Maxwell Render 1.5

[dave davidson]

well i still cant get over the thread discussing displacement and render times etc

BUT WE AINT GETTING DISPLACEMENT so why talk about it

and whats the point discussing the render times etc if it doesn't work right because if it did it would be in 1.5. i,m confused

 

maybe i should start a thread about some other feature we ain't getting, but maybe one day we might :/

 

they need to be talking about what we are getting in 1.5 grrr

[Fran]

It's true, there is no reason not to elaborate on features that are in place for 1.5, but you can't blame people for doing a little happy dance over there.

 

Next Limit is playing catch-up to the competition and they have a lot of ground to cover.

[dave davidson]

doing a happy dance is all well and good if its for something they are about to get, this is not the case here is it. people are not getting displacement in 1.5 and who knows when the next version will come out, we all know how long this one took.

thread is locked over there so atleast they cant continue to talk about something they arent even getting :/

 

and playing catch up is indeed correct, saying it is the next level of displacement is interesting "always one step ahead" sort of thing but they havent got it working and its been a long time hasnt it so yes lets hope that when it does come its a fully working next level super duper better than everyone else displacement, but until then i think they shouldnt have announced that one we aint getting it and two showing pictures of something that is going to change

[Ernest Burden III]

I work...on crisis communications and corporate/business to consumer communications. Over a year ago I offered to be a consultant for NL, pro bono, and never received anything beyond the "we will see" email.

 

The people who need the most help are those who can't even see that they are in trouble. Many of us have tried many things to help out because we all would rather see Maxwell be a smashing success than an "I told you so". But NL does not appear to want help. Its hard to see how they are doing just fine, but maybe they sell enough licenses to keep them going and that is all the success they think they need.

 

Because I have a viable alternative, and because I accepted that my early purchase of Maxwell was a poor use of my money, I can watch this play out with some detachment. I really do want to see a strong MWR product. Does NextLimit?

[Adehus]

The PR work done by Next Limit baffles the mind.

 

Doesn't it though? They seem to have no clue as to how their irrational patterns of communication only underscore their lack of trustworthiness.

 

Maybe it's not such a bad thing, because up to this point they haven't been trustworthy in their actions, either. Truth in advertising, unintentional but unmistakable.

 

Really, many people have tried to give them pointers on how to revamp their communications? There is no excuse for how they've been conducting themselves. They only have to listen to their customers and draw a few less than profound conclusions. There is an intensely willful arrogance in the manner in which they have been ignoring the obvious responses to customer demand, and that's never been more damaging than now, particularly given their web savvy customerbase.

 

Victor can lurk here and elsewhere all he wants... he'll never learn how to do anything useful with what he reads.

[ki_cz]

Victor can lurk here and elsewhere all he wants... he'll never learn how to do anything useful with what he reads.

 

Absolutely true, but still inexplicable.

 

At least now they have locked the 1.5 announcement thread as well to cutail any further discussion. It is absolutely unbelievable.

 

I may be wrong, but the only reason that they are cutting off discussion about possible features is because they are absolutely clueless about what will actually make it into 1.5. They probably have a few things ready, with quite a few that are "on the fence" and may or may not be ready when the update is released.

 

This way they haven't really promised anything except for Simulens and memory management improvements, so whatever they decide to drop between now and the release date won't be known to anybody except for those working at NL.

[Adehus]

Quick thought experiment-

 

We have two frontrunners in the mlt app race- Maxwell and Fryrender. Consider their promises for the future.

 

One is promising (to the best of my understanding) a realtime component that bakes mlt solutions to models so that they can be seen through openGL style interactive model viewer. Objects can be moved (in real time), and the app will recalculate the object's shadows and reflections (in real time).

 

The other is promising some new form of displacement.

 

Which promise seems more easily attainable?

 

Now for the real questions- which promise do you believe more? Which do you think will be released 'soon'?

 

----

 

I realize that this is a pretty aggressive way to put things, but it underscores my real frustration with NL- it's not the pace of development (though that leaves much to be desired) but rather the deceptive nature of their relationship with their customers. They could release displacement next week, but until then most would bet against it... how could you not?

 

Compare that to Feversoft...

[Onzki]

hi guys.. im just an amateur in rendering.. do you think this new version will be better than Vray? if so--ill prefer to start studying this program.

 

thanks!

[numerobis]

...At least now they have locked the 1.5 announcement thread as well to cutail any further discussion....

 

yes, it's true, the new forum censorship is unbelievable... another poor and unnecessary decision

[RyanSpaulding]

Fran -

 

Out of curiosity, why do you still follow Maxwell so closely if you're a Fryrender user?

 

From everything I've seen, Fryrender is DOMINATING Maxwell...and if you're already putting out good work in one unbiased renderer, why still dabble with another? Is there something Maxwell does better than Fry?

[Visual Impact]

Is there something Maxwell does better than Fry?

 

entertainment

[AJLynn]

hi guys.. im just an amateur in rendering.. do you think this new version will be better than Vray? if so--ill prefer to start studying this program.

 

thanks!

 

"Better" is relative. Both have their strong points.

 

Maxwell:

-Is capable of doing extremely high quality renders, indistinguishable from a photo, with less work to set up than other renderers would require to do extremely high quality and a relatively fast learning curve.

-Is often extremely slow. (It's not unusual to run a render overnight, or over a weekend, and still not achieve a high quality. Some jobs, especially high resolution interiors, are so complex that it is not possible to get a render without graininess. Many animations are not really possible..)

 

Vray:

-Can be extremely fast when used by a fairly skilled person.

-Has some features that make animation a lot easier and faster.

-Requires time to learn and a lot of practice in order to get a very good result.

[Devin Johnston]

There's no doubt that Maxwell is now playing second fiddle to Fry but that's not necessalary a bad thing IMO, up until now NL has been the innovator and leader but with Fry on the loose that advantage has slipped away. I think NL now has to decide whether Maxwell is going to be a viable competitor against Fry and if anything they are going to have to match feature to feature with what Fry has. We've seen them adjust their licensing policy and I believe it was done mainly because of the pressure Fry has put them under. Displacement and instancing are features they will have to implement soon in order to keep people from leaving and moving over to Fry, but Fry will also have some catching up to do as long as NL keeps adding these vestigial features. I don't think Maxwell is dead yet but if they don't have a fully functional and robust Maxwell 1.x by the time Fry's full version comes out then there in deep trouble.

[AJLynn]

...and right after I write this, I see a Vizmasters email linking to the Purerender web site where they've got interior renders I wouldn't have believed could be done cleanly in Maxwell. Anybody know how these guys pull it off? Is it a matter of a hell of a lot of computing power, Photoshop skills, something else?

[Devin Johnston]

It is possable to render out clean images in Maxwell, it's simpley a matter of how many computers you have access to. If you want a clean print rez images all you need are 30 CPU's and about 15 hours.

[AJLynn]

Oh, so that's all

[superbad]

Nicole just locked down a thread where people were enthusiastically talking about displacement, and asking for technical details (maps used, etc.). They may as well just close the forum entirely if they don't want people talking about anything.

 

And I can't wait to see how 1-2 months will turn into 10-12 months. All this clumsy damage control in advance of Fry going to v1 is not really doing it for me. It's kind of a gamble to wait for 1.5 and see whether it sucks or not. I just hope they get 1.5 out before Fry closes the preorder period.

[_PopArt]

There's no doubt that Maxwell is now playing second fiddle to Fry but that's not necessalary a bad thing IMO, up until now NL has been the innovator and leader but with Fry on the loose that advantage has slipped away. I think NL now has to decide whether Maxwell is going to be a viable competitor against Fry and if anything they are going to have to match feature to feature with what Fry has. We've seen them adjust their licensing policy and I believe it was done mainly because of the pressure Fry has put them under. Displacement and instancing are features they will have to implement soon in order to keep people from leaving and moving over to Fry, but Fry will also have some catching up to do as long as NL keeps adding these vestigial features. I don't think Maxwell is dead yet but if they don't have a fully functional and robust Maxwell 1.x by the time Fry's full version comes out then there in deep trouble.

 

Yes, competition was necessary to light a spark under their a*ses so this will benefit everyone.

 

I think 1.5 will be solid but unspetacular, and thats exactly why they did the post about displacement so they avoid the fallout from a 1.5 which so far sounds like a 1.2. But lets wait and see

[Fran]

Fran -

 

Out of curiosity, why do you still follow Maxwell so closely if you're a Fryrender user?

 

From everything I've seen, Fryrender is DOMINATING Maxwell...and if you're already putting out good work in one unbiased renderer, why still dabble with another? Is there something Maxwell does better than Fry?

 

I don't consider it odd. Especially since I've invested a fair amount of money in the product. I consider the question very odd. Why not ask the same of other MW owners here?

[RyanSpaulding]

I never said it was odd. I was just wondering why you dabble with both.

[Devin Johnston]

Nicole just locked down a thread where people were enthusiastically talking about displacement, and asking for technical details (maps used, etc.). They may as well just close the forum entirely if they don't want people talking about anything.

 

I agree with you they don't seem to have any idea how to successfully manage their forum, in fact the forum has been the single biggest headache for NL since day one and I'm surprised they haven't restricted it more than they have. It's pretty obvious with the new forum policy and the locking down of threads that they are anticipating a big backlash once 1.5 is released. I so want this release to be a success and I know we are all hoping that it's packed full of good stuff but their actions don't seem to be reflecting any confidence in their work. Since they aren't going to tolerate any negative talk about V1.5 I think CGA is going to experience a lot of traffic in the next few weeks.

 

It's all so sad

[dave davidson]

i play with both too and will continue to do so and when vray comes to c4d i may have to play with that i personally like using as many engines as i can and then use each one for their own strengths

[IC]

i play with both too and will continue to do so and when vray comes to c4d i may have to play with that i personally like using as many engines as i can and then use each one for their own strengths

 

 

We don't encourage that kind of talk here.

 

Can't you think of anything negative or sarcastic to say about Maxwell?

[dave davidson]

im sure i can, just give me a moment

[Fran]

I never said it was odd. I was just wondering why you dabble with both.

 

I don't. I don't dabble much with Vray or VIZ/Max radiosity much anymore either, but I read the forums and sometimes I know the answer to someone's question.

 

Oh, and what John (VisualImpact) said.