Misc : Max & rewrite

[CapnPanic]

heh, 3rd party plugin compatibility has never stopped kinetix/autodesk/discreet from rewriting max enough to make them incompatible. this last version change from 4 to 5 is the first i can remember where the plugins work from one version to the next. in the past the compatibility responsibility laid with the plugin maker, so shortly after a new max version came out, all the plugin makers would issue new versions of their plugins that worked with it.

as for this preventing a rewrite, i would think that discreet would just rewrite whatever they pleased, issue a new SDK for developers and everything would go on as normal, with just a bit of grumbling :shrug:

[Dave Black]

Max 6 WILL be a "re-write", though not from scratch as many have postulated.

All plugins for 4 and 5 will not work with 6.

Sadly, that's the price of moving forward.

I will personally never forget when I was using clothreyes in max 2.5 and then kinetix decided to "re-write". Infografica went out of business shortly before this happened, and subsequently, I lost a very expensive and useful plugin. Infact, it was over a year until anyone came out with a cloth plugin to fill the gap.

I'm hoping we don't see this type of thing happen again, but such is the nature of Max's plugin architecture.

We shall see what awaits us when 6 arrives...or even...5.6(hint hint).

-3DZ

:D

[googlo]

3D,
I bet the new DCP program Discreet is doing will prevent that kind of thing from happening again; at least with plug-ins that are certified.

[Dave Black]

Yeah, thank goodness for DCP.

Of course, digimation is not involved, so that's an awful lot of plugins missing from the program.

It is a good point, though. I specifically like that it makes sure that the certified plugins work together as well.

-3DZ

:D

[DaForce]

3DZealot:
You say that infografica went out of business? Is this the same company as the one below. Because they still seem pretty much in business to me.
http://www.reyes-infografica.net/cloth.php

[Dave Black]

Yup, they have been back in business for a few years now, but trust me, they went out of business for about 2 years.

So, eh hem...

-3DZ

:D

[DaForce]

ahh ok thats what i thought....either that or they got bought out by another company, who is now trading under their name.

[CapnPanic]

just my opinion, but i don't think the discreet certified plugin program will do jack for cross-version compatibility

the whole DCP thing just reeks of PR and marketing slime, so i wouldn't expect some big revolution in the way things are written, nor would i expect everything to work together in harmony

just my two cents on that :beer:

[Dave Black]

Yeah, I get the same impression, but I gotta trust what they say to some degree. If discreet is actually working on a way to increase product interoperability, then we are all better off.

I'm still weirded out by Max 6's main feature: "Stability".

I mean, how does one go about making that a bullet point?

"Now with inhanced production implementation!"

or

"Now with more stability!"

LOL...

Yeah, this is going to be interesting to watch unfold.

-3DZ

:D

[googlo]

3D,
I don't think that is actually a wierd marketing point if that is a major point in the product that people want a resolution with or something that it needs. Operating systems have been touted that way before, even new versions of programming languages, medicines, new car models, etc. .

[Dave Black]

Yeah, you're probably right, man. Just strikes me as amusing in some ways. It's kinda like saying:

"You bought our product, and it was broken, but now with this new product, it's going to be fixed!"

I guess that's fine. And hey, added stability is just fine in my book.

-3DZ

:D

[googlo]

Yeah it doesn't sound good for image PR reasons but at the same time if that's what it needs and the company is upfront about it, it kind of says something about the company too, like no BS, which in a way is good PR too :)

I liken this to Maya's product campaign with Maya Complete as opposed to Maya Unlimited.

They really need to change the words they are using because if they are going to say "Maya UNLIMITED" for the full version of Maya, that logically implies that the scaled down version of Maya Complete is actually LIMITED, but they would never call it that because it obviously sounds VERY bad, like the scaleddown version is, well, limited.

So instead they call it "May Complete", which really isn't true if they are offering a more 'complete' version of the software at a higher price.

I know it's being technical but it's really true and legitimate in my book, especially when these companies are being so competitive with each other and users get so dirty about it.

In my opinion that is BAD PR because to me it shows that the company is willing to play on words and manipulate the image of their product and hence customers as opposed to just telling it like it is.

I know virtually all companies do this, but that is so obvious that it's almost rude in my opinion.

[Ibanezhead]

They really need to change the words they are using because if they are going to say "Maya UNLIMITED" for the full version of Maya, that logically implies that the scaled down version of Maya Complete is actually LIMITED, but they would never call it that because it obviously sounds VERY bad, like the scaleddown version is, well, limited.

IMO Maya Complete means "everything most people need", and Maya Unlimited means "beyond what most people need"...

I do see Maya Complete as being complete for me, I don't need fur, and fluids, etc, and I'm glad they don't make me pay for it... Just as it's nice to be able to get Max without CS if you wanted to.

Vic

[Dave Black]

I don't think it was his contention that complete and unlimited should'nt exist the way they do, but that the names are more than somewhat counter-intuitive.

Discreet has 3DStudio Vis, and GMax as well. So it's all just a matter of marketing everything.

I do think A/W are much more agressive marketers, though.

-3DZ

:D

[neversong]

thnx guys.

I really look forward to next max... ;)

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