[JDHill]

No, I can't predict that. On your questions, if you look at the HTML WIP I linked above, you'll find there is no longer the non-functional "Info" button in the context menus (the ones that pop up when you click one of the small buttons to the right of a given UI control). We need the context menus, though, because those are what allow you to set how many decimals to use, how much to increment the value via mousewheel, and whether you want to use RGB or HSV in a particular color picker (not sure if you noticed that yet, I hope you like it). And regardless, that part of the work was done a long time ago, and it is not holding up progress now. Regarding presets (the drop-downs you see at the top of the camera, env, and output pages in the Silverlight UI), there will not be presets in this UI, at least to begin with; those are something I added because Silverlight made it very convenient to do so.

Regarding which settings are tied to the SketchUp Scene, they are only those related to the camera. It has been in the plans to tie everything in the Scene Manager (except Options) to the Scene too, though in my opinion, that has to be optional, because while it is powerful, you do not always want to work that way, for precisely the reasons you stated above.

[fv]

ok, tx

What I would really like is a dropdown with presets to be file-dependent making it possible to transfer settings from a certain scene to another. I am never really sure if the settings really stick with a scene. So a forced way to choose a preset would be more reliable to me. Some renders take a while before you know focus is off or an illumination map rotated the wrong way. Before a deadline these things get important.


Presets are major but I understand you will get to that later. One more comment. I think presets should only be set for one file. Otherwise you need enormous amounts of presets to cover many projects.
Francois

[povaratti]

I am a long time FormZ user that has begun using Sketchup much more in the past few years. I would be careful looking at FormZ...if you think 3 years of no development is a long time, try 10 years. Sad thing is, the best software tools are getting the least development these days. look before you leap !

[fv]

Ok, thats news to me. According to Jason form-Z is lightyears ahead..

But Maxwell has been developing rather a lot since I started working with it from the beginning. At some point I wonder what else can you do. Hope thought that the developments on how to add terrain full of green stuff, trees, roads etc gets more developed. The Maxwell grass is a good start but if you see what can be done with 3DS I am jaleous. Although you pay for what you get.

Modo is also well on the road. And Blender from what I see. Zbrush and the likes. Maybe gaming has something to do with it. More money in it then Archviz.

Sketchup has arrived were it wants to be. Thats how it is. I don't mind anymore. For regular design work is good enough for the next couple of years. I have been working with Vectorworks that developed a lot during the years that Diehl Graphsoft still owned it. Now that Nemetchek does its going nowhere. Sketchup with @Last also went like a rocket until it was sold.
I think a good way to look at software is to see if the original drive and owners are still running the business. Usually they are the ones who like the fight at the front.

[Half Life]

Ok, thats news to me. According to Jason form-Z is lightyears ahead..

Like I said, the NEW form.z -- old form.z was seriously old and in need of a major overhaul... but they got it last year with the release of version 7, which was continued with the recent release of 7.2.

In the same timeframe we got what from SketchUp?

Like I said, it has its flaws -- which I could easily point out... but they are flaws I find less repulsive than this non-update "update" cycle SketchUp has been stuck in since version 7.

Also, like I said elsewhere -- try the demo and decide for yourself... I suspect povaratti has a similar grudge against form.z as I now have against SketchUp.

However, there is absolutely no question form.z is a much more powerful modeler than SketchUp will ever be.

Best,
Jason.

[jespi]

I've been seriously testing formZ 7.1 for a while, and IMO it's NOT ready for production. As Fernando said, on the paper formZ is great, but it has lots of issues with blocks and many other things....

I really hope formZ become a robust app because it's a very powerful modeler.

[fv]

Lets forget about form Z and work Jason over to stay around at this Sketchup party.

And I think its always good to train youself to work with more than just one CAD modeler. I think 3DS , Modo and Rhino will give a lot off extra power. Especially since now you reference all you do in Modo or the others right in your Sketchup file. Any modeler that has a Maxwell plugin written for can export to .mxs making referencing, sharing maxwell materials very easy. A great feature of Maxwell a lot people on Sketchucation are unaware off.

Francois

[chedda]

I think it would be good to give the plugin the default maxwell black skin and orange details !

[JDHill]

Default, huh? The new UI will support different color themes like the existing one, but I don't know about making the default a dark theme. I've done that in other plugins before, and ended up going back to a default which matches the general theme of the host app, with the darker themes being optional.

[povaratti]

here's the thing...were mostly professionals. we need our software to work, be current and play well with others. Both Sketchup and FormZ are really useful professional tools. I've been using these programs since they were v1.

Why am I starting to move towards Sketchup ? I use Maxwell with formZ and Maxwell has moved beyond the version of formZ that professionally reliable which is 6.7. FZ7 is an extremely cool upgrade, but given how ADS develops their updates it will take years before its stable, and quite frankly, the user base is very small, so I am not optimistic about it thriving. The other reason FZ was so good for so long was that students were using it, and you could count on young professionals to be able to pick it up. Thats now the case with Sketchup. All the kids know it and use it.

For me the deciding factor is marketplace share and software working well with others. FormZ is like a lone-genius, does AMAZING modeling, but its translators and collaborations with other software is way behind. On the Mac, its not even 64bit and maybe never will be.

Sketchup has been building a robust community, has LOTS of plugin developers coming onto the platform and has a young professional user force. They need to keep innovating the software for modeling and presentation, but its really quite strong, given the other architectural options out there.

I see 5 years from now when most modeling will already be 'done' and component based. Then the question will be, who can allow me to design, present and specify in the most fluid, flexible way and easily share it with others. All other issues will be secondary.

FZ has the most amazing customer support and small user community I've ever seen, and Maxwell is staying current with the new version...albeit I find it hard to use in many of the software interfaces that are half way between v6 and v7, but Ben at Pylon does a remarkable job, given his limitations with FZ.

Use them both. Thats my advice. You're not going to find the situation that works all the time as you need. I am thankful for Next Limit's commitment to excellence on both software platforms.

Take what you want and leave the rest.http://www.maxwellrender.com/forum/post ... 618e270f41#

[chedda]

can a (military spec ?) black/orange template be shipped with it ? I don't want to fiddle, i just want to be at home with maxwell !

[JDHill]

I can make one for you after the new UI has been released, and then add it as a standard option in a subsequent update. So feel free to remind me to make that for you, once we get to that point.

[chedda]

Roger that. I'm looking forward to tabbing through dialogs rather than shooting sliders.

[fv]

I actually like your plugin design more or less matching up with Sketchup.

I am not going to get into Sketchup 2013. I have downloaded it and saw no difference what so ever (Mac). I rather use the money for getting models from DesignConnected.

Just hope when the new plugin is released it works as well with Sketchup 8 as 2013 and is as bug free as possible without without the need for Silverlight.

One more comment. With Silverlight the plugin is a little slow. Not really but if it was a camera you would say it has noticeable shutter lag. I hope without Silverlight that will not get worse. Your preview was very snappy ....

tx, Francois