Another 3dsmax sneak peak

[talent103]

I would say the things I miss most when I work in Maya is GATOR, Easy Render pass , partition , override setups, (easier than maya anyway) If the attribute editor functioned more like property pages where you can lock it so it does not disappear with another selection. Setting up parameter links with a click and a drag. Non destructive set up like secondary shapes etc. These would be key. Dont know if it can be done for maya.

[talent103]

Oh and just take everyone out of their misery and bring ICE into maya.

[jamination]

Oh and just take everyone out of their misery and bring ICE into maya.

I think that is inevitable.

[Bellsey]

Oh and just take everyone out of their misery and bring ICE into maya.

I think that is inevitable.

Is it?

[Rez007]

Oh and just take everyone out of their misery and bring ICE into maya.

I think that is inevitable.

Is it?

Maybe a variation, but I sure hope not, as that is one of the main things that keeps Softimage afloat. Wasn't CrowdFX designed as to be something that no other package offers? Well, it has been about a year and look what 3DS Max got - I guess that kinda makes CrowdFX a moot point, doesn't it? Nowadays, anything can happen...

[Bellsey]

Maybe a variation, but I sure hope not, as that is one of the main things that keeps Softimage afloat. Wasn't CrowdFX designed as to be something that no other package offers? Well, it has been about a year and look what 3DS Max got - I guess that kinda makes CrowdFX a moot point, doesn't it? Nowadays, anything can happen...

Luc-Eric has already mention about CrowdFX in previous posts, and Geppetto - well you can actually trace that back to a blog post from Ken back in 2010: http://area.autodesk.com/blogs/ken/people_power_teaser

[jamination]

Oh and just take everyone out of their misery and bring ICE into maya.

I think that is inevitable.

Is it?

I think people get too locked in on the specific language. Sure ice as we know it won't be in Maya, but there has been strong suggestions from people in the know that maya will eventually get a more powerful (i believe the wording was more "scalable") ice-like system (and maya is autodesk's prefered system of three).

[talent103]

I have been to Maya user groups and that seems to be the consensus at the Maya user groups. Their new node editor is a first step in that direction. It may never happen but that is what most people think will happen right now. It would be the smart move if they can do it. I could see an n particle system being node based and much more user friendly (though they may not call it ICE) in the same vein of max's 'XSI crowd' feature that just came out. I may have to post some NYC maya forum chats I have had.

[McNistor]

The day they have ICE-like system in Maya it'll be the day they'll announce they've discontinued Softimage.
(not saying that I know for sure that that day will come and I surely hope not)

[Rork]

If that happens, the main question will be if people will migrate inside the AD 'world', or start looking into other non-AD solutions.

The Foundry is slowly but steadily moving into 3D after the merging with the Modo crew, and they already have a very solid track record with developing Nuke, Hero and alike.
And it's a company willing to listen to their customers -and- have a keen eye on what's happening in the industry with quick support for emerging new formats.

Blender is slowly growing into a very interesting package. As soon as alternatives will scale up stably and feature wise, things will get very interesting again.
As much as we like our software programs, have a look at the history of 3D and realize a lot of us have switched packages already multiple times......

But personally I hope Softimage will be around for quite a while longer. ;)

[Hirazi Blue]

Just to set the record straight: the fact that McNistor talks about the possible discontinuation of Softimage and Rork talks about software choices to switch to, could (and probably will) once again be construed by Autodesk employees and others as the si-community doing what it "ALWAYS" does (and what it does best?). In this case, however, I want to remind you all, it was a beloved (obviously!) Autodesk employee who deliberately "trolled' his way into this discussion. Again: just for the record...


Belated edit - And as people just love to misunderstand my posts:
there was nothing wrong with the posts by McNistor and Rork.
That's not why I mentioned them...

[Eugen]

Modo does not have an operator stack, just some kind of deform stack. -> no parametric modeling whatsoever. It's the main point of critics.
Extrude a curve, and the curve is gone! Wtf?
(It will be very interesting to see if they are able to still add an op stack. Something like this should be there from the start. Difficult to chuck in on at a later date.

Blender - the same, in a slightly different manner. You can pile operators (also topo) on a base mesh, the polys get shown, but you cannot edit them until you freeze. Yuck!

Same in Cinema4D. There's a deform stack, too, I believe.

I don't like that.

All those packages try to circumvent the many problems that arise sporting a full-featured flexible operator graph. Only with this do you have a true non-linear and parametric workflow, like Softimage.
ICE adds even more flexibility, and much of it (although it still seem a bit "glued on" to the classic op stack, and is not yet fully feature complete)

So the air is actually thin, if you expect a feature like this from your 3D-app. There's only Maya left, Houdini, and to a degree 3ds max with it's modifier stack.
So be aware of that before you try to "threaten" with transitioning to whatever other app...

Only Softimage truly rocks, despite the numerous lacking features...
Only Houdini is more sophisticated, but it's not as easy to wield, by far. I will again look at it, though, when the time comes.
Maya... o.m.g....

If it really comes to the bitter end, I hope Autodesk will at least have the decency to sell Softimage, instead of letting it rot in a drawer. This would finally prove that they completely lost any good sense for what is good for both them and the users.

[Rork]

Just responded on a post, not trying to imply anything here... ;)

And yes, the SI forums like to talk 'doom and gloom' about our beloved SI
But we're getting a new release soon, and despite the fact that 'you can't please them all', it will be a decent release for most of us.

What I was trying to say is that things change, and all this chatter might be silly in 10 years or so...

@ Eugen: The Foundry and Blender were just 2 examples. I agree that most of the 3D apps out there cannot fill the non-linear stuff that SI has by default. Or the scalablilty to use in larger productions.

[Eugen]

You say it, Rork.

Trying to create a vacuum that should suck people to Maya by killing SI is a sorry idea. That vacuum will be filled for sure, but not with Maya.

Other applications will pop out the soil when the time is right. They always do. Look at what the fabric engine guys are coming up with these days...

In the meantime, let's enjoy the goodies and fixes SI 2014 will bring.

[Rork]

Imagen this one....

Softimage + (realtime) Fabric Engine plugins + Arnold/Vray = very interesting times...

[Tekano]

Trying to create a vacuum that should suck people to Maya by killing SI is a sorry idea. That vacuum will be filled for sure, but not with Maya.

exactly.