system, where all instances of a texture are updated at the same time. It would be much better to update the texture when the windows used to alter the texture have been closed. The way it is at the moment, the texture-editor will eat processor-time up in no time. This is the only really weak point in Vue d'Esprit's systems I can see at the moment. The problem is, that this point really makes using Vue a P.I.T.A. I tend to use very complicated layered textures - especially my procedural bark-textures (Which I wanted to make available as freestuff as soon as Vue can cope with them...). When using these textures, not much will happen - but when I am trying to modifiy the textures, something pretty annoying happens: My computer reboots after a massiv internal problem (aka Blue Screen of Death). Now, I may be a bit arrogant on this, but my system never failed me before. OK, a programm might break down once in a while - but my system never did. Vue managed to crash my system for the first time in years. To answer any questions that might arise: I am using an Athlon 1700-Processor with 512 Megs of RAM and an 80 Gigs Harddisk. There is more than 50 Gigs free on the Harddrive. It is a Windows 2000-System and I do use my option to update the system quite often. Joerg

You should send the texture problem to support@e-onsoftware.com so someone in that end of e-on can figure out what's happening. Unless you are only running MS apps, you must be running a bullet-proof version of Windows which doesnt get out on the market -- I use Win 2000 and XP, and still get hanged apps now and then, EVEN from some MS applications :-) Poser import should work menubar Objects>Import Objects... and then select the .pz3 file. If nothing is happening, then something's defintely wrong. Send a message to support with your system configuration info, esp the version of Mac OS X you are using. The Poser object should appear right in the middle of your scene. 4.1 primarily fixed or enhanced importing. The wacky colors problem is being resolved but we didnt want to hold up 4.1 for a strictly cosmetic issue. best regards, Lynn Fredricks e-on software

Hi Lynn !

This update works fine on my system (win2K). I'm glad to see that the picture import bug in the terrain editor is now fixed.

And thanks for the new Cinema4D export ! The terrains and their textures (color, bump and specular channel) are perfectly imported in Cinema4D.

By the way, since our last chat, did you thought about an OZONE plug-in for other softwares than LIGHTWAVE ? Can we hope for something in a near future ?

:) Eric

Just in case it helps... I also run Windows 2000 and I have occasionally dealt with this strange system crash and automatic reboot thing. I believe I eventually figured out that it had to do with my video card drivers. You may want to look into this. I had trouble with Vue at one point because of what I assume is non standard implementation of Open GL (most likely the Open GL in my video drivers - not in Vue). This was mostly just the issue of being unable to use Open GL mode in Vue. After updating my video card drivers the problem went away. Hasn't happened in a while. Good luck with it. Frank

I know that the Video-Driver may be responsible, but the same driver works quite well under 3D-Max and at least three other Open-GL applications. In my case, the reboot happens when the system really gets slowed down by Vue. When I try to close a window to get Vue faster (mostly shader-windows) most of the time, this works quite well. Sometimes however, the computer simply reboots. As for the system: Win2K is quite stable if used and maintained correctly. I never experienced sudden reboots or BODs before. Like I said: Sometimes an application will crash, because the programmers goofed up or didn't put much work in a programm converted from MAC-Base. But reboots and the like are something that I never experienced before. Joerg

I've had problems with the 4.1 update as well on my WinME system. Even installing was a hassle; I eventually had to move all my plants out of the Plants folder so the installer would stop complaining about them. Once 4.1 was in, I immediately noticed that rendering had an inordinate delay in starting up: perhaps 15 to 20 seconds would elapse before the render began, even with the preview settings. On 4.03, rendering would start almost immediately. This behavior was consistent across new scenes created in 4.1, and old scenes from 4.03. Even worse, Vue starting locking up every few minutes, a problem I've never had before. At that point, I tried to switch back to the previous version, but the advertised process of copying the files in the Back folder resulted in a program that wouldn't even start up. I finally had to "upgrade" to version 4.03 to get back to my tried and true version. The splash screen still says Vue 4.1, but I can live with that, now that everything's operational again. I'm disappointed that I've run into these problems; I was looking forward to some of the fixes in 4.1. I guess I'll have to hold off until 4.2 comes along....

Just ran into this, VUE 4.1 imports a PZ3 and tries to go online ?? I'm not online and VUE crashes. Went online, tried the same thing, import PZ3 and VUE tries to go online again, me says no and VUE crashes, rebooted went through the biz but imported another aka not-Poser object and lo and behold VUE doesn't even try to go online. Just for the hell of it I tried the PZ3 thingy a few more times, works as predicted, load PZ3 -> permission to go online - VUE runs fine, load PZ3 -> no permission to go online - VUE crashes. Something smells very funny here, maybe the cooperation between E-on and Clabs is getting a little tooclose. Back to 4.06 for the time being.

The import function into terrain editor is working well for me, but the render start is long, as Ainle said above. This didn't happen with previous updates. I have also had system freezes with Vue 4 (and updates) that I've never had with any of the other 15 or 20 graphics apps on my system. I have an Athlon 1G, 90M hard drive space, 512M DDram, memory swap space at max 2048/min 1024, GeForce with 32M on card, running W2K Pro. I have Bryce 4 & 5, Terragen 844, Amapi, Amorphium, ZBrush, among other apps on my system. My system will freeze so bad that I can't bring up the task manager with cntl-alt-del, or even power it off with power off button. I have to turn it off at the power strip! Which of course is wonderful for my system. Now, if over a dozen other sophisticated apps are not causing any problem at all for my machine, but 1 app is, that sure makes me think there's something about that 1 app...

Joerg, do not write to support@e-onsoftware.com, because your mail will probably never arrive, these support addresses don't exist anymore. All ask for support is to handle directly on e-onsoftware's site. Guitta

There is a knowledge base now available on the e-on web site, so its best to look there first. There is still support available, but if its answered in the knowledge base then support isnt likely to answer. Regarding the online weirdness -- I dont know what's going on there. You should check your Poser installation as well. Vue "tells" Poser that Poser functionality is in use, so if somethings strange with your Poser installation it might trigger something like this. The reboot problem and the Win ME problem should be reported to support. They will ask you for VERY exact information which is required to fix problems like this. Best regards, Lynn Fredricks e-on software

Lynn, hello:-) Why this?? Vue 4 always want's to "access the internet". My firewall remembers me ten times a day. And as I have not decided yet if I will allow it or not, it will continue... Guitta

Uninstalled VUE 4.1 , reinstalled VUE 4.06. --> no more problems aka no 4.1 no worry. VUE doesn't even try to go online anymore. Typical Poser installation problem etc.... :(

LOL, for sure I will not, hein. Too much work. I have upgrades since version 2 and have to re-install every thing then. I just will forbid to my firewall to go on-line. :-)Guitta

Just went through the whole re-install when I got a new system, still glad my 3 update doesn't yell about not seeing VUE2. I can only install VUE4 if I install V3 first, V4 asks for the V3 serial but doesn't accept it unless I have V3 installed on the same drive. Reverse from 4.1 to 4.06 is just matter of copying the [BACK] folder to the VUE folder, but that's part of that secure VUE feeling hmm :)

The whacky colored text is a bit more than cosmetic, at least in my case. I first notice there is a problem when all of a sudden I can't move the object I was just moving a second ago. Then it does a time delayed jump. Then blank tan squares and rectangles appear wherever I clik the mouse. Then the last render won't clear and I know my only choice is to save the file and close the app. Then yup, there it is, the whacky text in the drop down menus. I should be thankful that it's only the app locking up and not my system. But I can only work in Vue for about ten minutes at a time. Very very frustrating. I'm running Win98se on a 556 celeron with 318 megs ram and a Rage 128 Pro. All my drivers are current and I have all open GL in Vue disabled. 4.1 Has this been happening to anyone else?

Monsoon, we may be talking about different wacky colors. There is a cosmetic issue running under Mac OS X in some instances. Best to try support because my guess is that it is seems a lot like a driver issue (but what do I know, Im a sales guy). Eric, Ill discuss at Siggraph with the team about Ozone for other platforms. best regards, Lynn Fredricks e-on software

thanks Lynn ! :) Eric

A quick update on my upgrade woes: I discovered that my "downdate" back to 4.03 had some problems (namely that the animation preview stopped working; the button would click, the timeline would expand to make room for the little animation window, but no preview would show). I finally decided to do a fresh install of Vue to a new folder (to avoid trampling my existing installation, just in case), then upgraded again to 4.03. Oddly enough, same problem with the preview. I tried it again from scratch, this time going to 4.1. Now, rendering kicked in immediately, with no delays, but the whole thing hung on exit. After some thought, I disabled OpenGL, and now everything seems fine (knock on wood-grain material texture). I'm running more tests, but 4.1 from a clean install seems to be working. Stay tuned...

Hey, I found out what causes the crash-problem in Vue: Vue, for some really strange reason, doesn't like the Audiogalaxy-Satellite. Now don't ask me why, but I discovered that Vue only crashed when I am online at the same time. It also only crashes, if I am online and have the Audiogalaxy-Satellite activated. I tried it out several times with the same file. THe file renders and handles without problems as long as the satellite is not there. The moment I run the satellite, things get gritty. After about 10 minutes of work, everything collapses and my systems says "Good night"... Strange indeed. Joerg

Strange indeed. But I'm afraid that doesn't help my Vue situation very much. I'm neither on line nor do I have the Audiogalaxy-Satellite. I have also reinstalled and reupdated both Vue and all my video drivers. Nothing helps. I've put a plea in at E-on support in hopes that they can come to my digital and emotional rescue......