[Endorphin]

What a piece of sh$t LW is!....OMG, it is almost impossible to animate a simple character in LW....:angry:
The renderer is WAY behind (e.g. like on Mental Ray)
the animation SUCKS big time., and the modeler is hanging together on plugins....

Suddenly XSi looks VERY, VERY, VERY attractive for $495,-

So...thats out....heeeeeee.....feels a LOT better

[Mark]

Wow - sounds like you have had a really bad day there Endo. Doesn't sound like you at all - I always had you down for such a happy-go-lucky sort

Cheer up dude - it's nearly Christmas...

[Fallenswordsman]

Heh - I've gone for the multi application approach. XSIs interface still looks like something they got Fisher Price to design with all those squishy looking buttons, but I've sort of got to grips with it and yes animation is a lot better. Either that or you could go for Messiah Animate - that's fairly straightforward to play with.

[Noratio]

I used to animate in trueSpace, call me Doctor Frankenstein if you want to, lol, LW is superior to it, really. XSI yes it is tempting, now that is that cheap, but really isn't it Messiah or Motion builder where you should look at? Some more to pay though.

Sure you have seen Digiwonks rigging tutorials? IK in arms and hands are still some pain for me and probably I will use FK.

I would be hate to be dissapointed with this software cause much more pain than the bugs is to learn another software, I would probably go claymation, CG is no obsession to me.

Alltogether animation is pain to do, in any media, no creature with even some sanity would do it

[ranhell]

Think about it. if you switch 3D applications you will start out at ground zero and come to find XSI has its own problems. with the same things.

[Endorphin]

@ Mark:
thnx m8!....yep, i really had it.....no good
but after a night sleep, the world looked a bit better

@ Fallenswordsman
LOL...i agree on the Fisher Price-design...(ProjectMessiah not btw...they even 'borowed' the design). But serious, a multi-approach is, in my opinion, a bit stupid. There must be a 3D package that fills 99% of your needs....i mean, it's not that i am making the next 'Hulk' or 'Spiderman44' just a few simple, cartoonish, anims....nothing complicated.

@ ranhell
that is exactly what is keeping me from switching....it will take you at least half a year to get used to the new software. But i am affraid that one of these days the switch WILL be made...

pffeeeew....you see, talking helps...

[Mark]

Nice one mate. Glad to see that a new day has had the desired effect...

Now, relax ... breathe in ... breathe out ... breathe in ... breathe out ... breathe in ... breathe out ... think happy thoughts ...

[ranhell]

Hey Endo.
Do you need help with some of your issues??

[Endorphin]

thanx for the support guys/girls. but i'm curious....don't you think that LW is really getting behind on all the 'others'??
sure, there are always solutions for our problems, but when it becomes a must to buy another package (like Messiah or Motionbuilder) to animate your stuff, then i really start to ask myself if i picked the right software or not.....

[ranhell]

I use strait up light wave to do my stuff. Ya you see all these cool things being done by 3DS max ,Maya ,Softimage. in the big sreens. but light wave is in there to. now you see alot of companys wanting eveything strait out of the box. our simply working with what they have. and making it work. Dont forget you are ultimately going to get what you put in to it. 3D is alot of hard work and dedication.

[Stevan]

It's true Endomorphin, Lightwave is in big problems.
Competition is going to eat him. We can only hope for the best when LW9 comes out ,but that will be for about aproximatly two years. But until that day come other 3d packages will have enormeus advantage. Im afraid that LW could die soon...!

[hoopti]

Originally posted by Stevan It's true Endomorphin, Lightwave is in big problems. Competition is going to eat him. We can only hope for the best when LW9 comes out ,but that will be for about aproximatly two years. But until that day come other 3d packages will have enormeus advantage. Im afraid that LW could die soon...!

I hear comments like this all the time, but very rarely hear what it is about LW that is behind the others. I use the others in a day to day environment (Maya 6, Max 7, Softimage 4.2) and do my own personal modeling in LW. Do I use other tools to make LW better, you bet. Do those others do so as well? You bet.

What exactly is it that makes LW so weak? My customers can't tell the difference if I made it in LW or if I made it in the others. They just aren't that savy.

I'll stick with LW until it doesn't meet my needs. And I'll continue to use the others as long as it's reasonable to upgrade. Remember, it is never the tools that will inherently make you better, it's simply the artist using those tools and the time you commit to learn how to use them.

Just my 2 cents.

Hoop

[Endorphin]

well, LW has a good modeler (used to be on of the better ones) but there are other modelers that are developing much faster (like Silo or Modo...even Cinema4D has NGons now). And you can't convince me that LW is THE first choice for character-animators. XSi or Maya are way , way ahead with that. Look at the funky tricks you have to do just to set up a character in LW ("IK-Boost-Tool"...wtf?)
I am sure that there's a good reason for all of this, but it looks as if Newtek has other priorities. LW is not going to make it if they keep going like this....IMHO

[Stevan]

I agree about Modeler Endomorphin. But it seems that they created modeler just for organic modeling! And what about arhitect and other people that need precise modeler!!!
Here are my request for modeler:
1)SNAP TOOL (imediatly!!!!)
2)Loft tool
3)Some tools for creating arc's and circles from two or three points
4)Tool that convert displacement map to polygons
5)Precise measure tool (that goes with first one)
And about layout:
1)REAL CLOTH
2)REAL SOFT BODY
3)REAL HARD BODY
They told us :'Lightwave hase new 'cool' features;hard, soft,cloth... THEY LIED!!!
Dont think i hate LW, i Love modeler it's like my third hand!!!!
I just hope for the best!

Sorry for my english!
:o

[Techi]

i do think modler is aimed at a sub divided world, but it is so versatile that the rules can be bent a long way, i just find it takes a lot of time to do it.