Strands?

[azurecgi]

OK, I'll go first!

I use softimage strands in a lot of my projects. I see nothing that even resembles strands in Maya or 3DS Max.

Is it something unique to Softimage or is there another piece of software that offers something similar?

[origin]

Not in max.

[gaboraa]

maybe Houdini but don't know exactly

[azurecgi]

This is what I feared! I didn't realise how unique a feature it was to Softimage

[luceric]

I'm fascinated by this question, but unfortunately I'm not well-versed in FX to properly answer it with experience. The answer is something like "something like strands is possible, but it's complicated". Maya has two particles systems, the older expression-based on, and nParticles in nucleus. There are a lot of unique things in FX out-of-the-box - for example nHair and various other advanced curve dynamics, which Duncan can talk your ears out about for hours, but out-of-the-box strands "like ICE" is not one of them. Since Bifrost is expected to bring many new things (as per fxguide article), my instinct would to see what's in Maya dynamics that's unique/interesting that you can use out-of-the-box, but not go too deep in it learning how to write those particle expressions to mimic ICE features.

[Yader]

OK, I'll go first!

I use softimage strands in a lot of my projects. I see nothing that even resembles strands in Maya or 3DS Max.

Is it something unique to Softimage or is there another piece of software that offers something similar?

Is there any info out there which briefly explains what strands can do and can not?
Maybe then I can answer if Hair in C4D could substitute some of the functionality strands have.

By the way, I'm really sorry for you guys. I am following the xsi community as a C4D user for a long time,
always impressed by the interesting concepts you guys come up with
Not nice seeing this great piece of software dying.

[SamHowell]

I asked the same question a few weeks ago and I was pleasantly suprised

http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option= ... ic&t=30952

[azurecgi]

I asked the same question a few weeks ago and I was pleasantly suprised

http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_forum&Itemid=172&page=viewtopic&t=30952

That does look promising and the initial price of Houdini isn't too scary. I just wish the yearly subscription wasn't quite so expensive, that works out to around £1500/year!!!

[Pancho]

That's more like a dynamic lofting thing. Doesn't look like you could create a hair system with it.

Sighhh....

F... A.......!

[azurecgi]

This is getting more and more depressing by the day!

I've been going through some of the compounds I've built over the years that do some very 'project specific' effects and when I investigate doing any of them in Maya or Max the answers that come back vary from "impossible" to "very difficult" and the ones that are possible will require me getting up to speed very quickly in MEL or Python, both of which seem 'old fashioned' after ICE.

I have a real confidence when I take on a project using Softimage as I know that using ICE I can get the job done. If the standard toolset doesn't have what I need, I can quickly create a tool/deformer/effect.

This move by Autodesk is extremely short sighted and premature because Maya out of the box (and Max) just doesn't offer anywhere near what softimage does, especially to a small studio like mine.

How am I supposed to tell my clients that they can't have that effect in a new animation, even though I've produced it in the past for them because I've transitioned to a new, supposedly better ( ), piece of 3d software and had the license for the software I used to use taken away?!

Even though it means spending a lot of money, that I can't really afford, and moving to a much higher yearly subscription model, I can see no alternative for the future but to 'transition' over to Houdini.

F... A.......!

[Yader]

I asked the same question a few weeks ago and I was pleasantly suprised

http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option= ... ic&t=30952

All of the examples on this thread are perfectly possible with Cinema 4D.
The Hair system is one of the most robust ones inside the app.
Here's for example something about knitting with Hair:
https://vimeo.com/71370784

[Yader]

…I've been going through some of the compounds I've built over the years that do some very 'project specific' effects and when I investigate doing any of them in Maya or Max the answers that come back vary from "impossible" to "very difficult" and the ones that are possible will require me getting up to speed very quickly in MEL or Python, both of which seem 'old fashioned' after ICE.
…

Can you give one or two examples of these project specific effects?
I'd like to give them a go in C4D.

[SamHowell]

That's more like a dynamic lofting thing. Doesn't look like you could create a hair system with it.

Sighhh....

F... A.......!

Have you actually opened the example .hip files and taken a look?

[Mathaeus]

I asked the same question a few weeks ago and I was pleasantly suprised

http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option= ... ic&t=30952

All of the examples on this thread are perfectly possible with Cinema 4D.
The Hair system is one of the most robust ones inside the app.
Here's for example something about knitting with Hair:
https://vimeo.com/71370784

Well, with all due respect to your optimism, I'd be free to put it into something like 'partially possible', nothing perfectly, nothing robust. Don't get me wrong, but someonee will try to compare the performance of that python script and ICE or Houdini live operator. Someone will try to render this into some of built-in C4d renderers, using motion blur, figuring out that there is no anything between old-school subframe sampling, and slow path-tracer. Someone will try to install 3Delight in C4d, figuring out that hair isn't supported at all. This pic is V-Ray render, isn't it.
Again don't get me wrong, but, I think it will be much better to go with 'easy to use' route while advertising C4d here, really not by comparing the possibility or performance.

[NNois]

I asked the same question a few weeks ago and I was pleasantly suprised

http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option= ... ic&t=30952

All of the examples on this thread are perfectly possible with Cinema 4D.
The Hair system is one of the most robust ones inside the app.
Here's for example something about knitting with Hair:
https://vimeo.com/71370784

Hi,
I appreciate your efforts but in just putting the things in theire places, i'm sorry your example describe perfectly why i wouldn't ever use C4D, there is workarounds everywhere, cheats, etc. And it's a destructive workflow ...

[ronaldomiranda]

I have been studying houdini apprentice for some months and i must admite that houdini is really capable of anything.
But do must admite that sometimes houdini scares me a lot of time, like it was made for math or cientific guys (what is not my case).
But with the use of OpenVDB and Alembic, you could use both houdini and softimage forever, since in my opinion, for character animation, houdini is not so easy like xsi, and other minor tasks.

2 cents