Favorite EI plugin

#24

The difference with Placer/Assimilator is you have to “feed” it geometry, Greeble generates it.

You have lots of control over the generation, size, extrusion depth, etc, with a choice of “widgits”, also has random seed control and you can bevel the extrusions

Main application for this is things like spaceship hulls and places where you would want to add “interesting” detail.

You can build a complete city from a simple plane with a few clicks with this plugin, very cool.

I collected some examples and info on this a while back, i’ll see i can find it.

Reuben

#25

My feeling on automatic anything is that invariably an art director will come along and say “Change this to that” and you’ll pound your head on the keyboard because there isn’t a one-click solution for it.

#26

I came up with a similar idea many years ago for a plugin/shader combo, while at ILM, that would use reactive shader techniques to paint and generate “Armour” on models. Since I was working on a certain “space opera”, I thought it would be nice to be able to define an area on a model through strength maps and the shader would produce various random hull patterns for space ships. The plugin would supplement the surface with various geometric detail based on the strength map. (Like your greeble plug) Ultimately, this system would have the ability to export out texture maps to photoshop so you could modify the end result.

#27

Maybe true Blair, but anything that helps reduce the workload helps. Particularly if its for subconscious detail.

#28

Last edited by Vizfizz : Today at 04:51 PM.

Why’s this been edited ?

Blair, a few clicks yes, but i wasn’t counting the interactive reatime controls :slight_smile:

We are not ALL in search of the “magic button” you know.

Reuben

#29

Just a PlacerGreebleDeposit test with GI :slight_smile:
Have fun.

#30

That was totally accidental. I didn’t remove or modify anything from Blair’s post. I was attempting to quote him and I clicked edit instead. As moderator I have that power. When I saved it… I realized what I did and reposted.

#31

As an artist, it’s important for you to try to understand that “a few clicks” usually translates to potentially months of work for the programmer. Some of us get frustrated when our hard work is devalued at the cash register and criticized during its use and yet the customer often makes back their investment several times over.

The state of the industry reflects the fact that making the software cheaper doesn’t result in a more successful software company. It’s gotten to the point where only huge corporations can afford to throw money down the 3D hole because they can use other products as cash cows.

sigh I’ll go back to bed now.

#32

Yes i understand that, is the greeble plugin worth the time and effort ? probably not.

The closest thing to greeble is actually Mrs Bebel, thats why i already suggested some greeble-like features for that.

Reuben

#33

Hey dude:

I think you’ve done quite well designing and creating your software.
And I’m pleased with Dante and Placer and yes they have paid for themselves already.
Speaking for myself, there is frustration on both sides: in my case trying to get an idea out of my head and into a computer while the clock is ticking (not always the case!) and someone asking “are we there yet? are we there yet?”
but that’s always going to happen, and the more I learn and know what works and doesn’t the better artist I will become, and yeah the faster I can work and get paid & everyones happy.
for now!

I think there is always room for improvement on both sides,
so don’t let things get you down.

#34

Just quite well ? :slight_smile:

Yeah i have volumes 1,2,3 and Blaster, they are all great plugins, and btw, i haven’t made a single penny from them :smiley:

Reuben

#35

Blair has a good point though. The margins within the mid and high range 3D packages are razor thin. Its even more difficult when you consider the niche nature of EIAS. In order to improve the situation for our programmers and 3rd party vendors, we have to find inventive ways to increase marketshare and one of the best ways of increasing marketshare is to form stronger software communities. Hence this forum. Stronger communities help promote product awareness, this inturn leads to new products by vendors, which increases the allure of EIAS. A stronger EITG means more features in the main package and increases competition for the 3D marketplace in general. Competition helps prevent a monopoly which ultimately, if allowed to be established, is actually a bad thing for the user…

<cough>

Autodesk!

#36

Yeah, considering EIs history (the Play years). :banghead:

Well, they’re paid, but no profits as of yet - soon I hope :slight_smile:

it’s all gravy from here on :thumbsup:

#37

I tried to repond to this eariier but the service was so busy it wouldn’t post…So I blogged. Opss excuse. I have been going blog bonkers lately.

http://web.mac.com/avtpro5/iWeb/Site/Blog/E9163DC2-9533-11DA-91DA-0030657CE1C0.html

#38

Hey Alonzo…

Great commentary. Its really amazing the kind of flack I’ve gotten from my peers for starting this forum. Heck, for using EI in general. I agree with you. The CG community as a whole tends to get overly wrapped up in buzz words and technologies that really aren’t very productive in an actual work environment. Individual egos and posturing is something that I have to deal with on a constant basis.

Brand loyalty is a really strange thing to observe. I’ll admit, I’m brand loyal. But here’s the thing. I study my purchases very carefully and make decisions based off very careful consideration for myself. Luckily, I’m not a zealot towards others. I fully acknowledge that EIAS isn’t going to appeal to everyone, that’s because peoples minds think differently. My point with this forum, however, isn’t to “convert” other users because they’ve already gone through their own decision making process and once that happens, change is difficult. Heck, one’s choice of software is practically like choosing a religion. Weird but true. We’ve seen it time and time again. Humans like being defined by all kinds of things.

Thing is, there’s a whole psychology behind the archtype of the “underdog” and of the “outcast”. EI kinda suffers from both. Thanks to its perverbial fall from grace, its easy to fall into a protective shell and say we’re John Knoll’s secret weapon. Thing is, we kind of use that like a little kid telling the class bully that our big brother is gonna kick your butt. Maybe its time we get out of the isolationistic shell and take a stand. EIAS is an awesome program. I see no harm in promoting that.

Its my opinion that EITG appeal to its community. Get involved. Become more personable. If we want to counter the elitism in the film and arts industry, being secretive isn’t the way to do it. Apple with all of its elitism finally realized that it was time to stop being so exclusive .That’s why we have intel chips inside our machines now. Did the world come to an end? Nope. Its all about finding that balance between being something desireable and elite and something appealing and human.

#39

Oh yah…

I also agree with you about providing entry level products. They are very important to younger and newer users.

What’s the expression?

Hook em while their young?

#40

I am not meaning to troll here, but i just want to point out, that I think Alex Lindsay tried to do just that with the 3D Toolkit and it seems to have fizzled. Perhaps it kept EI alive a bit longer and that may have been what was important. Why is the 3D Toolkit not updated and promoted any more? Well it’s obviously partly due to Alex’s association with C4D, which I ended up buying, but only with the release of R9, which is IMO the first version that seems worth swapping to if you are coming from EI.

#41

Blur1,

You’re only asking honest questions. Some questions, however, I can not answer. Alex Lindsay has a wonderful thing going and he’s done some great things for the EI community. However, Alex is also a business man and has some large ambitions that exceed reselling repackaged old code. Its a natural evolution for him. Pixel Corps is probably a better business model for him and appeals to his internal goals.

As for “keeping EI alive a little longer”, I don’t think we have to worry about that any more. Like Apple computer, the death bell has rung a dozen times or more for EI and they’re still kicking. Who knows, maybe some day someone will buy them again or perhaps they’ll continue to grow. I don’t try to speculate, I can only affect and deal with the here and now.

Congrats on your purchase of C4D. Another great package. I use it too.

#42

I’m interested in the idea of using both EIAS and C4D for different tasks (and Maya) but at the moment it’s just C4D.

Michael

#43

With FBX that is now a possibility. Both packages implementations are pretty good.