Spoiler Alert: NO SPOILERS ANYMORE

[Nizar]

Do you talking about Maya VFX?

I think you’re kidding yourself (but I don’t mean that in an insulting way, obviously) or I am. For a long time we have been hearing that either the days of the so-called generalist software were numbered or that new competition was just around the corner. Neither has happened yet and I am seriously doubting it ever will. Sadly, Modo seems a prime example of where this is (or better yet: isn’t) going. Modo started as a specialist modeling software that subsequently got delusions of grandeur. After that it tried desperately to morph into a generalist software, but it most definitively isn’t there yet (and somehow I doubt it will actually get there in my lifetime). And while the surviving true specialist apps seem to be doing well for themselves, I think they aren’t truly “threatening” the generalist software either (or so it would seem from my vantage point).

Disagree. Before release 601, modo development was very slow. Release 601 given a big push into the right direction, and now under Foundry (and whit the bigger and rich structure this company has) 701 promising to become more better, and not only because finally they arriving into dynamic/fluid market, but seems the upgrading regarding the core structure (170x better viewport perfomance and 50x better preview render). Also, the software gain a reordering of the too dispersive GUI (from the picture is sure for animating section) and gain more animating functions. IMO, with release 801 or late 901, modo can become one of the big guy.

Also, I forgot Cinema 4d, I think about like a true (full) generalist software, in every release they add bigger and substantial addition in each compartment (rendering, modelling etc.).

I think the other ADSK competitors (excluding houndini, sidefx has not interest in generalist and freelance market IMO) point to fill this gap. For Autodesk a freelance must buy and subscribe their suite...

[angus_davidson]

Yeah, that "sideproject" has a name. A girly one. You wouldn't like it.

haha ;)

[angus_davidson]

I dont think the days of generalist software are numbered. Quite the oppersit in fact. I think there are very exciting times ahead.

[Maximus]

I just think that what busted AD and caused a total degradation of development on each 3d packages was the "Suite" idea. That was simply stupid, mostly because you put together softwares that do the same thing and cant co-exist.

AD has a lot of proprietary tech which they developed or bought in years but few of them you see implemented, some are not supported anymore, some are discontinued, some are gave away for free and not developed anymore. Its really a giant mess. And if they didnt have CAD or the other fields, they would be probably bankrupt already.
Give other softwares like modo/houdini some other years, while AD roll her thumbs, and see what happens.

[mirkoj]

from time to time I remember that morning when I saw news about AD buying AD and it brings back all chills... oh the horror....
maybe.. maybe SI would be dead till now who knows but if that is alternative for slow agonizing death.... just get it done so we can move on or give us push so we are safe and sound.
worse thing is this retarding going nowhere position

[Nizar]

I just think that what busted AD and caused a total degradation of development on each 3d packages was the "Suite" idea. That was simply stupid, mostly because you put together softwares that do the same thing and cant co-exist.

AD has a lot of proprietary tech which they developed or bought in years but few of them you see implemented, some are not supported anymore, some are discontinued, some are gave away for free and not developed anymore. Its really a giant mess. And if they didnt have CAD or the other fields, they would be probably bankrupt already.
Give other softwares like modo/houdini some other years, while AD roll her thumbs, and see what happens.

If you own all three bigger software is not stupid, is the only way

Cad is in serious difficult, if I understood correctly, Dassault gain market share every year

[Hirazi Blue]

@Nizar (about your Modo post, not this last one) - I do hope you're right, as I actually like Modo (looking at it from outside), but as is evident from my previous post I'm highly skeptical. Let me rephrase my previous post in one handy sentence: nobody builds a generalist app from scratch anymore and expanding on a specialist app to gradually turn it into a generalist app is an endeavor I personally doubt will have the wanted result.
Well at least they raised prices to make it feel more like an Autodesk software... ;)

@angus_davidson - I never said its days were numbered, I just stated that we've been hearing its days were numbered. Which we did, a lot.

[angus_davidson]

@angus_davidson - I never said its days were numbered, I just stated that we've been hearing its days were numbered. Which we did, a lot.

You are correct, obviously I need more tea !

[Bellsey]

I like the fact that on previous discussions and threads that people say that Autodesk has no competition, when everyone now seems to be talking about exactly that. This hasn't happened recently, Cinema4D, Modo, MARI, Houdini, etc have been there all along. And I haven't seen anything to say that Autodesk is complacent about these guys either. They're all very good in their own right.

@Nizar - it's hard to compare the M&E side of Autodesk to the other divisions. They're just bigger, in just about everything. Dassault is big corporation, and strong in manufacturing, which hasn't always been a strong sector for Autodesk. There's also PTC, Bentley and Nemetscheck (who own Maxon ;) ), so Autodesk aren't complacent in their other businesses either. These businesses are also changing massively, with all the big players offering PLM solutions.

[Bullit]

Maybe we are heading for a stagnation period of maybe 5 years that only Blender, Cinema 4D and Houdini can stir the pot.
Contrary to some here i am not seeing Modo doing it btw... everything that comes from Lightwave brains i look at it suspiciously for its quirkness...

I also disagree the critic against suite issue. A suite doesn't prevent developing more in one direction well. For example Softimage 2013 was a clear headless release, pointing nowhere, and the two top novelties were badly implemented - in short: bad or no strategic view and badly done. That seems forced the 2014 release to be a bug fix if that list is what all it got.
A suite doesn't prevent Softimage going Houdini road, in fact it is the only application that can match several Houdini capabilities. Or some Cinema 4D features that approach ICE.
Imagine if instead the badly implemented CrowdFX that almost no one uses a good Mograph like was done for 2013?

I think the biggest issue with Autodesk are the personnel. People. Some are clearly not good at what they are doing. Maybe they are misplaced.
And in top of that the constant changes. In fact it seems that Autodesk bought Softimage to poach people.

with all the big players offering PLM solutions.

Usually to scare people even more with digital bureaucracy...

[Nizar]

I like the fact that on previous discussions and threads that people say that Autodesk has no competition, when everyone now seems to be talking about exactly that. This hasn't happened recently, Cinema4D, Modo, MARI, Houdini, etc have been there all along. And I haven't seen anything to say that Autodesk is complacent about these guys either. They're all very good in their own right.

@Nizar - it's hard to compare the M&E side of Autodesk to the other divisions. They're just bigger, in just about everything. Dassault is big corporation, and strong in manufacturing, which hasn't always been a strong sector for Autodesk. There's also PTC, Bentley and Nemetscheck (who own Maxon ;) ), so Autodesk aren't complacent in their other businesses either. These businesses are also changing massively, with all the big players offering PLM solutions.

I don't know in details what and how Dassault and other company are compared to ADSK, only I read an article (if remember correctly) on 3dworld

Abut other software, I repeat what I said about: no one has the two/three characteristics I used in softiamge so, by my habits and by lack of features by competitors, despite I don't like what I have in exchange of my subscription money, I'm forced to remain sticky to ADSK... I hope these generalist software will grow very fast in a near future, but is hard, as discussed before in this forum, the only software who replace another was Maya at the expense of softimage|3d, so, the general idea about ADSK lie relatively secure (and in softimage side lie too mush IMO...

Contrary to some here i am not seeing Modo doing it btw... everything that comes from Lightwave brains i look at it suspiciously for its quirkness...

I think modo is not bad, at all, but is far from softimage for workflow and flexibility.

[Bellsey]

Usually to scare people even more with digital bureaucracy...

I wouldn't agree. Talking with my colleagues in the other areas of Autodesks business, it actually makes perfect sense, and as an example its where Autodesk's PLM, BIM and 360 programs come very much into play. These businesses and companies are spending millions on infrastructure and software pipelines, and on a scale that is hard to even quantify.

[Bullit]

I wouldn't agree. Talking with my colleagues in the other areas of Autodesks business, it actually makes perfect sense, and as an example its where Autodesk's PLM, BIM and 360 programs come very much into play. These businesses and companies are spending millions on infrastructure and software pipelines, and on a scale that is hard to even quantify.

For giant firms with thousands might justify the whole system. But i have listened to horror stories of PLM that turned everything slower due to bugs and impossibility to adapt to the whole pipeline that made several firms dropping PLM. Spaceclaim for example one of fast growing mechanical cad applications, that started/went with the trend of circumventing the traditional history based approax. of MCAD applications doesn't have a PLM itself.

[T.I.M.]

And again....This is just a point release:
http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option= ... Itemid=360
http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option= ... &Itemid=66

[angus_davidson]

The main problem to me is if you tie everything in too tight as soon as there's an issue its affects everything.

[SreckoM]

And again....This is just a point release:
http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option= ... Itemid=360
http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option= ... &Itemid=66

This sums everything.