Spoiler Alert: NO SPOILERS ANYMORE

[Rork]

t4d,

we get it...... you're very disappointed with AD.

you did not get all that you wanted with the new release.
now please stop your bickering, it's getting very tiresome.
we're all entitled to our opinions, but this nagging on several threads is just pointless. that's -my- opinion anyway.

take a deep breath, decide if you're willing to pay for subscription, and wait for the next release of Softimage, or move on to a 3d app where the grass looks greener.

i'm getting so tired of all these negative posts everywhere. people seem to love to furiously complain about their OS, their software, their hardware... etc. etc.

[SreckoM]

.... take a deep breath, decide if you're willing to pay for subscription, and wait for the next release of Softimage, or move on to a 3d app where the grass looks greener.

That is what I said after last release. There are alternatives to AD products, really great one, do not be fooled that there are not. So if you do not like what AD is doing , just switch. As a matter a fact you can switch to Maya or 3dsMax also, as there is brighter future for them than SI obviously, maybe smarter move on long run. One way is to keep from paying subscription and use that money for 3rd party plugins, why not?
Just be realistic and do not expect something wow from Ad, especially if you are freelancer, use what u already have (which is btw great). As someone already said, there are just not enough resources for that.

[Chris_TC]

For example lets call it a time frequency node could be applied to an emitter to emit particles at a certain frequency and also say a deformer to make waves in a mesh. It is my opinion that ICE should strive for nodes with broadest application possible.

ICE is built exactly like that

Example:


Of course the higher level nodes are more specialized by nature.

[Bullit]

Thanks but you are showing it is not exactly like that but in this case it isn't one of worst offenders.

Test particle size should be just Test Size and work for everything. Test inside null/Geometry should also work for everything: from points to clusters from objects to groups, we just need to choose one or several of those. For example there are several nodes with Particle in name that should be able to work with everything not just particles. Particle age should be able to work with everything just not particles: change color of an object, scale etc.
I know that ICE started - or was sold - as a particle effect tool so it has its own legacy.
One node that i like and i think is well implemented except eventual context issues is the less than/ equal/ more than. All those options were integrated in it, it is what approaches an universal node making it easier for everyone to use ice.

[Ahmidou]

Particle age should be able to work with everything just not particles: change color of an object, scale etc.

To have an age you need a birth, which is non existent in the case of a deformer or any operation on existing objects.
You can still modulate any value you want based on the timeline or whatever trigger, so in this particular case I don't see you point.

[Bullit]

Just to have one tool/node do it all related to time in ice. Simplifying.

[dwigfor]

I think the problem with making "Uber" nodes, like an Emit From... (combining Geometry, null, position, curve, etc) is they will be too large/complex/too many inputs and they will be slower. Greater Than/Equal/Less Than only contains a few nodes in the compound. There are much more nodes in the Emit From. I think it's better/more efficient to use only what you need.

[Bullit]

I agree that up to a certain level the split should be done but in an integrated way. Not have completely disperse node like emit and blast. Blast should be linkable to Emit and not be completely different.
Another idea was to have a way to have dormant nodes, i mean they just load a graphic dummy with correct name but doing nothing. The user activates it if needed and then it calls the nodes.