Re: Softimage Blender (1 year later) + MayaLT 2016 ?'s (indie/ game dev centric/ UE4)
Hey, have you ever considered spending the Maya-licensing money in developing Blender instead? E.g. hire someone to make the fbx-exporter the way you want/need it , or stuff like that. I'm just curious if that would be a real option... cheers, Thomas skuby sku...@gmail.com hat am 5. Mai 2015 um 16:37 geschrieben: Hey yall, long time no see. Thought I would give you guys an over-view of my Softimage transition to Blender, 1 year in. (Been with Softimage for almost 9 years trained at VFS, Before that I was all Maya 6+ dedicated years, then off and on use, before that I was 3DSMax/just starting out). If there is any interest, I can suggest some options/settings/tips/tricks for Blender to help anyone trying to get into it from a Softimage background, just ask, I'm happy to oblige. I also I have some questions about Maya LT 2016 owners at the very end. TLDR: I'm seriously pursuing an independent project in UE4 in my free-time Blender has been pretty awesome, it has shortcomings, has promise, has some stuff that is better than anything out there, it's a mixed bag overall. -Probably going to have to get a Maya LT 2016 subscription very soon (because of the sad state of Blender FBX and reading a litany of eerily similar FBX issues in Houdini which would have been my first choice before Maya), literally going to use Maya as a glorified exporter, otherwise mostly quite happy in Blender!. - Blender FBX/Normals (grade D-) : Current biggest problems with Blender for game dev, is it's pretty horrible custom FBX solution and it's lackluster support (and only recently) for direct control over normals, tangents, bi-normals, etc.. It does have solid SMD export for Valve workshop stuff, but if your focus is on Unity/UE4, expect difficulties frustrations that I suspect will last until late into the year if not much longer. Poly-modeling (B+): A few settings you need to know about, and whalakazam, you get something that is nearly as good as Softimage poly modeling. It even does a few things far better than Softimage ever did, I find it to be far superior to Maya in this category. It has become, and will remain my full-time go to modeling application. (I have fully abandoned Softimage for better or worse) UI/Customizability (A-): It's fully open to customize or extend, and the Blender hot-key system once you learn it, is quite good the default hotkeys aren't even half-bad but they aren't perfect either. There are a plethora of very well done free and paid add-ons. UI seems quirky at first, but once you learn it, you realize it's hiding a lot of power under the hood. UI and Customize-ability is one of Blender's best features *but it's not immediately apparent, and takes reasonable dedication to fully appreciate. It's better than Softimage and Maya on this front (for indie/small studio), however nothing to this day matches Softimages perfected defaults and standard hot-key set and it's near perfect consistency through-out different sections of the system, out of the box, -but surprisingly, Blender is by far, the closest of all to Softimage's elegance even though that is a tall order to fill. Documentation/Tutorials (A+): Mostly Free and a few good paid tutorials, out the wazzzooo. The only software out there that I have used with equal tutorial/community support is Unreal Engine 4. UV's: (C-): Do-able, and the automatic stuff just works a lot better than Maya 2015's when I last tried it. Some fine tune editing works quite well, while a few things related to fine tuning after automatic results, are frustratingly/maddening and time consuming, and that's what drops the entire grade (it would be very difficult to explain in text). I found Softimage to have B+/A- UV features once you mastered it. Sculpting (B+/A-): For raw poly power, it's no ZBrush/Mudbox (Mudbox being my favorite of the two, aka. I hate the ZBrush UI) However, if you follow some specific workflow guidelines, Blender has quite an amazing sculpting tool-set and so far it is my favorite sculpting package overall because of the ability to go back and forth between low-res base mesh poly-modeling and right back to sculpting detail and or proto-typing. Two types of sculpting, traditional for normal map/displacement/finished work and another type for rapid proto-typing, that allows you to create/collapse geometry on the fly, so you can proto-sculpt infinitely without caring 1 bit about the underlying mesh as it will create or delete geo as needed. Has all your standard base brush needs, can make most any brush, some limitations but minor and I only have 1 single sculpting add-on for Boolean cuts which works nicely, I've seen many, quite nice looking sculpting add-ons that I haven't yet explored, it's deep and it's being actively developed. Texture Painting (B+/A- to use but
Re: Friday Flashback #223
Yeah it was my landing year as well. Good times indeed. On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 5:00 PM, Alen amu...@xnet.hr wrote: ah..my landing year on XSI ship. good times On 5/8/2015 3:46 PM, Stephen Blair wrote: i am 4. customization • speed • options • power • thought • imagination • integration SOFTIMAGE|XSI version 4.0 launch 04.19.2004 http://wp.me/powV4-3cW -- Jens Lindgren VFX Supervisor Lead TD Magoo 3D Studios http://www.magoo3dstudios.com/
Friday Flashback #223
i am 4. customization • speed • options • power • thought • imagination • integration SOFTIMAGE|XSI version 4.0 launch 04.19.2004 http://wp.me/powV4-3cW
Re: Friday Flashback #223
ah..my landing year on XSI ship. good times On 5/8/2015 3:46 PM, Stephen Blair wrote: i am 4. customization • speed • options • power • thought • imagination • integration SOFTIMAGE|XSI version 4.0 launch 04.19.2004 http://wp.me/powV4-3cW
RE: Friday Flashback #223
especially since it was the first really 'production ready' version, wasn't it? Remembering two presentations (I think it was v1.0 (lol) and 3.0) And on the v3 presentation I thnk their claim was it's now 'production ready'. Well, I don't think it was it entirely but with version 4 they definetly got it. sven -Original Message- From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Alen Sent: Friday, May 08, 2015 5:00 PM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Friday Flashback #223 ah..my landing year on XSI ship. good times On 5/8/2015 3:46 PM, Stephen Blair wrote: i am 4. customization • speed • options • power • thought • imagination • integration SOFTIMAGE|XSI version 4.0 launch 04.19.2004 http://wp.me/powV4-3cW
RE: Friday Flashback #223
Ahhh those days of glory… What memories… I started with 3.5 also… And my nice BIG box filled with red manuals portraying Reboot on their covers…. From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Cristobal Infante Sent: viernes, 8 de mayo de 2015 11:02 a. m. To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Friday Flashback #223 I started with 3.5 but 4 was the real deal On Friday, 8 May 2015, Jens Lindgren jens.lindgren@gmail.com mailto:jens.lindgren@gmail.com wrote: Yeah it was my landing year as well. Good times indeed. On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 5:00 PM, Alen amu...@xnet.hr javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','amu...@xnet.hr'); wrote: ah..my landing year on XSI ship. good times On 5/8/2015 3:46 PM, Stephen Blair wrote: i am 4. customization • speed • options • power • thought • imagination • integration SOFTIMAGE|XSI version 4.0 launch 04.19.2004 http://wp.me/powV4-3cW -- Jens Lindgren VFX Supervisor Lead TD Magoo 3D Studios http://www.magoo3dstudios.com/
Re: Friday Flashback #223
I started with 3.5 but 4 was the real deal On Friday, 8 May 2015, Jens Lindgren jens.lindgren@gmail.com wrote: Yeah it was my landing year as well. Good times indeed. On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 5:00 PM, Alen amu...@xnet.hr javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','amu...@xnet.hr'); wrote: ah..my landing year on XSI ship. good times On 5/8/2015 3:46 PM, Stephen Blair wrote: i am 4. customization • speed • options • power • thought • imagination • integration SOFTIMAGE|XSI version 4.0 launch 04.19.2004 http://wp.me/powV4-3cW -- Jens Lindgren VFX Supervisor Lead TD Magoo 3D Studios http://www.magoo3dstudios.com/
Re: Softimage Blender (1 year later) + MayaLT 2016 ?'s (indie/ game dev centric/ UE4)
Yes you definitely can do things along those lines. I just don't have the time to wait for the results, nor the budget to guarantee it gets done properly. Maya works now and the price is doable for LT on subs. I'm making a donation to the Blender Foundation later this year, it's great software/well worth supporting. On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 3:10 PM, Thomas Volkmann li...@thomasvolkmann.com wrote: Hey, have you ever considered spending the Maya-licensing money in developing Blender instead? E.g. hire someone to make the fbx-exporter the way you want/need it , or stuff like that. I'm just curious if that would be a real option... cheers, Thomas skuby sku...@gmail.com hat am 5. Mai 2015 um 16:37 geschrieben: Hey yall, long time no see. Thought I would give you guys an over-view of my Softimage transition to Blender, 1 year in. (Been with Softimage for almost 9 years trained at VFS, Before that I was all Maya 6+ dedicated years, then off and on use, before that I was 3DSMax/just starting out). If there is any interest, I can suggest some options/settings/tips/tricks for Blender to help anyone trying to get into it from a Softimage background, just ask, I'm happy to oblige. I also I have some questions about Maya LT 2016 owners at the very end. TLDR: I'm seriously pursuing an independent project in UE4 in my free-time Blender has been pretty awesome, it has shortcomings, has promise, has some stuff that is better than anything out there, it's a mixed bag overall. -Probably going to have to get a Maya LT 2016 subscription very soon (because of the sad state of Blender FBX and reading a litany of eerily similar FBX issues in Houdini which would have been my first choice before Maya), literally going to use Maya as a glorified exporter, otherwise mostly quite happy in Blender!. - Blender FBX/Normals (grade D-) : Current biggest problems with Blender for game dev, is it's pretty horrible custom FBX solution and it's lackluster support (and only recently) for direct control over normals, tangents, bi-normals, etc.. It does have solid SMD export for Valve workshop stuff, but if your focus is on Unity/UE4, expect difficulties frustrations that I suspect will last until late into the year if not much longer. Poly-modeling (B+): A few settings you need to know about, and whalakazam, you get something that is nearly as good as Softimage poly modeling. It even does a few things far better than Softimage ever did, I find it to be far superior to Maya in this category. It has become, and will remain my full-time go to modeling application. (I have fully abandoned Softimage for better or worse) UI/Customizability (A-): It's fully open to customize or extend, and the Blender hot-key system once you learn it, is quite good the default hotkeys aren't even half-bad but they aren't perfect either. There are a plethora of very well done free and paid add-ons. UI seems quirky at first, but once you learn it, you realize it's hiding a lot of power under the hood. UI and Customize-ability is one of Blender's best features *but it's not immediately apparent, and takes reasonable dedication to fully appreciate. It's better than Softimage and Maya on this front (for indie/small studio), however nothing to this day matches Softimages perfected defaults and standard hot-key set and it's near perfect consistency through-out different sections of the system, out of the box, -but surprisingly, Blender is by far, the closest of all to Softimage's elegance even though that is a tall order to fill. Documentation/Tutorials (A+): Mostly Free and a few good paid tutorials, out the wazzzooo. The only software out there that I have used with equal tutorial/community support is Unreal Engine 4. UV's: (C-): Do-able, and the automatic stuff just works a lot better than Maya 2015's when I last tried it. Some fine tune editing works quite well, while a few things related to fine tuning after automatic results, are frustratingly/maddening and time consuming, and that's what drops the entire grade (it would be very difficult to explain in text). I found Softimage to have B+/A- UV features once you mastered it. Sculpting (B+/A-): For raw poly power, it's no ZBrush/Mudbox (Mudbox being my favorite of the two, aka. I hate the ZBrush UI) However, if you follow some specific workflow guidelines, Blender has quite an amazing sculpting tool-set and so far it is my favorite sculpting package overall because of the ability to go back and forth between low-res base mesh poly-modeling and right back to sculpting detail and or proto-typing. Two types of sculpting, traditional for normal map/displacement/finished work and another type for rapid proto-typing, that allows you to create/collapse geometry on the fly, so you can proto-sculpt infinitely without caring 1 bit about the underlying
Re: Friday Flashback #223
Yeah I started on 4.0 / 4.2... was wondering when Stephen was going to get to this release. :) Eric Thivierge http://www.ethivierge.com On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 1:33 PM, Sven Constable sixsi_l...@imagefront.de wrote: especially since it was the first really 'production ready' version, wasn't it? Remembering two presentations (I think it was v1.0 (lol) and 3.0) And on the v3 presentation I thnk their claim was it's now 'production ready'. Well, I don't think it was it entirely but with version 4 they definetly got it. sven -Original Message- From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Alen Sent: Friday, May 08, 2015 5:00 PM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Friday Flashback #223 ah..my landing year on XSI ship. good times On 5/8/2015 3:46 PM, Stephen Blair wrote: i am 4. customization • speed • options • power • thought • imagination • integration SOFTIMAGE|XSI version 4.0 launch 04.19.2004 http://wp.me/powV4-3cW
RE: Friday Flashback #223
whenever it was. It was going to get even better ;) From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Eric Thivierge Sent: Friday, May 08, 2015 8:05 PM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Friday Flashback #223 Yeah I started on 4.0 / 4.2... was wondering when Stephen was going to get to this release. :) Eric Thivierge http://www.ethivierge.com On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 1:33 PM, Sven Constable sixsi_l...@imagefront.de wrote: especially since it was the first really 'production ready' version, wasn't it? Remembering two presentations (I think it was v1.0 (lol) and 3.0) And on the v3 presentation I thnk their claim was it's now 'production ready'. Well, I don't think it was it entirely but with version 4 they definetly got it. sven -Original Message- From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Alen Sent: Friday, May 08, 2015 5:00 PM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Friday Flashback #223 ah..my landing year on XSI ship. good times On 5/8/2015 3:46 PM, Stephen Blair wrote: i am 4. customization • speed • options • power • thought • imagination • integration SOFTIMAGE|XSI version 4.0 launch 04.19.2004 http://wp.me/powV4-3cW
Re: Friday Flashback #223
I started on 1.5 (such as it was) when you had to patch the Soft3d license with the Xsi key. Didn't start using it in real anger though until v3 though. On Fri, 8 May 2015 at 19:13, Sven Constable sixsi_l...@imagefront.de wrote: whenever it was. It was going to get even better ;) *From:* softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] *On Behalf Of *Eric Thivierge *Sent:* Friday, May 08, 2015 8:05 PM *To:* softimage@listproc.autodesk.com *Subject:* Re: Friday Flashback #223 Yeah I started on 4.0 / 4.2... was wondering when Stephen was going to get to this release. :) Eric Thivierge http://www.ethivierge.com On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 1:33 PM, Sven Constable sixsi_l...@imagefront.de wrote: especially since it was the first really 'production ready' version, wasn't it? Remembering two presentations (I think it was v1.0 (lol) and 3.0) And on the v3 presentation I thnk their claim was it's now 'production ready'. Well, I don't think it was it entirely but with version 4 they definetly got it. sven -Original Message- From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Alen Sent: Friday, May 08, 2015 5:00 PM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Friday Flashback #223 ah..my landing year on XSI ship. good times On 5/8/2015 3:46 PM, Stephen Blair wrote: i am 4. customization • speed • options • power • thought • imagination • integration SOFTIMAGE|XSI version 4.0 launch 04.19.2004 http://wp.me/powV4-3cW
Re: Friday Flashback #223
Am I the only one here, left, that started with 1.0? I think Joey did too, but I'm not sure. On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 2:05 PM, Eric Thivierge ethivie...@gmail.com wrote: Yeah I started on 4.0 / 4.2... was wondering when Stephen was going to get to this release. :) Eric Thivierge http://www.ethivierge.com On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 1:33 PM, Sven Constable sixsi_l...@imagefront.de wrote: especially since it was the first really 'production ready' version, wasn't it? Remembering two presentations (I think it was v1.0 (lol) and 3.0) And on the v3 presentation I thnk their claim was it's now 'production ready'. Well, I don't think it was it entirely but with version 4 they definetly got it. sven -Original Message- From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Alen Sent: Friday, May 08, 2015 5:00 PM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Friday Flashback #223 ah..my landing year on XSI ship. good times On 5/8/2015 3:46 PM, Stephen Blair wrote: i am 4. customization * speed * options * power * thought * imagination * integration SOFTIMAGE|XSI version 4.0 launch 04.19.2004 http://wp.me/powV4-3cW -- Best Regards, * Stephen P. Davidson* *(954) 552-7956*sdavid...@3danimationmagic.com *Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic* - Arthur C. Clarke http://www.3danimationmagic.com
Question about Normalmap
Hi, I have a really basic noob question, but after all these years I've realized that I'm not sure what I'm doing lol. Years ago, all I was using for normal maps was the NVidia plugin and we had to flip the Y axis (check in Invert Y). It was somewhat common knowledge back then. And since it was looking good in the DDC and game viewer I used those settings. Nowadays, I'm using xNormal and nDo, and I don't have to set anything to have similar results. But I just noticed that their preferences are in X+Y+Z+. So, my question is, NVidia's plugin is flipping Y by default so I have to re-invert Y? I've heard that Unreal engine requires to flip Y, so if I'm using NVidia plugin I should uncheck everything and have it by default? and if I'm using nDo or xNormal should I invert Y? Thanks Martin
Re: Friday Flashback #223
sadly yes 3.5 for me, and I don’t know when I will get a chance to learn something new. From: Stephen Davidson Sent: Friday, May 08, 2015 5:42 PM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Friday Flashback #223 Am I the only one here, left, that started with 1.0? I think Joey did too, but I'm not sure. On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 2:05 PM, Eric Thivierge ethivie...@gmail.com wrote: Yeah I started on 4.0 / 4.2... was wondering when Stephen was going to get to this release. :) Eric Thivierge http://www.ethivierge.com On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 1:33 PM, Sven Constable sixsi_l...@imagefront.de wrote: especially since it was the first really 'production ready' version, wasn't it? Remembering two presentations (I think it was v1.0 (lol) and 3.0) And on the v3 presentation I thnk their claim was it's now 'production ready'. Well, I don't think it was it entirely but with version 4 they definetly got it. sven -Original Message- From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Alen Sent: Friday, May 08, 2015 5:00 PM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Friday Flashback #223 ah..my landing year on XSI ship. good times On 5/8/2015 3:46 PM, Stephen Blair wrote: i am 4. customization • speed • options • power • thought • imagination • integration SOFTIMAGE|XSI version 4.0 launch 04.19.2004 http://wp.me/powV4-3cW -- Best Regards, Stephen P. Davidson (954) 552-7956 sdavid...@3danimationmagic.com Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic - Arthur C. Clarke
Re: Friday Flashback #223
LOL...I meant Softimage 3D 1.0 (actually version 2.1, I believe) back in 1987...prior to XSI 1.0 in 2000 On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 7:48 PM, Softimage lp3ds...@gmail.com wrote: I was 1.0 as well but realistically I was going back and forth between XSI and Soft a lot till 1.5! On 8 May 2015, at 22:42, Stephen Davidson magic...@bellsouth.net wrote: Am I the only one here, left, that started with 1.0? I think Joey did too, but I'm not sure. On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 2:05 PM, Eric Thivierge ethivie...@gmail.com wrote: Yeah I started on 4.0 / 4.2... was wondering when Stephen was going to get to this release. :) Eric Thivierge http://www.ethivierge.com On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 1:33 PM, Sven Constable sixsi_l...@imagefront.de wrote: especially since it was the first really 'production ready' version, wasn't it? Remembering two presentations (I think it was v1.0 (lol) and 3.0) And on the v3 presentation I thnk their claim was it's now 'production ready'. Well, I don't think it was it entirely but with version 4 they definetly got it. sven -Original Message- From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Alen Sent: Friday, May 08, 2015 5:00 PM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Friday Flashback #223 ah..my landing year on XSI ship. good times On 5/8/2015 3:46 PM, Stephen Blair wrote: i am 4. customization * speed * options * power * thought * imagination * integration SOFTIMAGE|XSI version 4.0 launch 04.19.2004 http://wp.me/powV4-3cW -- Best Regards, * Stephen P. Davidson* *(954) 552-7956 %28954%29%20552-7956*sdavid...@3danimationmagic.com *Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic* - Arthur C. Clarke http://www.3danimationmagic.com -- Best Regards, * Stephen P. Davidson* *(954) 552-7956*sdavid...@3danimationmagic.com *Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic* - Arthur C. Clarke http://www.3danimationmagic.com
