New Camera Tools plug-in

[DSedov]

here is a screenshot?

Also let me know anny suggestion, things to change etc.

[wedge]

wow! that looks really cool! could be really useful for (duh) making camera sweeps in CG shots.

[CitizenVertex]

I'm not going to say this plugin is a bad idea, but I'm not sure exactly what purpose it's going to serve. You already have complete freedom with your camera in Maya, and you can hook it up to any sort of real world style rig you want. You don't have to put it on a path, you can use IK. With Dynamics you can easily make a steady cam, you could even put a cam on a bungie chord if you wanted to.

I think I'd find a plugin like this limiting. What's so great about software like Maya is that you can do things that aren't possible, or at least prohibitively expensive in the real world. So, I deffinitely wouldn't buy it. I don't know who would.

[DSedov]

wgeddes : Thanks!


CitizenVertex :Obviously for those who has those rigs already made in house it
will be useless as it will be limiting them. Im talking about 10-15 differnt by nature setups that will be customizable and have advance dynaics and noise controls, that rig is just small sample

[wedge]

some people might want to do an animation with realistic cameras only. CG is great because you can do shots that would be impossible to shoot in real life. but this tool is NOT for making shots that are impossible to shoot in real life. it is for simulating the motions a real movie would have to use.

[CitizenVertex]

I'm not arguing or trying to be offensive here in any way. So please don't be offended by this or my previous post. I think it's great to see people taking the initiative and trying to write some new software. For that, I admire what you are doing. I'm just offering some constructive criticism.

If you want to do this as a learning exercise or for your own purposes that's great, but I wouldn't count on anyone actually buying it.

I just don't get the concept. Even if someone doesn't have any camera rigs prebuilt, they can easily build one that does exactly what they need it to very quickly. It's not something that's hard to do, and it's something that doesn't require a plugin. What you seem to be proposing here is a plugin that will create a bunch of canned scene files with some adjustable attributes. It sounds, and this is just my personal opinion, like you are trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist.

If you are going to write a plugin that you want to make some money off of, it might be a better idea to try to make something that solves a real problem, something that's really useful that people are willing to pay for. I don't think this is it.

[DSedov]

what would be the most common problem then? Im rally itching to writr something now. If youd guys tell me your biggest problems I'd appreciate that!

[CitizenVertex]

Ok, I'm not saying absolutely don't make the camera plugin, just that this idea probably isn't a money maker. I could be wrong. You could make a demo of the camera plugin with a few rigs, throw it out as freeware on highend3d and see how the response is. Maybe you'll get a lot of interest. You seem to have gotten somewhere with it. It'd be a shame to just throw it out.

My money making plugin ideas all revolve around game tools, which you may have no interest in doing. One in particular is a texture renderer like what they have going in Max 5. Currently Maya 4 has the rather simplistic render to file texture, and I haven't heard anything about them improving it for 4.5.

What it needs are advanced tools for generating light maps, baking textures, and most of all generating normal maps.

For more general purpose type plugins you could look for some good scripts or features from other software and improve them as a plugin for Maya. I'm sure if you thought about it you could come up with something really clever that many people would pay to use.

Maybe ask yourself what problems you have in your daily work. You must have these moments where you think "It would be really great if I could just..." I know I do.

Here's something more general pupose, but it would be a project that never ends. Maya has a hardware renderer, but it's very lean on features. Open GL and newer hardware are capable of some very nice shading effects. Maybe you could start implelmenting some new shading attributes into the hardware renderer. Maybe some post effects for the hardware renderer. For years now the hardware renderer has been the most negleted feature of every major piece of 3D software on the market. Hardware is getting better and better at breakneck speeds, yet the hardware renderers in these programs never seem to improve. Here's a relatively easy place to start, a toon shading effect in the hardware renderer.

Good luck with wahtever you come up with. I'm looking foward to seeing it.

[Machismo]

Originally posted by CitizenVertex
My money making plugin ideas all revolve around game tools, which you may have no interest in doing. One in particular is a texture renderer like what they have going in Max 5. Currently Maya 4 has the rather simplistic render to file texture, and I haven't heard anything about them improving it for 4.5.

What it needs are advanced tools for generating light maps, baking textures, and most of all generating normal maps.

i'd be absolutely willing to pay for something like this :love:

is it any wonder that the id and other big game co use LW and max predominantly :thumbsdow

[DSedov]

What about something that industry uses? Like Light Oclusion, Reflection occlusion, Ambient occlusion, bent normal shading and reflection bluring using occlusion patterns passes?

[alphatron]

Ambient Occlusion would be great :)

But in regards to your camera rig... I think this is a very useful endeavor. I come from a traditional cinematography background.. and would LOVE something like this. It would be good if you could incoprorate intuitive DOF controls as well.. and pick from a stock of well used prime lenses, etc.. I could think of so much :) And yes.. I would bay $30 for the advanced version..

Good work! And don't give up!

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