[J. Israelsson]

I am saddened that we still haven't got an update to the SketchUp-plug-in (with instances) because it means that Maxwell still (after a couple of years) for me isn't production ready. It just isn't reliable enough (which is not only referring to the plug-in).

It is becoming more and more obvious that the SketchUp plug-in is nothing more than a one person's hobby project on the side. No critique to Pelias but rather to Next Limit who seriously needs to increase the resources put behind the SketchUp plug-in because the development progress is embarrasingly slow.

Maxwell render is a commercial product that we are investing both our money into and even more importantly our time, but we still hit our heads in walls that shouldn't be there.

Sincerely,

Johan Israelsson

[creasia]

Five days later.....

[messire]

sometimes it feels we're alone...its crazy because when u see every architect starting to use sketchup, students etc... you know its going to be number one software for arch 3D vizualisation...and there is a single ( thnx to him) developper on MR 's plug in..
grrrr
Nils

[thinkbuild]

I agree with the thoughts above.

Pelias is doing a great job of course - (thanks Pelias!) - but Next Limit is a much larger organization, one which is growing and continuing to gather praise and success for its products. And, while clearly it is not easy to develop such a sophisticated software and to offer it for 3 OS's plus a large range of of software (Softimage, Rhino, SU, etc...), the Maxwell/SU combo is a critical professional tool for many of us all and it should be being pushed with more intensity than it currently is.

Therefore, I too would like to see them put more resources behind Pelias's efforts.

Next Limit: where are you? Any comments to this thread?

[Burkhard]

...and don't forget the tutorial section.

[tok]

If you use Maxwell + Sketchup there is still a way to increase the number of nerve-racking handicaps: be on a Mac.

[thinkbuild]

Vive la Différence!

[pelias]

I just want to let you know that a new version of SU plugin (with instances) is being tested at the moment and it should be made available to you in a matter of days.

The main reason for the delay is that the plugin was pretty much rewritten from scratch (certainly all of the geometry support) - this was needed as many mechanisms has changed. Components are exported as instances, groups are handled properly as groups (that simplifies the editing in studio significantly). Also the memory requirements for the export were drastically reduced - I believe you will appreciate that as well.

Pavol

[thinkbuild]

dear pavol,

that's great news! i think, in particluar, the groups/components changes will be really much better for many obvious reasons. thanks - keep up the great work for us.

i hope you understand that my and perhaps mr. israelsson's comments have to do with trying to get next limit to put more resources out to support your current efforts. its a way, really, of showing them how much we do appreciate what you are doing and how important it is for us. maybe they will hear us now and somehow lighten your working conditions....;)

as an aside, (really this is another topic) one thing i've always found a bit problematic has been the material assignment within the plugin. i do like how it is possible to "enable the material panel" but i find it very disconcerting that there is no user feedback confirming that i have assigned a particular material. for example, when i click to assign a material i have no way of knowing if it "sticks" or not until i export into studio or do a rendering. it would be really amazing to see mxm materials somehow previewed right in sketchup! this would save lots of time i think. maybe this is something NL could help you out with! i'd love to hear your comments on this if you can.

anyway. wishing you all the best and looking forward to the next rev!

jason

[tok]

Good news indeed! I am particularly curious about the the geometrical improvement.

[creasia]

Pavol,

Thanks! This is great news indeed. I guess if one is busy on a new software release that it is difficult to watch the forums.

[J. Israelsson]

Great news indeed. Thank you, I am really looking forward to these great improvements.

However this rises another issue. The good old issue of lack of communication. A major rewrite of the plug-in seems to me like a great idea and if communicated early would certainly have been applauded by me and would have given a greater understanding of the reason for the delay including an explanation as to why the instances support weren't included in the original plug-in upgrade.

Hopefully this delay gives enough testing time to ensure that things that previously worked will still work.

I am still curious as to how much resources is put into the SketchUp plug-in development. Maybe each plug-in should come at a cost of say 100 Euro or so if this would mean a more stable, production-ready development. Just playing with the idea to see if anyone bites.

But I think all the problems we are still seeing, with regards to both the Maxwell Render and plug-in development, is a result of NextLimit having gotten a bit too much to chew on with their very ambitious plug-in and platform support. An ambition we as users have been all too eager to encourage. Being a member of a minority configuration (Mac, SketchUp) I am also at fault.

Regards,

Johan Israelsson

[pelias]

A major rewrite of the plug-in seems to me like a great idea and if communicated early would certainly have been applauded by me and would have given a greater understanding of the reason for the delay including an explanation as to why the instances support weren't included in the original plug-in upgrade.

I agree - guilty as charged. However there are some more things to keep in mind here - first the rewrite of the geometry part wasn't originally planned - it came out as a consequence of changes which were needed to make instances work. Second, it is always tricky to announce detailed plans (and schedules) up front - software development is tricky and it is usually better to do things right than to do them in time. This is an issue which some users find hard to accept. If you make an announcement (even though not an official one) users tend to take things for granted - and that can turn into heated discussions on the forum if things do not go according to plan...

one thing i've always found a bit problematic has been the material assignment within the plugin. i do like how it is possible to "enable the material panel" but i find it very disconcerting that there is no user feedback confirming that i have assigned a particular material. for example, when i click to assign a material i have no way of knowing if it "sticks" or not until i export into studio or do a rendering. it would be really amazing to see mxm materials somehow previewed right in sketchup! this would save lots of time i think. maybe this is something NL could help you out with! i'd love to hear your comments on this if you can.

The critical limitation here is not on the side of Maxwell - it is at the side of SketchUp. It is not possible to access SU material panel in any way - for example it would be the best if Maxwell material parameters can be added right there - that would solve the assignment issue... Thinking in terms of limitations we have I can offer 2 smaller things which might help.

It should be possible to update SU material (color + texture) based on the information in MXM file - there is no problem to extract this information from MXM, it is a bit more tricky to update the SU material as the code needs to combine compiled and platform dependent C++ code to handle MXM with SU Ruby script - I have it working (testing version) on Windows but on on OSX so far...

It might also help to change the workflow of the Maxwell material panel - at the moment the change is applied to SU material right as you click in the panel. It might be better to change it so that it is consistent with other panels - clicking on OK button will make the change stick. What do you think?

Hope this helps.

Pavol

[creasia]

Thanks for your work Pavol.

Check out the things that Whaat is doing with the indigo plugin. Perhaps you could exchange a few pieces of code.

http://www.indigorenderer.com/joomla/fo ... php?t=3431

[creasia]

I hope that my comment didn't slow things down.

I look forward to a finished and tested product. I am already planning the scenes that I will create... Trees and grass and stones all created with the component spray plugin.