Scalability is a good buzzword, but what does it actually mean?
Does it mean you can "process" more "data" in the same amount of time compared
to another app? And
what kind of data? Procedural geometry? Rendered Images? Does it mean you can
load more assets into the same amount of available RAM on a machine compared to
another app?
How would the automation of such processes need to look like to scale well?
Scripted? C++? Node-based like ICE?
Multithreading across the board? Or is it a question of architecture rather
than which programming language was used to implement it (scripted vs C++)?
What does Maya offer in this regard, or where does it differ, to scale
well/better than Soft or app X in your opinion?
In my experience Softimage offers pretty much the same mechanisms to automate
processes and handle scene complexity as Maya does, + ICE on top, and I found
it can load a good chunk more data simultaneously than Maya can fit into the
same amount of memory, especially when it comes to working with textures and
realtime shaders. That was up until two versions ago, maybe that has changed?
If all that doesn't mean it scales well, what exactly does it mean then?
Note: I'm not a Softimage fanboy or Maya hater (ok, just a little, but not
enough to not use it if it offers something that helps me to do my work), I
just try to understand what scalability means by your (or anyones) standards
compared to how I understand it.
There is not as much enthusiasm in having ICE in Maya internally as
you'd think, and I think that mail from Chris means to infer that to
the community to cause some reactions, and to look beyond ICE.
One reason is that unlike XSI 6.0, Maya has always been node-based, so
it would not be as much as game changer in Maya as it is in XSI which
had nothing. The confusing hypergraph UI and some legacy stuff (like
older nodes having too many inputs) obscures the use of Maya existing
node system, but the Maya team is working on that already with the new
Node Editor, no need to introduce a duplicate system.
Another reason is much more interesting, though I suspect the message
boards will incinerate me for suggesting it. Basically, there is a
train of thought that ICE is great, but it's just the Now, not the
Next; it's not scalable to the extremely large scale procedural work
that the Maya film clients are _already_ doing in custom apps and a
series of odd tools. This is work that they wouldn't be able to
undertake in ICE today, because it doesn't scale well to extremely
large data sets. Since any kind of development takes several years,
Autodesk wants to focus on finding the Next, rather than just trying
to catch up to the Now. The creators of Naiad, who worked on PhysBAM
and Zero at ILM and have multiple film credits are cooking up that
vision.
Since Maya is targeted at the large studios and not the one-man
boutique, Autodesk doesn't want to work on any tech that works just
fine for general data sets, but falls flat on its face on extremely
large one. Large data set scalability is a requirement for anything
new we add to Maya. That might mean something comes up that's
comparatively less elegant to use than ICE in XSI, but more scalable.
Maya is more like a construction truck than a family car, it needs to
move large stuff around, and that stuff keeps getting larger.
On Thu, Sep 6, 2012 at 8:26 AM, Rob Chapman <[email protected]> wrote:
OK, thanks all. so what confirmations, if any, do we actually have or
'allowed' to talk about?
1. its not going to be ICE but will have same workflow / functionality
- I really dont appreciate the difference? so each node will be called a
mayacompound and not xsicompound ? will there be any interop with Softimage
/ Maya planned in this regards?
2. Its going to take a few years
3. Its not a separate App, but part of the main Maya
I am good to assume these as actual facts then? :)
And certainly dont want or need yet another tirade / rant / sky is falling
thread, am trying to tread carefully, be less emotional and just ask
rational questions based upon facts, which would be much more rewarding for
those that feel are being kept in the dark. but as a Softimage customer
using ICE everyday since the last 6 years , (in the ultimate niche of niches
- Softimage FX) I feel I have a right to know what the **** is going on
that will affect my favourite apps future? is the only option available is
to wait until 2014?
cheers
Rob
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