undertanding CTA 2 Pipeline

undertanding CTA 2 Pipeline

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https://forum.reallusion.com/Topic171472.aspx

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By narf2n - 13 Years Ago

I am not sure I follow this feature description and it seems important to understand...

what does it mean "Custom Multi-dimension Characters" and how is the pipeline different than the pro ?

can you post a video sample on something that can be done using the pipeline but not in the pro?

I mean - being able to customize a character in pro seems to be working - so how far does it go and what would a Pro user be missing out of compared to the pipeline?

By toonarama - 13 Years Ago

I'm sure Peter will answer fully later but the 2 main differences are

a) The Pipeline allows you to import a complete self-designed character as a template (ie rather than just replacing individual sprites) which is converted into a character that can use all the CTA features.

b) The pipeline allows you to import ICLONE motions (but you also need to have iclone to do this)

See here:

http://www.reallusion.com/crazytalk/animator/animator_feature_pipeline.aspx

By Peter (RL) - 13 Years Ago

The two main areas of difference between Pro and Pipeline is in character creation and animation.

In the Pro version you can only create entirely new custom characters by replacing sprites.

In the Pipeline version you can customize a Flash Character Template that is supplied to enable automatic creation of multi-dimensional characters.

So basically if you want to to create a lot of your own custom characters from scratch then the Pipeline method can be a massive time saver over replacing individual sprites in CTA2. However you will need additional software such as Adobe Flash or DrawPlus to use the Flash Character Template.

The other important difference is that Pipeline, as toonarama has already explained, allows you to import motion files from iClone in iMotion format. Again this will be a big time saver in animating your G2 characters and opens up a massive library of available animations in one go.

By narf2n - 13 Years Ago

thanks for the extra detail and explanation:)
still, I'd love to see it in action to get a better understanding of what to expect, when do you expect to release a video demo / tutorial of the pipeline actions you mentioned?

plus, I gather from other questions you will offer an upgrade from PRO for the early birds that jumped on the earlier offer - any idea how much and when it'll be?

By adambrannon - 13 Years Ago

narf2n (12/19/2013)

plus, I gather from other questions you will offer an upgrade from PRO for the early birds that jumped on the earlier offer - any idea how much and when it'll be?

The upgrade path that I was quoted for CTA2Pro to CTA2Pipeline is $69 or $99 if you want to include the upcoming G2 PowerTools. The upgrade isn't posted on the offers page yet, so you'll have to request it in a support ticket, but it is available now. Of course, if you go with the bundle that includes G2 PowerTools, you won't be able to download that until it's released.

By brothertcoleman - 13 Years Ago

I purchased CTA2 today but I'm unsure of what can open up the Pipeline_Template_and_Tools Folder that came with my download.

These are the errors in DrawPlus

By jlittle - 13 Years Ago

Peter says a DrawPlus compatible file will be available around mid to late January.

Jeff

By brothertcoleman - 13 Years Ago

So what program are these files for,if not DrawPlus or CTA2?

By jlittle - 13 Years Ago

They can probably be used by Flash, SwishMax, etc.

Jeff

By UglyBaby - 13 Years Ago

Question: does every member of the team need to have the Pipeline version? Or can I give Pipeline to my character creator and Pro to my animators and let them open the custom characters in Pro to do their animation work?

By Peter (RL) - 13 Years Ago

brothertcoleman (12/20/2013)

So what program are these files for,if not DrawPlus or CTA2?

To open the Dummy_Template.fla requires Adobe Flash to edit and customize. The file Dummy_Template.swf can be loaded into CTA2 Pipeline from Character Composer (ALT-Q).

A DrawPlus version of the Dummy_Template is coming mid-January. :)

By Peter (RL) - 13 Years Ago

JasonGW (12/20/2013)

Only one team member will require the Pipeline version to create the characters. Any created characters can then be opened in any version of CTA2.

By brothertcoleman - 13 Years Ago

After loading in composer ,I get this error tag thing.

After this template is loaded ,what can be done with it,because it just looks like the standard G2 Dummy found in characters.

By Peter (RL) - 13 Years Ago

brothertcoleman (12/20/2013)

After loading in composer ,I get this error tag thing.

After this template is loaded ,what can be done with it,because it just looks like the standard G2 Dummy found in characters.

The Dummy_Template.swf is the standard Dummy character that is already included in CTA2. The way it works is that you would edit the Dummy_template.fla in Adobe Flash to create your own character and then generate a new Dummy_Template.swf. Once the new file is opened in CTA2 Pipeline you will have have your own character instead of the default dummy character.

Thanks for notifying about the error message when loading the Dummy_Template.swf. It appears the left ear sprite at the 270 angle is missing?? Obviously this is easily replaced with your own character parts but I will notify the CTA team so this can be corrected.

By brothertcoleman - 13 Years Ago

Thank you for clearing that up.

Since I already have Drawplus, should I just wait for its template or is it best to get SWiSH Max4 or some other flash creation program to do these characters?

Thank you

By Peter (RL) - 13 Years Ago

brothertcoleman (12/21/2013)

We currently support Adobe Flash with the current template and DrawPlus will have its own template in mid-January. We can't really comment on other software as yet until further testing has been done. For this reason I would advise waiting for the DrawPlus version.