Clearly I am psychic
On 5 March 2014 13:54, Paul Doyle <[email protected]> wrote: > Yes that is correct - it's encapsulated R&D. If you watch the demo you'll > see an example of a car rig moving between Maya and Soft, along with some > other examples: https://vimeo.com/76325922 - what will be possible in 2.0 > is for this to also run in the Fabric standalone application as well. > > There are currently some things lacking - completely portable assets need > the control system to move with them, which starts getting tricky. However, > we're working on one of the main elements needed for that (paint weights). > Eric T might have something to say here :) > > > On 5 March 2014 13:48, Mirko Jankovic <[email protected]> wrote: > >> A bit more cleared things now :) >> But let me be stupid now once and learn instead of not asking and staying >> stupid. >> So if I understood correctly.. for example tool that someone create for >> rigging and animation for example, should be, in theory possible to work in >> all supported applications via Splice. >> So you can use that tool, rig in Maya, animate in SI or vice verse or >> completely in one and use in another? >> Just trying to figure out if I got a grasp of idea Thanks! >> >> >> On Wed, Mar 5, 2014 at 7:18 PM, Paul Doyle <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> (cross-posted to SI-Community and to our mailing list) >>> >>> Hi everyone, >>> >>> We've been mentioned in a few places recently in relation to what has >>> happened to Softimage, and particularly in discussions regarding 'what >>> now?'. I'm going to try and cover everything that's come up in various >>> emails and forum threads. If I missed anything, let me know and I'll do my >>> best to get back to you. You can reach me directly using >>> [email protected], and I will track responses in the places this >>> is posted. >>> >>> Before getting into anything else, you need to know that *FABRIC IS >>> FREE* to individuals. Freelancers, hobbyists, students, professionals - >>> we don't care. We strongly believe that the way for Fabric to become >>> successful is for people to have easy access to it. We make money from >>> studios adopting the technology, not from people trying to use it. >>> "What the &^%$ is Fabric Engine?" >>> >>> Fabric Engine is a platform for building custom tools and applications. >>> It's designed to be open and extensible. That doesn't really mean much >>> though, so let me explain a bit about the major components. >>> >>> *Fabric Core - *this is a high-performance multi-threading engine. It >>> takes the code you write in KL, and makes sure that it runs as fast as >>> possible on the hardware you're running it on. >>> >>> *Kernel Language (KL)* - this is the high-level language used for >>> writing this code. KL has been designed to be accessible to someone that is >>> most comfortable writing Python code - it behaves as a dynamic language, so >>> you can iterate quickly. However, it is as fast as statically compiled >>> code. Soon we will be able to execute KL on your graphics card, without >>> needing to change a line of code - GPU compute for free, using a language >>> that anyone can learn. You can learn a lot more about the KL language here: >>> http://fabricengine.com/splice/kernel-language-kl/ >>> >>> *Extensions - *we ship a range of libraries that Fabric can use. >>> Alembic, FBX, Bullet, Open Image IO, hardware devices and so on. We also >>> ship the EDK to make your own extensions, and all the source code to our >>> extensions, and tools to make it as easy possible. This means that you can >>> use these libraries inside of your existing DCCs. >>> >>> *Splice API - *this API makes it possible for you to use the Fabric >>> Core and KL within other applications. That might be a commercial DCC - we >>> currently support Maya, Softimage, Arnold and Nuke (Max and Houdini coming >>> soon) - or it could be a custom framework. This allows you to use Fabric to >>> build tools that are DCC-agnostic - you can easily move them between >>> applications, which can be very powerful. There is a full demo here: >>> https://vimeo.com/76325922 >>> >>> *Get Started* >>> >>> So if you're a Softimage user, this is where I suggest you start - >>> you'll be working within your familiar application environment, and you'll >>> get a good sense of what is possible with the Fabric Core: >>> >>> 1) Get Fabric: http://fabricengine.com/get-fabric/ >>> >>> 2) Get Splice: http://dist.fabric-engine.com/FabricSplice/1.11.0/ >>> >>> 3) Follow the tutorials: >>> http://documentation.fabric-engine.com/Splice/latest/HTML/Workshops/klworkshop.html >>> >>> *Scene Graph - *We also have a standalone Python/Qt framework. However >>> - we are currently working on 2.0 of this (due early summer). My >>> recommendation is that you take a look at the version 2.0 outline >>> presentation: https://vimeo.com/84300368 but that you limit your >>> testing to the Fabric in Softimage stuff linked above. >>> >>> *Managed transition - *Everything that you do in other applications >>> with Fabric and the Splice API will be portable to the 2.0 scenegraph. This >>> gives you a path to the future without abandoning your current toolset - >>> you might decide to move to Maya down the line, or another application, or >>> to the Fabric standalone framework. It gives you options and most >>> importantly, it allows you a managed transition. >>> >>> *Real-Time Renderer (RTR) - *we have a powerful real-time renderer that >>> is targeted at production. It's written completely in KL, which is >>> testament to the power of the framework - it also means it's completely >>> open. You must remember that it is a platform for building rendering >>> applications - so far we have customers using Fabric and the RTR for deep >>> image compositing, scene assembly with Arnold integration, animation >>> preview, projection mapping and asset preview. You can see some additional >>> information here: >>> http://fabricengine.com/splice-2/fabric-engine/rendering/ >>> >>> *"What does it do out of the box?" - *right now, not much. We ship a >>> range of demo applications, but right now if you aren't comfortable writing >>> python or similar then you're going to struggle. However, Fabric 2.0 will >>> have much more for you by way of visual programming and 'instant utility' >>> tools that you can just use. Over time we will have more and more >>> functionality like this, but we elected to start with the platform >>> capabilities first - it's taken us a while but it's starting to pay off. >>> This >>> will change over the next year as we see the community pushing >>> functionality themselves, and hopefully we'll see a few collaborative >>> projects come to fruition soon. We're also supporting 3rd party developers >>> like Eric Mootz, so we're looking forward to seeing more artist-centric >>> tools coming through this year. >>> >>> *"What's the long term roadmap?" - *watch the Fabric 2.0 video (linked >>> above - https://vimeo.com/84300368) for an inkling. We are thinking in >>> broad strokes about: scene assembly, rigging and animation, virtual >>> production and visual programming. We see these as areas that are ripe for >>> some innovation and we have a platform that offers all of the building >>> blocks to do this. However - we aren't beholden to investors or >>> shareholders, so our roadmap sometimes changes according to what our >>> customers are telling us they need. >>> >>> *"Are you in control of the company?" - *Yes. We have investors but >>> Phil, Peter and I run the company. Nothing can happen without us agreeing >>> to it. >>> >>> *We can't do it alone* - if you want to see change happen, you have to >>> get involved. Small companies like Fabric need your support, we need you to >>> kick things around and tell us what you think. We need to know what you >>> need. It's immensely frustrating to be told "this is cool, if only it did >>> X" and then we do X and the response is "now if it did Y then I'd take a >>> look". Get involved - it's free! >>> >>> *Let's get creative - *we are open to creating a consortium and finding >>> ways to open-source work done there. Obviously there are hooks into Fabric >>> and the concern will be around vendor dependency - however, a lot of that >>> can be addressed in the design of a particular project. We have done deals >>> that give source code access to customers after a certain number of years, >>> and we will work with studios to give that kind of security. We see this as >>> something where we would not be controlling anything, but working on a >>> partnership basis with the studios that want to do this. It has to be >>> driven by studios that want to see some control over their destiny, with >>> companies like Fabric getting involved to support and drive innovation. We >>> are a platform, so for us this is the way to success - providing >>> high-performance, dependable components that can be used to build >>> production-specific tools, which are best built by you. If you are >>> interested in becoming a part of this working group then please email me ( >>> [email protected]) - right now I'm just gauging interest with the >>> hope that we can do something amazing together. >>> >>> Thanks, >>> >>> Paul and the Fabric team >>> >> >> >
