Galfridus (6/1/2015)
...I painfully remember my complete dissatisfaction with the launch of 3DX5. I pre-paid for my upgrade from 3DX4 because of the promoted “ lip-sync Daz avatars” capability. Only after launch was this described as “forthcoming in a free future upgrade”. Then several months of unnecessary silence from RL followed before it was finally implemented. As if that wasn't enough a .duf file required to automate the Daz lip sync process was locked into an additional and very expensive “Character Designer pack” of limited value to the average user. A shameful example of customer exploitation by RLI was also disappointed. And I couldn't have phrased it better: Shameful customer exploitation.
Galfridus (6/1/2015)
I am extremely pleased indeed to see that efforts are being made with 3DX6 to improve on that negative RL customer experience.That they call it "Early Access" and are more clear about what features it has and are up front with their plans for upcoming features are certainly improvements in policy over last time. But, I find even the 3DX6 early bird promotion to be a bit overpriced for what it offers. And since iClone 6 won't work with 5...
I was upset and disappointed to learn that they made iClone 6 incompatible with 3DXchange 5. When I purchased the pipeline edition I thought I was making
an investment. One might wonder if they did that to force customers to updgrade. Because, if iClone 6 could work with version 5, some customers would opt to put off upgrading. I could have bought a big, fancy new LCD television or monitor for what I would have saved by waiting until now to get Pipeline.
Galfridus (6/1/2015)
In reality 3DX6pro currently offers me only minor improvements over 3DX5pro apart from the convenience of integrating with IC6.Yes. What does 3DX6 offer that is worth the upgrade cost?
*
Optimized Large Model Conversion PerformanceFaster model conversions. Meh. That's not something I can get excited about.
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Improved Stability in Large Model ConversionNow we can import models with up to 1,280,000 faces? Actually, this is something I could probably use. That is a nice feature.
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Merge Identical (SKP)It can combine idential mesh nodes to reduce the polygon count. And it can fix meshes sharing identical materials. To be sure, both are annoyingly common problems with Sketchup models. But then, I could just convert a Sketchup model and load it into my favorite 3D modeling program to do the same thing. This feature is handy, sure, especially for those who can't use a 3D modeling program. But, for the rest of us, it sounds like it's a matter of convenience.
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ENHANCED UI - Interactive Lighting & Stage Mode SelectionWe can preview converted models with a choice of 4 different "scene modes" (scenes and light settings) with the option to adjust the light angle. Nice, I guess? But, again, it just sounds like another convenience.
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Support External Tools in the Latest VersionSupport added for external tools: Sketchup, Unity 5, DAZ Genesis 2, Unreal Engine, 3DS Max, and Maya. Weird. I thought 3DXchange 5 already had Sketchup support.
Of these, the only ones I'd use are Sketchup and
maybe Genesis 2 and/or Unity 5. And that's a big maybe.
* It comes with the
Character Designer's Resource Pack for free?
Meh. I got that back when I ordered iClone 3DXchange 4 PRO, over three years ago.
* It comes with the
DAZ Genesis Extension for free?
Meh. I got that as part the the Facial Pipeline Character Pack with version 5.
Wait... Wasn't importing DAZ characters (with lip sync) a feature that we were promised with 3DXchange 5?
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Direct Access to Free 3D Assets in Sketchup 3D WarehouseBut, 3DXchange 5 can do this already...
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Now 3DXchange 6 is compatible with all versions of Sketchup files.It circumvents the quote, "hassle of prior format conversion using Sketchup".
Again, it's a little convenience and I can't get excited over this. Many warehouse models have already been updated to the new Sketchup format. If not, I can fire up Sketchup or some other program to do it.
BTW: It is interesting that the email promotion did not even mention the Upcoming Features. I had to go to the forums to learn about that and then do a search.
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G6 Character CreatorSounds interesting. But this is for G6. Will this encourage us to forgo our old G5 characters with all the G5 clothes and stuff we've purchased to get new G6 stuff? For those of us who primarily use older generation characters, DAZ Genesis or other characters, this isn't that useful.
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3D Data Silent I/OIt allows us to quote, "import and export files all within the iClone." It sounds like this is nothing more than a little convenience. I could live without it, anyway.
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GoZ for ZBrushIt allows us to connect ZBrush with iClone? Convient, I suppose... if we happen to use ZBrush. That's the tool of professional 3D artists. And, at nearly $800, it's out of the price range of many casual iClone users.
Galfridus (6/1/2015)
[snip]...I feel I made my own informed, rational decision to opt in based on the “best price offer” rather than having been mislead, as in the past, by inaccurate feature promotion.We each have to make the decision. The amazing new features that were offered in 3DXchange 5 made purchase or upgrading very compelling. Compared with that, an upgrade to 3DX6 doesn't sound as impressive.
What burns me is the pricing. I hesitated to get 3DX5 Pipeline because of how much more it cost over Pro. And the only two extra features we get are 1) Export FBX, BVH and 2) Get "Export License" Content. And I'm really only interested in (1). But since iClone 6 can't use 5, the investment was not worth it for me. (Even though I can still use 3DX5 Pipeline with iClone 5, I can't export content saved in the iClone 6 format.)
3DX6 Pipeline has a list price $100 over version 5 (despite 6 not having the sort of features I would call compelling). And just to upgrade from my old v5 Pipeline is $179? That's nearly 45% of what I paid for version 5 Pipeline.
Those with version 5 who wish to upgrade must pay between 60 and 66% of those buying 3DXchange outright. Does this seem appropriate for an "upgrade" price? To be fair, I've seen articles talk about how the costs of "software maintenance" has been increasing by about 12% to 15% per year. And it could be worse. Adobe recently changed their software to a subscription-only model.
Still, I was quite anxious to upgrade iClone 6 as it was packed with amazing new features. But what added value does upgrading to 3DX6 bring? If I could use version 5 with iClone 6, putting off an upgrade, that's what I'd do. But we can't.
Edited
9 Years Ago by
bsperan