[Mihai]

Just to learn how the new material setup works will take us at least a week, even with no texture support. So if I'm allowed to say something constructive, start making tests, simple tests just to learn how the materials react. You would have to do this with a fully working RC anyway. Tom has posted what the material params mean.

[max3d]

The main problem is calling this a release candidate. They shouldn't have done that, because it really isn't. I worked with alpha and beta graphics software for the last twenty years. This is definitely no RC; it's not even a beta as it's hardly been tested in it's current form.

It can work and for me it does, but every deviation of the way the programmers envisioned it, means crashing. So, evidently, it hasn't been tested internally nor externally (the last we know for sure thanks to the stories of the beta-testers). That's no real beta or I you feel inclined so, a very early one.

Why Next Level keeps suggesting that they are much farther in the development process than they are is a troublesome question. Do they feel the pressure of the userbase and can't say no? Are there financed by people (other than the current customers) who need unrealistic promises? I just don't know. I'm a dealer and bought quite a few licenses based on these same promises. I'm disappointed know that I know these were false. Would I have bought them if I knew the development process was badly managed and not even close to the promised dates? I don't think so as I can't sell this software in the months to come. Should I have a problem if they had told me a release in 2005 was not possible? Don't think so.

Like I said I have been involved in developing graphics software for decades. I have seen 3ds max when it was still a concept; I worked with Adobe to realize Photoshop 1.0. I have no problem at all with long development cycles and most of these products became quite succesfull when they were done.

The disturbing part about Next Level is either the lack of development management or the eagerness to make promises which they know can't be held. I wonder which factor makes them do this, but I know that either reason can be killing for this great work in progress and that's a real pity.

[Hervé]

please Tom, release even a mini doc. about the materials...

all will be good..; i was simply waiting for less crashes, but they work on it...

[Hervé]

btw, smoothing seams to be broken.... at least on a teapot...

[rivoli]

So if I'm allowed to say something constructive, start making tests, simple tests just to learn how the materials react. You would have to do this with a fully working RC anyway. Tom has posted what the material params mean.

agreed.

[Mihai]

Hervé, Tom posted some notes about the settings and what they mean.

A success story, well one is right in front of you, called preview render. I'm surprised people don't see how great it is, it's even better than XSI's render region.

It's much better than waiting for a photon calculation before even seeing anything, or waiting for buckets to render before seeing the whole thing. In a few seconds you get a very good render which you can even show to your clients, before making the final renderings.

It is just so fast, and one of the reasons why Studio makes sense.....people have started to panic they will always have to go through Studio but you don't have to. I mean it's not fair.....you have people like daros who made a standalone application to work with Maxwell, and everybody is thrilled about it, and now NL wants to make one and everybody yells at them.....don't worry you will still have your plugin workflow, they have already stated that.

[Hervé]

yes but I don't understand... sorry I am dumbo...

when you speak of preview... the little ball or the preview windows....?

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[Hervé]

bon, eh eh.... Merci La Suisse.... thanks Whiskey...

[Hervé]

Andrew... jeeez you are really pissed.... calm down... a litle bit... if you want off course...

[Mihai]

Andrew, I ment that in a complex scene with mental ray, even if you just want to see 10% of your scene, you still have to wait for it to calculate the photon map for the whole scene. Then ofcourse it has to do the fg map for the render region. So you wait without seeing anything. With the preview in Maxwell you get too see the illumination much quicker.

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[MetinSeven_com]

Summing up a lot I've read here I guess that even more necessary than bug-fixing and patching is the need for some explanatory communication from Next Limit.

Victor, you are the Maxwell project manager if I'm right? Then it is your responsibility to write to your paying customers Victor, not the task of a few dedicated beta-testers such as Mike and Tom. You are the main representative of your company as far as we know.

Please explain the way things have been going and are going. At least 80 percent of the current Maxwell buyers are not content with the way things go, which should ring a loud alarm bell at Next Limit headquarters. So please don't ignore us any longer but communicate with us before the bubble of anger bursts and the users might even massively request a refund, as I've already read in a few threads around here. Just ask yourself: "Do I want the situation to reach a critical state or should I restore a healthy communication with our user base?"

Staying away from us will continue to hurt confidence of the users in Next Limit and stimulate even more speculations and discontent, so please swallow your pride and just talk to us. Express your point of view, why Next Limit made its decisions and explain to us why NL chose to relatively ignore the ones that stimulated Maxwell development by investing money to support Maxwell development as well as investing time to test Maxwell for you.

Just be honest and just tell us if Maxwell development doesn't go as smooth as expected and will actually take several more months before we can truly call it a Release Candidate. Being honest and open to your customers will cool down the boiling kettle, while silence and unrealistic promises will sooner or later make the kettle explode. It's up to you what you prefer to happen. If you want to regain confidence and respect from your users, then please communicate!

Thank you very much in advance.