Forum: Vue


Subject: E-on software Announces Vue 4 Professional (Questions Answered)

Lynn opened this issue on Sep 08, 2003 ยท 75 posts


Lynn posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 9:24 AM

E-on software Announces Vue 4 Professional PROFESSIONAL, NATURAL 3D SCENERY STUDIO TO BE RELEASED FOR APPLE EXPO September 8, 2003. Beaverton, OR. e-on software, the developer of award winning 3D natural scenery products, announces the forthcoming release of Vue 4 Professional, the newest addition to its line of products for professional 3D designers and digital video production houses. Professional 3D designers look for tools that integrate well with their workflow. Vue 4 Professional excels both as a final rendering engine and as a cooperative tool for high-end 3D and post-production applications such as Maya or After Effects, said Nicholas Phelps, president of e-on software. Vue 4 Professional will naturally integrate and extend all major 3D applications to provide a complete, professional natural 3D studio. Specifically designed for professionals, it provides a multitude of cutting-edge features that easily integrate in existing workflows. With an intuitive and production-oriented layout, professionals will be able to quickly create and enhance their production with incredible, wind-swept SolidGrowth 3 trees and plants, volumetric atmospheres and rich terrains in fully animated scenes. A selection of the features in Vue 4 Professional include: -Single objects and complete scenes can be exported to high end 3D applications, including 3DS Max, Cinema 4D, LightWave, Maya, Softimage XSI and others; -A full featured plant editor allows modification of any tree or plant or creation of entirely new species, with full export capabilities and animation support for simulating the effects of wind through trees; -Camera and light synchronization with 3DS Max, Cinema 4D, LightWave, Maya and Softimage XSI for perfectly matching renders; -Full support of industry standard compositing information, including all G-Buffer channels (Z Depth, Material ID, Layer ID, UV Coordinate, Normal vector, Non clamped color, Sub-pixel coverage, Render ID, Color, Transparency, Velocity, Sub-pixel weight and sub-pixel mask); -RLA and RPF file format support for use with e.g. Discreet Combustion or Adobe After Effects; -A brand new, and ultra fast OpenGL-based pre-rendering engine for quick and easy previewing; -Hybrid network rendering of single pictures or animations using RenderCow technology on Windows and MacOS X, including leveraging Apple RendezVous technology to easily transform a rack of Apple MacOS X Servers into a render farm; -24 enhancements to camera effects, lighting, shadows, depth of field, including new advanced anti-aliasing engine and new AccuShadows advanced shadow mapping technologies; -Over a dozen new animation and productivity features including a new ultra-fast Hybrid 2.5D motion-blur rendering engine, -Python-based application and scene scripting with full access to hundreds of internal functions and structures for customization and creation of new rendering effects. -Numerous productivity and feature enhancements. A complete and detailed list of features will be available when Vue 4 Professional ships. Vue 4 Professional ships on 3 CDs with a 460+ page manual, in a hybrid Windows and MacOS X configuration. Both platforms will ship simultaneously for Apple Expo in September, 2003. Vue 4 Professional will retail for $599 with a special introductory price of $499. Users of Vue dEsprit 4 will be able to sidegrade to Vue 4 Professional for $299 during the introductory period. More information and a movie trailer of Vue 4 Professional effects is available at http://www.e-onsoftware.com. About e-on software Founded in 1997, e-on software was established to develop and promote the highest quality graphics tools. E-on software was founded on the premise that powerful graphics tools should never get in the way of a designers creativity. E-on softwares product line includes the award winning Vue dEsprit 4 and the Ozone 2.0 line of professional atmospheric plugins. E-on software is based in Beaverton, Oregon. Press Contact e-on software 503-646-4857


SAMS3D posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 9:39 AM

This is great....for our upgrade who has Vue 4, do we get a new CD or just an upgrade that is downloaded? Sharen


Cheers posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 9:42 AM

...and how much will the sidegrade cost Vue 4 owners after the introductory period Lynn? At least I was about right on the price ;-) Cheers

 

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SAMS3D posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 9:44 AM

I can't seem to find info regarding professional version on web site. I will look again. Sharen


MikeJ posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 9:50 AM

This looks like a truly amazing step in the evolutiion of Vue, and I hope that e-on does well with it. And I have to say I'm shocked at the price... I figured it would be twice that amount!



dlk30341 posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 9:54 AM

Can you get the plant editor separately????


drnw04a posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 10:14 AM

It looks like a lot of enhancements have been worked in to the product. A couple of questions (if answers are available): Will Vue now be sold in two versions? For the average hobbyist dabbling in landscape creation, the 'vintage' Vue that could be had for around $200 was a great deal. Five or six hundred is a much different story, and it sounds like some of the new features will only be useful to people working in a true studio environment. Hopefully, the moderately priced Vue we've all grown to love will remain on the market to continue to draw hobbyists. I'm sure some people will complain bitterly that all of these new features should be rolled into the standard Vue, but they need to realize they've been getting a lot of power at a very low price for a long time. Will a demo of the Pro 'sidegrade' be available to existing Vue users? It would be nice to at least see all of the new features in action before deciding if its personally worth it to purchase it. In the future, it might be worth it to look into releasing enhancements to modeling, animation, and rendering as separate plug-ins or 'packs' (similar to Mover) and releasing integration capabilities separately. I think almost all Vue users would pay for the plant editor and the wind animation, but not all need the synch with other packages, compositing enhancements, etc. Really looking to seeing more of this....


Lynn posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 10:21 AM

Hi all, Ill try to answer all questions so far: Stuff you get with the Upgrade: It will include CD(s) and manual. Im not sure yet if we will be sending the full box shell or not with the upgrade. Vue 4 Professional is too massive a product for a downloadable upgrade (three CDs). Post Introductory/Price for Upgrade: Cannot say yet. Best to buy sooner -- it wont be lower than the introductory price ;-) Plant Editor: We dont have any plans to separate the plant editor. If there was a high enough demand for it I suppose we would consider it, but the tools in Vue 4 Professional together represent an excellent value for the price. Best regards, Lynn Fredricks e-on software


agiel posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 10:31 AM

Great news Lynn ! One thing I noticed was the missing mention of Carrara support, which is surprising considering previous announcements of partnership with Eovia (if my memory serves me right...) Can you provide any comment about this ?


SAMS3D posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 10:34 AM

And this will be available when? Sharen


wabe posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 10:48 AM

Mac too?

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Lynn posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 10:52 AM

More answers -- Ill pop in throughout the day :-) Vue 4 Professional is a new product with a different target customer orientation. So yes, Esprit will continue as a product line. Regarding eovia products, we have offered bundles with them in some markets and we have very good relations with eovia, but nothing technical. Ill pre-empt another question Im sure is coming -- Mover 4 will have an update so you can reinstall and use with Vue 4 Professional :-) Best regards, Lynn Fredricks e-on software


joffry posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 10:57 AM

already saving my pennies,,,


Caly posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 10:58 AM

Yes, seriously, I would buy the plant editor separately. :) If not I can hope that I get paid or win the lotto while it is still on special sidegrade price.

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Cheers posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 11:12 AM

Agiel, I think that the Eovia support was a Curious Labs partnership deal. I must just say that this is going to be a killer app...as long as there are not issues with Vue pro as there was with Vue 4 when it was released, then I think the people at Digital Element have much to worry about. Smooth intergration (without issues) with Max, Lightwave etc straight from the release will determine if it will make a large impact in the Pro market....first impressions last. After Effects and Combustion intergration is also important...ease of post production editing is crucial IMHO. Cheers

 

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Caly posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 11:40 AM

Just making sure that Professional would still work with Poser stuff? ;)

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NightVoice posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 11:40 AM

Why the heck are you calling this Vue 4 Pro? This should be called Vue 4.5 Pro. :)

Sounds good but how long will the introductory period last where we can buy the sidegrade? Need a few months to save up for it.

Curious about this
"complete scenes can be exported to high end 3D applications, including 3DS Max, Cinema 4D, LightWave, Maya, Softimage XSI and others;"
Maybe somebody can answer this, but don't those programs render quite faster than Vue? I remember a long time ago somebody (was it Audity?) who rendered two similar figures, one in Vue and one in C4D. The speed in C4D of the render was like 500% faster. I would think that exporting may be the way to go for render speed if that is the case.


davidrivera posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 12:08 PM

Mover 4 will have an update so you can reinstall and use with Vue 4 Professional

I gather from this that you will still need Mover 4 to import Poser animations. Will you be able to export Vue Atmospheres to Cinema 4D or will you still need to get Ozone 2.0?


dan whiteside posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 12:16 PM

Is there going to be a Mac demo while the introductory price is going on? Thanks - Dan


Lynn posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 12:27 PM

Back in.... Demos. There will be demos for both Windows and MacOS X, but I dont have a solid release date for them. But it will happen. Mover 4. Yes, you'll still need Mover 4 if you want to import in Poser animations. C4D. Ozone 2.0 for C4D works directly within C4D, whereas Vue 4 Professional is a cooperative product. You will want Ozone 2.0 for C4D if you need any real granularity over atmospheres. Introductory rate. Introductory pricing usually lasts about a month after a product hits the streets. Best regards, Lynn Fredricks e-on software


Quoll posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 12:43 PM

Your timing is perfect! I have some animated stories to complete this year, all of which require rich outdoor visuals, and Vue Pro meets my needs dead on! I am so very excited about the compositing capabillities you have added, which will make Vue a viable part of my workflow now, right alongside Maya, Lightwave and After Effects. Well done E-On, and much thanks! I'm chomping at the bit to get the update and get to work! BTW, I think the pricing is very fair for a product with these capabillities.


NightVoice posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 1:05 PM

Hmm so if the apple expo is Sep 16th and the introductory lasts a month, that means I will have till Oct 16th to get it for the lower price.

Dang. Not enough time. :( Had I known a few months ago, I would have skipped on some other purchases to save up for this. Looks like I will have to pass on it. :(

Oh well, will be a great deal for those of you who can get it during the intro. :)


davidrivera posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 1:14 PM

I find the $300 ($299 rounded) upgrade to be a bit steep especially when I have to still purchase Mover 4 and Ozone 2.0. Dont get me wrong Vue Pro has a lot good feature such the Plant Editor and Export features, however I which the price was a little lower. I hope they extend the introductory pricing period to more than a month. I would still like to get Vue Pro but will need more time to save my pennies.


davidrivera posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 1:19 PM

Another thing, will Vue Pro render any faster than regular Vue?


RHaseltine posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 1:39 PM

Couple more questions: Will the plant editor create plants compatible with Vue 4, or only Vue 4 Pro? And most importantly, what does $299 equal in other currencies (GBP here)?


drnw04a posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 1:41 PM

$299 = 188 GBP $299 = 269 EUR They could of course always price the package differently for different regions.


RHaseltine posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 1:43 PM

Well, quite - I was assuming the conversion would be closer to $1 = 1 = 1.5, unless they are very unusual!


drnw04a posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 1:49 PM

I was just using today's currency exchange rates. A US Dollar doesn't go as far in Europe as it used to. I don't have any info on E-On pricing policies.


Lynn posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 2:41 PM

I dont have the Euro price yet, sorry. Ozone 2.0 for C4D is $149 (vs $199 for everyone else) for Vue 4 owners. Im pretty sure we can extend this to Vue 4 Professional, letting you shave off $50 of of Ozone 2.0 for C4D. Best regards, Lynn Fredricks e-on software


Dale B posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 2:51 PM

Lynn; Any information on whether Vue4Pro -can- import Poser files? And to what level of communication, if it does? (Yessss, we wants dynamic cloth we does, preciousssss). Hopefully the 'Pro' designation isn't going to preclude that, as far more pro's use that nasty lil program far more than they prefer to admit.... ;) Aside from that issue.... W bloody OW!!!


Quoll posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 3:49 PM

I have a question Lynn. Assuming I had several scenes created in Vue 4, when Vue 4 Pro comes out, would I be able to simply open up my V4 scenes and add dynamics, wind, etc, or will those elements need to be completely recreated to take advantage of the new features? In other words, if I put in a lot of time now working on scenes, will I need to do that work over again? Thanks so much.


nish posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 4:19 PM

And of course if you (Lynn) don't mind to spent few seconds giving me some specs on standard (not the minimum) Hardware/OS requirement. Just want to see if my old machines can handle V. Pro. or I'll be needing new mechine!


Philywebrider posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 4:36 PM

Being a newbie, I really don't know enough about the Vue Pro program, ( even reading the specs ), but the one line I need to ask about is this one. "A brand new, and ultra fast OpenGL-based pre-rendering engine for quick and easy previewing;" Currently Vue4 won't permit me to use open GL. The question is will the new "Open GL" work with XP.


Lynn posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 5:20 PM

Another batch of answers: Poser import. Vue 4 Pro wont support Poser import except in the same way as Vue 4 does now. We are still working on the Poser 5 support. The basics for Mover 4.2 should be done fairly soon (we wouldnt have exposed the beta to you if it was a complete disaster ;-)) Vue 4->Vue 4 Pro. Files will come over seamlessly. Its hard to say about dynamics, but anything you've created with Vue 4 (Animation Wizard, etc) will be fine. Vue 4 Pro Specs. Pentium III or higher or G4. NT4/2000/XP, MacOS X 10.2+, 512 Ram, 250 MB HD, 16+bit video card, 1024X768, CDROM Drive. It may work on other hardware, and it may work on ME, Win98SE, or <10.2, but no guarantees. Its still a 3D app, so "more and fast" = better. OpenGL. This isnt a factor of XP, it can be a combination of a number of issues, videocard drivers, etc. Once we ship, all the beta testers can discuss their experiences. Best regards, Lynn Fredricks e-on software


Dale B posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 5:39 PM

Thanks, Lynn! Oh, a question. I'm suddenly having some trouble importing one item from Poser; many of the 3rd party hair pieces give a 'cannot open resource XXXXXXXXXX.obj'. Is this a known issue, or does the dev team need a list of pieces that this has happened with and my system specs at the e-on board?


grunthor posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 6:35 PM

How about Windows 2003 support?


Philywebrider posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 7:14 PM

Can you pin down the actual release date a little?


Penguinisto posted Mon, 08 September 2003 at 10:03 PM

You just couldn't have waited until November, could you? :/ Maya... yum. If I exported from Vue Pro in OSX and imported it into Maya 4.5 on the Linux box, should all still be kosher? /P


Ms_Outlaw posted Tue, 09 September 2003 at 12:24 AM

299 US 409.78 Canadian then add the high price of shipping, and the other goodies and it's out of my price range. Ahh well.


hein posted Tue, 09 September 2003 at 12:49 AM

Hmmm $499 will buy me the XFrog 4 upgrade plus Cinema 4D 8, that covers the plant and tree angle, the rest of VUE Pro's exciting features makes it a Deep Exploration clone, it's nice to see E-on giving a buy ASAP warning to excisting customers, I upgraded to 4 on the day it was released, so far my worst software investment, after 2 years V4 is still buggy as h... but please buy the upgrade asap.


DarkSkills posted Tue, 09 September 2003 at 1:26 AM

Looking good so far:) Just one question, will there be any type of cel-shader or toon-shader in Vue Pro?

Stay Focused.


Djeser posted Tue, 09 September 2003 at 1:27 AM

Hi Lynn, Sounds pretty exciting! E-on HQ must be jumping these days. Thanks for info on minimum hardware specs, and the fact that you can open Vue 4.12 scenes and import Poser 4.03 figures. A question regarding upgrading/sidegrading; I might be interested in sidegrade, as I am a registered Vue 4.12 user, but is the "sidegrade" the complete Vue 4 Pro package? Could I install it on a separate but networked machine from Vue 4.12? Or a separate machine that's not networked? I mean, a single licence of Vue 4 Pro, a single installation of it. Just not on the same machine I have Vue 4.12 on? Or is the sidegrade dependent on being installed over/with Vue 4.12? I am quite interested to see more open information on the features of Vue 4 Pro, and wish you at E-on much success on it's release!

Sgiathalaich


Cheers posted Tue, 09 September 2003 at 3:24 AM

hein said: "the rest of VUE Pro's exciting features makes it a Deep Exploration clone" errrmmmmm, I think you are being a little unfair with that comment hein. A software that includes dynamics etc to a file translation/browser app is stretching the imagination a little ;-) BUT..I can certainly understand your sentiments about buying Vue 4 on its release and how buggy it was/is. I just hope e-ons beta testing policy has changed since pre Vue 4 release. Like I say, I will wait 6 months and see how the land lays..."once bitten twice shy". I still hope it does live up to expectation, because it has been a bold move on e-ons part, and boldness deserves success. Cheers

 

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smallspace posted Tue, 09 September 2003 at 3:51 AM

Just exactly what export formats are supported? Are full texture pathways supported for the export, or do textures get copied to the same folder as the exported file? -SMT

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impish posted Tue, 09 September 2003 at 3:53 AM

Hi, I'm certainly interested in Vue 4 Pro but since I've been burnt buying software from other companies in the past I'd just like to check which, if any, of the features announced for Vue 4 Pro are likely to appear in the none-pro version at a later date for a lower upgrade price? Good luck with Vue 4 Pro. Cheers Mark

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PabloS posted Tue, 09 September 2003 at 7:49 AM

.


tradivoro posted Tue, 09 September 2003 at 8:51 AM

Hi Lynn, this is great news... I guess my only question now is, if you export the tree in question, are you going to get the textures and the leaves exported as well to import into whatever other program you're using?? Also, do we have the option to export in 3ds, OBJ, etc???


regaltwo posted Tue, 09 September 2003 at 9:28 AM

OK. You are saying that full Vue scenes in Vue 4 Pro can be exported to other 3d programs, right? So does that mean that I can export the scenes (including trees, terrian, rocks and all their textures in one fell swoop to Poser 5, allowing me to incorporate my Poser Characters from that end, and thus still make use of the cloth room after all?


NightVoice posted Tue, 09 September 2003 at 10:52 AM

"So does that mean that I can export the scenes (including trees, terrian, rocks and all their textures in one fell swoop to Poser 5, allowing me to incorporate my Poser Characters from that end, and thus still make use of the cloth room after all?"

I would like to know this as well but for Poser 4.

For me, it can be very tricky trying to pose a figure in poser then import it into Vue and see how the footing does not line up with the ground. This leads me to have my ground usual flat when I have figures on them or I hide the foot going through the hill with some bushes. This would stop this problem as I would be working backwards(make the scene in Vue, export it into Poser 4 for people placement)


forester posted Tue, 09 September 2003 at 1:30 PM

OK, I'm done dithering about this all night. Will just have to put off some other purchases. So, Lynn, how do we pre-order this puppy?



Lynn posted Tue, 09 September 2003 at 2:01 PM

Howdy all, I guess I should have checked the forum last night :-) Some answers will be incomplete, either because I dont know or that we dont want to release the information prior to release of the product (I expect we are being watched carefully by some other...companies). -Full scene export and tree export will include all texturing. -Features appearing in other non-pro products. I cannot comment as we cannot talk about other products that arent close enough to fruition to talk about. Could features "trickle down" to other products? Sure they could. But if we did that too much, then noone would want to buy Pro, and we certainly want folks to buy Pro! -With exports, provided that the target file format is completely cross platform I dont see a problem with moving to Maya for Linux. But it wouldnt be possible to synch directly between a Vue on MacOS X with Maya on a Linux box located on your network. THe question is, can you move Maya 4.5 MacOS/Maya 4.5 Linux/Maya 4.5 Windows files between each other without any problems? Best regards, Lynn Fredricks e-on software


BigGreenFurryThing posted Tue, 09 September 2003 at 3:19 PM

New OpenGl engine? And Python?! Bliss. Thanks E-On, looks graet. Thanks too, for taking time to post in the forum. A lot of other companies wouldn't have bothered. Right, piggy bank at the ready, where's me hammer?

Cheers,
Mark


estherau posted Tue, 09 September 2003 at 7:25 PM

What about poser? I wanted to hear the answer to that question too. Can I export my stuff from Vue to poser. I agree that it is hard to put a figure in vue on a bumpy terrain. Love esther

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Varian posted Tue, 09 September 2003 at 10:06 PM

. :)


hein posted Wed, 10 September 2003 at 1:47 AM

Found this comment by "another company" elsewhere on this site (XFrog answering a question about a XFrog plugin for VUE Pro).

"Hi we are going to take a close look at Vue 4 Professional next week after it is released at MacExpo in Paris."

Better hurry if you want to Pre-Order :)


impish posted Wed, 10 September 2003 at 3:45 AM

Lynn, Thanks for the answer, I realise that you're in a difficult position in telling us what features are likely to be in a future none-pro version. However since the period for which the reduced price for moving from Vue to Vue Pro is limited without adequate information its hard for a customer to make an informed decission about which product will best serve their needs in the long term. Will it be possible for a customer who upgrades to Vue Pro to sidegrade back to Vue none-Pro should, at a later date feature of Vue none-Pro now meet all their needs or the price of upgrading Vue Pro become prohibitive to their continuing to upgrade. Not an ideal solution to the situation but at least one where a user isn't trapped into a more expensive version. Cheers Mark

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Philywebrider posted Wed, 10 September 2003 at 5:19 AM

HOW DO I PRE-ORDER? Is the "extras" vegation Pkg included with Vue Pro, or is it still a seperate Pkg.?


dlk30341 posted Wed, 10 September 2003 at 7:37 AM

I hope we get as many trees as Bryce has...I LOVE VUE, I only use VUE now..just want a bigger selection of veg/trees:)


Lynn posted Wed, 10 September 2003 at 10:00 AM

Howdy all, A batch of answers: Release date. Folks, read the PR :-) Ordering. To begin soon. Vue Pro is in manufacturing now. Post Vue-Pro sidegrading. Vue Pro is a limb on the tree for Vue 4 owners. The Esprit product line has a future. If you side-grade to Vue Pro, you can still upgrade to the next Esprit when its becomes available. This is an option only planned for Vue 4 owners, by the way :-) Veggie bundles. Still separate. But with the plant editor, you are going to be able to achieve a lot, all on your onesome. The veggies are still going to be of incredible use because they follow natural laws (at least as we've interpreted them). Tree selection -- hey, you're getting a plant editor. The number of tree types you have is limited only by your imagination :-) Ive been hogging the forum a lot recently, so I hope you all don't mind if I go quiet for a short while, except for really serious issues and PRs. Once Vue Pro ships, beta testers are going to be able to give you even better answers about Vue Pro. Best regards, Lynn Fredricks e-on software


dlk30341 posted Wed, 10 September 2003 at 10:09 AM

I can't wait...:)


Peggy_Walters posted Wed, 10 September 2003 at 10:36 AM

Lynn, you said "Vue 4 Professional will naturally integrate and extend all major 3D applications to provide a complete, professional natural 3D studio." Does this mean the Vue 4 Pro is not a standalone program? I see Cinema4D mentioned as one of the programs it will integrate with. I was thinking of getting Xfrog 4, but now will hold until I see if Vue 4 Pro will work as a module in Cinema4D. Thanks! Peggy

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Philywebrider posted Wed, 10 September 2003 at 3:41 PM

Djeser asked-"A question regarding upgrading/sidegrading; I might be interested in sidegrade, as I am a registered Vue 4.12 user, but is the "sidegrade" the complete Vue 4 Pro package? Could I install it on a separate but networked machine from Vue 4.12? Or a separate machine that's not networked? I mean, a single licence of Vue 4 Pro, a single installation of it. Just not on the same machine I have Vue 4.12 on? Or is the sidegrade dependent on being installed over/with Vue 4.12?" I didn't see the answer to that question. I like to keep both Vue4 AND Vue4 Pro on my machine, just in case there are any problems with PRO, (somebody said Vue4 was buggy when it first came out). I'm not saying PRO is buggy, I just want to be careful.


ChuckEvans posted Wed, 10 September 2003 at 4:16 PM

Hmmm, is that two times the question about export to Poser was overlooked?


DMM posted Wed, 10 September 2003 at 4:32 PM

This is fantastic news :) Some time ago I was asking about importing camera data from LW, and now here it is. I only need to ask one question: Is there camera/light import and export? Oh, and the wind effect on the veg - superb.


Krall posted Wed, 10 September 2003 at 8:07 PM

I have two very important questions about what I quote now: "Post Vue-Pro sidegrading. Vue Pro is a limb on the tree for Vue 4 owners. The Esprit product line has a future. If you side-grade to Vue Pro, you can still upgrade to the next Esprit when its becomes available. This is an option only planned for Vue 4 owners, by the way :-)" Question number one: 1. Does this mean that Esprit will have new content, that Pro does not have? Must be so, else why upgrade Esprit if one already has upgraded to Pro. In that case, which are the areas in where Esprit will have more features than Pro? Sincerely, I would hate to spend 300 bucks on upgrading to an application that is going to lack features that the normal Esprit version is going to have in a matter of (probably) months... Sincerely, this marketing move leaves me wondering.... and makes me more and more dubious of giving you my money (the big money that you are asking) for Pro (a purchase that I was sure about only until a few hours ago)... you see, other companies have different products at different levels, BUT, like Maxon, the top line application of Cinema has EVERYTHING that the other Cinema editions have. I suspect there would be a revolution amongst the Studio Bundle owners if they found out that the cheaper Cinema options will have features unavailable to them... i guess you get the point now. Question number two: 2. isn't a bit too hard on Vue 4 owners, to ask them now to give you credit for upgrading at 300 bucks to a new app that (amongst other things) doesn't really have anything new in the rendering department, that is really oriented towards animation BUT still requires the further purchase of Mover (other 100 bucks) to get the most out of the animation possibilities, and, in case of Cinema and Lightwave, still requires the purchase of Ozone (other 150 bucks), to get the most out of the scene export format... AND... as I was saying... isn't really too hard now on Vue 4 owners to ask them to give you credit and 550 bucks (that's the cost of Pro plus Mover and Ozone which are sort of indispensable to it), and THEN AGAIN, ask them to furtherly pay for the upgrade to the future Esprit version? With all the doubts about it that I described in question one...I mean.... we're artists, not bank holders, you know. At the VERY (and I mean VERY) least, I would expect that the price for upgrade to Esprit for Vue 4 owners that already upgraded to Pro, could be just a symbolic price. More sincerely, I would expect it (at least the first upgrade to Esprit) that it could be free for Vue4-to-Pro upgraders. AND last but not least, I would like a clarifying word BEFORE the release of Pro, on which will be the degree of difference between the Pro and the Esprit version, with an at least generic descritpion of what will be in future Esprit, that the upgraders to Pro will lack in spite of their massive financial effort that you are now asking to them. Thank you in advance for the attention.


Gaussian posted Sat, 13 September 2003 at 8:09 AM

Lynn Fredericks said, quote: "Once we ship, all the beta testers can discuss their experiences." I'm amazed when I read this!! Here we have the proof that E-onsoftware is still Beta testing after their products are released...doh! I have this bad feeling that Vue d'Esprit Pro v4.12 (or v4.24 if you just add up) will be the first stable version. My guess is that this is NOT what the professionals are waiting for. If E-onsoftware wants to be successful in the professional market, then they have to deliver more stability than what they are offering for every new released product. Just my 2 cents...


ggriffaw posted Sat, 13 September 2003 at 8:22 AM

I don't think this says that e-on is beta testing after release. I take it as saying the people who were the beta testers can start talking about their experiences with the product once it has shipped. They are not allowed to say anything before the product has shipped.


RHaseltine posted Sat, 13 September 2003 at 8:38 AM

In some other cases, the beta-testers are barred from talking even after the product ships - E-on's is quite an enlightened policy.


Cheers posted Sat, 13 September 2003 at 10:11 AM

Gaussian! what the hell are you talking about! It is usual policy for beta testers to be bound by a "NDA" while a product is in pre-release testing. Reading that sentence I can't see what you are up in arms about, but then again you either read it in a rush or you just didn't think before speaking. What I read in that sentence is "those involved in the beta testing up to the release of the product, can tell you all about it." All software products worth any standing are constantly being tested, usually by people bound by a "NDA" trying to break the product and experimenting with new features. Well, trying to break a product is what I do when I'm beta testing anyway :-) Cheers

 

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Philywebrider posted Sat, 13 September 2003 at 11:03 AM

Djeser asked-"A question regarding upgrading/sidegrading; I might be interested in sidegrade, as I am a registered Vue 4.12 user, but is the "sidegrade" the complete Vue 4 Pro package? Could I install it on a separate but networked machine from Vue 4.12? Or a separate machine that's not networked? I mean, a single licence of Vue 4 Pro, a single installation of it. Just not on the same machine I have Vue 4.12 on? Or is the sidegrade dependent on being installed over/with Vue 4.12?" I restated it earlier because I didn't see an answer, Did I miss it? I like to keep both Vue4 AND Vue4 Pro on my machine, just in case there are any problems with PRO, (somebody said Vue4 was buggy when it first came out). I'm not saying PRO is buggy, I just want to be careful. Also it may be important if Vue5 up-grade needs to be "added" to Vue4, not Vue Pro.


Lynn posted Sat, 13 September 2003 at 4:05 PM

Attached Link: http://www.datanation.com/fallacies/

Gaussian, I suspect something is wrong anyway given that I dont know any Lynn Fredericks. There has never been a middle "e" in my family name ;-) After Vue 4 Professional ships, then those who were beta testing it can talk about what its like about it as users. I dont know how to label your intepretation so Ive attached a link here for those interested. Philywebrider, Vue 4 Pro Sidegrade needs to be installed on the same system as Vue 4. My understanding is that you can still use Vue 4. Best regards, Lynn Fredricks <<-- no middle "e" e-on software

nggalai posted Sat, 13 September 2003 at 4:09 PM

Hi Lynn,

"
-Single objects and complete scenes can be exported to high end 3D applications, including 3DS Max, Cinema 4D, LightWave, Maya, Softimage XSI and others;
[...]

-Full scene export and tree export will include all texturing.
"

I don't want to sound like a party pooper, but--alarm bells are ringing. I definetely hope there will be a demo of Vue 4Pro out during the sidegrade period. As is, the listed render applications have vastly different approaches for procedural textures and shaders, often varying even between different versions of one software package.

Unless Vue simply converts all texturing into bitmaps (not acceptable), I can't see any technically feasible way to import Vue's prodedural textures in any other render app without either a lot of hassle on the end user's side to tweak textures after importing a scene, or lots and lots of development and support time on e-on's to write plugins for all listed "and other" applications to even support stuff like Vue's "influence of slope" mapping option. I won't even mention the "procedural types" and mixing algorithms.

But then, I wouldn't mind being pleasently surprised. :) I'll definetely keep my eyes open for the Demo.

All in all: Great news! So please excuse my scepticism.

93,
-Sascha


Knuckle Martin posted Thu, 18 September 2003 at 8:51 PM

Attached Link: http://www.knucks3dstuff.com

Sasha: I'm both a LightWave-7.5c(LW) user and a registered Vue (4.12) user. I have the same questions about importing Vue terrains and procedural textures. Some LW plugins can operate within the LW rendering engine (Sasquach, Combustion, etc.) I'm wondering if VP is doing this as well, or, as you suggested, VP is converting the Vue procedural textures to images (.bmp, .tif, or whatever). As you said, if they are converting to image maps, that would greatly reduce VP's acceptance by most of the LW crowd. If "VP-to-LW" retains Vue's procedural texturing, VP should be a big hit amongst the LW crowd. If not, I, and many others, will not buy it. While I obviously can't speak for "ALL" LW users, I can say that most of them would prefer to work within their chosen app, be it LightWave, Max, Maya, or whatever. If Vue forces users to do some things in VP (outside their chosen app) many users will not accept this. What I'd like to see, is some examples of Vue scenes rendered in LightWave. Or at least have a demo available to see how VP works in LW. I don't know of any LW user that's willing to buy a program or plugin that they can't test, or at least "see" how it will work. Remember, we're talking about what amounts to a "terrain generating / texturing import" accessory to these high-end programs. I have little wish to setup and render a scene in Vue, only to have to composite it in AE, if I can do everything natively in LW. No matter how good the hype, camera, light, and motion matching is seldom a perfect match. I've experienced this with both "World Builder Pro" and "World Construction Set". There always seems to be a slight mismatch. Any time that a job can be done in a single app, time and energy is usually saved. The $299.00 or $599.00 price range is not a problem. Many LW plugins cost more than that. I, for one, would rather wait for a demo and pay full price, than buy early and get an app that may not do what I want. As tempting as VP looks, I won't spend anything until I can "see" some VP-to LW results. I think that lots of other users are similarly inclined. And to whomever asked about rendering times, the high-end apps (usually) render many times faster than Vue (or Bryce, or Poser) for the same basic scene. Another reason why most users would prefer to work in their high-end app. Just my take on it Knuckle (Knuck) Martin

nggalai posted Fri, 19 September 2003 at 3:29 AM

OK, just read the datasheet to Vue Pro. Textures are converted into (bitmapped) UV texture maps. You can chose the level of detail you need, and Vue will export the textures "with a minimum of distortion." But the wind looks nice. Might still consider getting Vue Pro. 93, -Sascha.rb P.S. be sure to download the demoreel from www.e-onsoftware.com. It's quite something. -.rb


DMM posted Fri, 19 September 2003 at 7:08 AM

Knuckle Martin - Having read the details, as well as scrutinising the 5 minute version of the demo video it looks as though LW will NOT use VPs procedural texturing algorithms, but as nggalai said will UV map them. It also appears (as again nggalai said) that the resolution is user definable, so basically we choose how large we want our scenes/models to be. Couple this ability with the camera & light syncronisation and I think most every problem can be overcome. Vue will I think always render its scenes better than LW but if you want to put an LW sequence in, just need to export the landcape for shadowing/occluding purposes only. Plus, it'll be a great vegetation tool.