Just got the email that my Vue 9 pre-release is ready for download. Currently downloading part 2. Don't know when I have time to play but hopefully later today. I am curious about how the "Relighting" is implemented.

Here is the info from the email:

New features available in Vue 9 Infinite include:

• New flicker reduction algorithms: Vue 9 proudly introduces new flicker reduction algorithms developed by e-on software. These algorithms produce animated renders with a noticeably reduced amount of flickering, reinforcing Vue as the ultimate solution for rendering animated natural environments. - Faster Rendering: thanks to internal refactoring, Vue 9 renders up to 30% faster than previous versions! - Relighting: to instantly adjust the lighting of the scene after the render completes – lights can be turned on and off, colors can be changed, all in real-time! - Interactive Network Rendering: thanks to advanced data fragmentation and caching for the distribution of scenes to the rendering nodes, Vue 9 allows for completely interactive network rendering. Scenes are rendered to the screen while the network is handled in the background automatically. - Improved Terrain Editor: Contextual brushes and fully customizable terrain brushes, automatic Terrain Retopology, Sculpting and Painting masks, Smear brush, Terrain Canvas extension, ... - EcoSystem 4: dramatically reduced flickering, optimized rendering and memory management for Dynamic EcoSystems, animated EcoSystem populations, and more... - HDR Multi-Pass Rendering, - HyperBlob Technology: convert HyperTextured MetaBlobs to polygon objects with user defined LOD - ideal for the creation of extremely rich and detailed rock formations, - Custom Interfaces: to create simplified high-level controls and access these controls directly from the material editor, the terrain editor or the object editors! - Auto Saving and Scene Snapshots: this unique and innovative technology automatically saves the scenes in the background, while working, without interfering with the user workflow! - And much more (Rocky Mountains fractals, Inverse Kinematics, Cloud Radiosity, Real-World units, Catmull-Clark subdivision, improved texture management, native Cocoa, new interface design, ...) More details on the new features as well as the complete description pages will be published at the time of release.

Ciao
TD

You beat me to announce it :D

I guess I'll start downloading

Hehe... Thanks to my Blackberry I got the email on the way to work. Too bad it doesn't run Vue... :biggrin:

TD

I managed to get Part 1 downloaded but received an error for Part 2.  Now, I can't even connect to the e-on server.  Probably everyone else is downloading as well.

Both parts downloaded ok for me. I must have snug in before the servers got hammered... However, the activation servers are now down it seems... I am trying it out in non-activated mode right now. Oh well, I guess this kind of thing is a "much loved" tradition of new Vue releases by now...

Ciao
TD

Same here.
And when you open Vue 9 for the first time (Mac version),
it asks for the Vue 7 installation to make Cornucopia items compatible...
:o/

usually best to wait a couple of days for servers not to be hammered ;)

"I'd rather be a Fool who believes in Dragons, Than a King who believes in Nothing!" www.silverblades-suitcase.com
Free tutorials, Vue & Bryce materials, Bryce Skies, models, D&D items, stories.
Tutorials on Poser imports to Vue/Bryce, Postwork, Vue rendering/lighting, etc etc!

yeah, not able to download more than part 1 :/

I'll keep hammering the servers so you guys can't DL either :P

:woot: HoHoHo I got mail too :tt1:

Mazak

Google+ Bodo Nittel 

Quote - usually best to wait a couple of days for servers not to be hammered ;)

Better wait a couple of weeks, looking at early adopters screaming in pain for all the troubles :lol: ...

GIMP 2.7.4, Inkscape 0.48, Genetica 3.6 Basic, FilterForge 3 Professional, Blender 2.61, SketchUp 8, PoserPro 2012, Vue 10 Infinite, World Machine 2.3, GeoControl 2

I had a quick play with the Relighting feature. Very nice. That will save tons of time. Once the render completes, you can change the intensity and color for each light in the scene. The change become visible immediately in the small preview window and clicking the preview button shows it on render itself. Very fast. You can raise and lower intensities. Above is quick screen-shot of the relighting (post render options) interface with an older image with many light sources that I re-rendered for the test.

There are many changes in the layout and function of the terrain editor (and pretty much everywhere in the interface). Will take some time to get used to it. So it all makes sense and it seems that it will improve the work-flow.

Ciao
TD

Darn, need to get back to work now... Here is one more nice feature that I tried out. You can now export any parameter from within the functions and it will show at the top level of material or terrain editor. This is really nice because you can now for example adjust parameters while looking at the full size terrain preview or manipulate some detail of a material function deep inside without opening the function editor. I love that. You can save snapshots of materials while you work and revert to a previous iteration with one click. There is also a snapshot feature for the whole scene.

Ciao
TD

Also, it seems that poser import works nicely now, at least for a static mesh (didn't try animation). I imported Stephanie 4 + clothing + hair from Poser Pro 2010 (selecting the latest smith micro SDK in vue drop down) and the result in vue was perfect :) The ability to resize the textures on import is also a very nice one :)

And another good new, after 3 hours no crash :)

I still download (26% part1)
Can test someone the rocky mountain filter plz :biggrin:

Mazak

Google+ Bodo Nittel 

Quote - Also, it seems that poser import works nicely now, at least for a static mesh (didn't try animation). I imported Stephanie 4 + clothing + hair from Poser Pro 2010 (selecting the latest smith micro SDK in vue drop down) and the result in vue was perfect :) The ability to resize the textures on import is also a very nice one :)

And another good new, after 3 hours no crash :)

Yes, the texture handling is an amazing improvement. I can throw the resizing step in ACDsee out of my work-flow now. You can not only resize all maps during import you can also down-sample each map individually after import. There is also an option to copy all maps to a specified folder. This is really great. No problems here either so far. I noticed that the openGL demands have gone up again. My trusty old Nvidia Quadro FX 4000 which was running 8.5 nicely has become quite slow, but it is still very solid. Fortunately, I have a new system with a GTX 460 coming in a few days...

Ciao
TD

Can't activate online :o(
It says: the serial number is already registered, and as it seems, they have no email support any more. When I try to register manually, there is no option for Vue 9.
Very frustrating.

Mazak, here is a very quick and dirty test of the rocky mountain fractal. This image is very, very far to render justice to the fractal. It actually has a fair amount of parameters and some are very sensitive so it will most certainly need some experimenting to do what you want but the power most definitively is here (I plan on playing a lot with it :-) (I currently read a book by Craig Johnson and reading a lot about Wyoming definitively motivate me :) )

 I noticed, that my Cornucopia account is now locked too:

Your Cornucopia3D account is currently locked because the Vue serial you entered during registration was already used by another user. Please contact support@cornucopia3d.com with "redemption" as subject, to fix this situation. Please indicate in the email how and when you purchased Vue.

Will this EVER get any better? Everytime when there is an update or upgrade, it's getting worse. And I have the maintenance plan, which does not prevent me from this procedure.

Thank you Abraham :)
After the installer download the first part, the installation get corrupt...
I cleaned the caches and restart the installation; now it says the installer is out of date... :-/
I should request a new installer blablabla... grrrr :(

Mazak

Google+ Bodo Nittel 

Quote - Thank you Abraham :)
After the installer download the first part, the installation get corrupt...
I cleaned the caches and restart the installation; now it says the installer is out of date... :-/
I should request a new installer blablabla... grrrr :(

same here, though I don't have time to play with it tomorrow so I'll try again on thursday

When I tried to install from the Vue9Infinite_Downloader, I got an error message (code #149), and when I tried again, another message indicated the downloader was outdated and I needed to contact e-on to obtain a new downloader.

I feel silly asking this question, but I when I try to fill out the e-on Technical Support form, none of the options/reasons for the contact fit as Vue 9 is not included in the options list yet.  Whatever I chose, the form asks for a product and a serial number, however, only my existing products and numbers are shown.

Does anyone know of a "generic" option?

Quote - When I tried to install from the Vue9Infinite_Downloader, I got an error message (code #149), and when I tried again, another message indicated the downloader was outdated and I needed to contact e-on to obtain a new downloader.

Someone from Eon posted that they would be sending out new download info soon, and to be patient.

Quote - I feel silly asking this question, but I when I try to fill out the e-on Technical Support form, none of the options/reasons for the contact fit as Vue 9 is not included in the options list yet.  Whatever I chose, the form asks for a product and a serial number, however, only my existing products and numbers are shown.

They don't usually add pre-releases to the list (i.e. Vue 9 will appear when they release it).

Quote - ..........

They don't usually add pre-releases to the list (i.e. Vue 9 will appear when they release it).

Yes -I think I realize that but I am more wondering if there is such a thing as a "generic" support question.

Quote - Can't activate online :o(
It says: the serial number is already registered, and as it seems, they have no email support any more. When I try to register manually, there is no option for Vue 9.
Very frustrating.

Getting the same thing.  i wonder whether they just sent out the same email to several users without changing the serial.

And yes, my Cornucopia account is also locked now.

Quote - When I tried to install from the Vue9Infinite_Downloader, I got an error message (code #149), and when I tried again, another message indicated the downloader was outdated and I needed to contact e-on to obtain a new downloader.

I feel silly asking this question, but I when I try to fill out the e-on Technical Support form, none of the options/reasons for the contact fit as Vue 9 is not included in the options list yet.  Whatever I chose, the form asks for a product and a serial number, however, only my existing products and numbers are shown.

Does anyone know of a "generic" option?

i just used my 8.5 info, and then explained in the message portion.

John

Quote -

i just used my 8.5 info, and then explained in the message portion.

John

Thanks, John - I'll try the same.

This was posted by Steve Bell on the registered user's forum.

Greetings,

As some of you might have noticed, we have run into a major issue with the pre-release of Vue 9 and server saturation.

If you are under maintenance, we will be sending you new download instructions within the next 24 hours. Please wait patiently until then.

Sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you for your understanding.
Best regards

LVS - Where Learning is Fun!  
http://www.lvsonline.com/index.html

I sent a note to e-on and had a response to the effect noted above within a few minutes.  Cudos to e-on for a super-fast response!

Hopefully it will be fixed then.  The only curious part for me is that I was able to download it, install it, and run it.  I just can't activate because of a serial number issue.  I am wondring if I will have to download again, or just use a new serial number.  We'll see.

I must have been very lucky or one of the very early ones. I had no problem with the download and the activation worked, too (after a couple of failed connections).

Anyway, in my opinion so far it will be worth your time to wait. This is a really great update. There are so many small changes and additions that one constantly finds a new great tweak. For example, the small preview for the materials can now be set to a defined size (1m, 100m, 1km, and so on). That means no more guessing as to what scale you need for a particular material. Another nice feature is if you double click one of the texture maps in the link tab, it will open in an external viewer/editor. You can resize texture maps during import or later on for each texture. You can also revert to the original... Sorry for babbling, I am just blown away by some of these additions, because they really fit well in my work-flow.

Ciao
TD

Quote - I must have been very lucky or one of the very early ones. I had no problem with the download and the activation worked, too (after a couple of failed connections).

Anyway, in my opinion so far it will be worth your time to wait. This is a really great update. There are so many small changes and additions that one constantly finds a new great tweak. For example, the small preview for the materials can now be set to a defined size (1m, 100m, 1km, and so on). That means no more guessing as to what scale you need for a particular material. Another nice feature is if you double click one of the texture maps in the link tab, it will open in an external viewer/editor. You can resize texture maps during import or later on for each texture. You can also revert to the original... Sorry for babbling, I am just blown away by some of these additions, because they really fit well in my work-flow.

Ciao
TD

that's what I've wanted for YEARS, and asked for, see, feedback does get listened to! :)
ie use the Feedback Centre on their website to give useful suggestions.
http://www.e-onsoftware.com/support/FeedbackCenter.php?FromPage=15
Can't honestly blame them for "they didn't do X or y or Z" folks, if you don't tell them, ya know ;)

"I'd rather be a Fool who believes in Dragons, Than a King who believes in Nothing!" www.silverblades-suitcase.com
Free tutorials, Vue & Bryce materials, Bryce Skies, models, D&D items, stories.
Tutorials on Poser imports to Vue/Bryce, Postwork, Vue rendering/lighting, etc etc!

I got answer inert 2 hours from e-on support. But no working download link :-/

*Hi Bodo,

Due to the many download attempts we have run into a major issue with the pre-release of Vue 9 and server saturation.

We will be sending you new download instructions and links within the next 24 hours.

Sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you for your understanding.

Best regards.
Lee Randall*

Mazak

Google+ Bodo Nittel 

 probably will be more than 24 hours.

MY ONLINE COMIC IS NOW LIVE

I aim to update it about once a month.  Oh, and it's free!

Besides the new features, a lot and lot of "little" improvements in this version. For example, being now able to resize the collections column in the various open dialogs to accommodate longer names is a very, very welcome thing :)
As it was said earlier, if you didn't get your copy working yet, don't worry, it's well worth the wait :)

I hope e-on get it sorted before weekend. I want my new toys and I want it now. :tongue1:

Mazak

Google+ Bodo Nittel 

Abraham, td & anyone else who managed to install Vue 9 Infinite:

Just out of curiosity - is there an updated manual included with the Prerelease?

Yes Mari-Anne, the documentation is included. It says "draft" on the cover but all the new features are documented in it (the usual big 700 pages pdf :) )
For the installation, I guess I was lucky. I was home when the mail arrived so I downloaded immediately, probably before the servers start to be saturated. 

Quote - Yes Mari-Anne, the documentation is included. It says "draft" on the cover but all the new features are documented in it (the usual big 700 pages pdf :) )
For the installation, I guess I was lucky. I was home when the mail arrived so I downloaded immediately, probably before the servers start to be saturated. 

Good news!  Thanks, Abraham

Well at least you all are just waiting for an upgrade. I tried to buy the version 8 and have spent the last 24 hours getting told it will work in an hour or two. Pretty darn frustratingly bad service.

 Zerelli - bad timing.  If you'd bought it next week or last week you would have been fine.
Love esther

MY ONLINE COMIC IS NOW LIVE

I aim to update it about once a month.  Oh, and it's free!

Honestly, I think they do handle the situation pretty well. I got yesterday a link to download an updated installer (apparently, despite the fact it installed well, the one we got at first had issues with updates) and today it downloads without any issues. I have already bought software from bigger company than e-on (yes, they are pretty tiny) and it took more than a week to get a working download when updating (ZBrush was a difficult one too when ZBrush 4 showed up, but they also are a small company).

lets hope some people from e-on read forums like this eh? Can we pleeeeease make sure vue is stable BEFORE releasing it instead of expecting all the users who have paid good money for professional software to be unwitting beta testers? dont get me wrong you cant iron out all bugs in a program this complex but i still marvel how they get away with selling this to proffesional outfits.

 A cleaved head no longer plots.

http://www.perilous7.moonfruit.com

The updated download information did work for me too, finally :-)
Now I have to play... cu :woot:

Mazak

btw. The Vue pre-releases are most the best one (most stable and most fast)

Google+ Bodo Nittel 

If it bothers you that this release may not be completely stable, then don't download it.  This download is clearly marked as a pre-release.  I would expect to see some stability issues in this release.

whohoo.
Lines indicating "in focus area" are fixed. Though I'll propably be mostly doing dof still in PS but that's been broken like always(?)

I'm with Abraham.  I think e-on, in spite of their small size, managed this download snafu very quickly.  I had my new download link early in the day yesterday, downloaded, installed, and activated without any glitches - you can't complain with that kind of service!

Quote - > Quote - Also, it seems that poser import works nicely now, at least for a static mesh (didn't try animation). I imported Stephanie 4 + clothing + hair from Poser Pro 2010 (selecting the latest smith micro SDK in vue drop down) and the result in vue was perfect :) The ability to resize the textures on import is also a very nice one :)

And another good new, after 3 hours no crash :)

Yes, the texture handling is an amazing improvement. I can throw the resizing step in ACDsee out of my work-flow now. You can not only resize all maps during import you can also down-sample each map individually after import. There is also an option to copy all maps to a specified folder. This is really great. No problems here either so far. I noticed that the openGL demands have gone up again. My trusty old Nvidia Quadro FX 4000 which was running 8.5 nicely has become quite slow, but it is still very solid. Fortunately, I have a new system with a GTX 460 coming in a few days...

Ciao
TD

I will do some extensive testing on this too and find out if the Poser Shader Tree issues and others I was working with e-on with for fixing are now OK or improved. When I was assigned a tech to work with by e-on, Neil was the one I was working with and said it would require a big change to the Smith Micro SDK and he reported 5 major problems I found with it. These ranged from the Poser Shader Tree not working as it should (even though it appeared to but failed with specific nodes) to resizing on import issues, OOM errors at random times and lack of Poser Pro support. So, here's hoping some of this is now fixed by Smith Micro and e-on as it made Vue unusable for what I do with it mostly.

I will post results of my testing in a separate thread in this forum area once completed.

Jeff

Development on: Mac Pro 2008, Duel-Boot OS - Snow Leopard 10.6.6 & Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit, 2 x 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon , 10GB 800 MHz DDR2 RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT.

lol in response to jcleavers post, if did what you said about not downloading vue until it is bug free id never use it again! :-) i love using vue but it gets on my nerves that such an expensive program is so bug ridden,i have used computers since the early days of pcs and i have never encountered such an unstable program. its also a shame that it does things that no other program can do or id bin it totally,but to have the mindset of  " how do i make a picture that doesnt use vue because i cant trust it to be stable or render at a decent speed" must be wrong? surely  a truely good program expands your creative abilities,not limit and frustrate you.

apologies for the negative spin on things but i wish that the people at e-on would put more emphasis on speed and stability rather than new fancy features.

Rant over  :-)

 A cleaved head no longer plots.

http://www.perilous7.moonfruit.com

Sorry, I was just pointing out that this is the pre-release.  Not the release.  Sort of a late-stage beta.  If it was the release version, I would agree with you completely. 

So far the Vue 9 pre-release is running very nicely. I had a bit of time to play with the new "Hyperblobs". They can be a bit tricky to use because it is quite easy to end up with horrible geometry, but once you get the hang of it they can produce very cool shapes that were not available before in Vue. Here is a qucik example of a Hyperblob that consists of two spheres and a cylinder with a hypertexture material based on a Linear-Value-Gradient Perlin noise. Vue bakes the hypertexture info into real geometry at render time. Pretty nifty.

Ciao
TD

and here is a hyperblob generated from a mixture of "Squares (Pairs)" and "Random Altitudes"...

nice! might be good for futuristic city backgrounds?

 A cleaved head no longer plots.

http://www.perilous7.moonfruit.com