VUE 3D XTREAM

[benoit81]

Hello,
I would like to know if anyone has already use Vue 3D Xstream within Softimage in a production project?
http://www.e-onsoftware.com/products/vu ... 1_xstream/
Is it stable enough?
Is it better to use Vue3D complete or infinite and export 3D model to Softimage ?
Thank you

Moderator edit: mistakingly moved this, so I moved it back. To make up for my mistake, I added URL tags at no extra charge - HB

[SamHowell]

Are you using it for animation or for supporting matte paints?

I have personally used Vue many times in production for animation and the first thing I will say is take a deep breath and prepare yourself for a very unstable and frustrating time. It probably doesn't help that I write this at the exact time I am trying to get some Vue animations ready over the weekend and feeling less than favourable towards this software right now.

Xstream has an integrated plugin with Softimage so you can use a large amount of Vue functions from within Softimage and even render your scene with Mental Ray if you like. Mental Ray will begin to fall over quite quickly if you try to render lots of ecosystems so most of the time you will need to export to Vue Standalone. It is far from accurate or stable once you try to export your scene to Vue. You will experience dropped keyframes, incorrect groups of keyframes, scale errors and have a generally buggy and crashy time. Once in Vue things are reasonably stable but you will find yourself handling it like you would handle explosives as it can crash and freeze with slightest wrong move (in fact as i write these very words I am waiting for Vue to hopefully not crash, AGAIN). The animation tools are virtually non-existant and extremely frustraing to use. Editing and adding keyframes requires the patience of an angel.

I could go on about trying to get animation rendered but I would fill up this whole page all over again. This is turning into a rant!

So why do I keep using it when it has all these problems? If you need an infinite landscape quick with a crazy amount of trees and all the lighting, shading and texturing all sorted for you without any preparation or research and development then it's really the only game in town (with the exception of maybe Teragen). Vue can acheive some genuinely stunning results but the process of getting there is horrible. If you need landscapes fast and cheap then Vue can save you, just don't expect it to be fun or easy.

[benoit81]

Thank you for sharing your experience with vue3D. I finnaly bought Vue3D complete as I just need background for still images.
I just play few hours with Xstream PLE edition for Softimage, I agree : it's not stable enough. Sad, because it's rare that software company support Softimage. Painting ecosystem on Softimage Xtream freeze Softimage very often.
Regards,

[zorfilms]

Hi I've done a lot of work with VUE Xstream and Softimage. Yes it is a bit of a strange thing at the beginning but once you get around it I find it very nice to work with. I did all my plates in Vue then open the Vue scene in Softimage and animate in my case a truck and the camera with ease. Then render using mental ray settings. You can see the final result here...

http://static.centrenad.com/static/nadt ... _11514.mp4

Simon

[benoit81]

Very nice work !
I find Vue3D very hard to learn... I try to export my scene to softimage, but the terrain has a very bad resolution. And I do not know how to export my camera into softimage ! Very hard to create a reatistic integration. Any idea how to export terrain and camera properly ?
Regards,

[SamHowell]

Hi I've done a lot of work with VUE Xstream and Softimage. Yes it is a bit of a strange thing at the beginning but once you get around it I find it very nice to work with. I did all my plates in Vue then open the Vue scene in Softimage and animate in my case a truck and the camera with ease. Then render using mental ray settings. You can see the final result here...

http://static.centrenad.com/static/nadt ... _11514.mp4

Simon

Nice work! You must be a very patient person.

No ecosystems or spectral clouds I see.

[zorfilms]

Hi Actually it is very easy. All you need it is the VueSync plugin. It work only with xstream if I remember. Here is what I do:animate your camera in xsi, load the plugin in Softimage via the script editor. select what you want to export then open VUE select the cam, click motion and synchro and then select the synch file that you save from xsi.. make sure that you new cam in vue in set to 1 in the size.. it is 10 by default when synch. I will write down a full tutorial on it soon..

As for the low resolution in xsi, yes it is true until you render it. the procedural becomes full rez.. or export your mesh in full 2k or 4k rez but it is very heavy. Or you can use a displacement map and apply it on a BIG grid with a lot of sub div.

go to this link for more free tutorials:

http://www.geekatplay.com/vue.php

[zorfilms]

Hi I've done a lot of work with VUE Xstream and Softimage. Yes it is a bit of a strange thing at the beginning but once you get around it I find it very nice to work with. I did all my plates in Vue then open the Vue scene in Softimage and animate in my case a truck and the camera with ease. Then render using mental ray settings. You can see the final result here...

http://static.centrenad.com/static/nadt ... _11514.mp4

Simon

Nice work! You must be a very patient person.

No ecosystems or spectral clouds I see.

thanks, actually a few hundreds small rocks on the ground...