Chris_Mac Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 Just wondering if anyone has upgraded yet?.... We did so recently, and i can't say i'm too happy about it. Version 3.9.5 worked perfectly........ never had any problems with it. Now version 4 (even with the available patches installed) is buggy as hell! I find it very frustrating to use and i can be guaranteed at least 2 crashes a day... Also, apart from the new interface, i can't see any significant differences in the software since version 3.9 - Okay, we now have sketch rendering available, but only at a price! I have heard that the next upgrade will include Lightworks 7, and therefore Global Illumination..... I really hope I see some REAL improvements soon, as i'm beginning to lose patience with Form Z. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethace Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 But do some of the seasoned Z users out there still like it the way it was. I.e. as a simple slimed down kind of modelling app, rather than an absolutely killer renderer? Remember 3.0 started awful too, and not many people i remember at the time wished to change from 2.9. I remember that Photoshop justified calling the 5.0 edition with web site tools Photoshop 5.5. At least FormZ were justified in making the 3.9, a 4.0 just for a new interface. :ngesmile: To be honest with you, not using Photoshop for web design, i cannot see much appreciable gain in going up to there version 7.0. Form Z has only gone from 3.0 to 4.0 in how many years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Mac Posted May 28, 2003 Author Share Posted May 28, 2003 My point is that for the extra time and expense we get a worse piece of software.... "Killer renderer"!!?? .... Not in Form Z - Yes you can achieve some pretty good results with the raytrace renderer, but the radiosity is near impossible to achieve good results with (believe me after using FZ for 7 years I know) and there is no sign of GI or HDRI support. Form Z does have, in my opinion, the best available modeller (especially for architecture) but for the price we pay i dont think it delivers enough as a 3d package. This would be fine with me if it actually worked well, but at the moment I feel like i have payed to upgrade to a substandard piece of software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 It seems more and more companies are trying the Microsoft model--release a buggy first version to raise cash, then patch, patch, patch. I hope FZ4 is at least reasonably stable, as I plan to buy it (never use FZ before) in the very near future. Have the bug issues been reported on both the Mac and PC versions? I will get the PC one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Mac Posted May 28, 2003 Author Share Posted May 28, 2003 Have the bug issues been reported on both the Mac and PC versions? I will get the PC one. If you check the formZ forum (http://www.formz.com/web_site_2000/frames_pages/forum.htm) you'll see a huge amount of bugs for both PC and Mac versions have been reported. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethace Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 splutterfish has something about Brazil version 1.0 being released for 3DSMAX. So i guess, you do have a really good argument about the lack of anything to render with in FormZ. http://www.splutterfish.com/sf/ Award winning Brazil r/s is a rock-solid, advanced, fully-integrated rendering suite for Discreet's top-selling animation software 3ds max and Autodesk VIZ. Developed in a production environment, Brazil r/s is engineered to be a stable, reliable production tool. Its thoughtfully designed, intuitive interface offers uncompromising control and flexibility. I just got this cool Mental Ray rendering gallery from ferox in the Maya section too: http://www.mentalimages.com/4_4_architecture/ [ May 28, 2003, 04:53 AM: Message edited by: garethace ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 We have 4, but I still use 3.9.2, rarely launching 4. A patch for 4 was released recently, fixing several of the bugs, but the general working environment still needs a lot of smoothing out. It does not seem as fast as 3.9. Unfortunately we have to give up our 3.** license soon, because of the upgraded network license we now have. So eventually I will have to start working full time in it. I am really hoping the have all the bugs smoothed out by then. In defense of version 4 though... When I first tried working in 4, I did not see the improvement, but after awhile, it started to feel like there were some better organizational improvements in the layout. They will just take a bit of time to get used to. I think once the plug-ins are launched the improvements will really be noticeable. I get the feeling you will no longer be able to refer to Z as "a slimed down modeling app." Maybe it is just the slower reaction times by the app, but it is growing. I miss the old color icons. They were easier on the eye. ts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Mac Posted May 28, 2003 Author Share Posted May 28, 2003 I miss the old color icons. They were easier on the eye. I totally agree.... some of the images used in the new icons are far too cryptic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethace Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 The same argument does apply to Sketch Up and other very sucessful, easy-to-manage softwares for architects. (Which i think FormZ definetly is a friend to a working designer, if not the cg artist per se) The users wanted sketchup to get reference files... etc. But who exactly cares in sketchup never had 'high-end' sophistication like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcelo Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 I use the 3.8 version, and I noticed that there's no way to exclude objects to receiving light like it's possible in 3Dmax. What about release 4.0? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_A Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 I miss the old color icons. They were easier on the eye. I may be a little late but... If you mean the tool icons, you can bring back the 'old' ones in FZ4. Palettes -> Customize Tools... At the very bottom of that dialog I have (in OS X) a pulldown for Icon Style: The 'Color' option is the new style. 'White' seems to be the traditional MacOS and 'Grey' the Windows looks of old. Still tinkering with the demo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upsidedown Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 I have used formZ since version 1.2 and have seen all of the problems with each upgrade. Garethace was right about 3.0 being particularly buggy. 4.0 is not without it's bugs (but it has far fewer than 3.0 did), but it offers huge improvements over 3.9 in what it can model. No significant differences? Lofting is an entirely new tool and the NURBS and curve tools have been completely reworked with added functionality. Probably the biggest improvement is network rendering. As far as Lightworks is concerned, radiosity is by definition a form of GI. Z's atmospheric light is like the "sky Light" as it's called in max. I think what you are referring to is image based lighting, which is not implemented in version 7. The thing everyone is loosing sight of is that 4.0 haven’t been released yet. The most recent version is 4.0g2. This is not the final release of 4.0 and I don't think it should be expected to perform like a final release. Auto-des-sys released g2 as a way to test there product, with the warning that this was not the final product. If you are worried about having problems, don't use the software. Wait for the final release of 4.0 Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 upsidedown... 4.0g2? ...are you inside the game? ..i only have g1. chris_a ...i liked using the color icons in version 3.xx. the redesigned the color icons in version 4. when i work in 4, i have to drop back to using the gray icons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted June 14, 2003 Share Posted June 14, 2003 Originally posted by crazy homeless guy: upsidedown... 4.0g2? ...are you inside the game? ..i only have g1.just read on formz'z bb that the g2 patch will be posted for download on monday. [ June 14, 2003, 12:39 PM: Message edited by: crazy homeless guy ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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