Luxology & the Foundry merge

[Bellsey]

Certainly interesting for once to observe peoples thoughts and comments over something that doesn't involve Autodesk buying something. One thing is for sure, people still love to speculate when it's way too early to see how things will develop. lol

Interesting times ahead though.

Wonder if they'll adopt a new name - Foundology? Foundrolgy?

[McNistor]

Certainly interesting for once to observe peoples thoughts and comments over something that doesn't involve Autodesk buying something.

It's quite the opposite of what Autodesk gets when they do this, isn't it?
Jeez... I wonder why.

[luceric]

I don't really get why people think this is good. I've seen people say that they will focus more on scalability and vfx workflow. but they don't need to merge at all for that, there is no connection between the two. same thing for the modo renderer being in Mari; the modo renderer is already integrated in solid work, they didn't to be bought by Dassault for that. it's non sequiture, imho. you never need to merge two company to get interop or licensing technology. what you do get when you merge company is more management overhead and politics. Softimage worked well under Avid where Avid ignored us completely because they considered not really part of their business. When they tried to help it wasn't so good.

[Bellsey]

Sure, there's always alot of negative comments when it's anything Autodesk but that aside, from the various threads I've seen, many of the comments and peoples reservations are the same.

[bottleofram]

Sure, there's always alot of negative comments when it's anything Autodesk but that aside, from the various threads I've seen, many of the comments and peoples reservations are the same.

Maybe there's a difference in what happens to technology Autodesk acquires and the one Foundry takes over..?

;)

But i have not seen too much blind enthusiasm about this merging, to be honest. At least not from people who ever took a peak into Foundry's pricing structure.

[Hirazi Blue]

"Funny" thing in all this, that everybody (myself included in the OP) is calling it a merger.
The cold hard truth of the matter seems to be that The Foundry has acquired Luxology.

We want to cast it as a merger because the word ‘acquisition’ makes people think the founders are going to cash out and leave, and nothing could be further from the truth—we’re jazzed about this and looking forward to having a bigger footprint in the industry.

(Quoted from here)

[Mathaeus]

I bought Modo 601, honestly, because is affordable. License isn't tied to machine, so, as long as I have machine able to drive compatible OS, I should be able to use it. So I have some commercial software in case something goes wrong with regular job. Renderer is nice one, but... this shader tree, come on.... Actually everything in this soft, beside renderer, IMHO is a pathetic mass. Right now I don't even have it installed. I'm more and more Blender fan.

With a lot of work, I think there is a chance for Modo to be a decent competitor to Cinema 4d, that's all..
Anyway it would be interesting to see what will happen.

[Bellsey]

Sure, there's always alot of negative comments when it's anything Autodesk but that aside, from the various threads I've seen, many of the comments and peoples reservations are the same.

Maybe there's a difference in what happens to technology Autodesk acquires and the one Foundry takes over..?

;)

But i have not seen too much blind enthusiasm about this merging, to be honest. At least not from people who ever took a peak into Foundry's pricing structure.

When it comes to acquisitions and mergers (Autodesk or not). Many fall into the trap of coming up with idealistic and utopian like scenarios of what they would like to happen. Though of course whether anything actually happens, only time will tell.

Both parties obviously believed the deal was good for them, so fair dues.

[origin]

"Funny" thing in all this, that everybody (myself included in the OP) is calling it a merger.
The cold hard truth of the matter seems to be that The Foundry has acquired Luxology.

We want to cast it as a merger because the word ‘acquisition’ makes people think the founders are going to cash out and leave, and nothing could be further from the truth—we’re jazzed about this and looking forward to having a bigger footprint in the industry.

(Quoted from here)

Check who owns Foundry. Yet another corporation growing bigger

[Pooby]

Fuxology?

[grahamef]

what you do get when you merge company is more management overhead and politics. Softimage worked well under Avid where Avid ignored us completely because they considered not really part of their business. When they tried to help it wasn't so good.

And compare that to what happened on the DS side of the business, which was a total disaster.

[ActionArt]

what you do get when you merge company is more management overhead and politics. Softimage worked well under Avid where Avid ignored us completely because they considered not really part of their business. When they tried to help it wasn't so good.

So true. I always thought Luxology's main strength was that they had a clear vision and they could do what they want. Now that may be eroded.

[bottleofram]

Sure, there's always alot of negative comments when it's anything Autodesk but that aside, from the various threads I've seen, many of the comments and peoples reservations are the same.

Maybe there's a difference in what happens to technology Autodesk acquires and the one Foundry takes over..?

;)

But i have not seen too much blind enthusiasm about this merging, to be honest. At least not from people who ever took a peak into Foundry's pricing structure.

When it comes to acquisitions and mergers (Autodesk or not). Many fall into the trap of coming up with idealistic and utopian like scenarios of what they would like to happen.

Haha, yeah. Digital artists are simple like that. We never fail to overestimate what it means for an individual when something like this happens. For example, in this particular situation (and it applies to all other similar situations), the first thought of a current modo user might be: "Brilliant! Maybe now they can finally overcome the long-standing problems like linear workflow, massive data handling, shading, proceduralism or what have you". In reality, though, if any benefit to the end user comes, it wont come free. They'll just create a new product called "modoX" and sell it in a much higher price range.

Though of course whether anything actually happens, only time will tell.

Speculation is just an attempt to predict the future and be prepared for it. Its important, you know...

[Bullit]

The biggest problem is hubris that leads to stagnation while the free market is constantly evolving, that is what killed SGI and with it almost Alias Maya, also almost killed Avid and others.

[Bellsey]

"Funny" thing in all this, that everybody (myself included in the OP) is calling it a merger.
The cold hard truth of the matter seems to be that The Foundry has acquired Luxology.

We want to cast it as a merger because the word ‘acquisition’ makes people think the founders are going to cash out and leave, and nothing could be further from the truth—we’re jazzed about this and looking forward to having a bigger footprint in the industry.

(Quoted from here)

Check who owns Foundry. Yet another corporation growing bigger

Yes but worth pointing out that The Carlyle Group is really a private equity firm who invest and divest in a diverse range of businesses all the time. Hardly a direct comparison to corps like Adobe, Autodesk, Dassualt, or Nemetschek AG (they own Maxon), whose business is concentrated in a particular sector or industry.
Incidently, until relatively recently The Carlyle Group used to own The Mill.

[McNistor]

I don't use either Modo or Nuke, but I do consider this a potential good news.
Thing is, unlike stories of heroism, in real life only a Goliath can bring down - or rather keep in check is more desirable otherwise you're left off with just another Goliath - a Goliath.
Any news that might indicate a company consolidates its financial position thus making a bigger player (in the light of competition in the CGI industry) is good news to me.