Jump to content

R25 Expectations


Guest Igor

Recommended Posts

Just now, Cairyn said:

 

Someone said so in a YouTube video on a CyclesX / Cycles comparison (which I watched because darn I cannot even keep to my own advice). But now that you doubt it, I looked at the actual Blender development log https://developer.blender.org/T68915 , and it looks as if it's not on the menu for now. Damn, that is a disappointment, I'm going to need that too...

 

...hope that is not a bad omen for the rest of the day!

Damn, i got so happy hehe! 
But I am sure they will try to implement it very soon.
A lot of people are asking about it on the forums! 

Link to comment

Ok, here is a condensed feature list: https://www.maxon.net/en/article/maxon-fall-product-releases-offer-a-wealth-of-rich-features-and-compatibility

 

"The most intuitive 3D application interface just got even better with a new modern skin, user interface enhancements and an expansive preset system for optimizing your workflow. All-new Spline Import options allow users to easily use Illustrator, PDF and SVG vector artwork in their 3D scenes. Capsules allow anyone to tap into the power and flexibility of Cinema 4D's Scene Node system, with plug-in-like features directly in the Classic Object Manager. And the New Spline and Data Integration functionality can be used to build powerful Capsule Assets"

 

 

Link to comment

Well… The novelties I saw in R25 seem a bit random. Like the team fixes and brings up some minor tweaks and cool little features but not even talking about magistral pathway of the program. Like «it’s all done, folks!».

 

I think not quite. I was waiting since R17 for something of a different level of continuity - like «everything a mograph». AT LEAST make effectors affect not only mograph objects, but any parameter of any object for the beginning (so long awaited). Than, as I imagined could be a great idea, - make effectors procedurally affect animations, a little like 3ds Max's animation controllers which you can stack up. Than low-level geometry modifications (kingda implemented in nodes, but nodes themselves…).


Instead of that - old problems and outdated solutions are still there full height tall. Like timeline - that’s sometimes painful to use when you do something serious as I do. It’s sluggish, it’s limiting, has absolutely no proceduality. I tried Blender - oh man… I cried.
You showed some nice things. But why, WHY NEGLECTING IMPORTANT THINGS? It doesn't force you to rewrite a core or something like that, some very easy things and tweaks to ease our life. I even wrote all that you need to fix in my UX improvement list you completely discarded.
Multicore utilization? Doesn’t seem to be there. UI? Not bad, but thin-stroked icons are now much harder to see.


Seems the Adobe subscription mode took the power over you and all we get is a slow decline. That’s what we’ve been afraid of

Link to comment

I took a deeper look at nodes. And here the things are harder to judge. I think that's a great system and I feel much sympathy to it's creators. But while it's not yet production-ready and we don't yet know how to utilize that, I think of more primitive things. Simply - what does this release give to my workflow? What does it really fix?
And despite I see a revolution in nodes, I see no evolution in vital places we spend the time doing our work. Despite they're pretty easy to clean-up. So a vera controversial feeling emerges. Like there are two different worlds - of our work, and of development plans. Weird.
About like in After Effects, but their devs just s*** on users for years, and every release is a laugh. Not quite, but close to it

Link to comment
2 hours ago, Intenditore said:

I took a deeper look at nodes. And here the things are harder to judge. I think that's a great system and I feel much sympathy to it's creators. But while it's not yet production-ready and we don't yet know how to utilize that, I think of more primitive things. Simply - what does this release give to my workflow? What does it really fix?
And despite I see a revolution in nodes, I see no evolution in vital places we spend the time doing our work. Despite they're pretty easy to clean-up. So a vera controversial feeling emerges. Like there are two different worlds - of our work, and of development plans. Weird.
About like in After Effects, but their devs just s*** on users for years, and every release is a laugh. Not quite, but close to it

 

Well... I suppose Maxon does not have the personnel capacity to work on both Scene Nodes and "old workflow" improvements at the same time. Especially when that old workflow will go away sooner or later, and everything will be based on the Scene Nodes core internally. I know they said that the Object Manager will not go away and that C4D will remain accessible, but that does not mean that the implementation of the current objects will stay the same. Every single object implementation will need to be changed. (And frankly I don't even have an idea how that will look in the end, as the true issues - dynamics, simulation, cloth, hair, joints, particles etc pp have not yet shown up in the Nodes.)

 

If I were an independent programmer working on a personal project I would probably do the same. Not waste resources on things that are going to be discarded anyway. Put the effort into places where it really counts.

 

Unfortunately, if the place that really counts cannot be finished in one iteration, it remains incomplete and of marginal use for the end user. That's the thing we are feeling now - an expensive upgrade that doesn't deliver the value for the daily work. What would make a difference is a cleanup of Object Priorities, but that will be done through the Nodes concept anyway. What would make a difference is parallelization and GPU usage, but that will be done through the Nodes concept anyway. What would make a difference... well, you get the gist. (Hypothetically speaking, the developers have solutions for the pressing issues. I'm not a developer at Maxon so I can't speak with confidence but that's what I would do.) Sadly we don't see it yet, and worse, we will probably not see it tomorrow.

 

I can understand the current release. Part of it is UI changes (and yes, there is some programming effort behind that too) because the UI is independent of the 3D core and can continue after the Scene Nodes turnover, so it's not wasted. Part of it is Capsules to make Scene Nodes accessible in advance, so users can get accustomed to the method of working. And then there are some add-ons. The true development is in the core. And actually I have a feeling that the previous releases might have worked after the same pattern, but I don't feel it as acute since I wanted the add-ons. -- In that light, I can even understand the move to subscriptions, which bind the users and create a steady flow of income without the need to "convince" people to upgrade (although subscriptions come with their own bunch of risks).

 

That doesn't mean I like this upgrade. The vastly increased Perpetual costs (from an MSA just a few years ago) are a huge burden in a time with very little income and plans falling through. (Have been since my yearly software cost went up to three month's apartment rent.) I need some problem solvers and speedups, not "try this here" software. In addition (and that may be the biggest issue), Cinema now has no suitable competitive Perpetual renderer any more - Redshift went subscription only, and Insydium demoted Cycles4D to an add-on of XParticles (also now subscription in all but name), which doesn't bode well for a CyclesX upgrade. This is all in all not the best position to be in.

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Cairyn said:

 

Well... I suppose Maxon does not have the personnel capacity to work on both Scene Nodes and "old workflow" improvements at the same time. Especially when that old workflow will go away sooner or later, and everything will be based on the Scene Nodes core internally. I know they said that the Object Manager will not go away and that C4D will remain accessible, but that does not mean that the implementation of the current objects will stay the same. Every single object implementation will need to be changed. (And frankly I don't even have an idea how that will look in the end, as the true issues - dynamics, simulation, cloth, hair, joints, particles etc pp have not yet shown up in the Nodes.)

 

If I were an independent programmer working on a personal project I would probably do the same. Not waste resources on things that are going to be discarded anyway. Put the effort into places where it really counts.

 

Unfortunately, if the place that really counts cannot be finished in one iteration, it remains incomplete and of marginal use for the end user. That's the thing we are feeling now - an expensive upgrade that doesn't deliver the value for the daily work. What would make a difference is a cleanup of Object Priorities, but that will be done through the Nodes concept anyway. What would make a difference is parallelization and GPU usage, but that will be done through the Nodes concept anyway. What would make a difference... well, you get the gist. (Hypothetically speaking, the developers have solutions for the pressing issues. I'm not a developer at Maxon so I can't speak with confidence but that's what I would do.) Sadly we don't see it yet, and worse, we will probably not see it tomorrow.

 

I can understand the current release. Part of it is UI changes (and yes, there is some programming effort behind that too) because the UI is independent of the 3D core and can continue after the Scene Nodes turnover, so it's not wasted. Part of it is Capsules to make Scene Nodes accessible in advance, so users can get accustomed to the method of working. And then there are some add-ons. The true development is in the core. And actually I have a feeling that the previous releases might have worked after the same pattern, but I don't feel it as acute since I wanted the add-ons. -- In that light, I can even understand the move to subscriptions, which bind the users and create a steady flow of income without the need to "convince" people to upgrade (although subscriptions come with their own bunch of risks).

 

That doesn't mean I like this upgrade. The vastly increased Perpetual costs (from an MSA just a few years ago) are a huge burden in a time with very little income and plans falling through. (Have been since my yearly software cost went up to three month's apartment rent.) I need some problem solvers and speedups, not "try this here" software. In addition (and that may be the biggest issue), Cinema now has no suitable competitive Perpetual renderer any more - Redshift went subscription only, and Insydium demoted Cycles4D to an add-on of XParticles (also now subscription in all but name), which doesn't bode well for a CyclesX upgrade. This is all in all not the best position to be in.

I think that analysis is spot-on.

 

I also think Maxon should open up communication with their users in a big way. Just talk to us. How is the revamp going, set some realistic expectations, collect wishes and feedback of your userbase.

 

I guess, most, if not all flaming from the users comes from inbalanced hopes & expectations -- and Maxon continues to make a marketing-face chiseled in stone. "Everything going on as usual! Nothing to worry! Here's a big, great update!" Being so tight-lipped about the big rewrite just opens up so much space for speculation and worries.

 

Yeah, sorry, that's not how to communicate with users, who all just wish the best for their software and are kept in a semi-informed marketing-bubble :<

 

Link to comment
×
×
  • Create New...

Copyright Core 4D © 2023 Powered by Invision Community