Everything related to Maxwell Render and General Stuff that doesn't fit in other categories
User avatar
By Brian Buxton
#401500
The biggest reason I can think of is Measured Data i.e. IOR files or NK files.
There are a handful of render engines that can process measured spectral data.
Maxwell, Bella, Indigo, Maverick, Keyshot, Thea, LuxCore (to a limited degree).
Mitsuba and Appleseed are spectral renderers but I have no idea if they can process measured data.

So why is this important? The question is a bit like describing the difference between 3D and CAD. If you need to render an architectural facade or glass curtain wall and get it just right. Some clients will supply an HDR map of the sight along with measured data for the glass and any coatings applied. Indigo has some good material examples https://www.indigorenderer.com/materials/categories/2
The same applies to Jewelry or Product design, certain finishes are very important and beyond the scope of Substance Designer/Painter and Game Engine PBR material definitions. Indigo has the best solution for editing measured data, Maxwell has by far the best solution for layering or staking measured data and can use measured data for coatings. Keyshot and Maverick win over on speed and ease of use. Thea is a bit simple and LuxCore only uses measured data for metal (conductors).

Octane, Arnold, Redshift, Cinema4D, VRay can use IOR values for RG&B wavelengths (Maxwell can use hundreds of different wavelengths data). You can use this for metals and kind of use it for transmission, absorption and coatings if you can master the node tree.

In the end we are not all rendering for VFX or games.
It is a shame that Maxwell does not emphasize the importance of measured data, as it is easier to understand the market and use case than the more accurate light transport algorithms Maxwell uses or its realistic camera paradigms.
User avatar
By Brian Buxton
#401505
There is still activity on the Artlantis site and some signs of continued development.
https://artlantis.com/en/artlantis-blog/
It never appealed to me as I render products rather than architecture.
I don't think either software is dead, but for sure Nextlimit needs to more actively engage with its user base.

It is a thing on most user forms to continually declare the software is dead or doomed, sometimes the result is self-fulfilling and development does stop.
But even forgotten dinosaurs still manage to make money with their small market and slow development.
Strata3D and Ashlar-Vellum are two that spring to mind. I used both at university 30 years ago and they are still there.
By joris.b
#401507
Hi everybody,

I find this an interesting discussion. Despite I'm not actively contributing, it's insightful to see how other users are relating to the evolution (V4 and V5) of Maxwell Render.

In 2019 I bought two version 5 licenses (Studio + Rhino, both floating) with a launch promotion, but I never installed these. I was mainly working with Rhino (the Studio license was more to check errors or to work with references) and at that time the new implementation got a lot of criticism so in the end I never tried it. Instead I switched over to 3ds Max and a different rendering software.

So if people here waiting to buy V5 because of the price, I'm selling these two licenses. If anybody's interested, just send a message.
User avatar
By Brian Buxton
#401509
At the moment I am crossing swords with Nextlimit support staff over those changes to v4 and v5 licenses.
It is difficult for one person to fight a battle like this but if other users chime in and indeed if they raise a support ticket, to voice their feelings about this, Nextlimit may take action to improve this issue. However, my issue is also a technical one because the FormZ plugin is not by any means comparable to other plugins or Studio. It does not convert VRay scenes, it does not have a tool to correct shading normals, and it produces terrible sharding artefacts over curved meshes. Fernando suggested using another plugin such as Maxwell for Cinema 4D, which prior to the changes made to my licenses (at the same time they raised the price!) is exactly what I would have done without a support ticket. Sigh....
I can switch my FormZ plugin to Cinema 4D or Studio for 345 Euros or get the crossgrade to the Maxwell Bundle for 495 Euros but a big part of my brain is screaming at the injustice of this. Regardless of how angry I am about the license, really I just want the product I purchased to work as it is supposed to or for Nextlimit to change it out for a product that does work.
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