BrianKitts Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 So we just got our copy of the new version 6.0.... installed like always and pray that they've fixed the screen refresh for orbiting complex wireframe models in the viewport, and of course NO SUCH LUCK! You can switch the wireframe rendering method to openGL and then it will orbit smooth but it takes a second to select and object and another to deselect anything. talk about annoying! So we are still working with version 3.9.5..... why? because it can handle complex models as it was the last stable version before the fools decided to "optimize" and rewrite the code for the program... which although allowed em to add more options turned the program upsidedown and threw it right into the sewer. I know there are a few modelers here on cgArchitect that use form_z for modeling, so I'm curious what version you are using, and if you've found some magic fix for the horrible refresh rate? (ps. it's not my system bogging it down, dual opterons,4gs of ram, and a quadroFX 3450.... this thing should be able to do backflips, instead with form_Z it likes to just play dead!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 I feel your pain. Although my modeller of choice....I feel it hasnt made any improvment since 2.95. I use 4.0x simply because it allows multiple monitors. 3.95 forces me to have a view port span both monitors in order to move my pallets otherwise thats where I would be. At least 3.95 was almost stable. The folks at FormZ are need of a major shake up. They are, in my opinion, missing the boat. "Features" are being added that dilute the nature of FormZ and more important aspects are being neglected - LIKE STABILITY. FormZ was at one time the single best modeller available. If you could imagine it, you could build it with tools that no other app had. Now animation and other tools are being added that appear to be at the level of competing apps of 8 years ago. Concentrate on the core market...be the best modeller period. Does v6.0 have instancing yet? How about a proper orbit tool? There are a lot of aspects of FormZ that I really love. I would have jumped ship a LONG time ago if I didn't feel that way. But right now, I am very tempted to pick up another app. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecton3d Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 funny timing, this post, since my academic lic just ran out and I'm thinking about jumping ship too because of ADesys being totally arrogant and taking Z in the wrong direction @BKittsARC, I too have a dual opteron (248's) machine with the quadro 3400, 4gb ram and am so frustrated with formz because it's so damn slow... Magic fix = NADA ~ I've posted this on the Z forum and didn't really recieve a response other than "that's just the way it is" kind of thing which is insane because I find myself trying to model in autocad which is like throwing an anvil at a butterfly compared to Z... what's the point in having a fast system when the software feels 2 decades old? @Frosty, I'm totally with you about AutoDeSys missing the boat with animation... who the hell gives a shite about the uber-weak object based animation in Z... they ARE so far behind 3d studio/maya/ and all the others out there they will never catch up unless they buy the tech from one of the other companies and rightly so. Z is, and always should be a modeling program first. Don't even get me started on stability with Z... I almost find myself ignoring the fact that I can lose a file at any time because the tools are so strong but the reality is I cannot count on Z to be there when I need it... nearly unuseable for anyone other than a hobbyist and even as such, it would get annoying to the point where I'd find another (and cheaper) software I much rather prefer to do Arch Modeling with Z not just because that's what it was originally intended for, but it really "feels" like it's set up with architecture in mind... look at what Morphosis does with it ~ wonder what Ver. they use? I guess to sum my rant up, I hate to see a program with as much potential as Form-Z... well, for lack of better words, suck to such a high degree they are forcing faithful (and hopeful) loyalists to look elsewhere for modeling solutions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bwana Kahawa Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 We're on 5.5.2 in our studio. We've received our v6 updates but have yet to install them because the Maxwell plug-in doesn't support version 6 yet. It does seem a little frustrating that new releases focus on 'new' features without fixing the bugs from previous releases. It's definitely our modeller of choice (haven't found another with snapping / accuracy that comes anywhere close), but we still don't feel we can rely on it with the constant crashes. If it wasn't for autosave we'd have lost quite a few jobs! I can't say we've really noticed the wireframe refresh issue, though. Stuff disappears every now and then (especially when dealing with text), but the wireframe redraw command fixes it straight away. About to have my first attempt at animation in it this week - I might well change my views on Form Z after! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianKitts Posted July 31, 2006 Author Share Posted July 31, 2006 FZ & MaxWell??wow that's pretty shocking.... speacially to hear of someone using formZ with Maxwell, my hats off to you, thats like not only taming a lion but making him lay at your feet and lick your toes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bwana Kahawa Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 FZ & MaxWell??wow that's pretty shocking.... speacially to hear of someone using formZ with Maxwell, my hats off to you, thats like not only taming a lion but making him lay at your feet and lick your toes! On the whole, it's been fine! Occasionally it crashes for unknown reasons but most of the time it works reasonably well! It'd be nice if we could rely on it completely, but it's getting there! (Some of our studio's pics: http://www.maxwellrender.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17568) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecton3d Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 It's definitely our modeller of choice (haven't found another with snapping / accuracy that comes anywhere close), but we still don't feel we can rely on it with the constant crashes. If it wasn't for autosave we'd have lost quite a few jobs! On the whole, it's been fine! Occasionally it crashes for unknown reasons but most of the time it works reasonably well! It'd be nice if we could rely on it completely, but it's getting there! ... a standard benchie for form-Z users should be once Z crashes, how fast you can re-open the application and hunt down the last version of your file to resume working... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bwana Kahawa Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Just installed v6.0 - absolutely horrific how unstable it is! And I thought it was bad before... Had to force quit and restart at least every hour when it freezes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adehus Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 I'm running 6.0 on a Mac, and actually haven't had any crash troubles. Maybe they develop for Mac and port it to Windows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bwana Kahawa Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 We're on Macs too. Maybe it's just the way I click my mouse button... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecton3d Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Maybe they develop for Mac and port it to Windows? Yessios started Z out as a mac program waaaaaaay back and, AFAIK, nothing's changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianKitts Posted August 4, 2006 Author Share Posted August 4, 2006 We're on Macs too. Maybe it's just the way I click my mouse button... yeah its a shame you mac guys.... I wonder how much more work you'd be able to get done if you had more than one mouse button! (okay I'm totally kidding.... don't even think of flipping this thread into a mac vs. pc war) I guess I never really thought about it that way as being a complication of flipping over from the mac. I learned FormZ on a mac in college and for the times and memory available it did run well. The systems we used to work on were nothing of what we had now but at least the software ran stable. As dumb as it sounds it never really crossed my mind about how much more stable formZ probably still is on MAC. guess I'll have to beg the IT dept to buy me a mac to sit next to my BOXX, one to model one to render! man that would rock. Although I'm slowly starting to pull away from formZ and trying to do more and more of my modeling directly in max, its just tough cause when it comes to architectural hardscape, formZ just has it.... oh well, by the time FormZ gets their stuff together on a PC, I'll probably have abandonded it 100% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecton3d Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 yeah, I almost went full Mac when I bought my last round of hardware and if Max and Acad would have been Mac capable at the time I definitely would be running a quad G5 right now instead of a boxx... oh well, I guess my dreams of running that cute single button mouse will have to suffice until Autodesk gets Mac friendly:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adehus Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 If autodessys develops on Mac and ports over, I wonder how stable the Universal Binary version will be... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianKitts Posted December 5, 2006 Author Share Posted December 5, 2006 okay I totally just dug this thread out of history to make a confession. I think I have to stop bashing formZ. I just opened up 6, one of our designers upstairs uses newer versions of the program and I was going to downgrade his model to 3.9 so I could clean it and export for max (if you read my previous formZ bashing posts I stick to 3.9.5, cause IMO it was the last solid release) so point of story, I load up 6, automatic updater pops up and installs a patch up to 6.0.4..... and to my surprise FORMZ WORKS! spins, refresh rates, selection and deslection all the things I've whined about seem to be working. Hmmmm well, I'm still working on totally crossing to modeling only in max, but who knows maybe I'll give FormZ one last breath before I kick it in the teeth one last time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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