Being put to sleep slooowly, until dead!

edited December 1969 in Carrara Discussion

I read the "OKAY DAZ SERIOUSLY whats going on." thread by kodiak.

Most seem to have realized DAZ is not going to do anything with CARRARA. This breaks my heart! I really love Carrara even with it's flaws.

But the writing's on the wall and more people in the forum have come to realize if they wish to grow and evolve in the 3D world they should invest in another/new modeling/animation program.

AS I read on KODIAKs thread they were talking about C4D and Blender and Lightwave.. I bought the full-bore version of Lightwave 8 years ago and hated using it.

Also in this thread I did not see one person suggest MAYA?

I am leaning twards MAYA.

ANY thoughts on this.

I will have about 2 grand to buy a new application the first of the year and don't wish to waste that money and decades using another 3D Program that will just be put to sleep sloooooowly over the years until its dead.

Comments

  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 37,712
    edited December 1969

    Carrara is not dead
    just a lot of bloody pessimists on this forum :snake:

  • 3DAGE3DAGE Posts: 3,311
    edited December 1969

    Most seem to have realized DAZ is not going to do anything with CARRARA.

    You're confusing speculation and personal assumptions from people with no information on the subject, ....with reality.

    Then, based on that,.. you're assuming that it's all over for Carrara,. wrongly.
    Why would it be ?

    But,... that's what happens when a bunch of clueless people decide that they know something which they actually don't.
    they speculate and assume .... then the crazy rumours begin.

    The saddest part of all of this is that anyone remotely interested in buying Carrara, and coming to this forum to check it out, would be instantly alarmed to read the growing number of purely speculative threads dealing with the apparent demise of Carrara.

    As far as DAZ is not going to do anything with CARRARA

    Yes, . That's why Carrara has been in Beta development for over a year,. because Daz3D are just wasting time and development resources on something they have no interest in,.. Does any of that make sense to you,...?

  • Kodiak3dKodiak3d Posts: 223
    edited December 1969


    Also in this thread I did not see one person suggest MAYA?

    You're in the Carrara forum. Most of us paid under $200 for it. Maya is $3500. The rest should be clear. If you can afford Maya, go for it.

    Carrara isn't dead...at least not yet. I'm hoping the recent Carrara "BLOWOUT" sale in today's e-mail might mean that the New Year's might bring some news of some kind, although I'm not getting my hopes up for it.

    If there were an easier way of using DAZ Content with Maya, 3DS, C4D, or even Blender, I'd jump ship from Carrara in a heartbeat.

  • wetcircuitwetcircuit Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    I read the "OKAY DAZ SERIOUSLY whats going on." thread by kodiak.

    ...

    AS I read on KODIAKs thread...

    Also in this thread...

    Is there something wrong with your ability to reply to that thread? Why do you feel the need to create another one... that you will likely forget exists...?

  • Kendall SearsKendall Sears Posts: 2,995
    edited December 1969

    I have Maya. It has bugs too. And unless you have deep pockets, forget about support.

    Kendall

  • edited December 1969

    Reason for posting hear is I wanted to hear about why Maya was not mentioned AND IF ANYONE HAD ANY Experience with it.

    BUT WOOOHHH GOT 3DAGES wheels spinning didn't I!

    Thats the most (ANIMATED) "No pun intended!" Response I have ever seen from HIM!

    I guess he does have a temper.

    Yea see I jusy looked up MAYA $3,700 MSRP!

    Okay maybe Ill kick carrara around for a while longer.

    I could never BUY a program that costs more than my car or a new MACPRO!

  • BlumBlumShubBlumBlumShub Posts: 1,108
    edited December 1969

    Reason for posting hear is I wanted to hear about why Maya was not mentioned AND IF ANYONE HAD ANY Experience with it.

    BUT WOOOHHH GOT 3DAGES wheels spinning didn't I!

    Thats the most (ANIMATED) "No pun intended!" Response I have ever seen from HIM!

    I guess he does have a temper.

    Yea see I jusy looked up MAYA $3,700 MSRP!

    Okay maybe Ill kick carrara around for a while longer.

    I could never BUY a program that costs more than my car or a new MACPRO!


    Not surprised you got peoples' wheels spinning to be honest.

    Bringing up Maya, C4D, etc as a competitor to Carrara is laughable in all fairness, the prices of those pieces of software put them out of many Carrara users' reach. Don't take that as me saying they aren't worth the money, because believe me they kick more booty than Jack Sparrow.

    Don't they keep updating Carrara's beta?

  • The Pencil NeckThe Pencil Neck Posts: 163
    edited December 1969

    I was just going through a similar sort of thing: deciding what to use.

    I spent a couple of months on Digital Tutors and Lynda.com going through various training videos on Maya, 3DS Max, Lightwave, Carrara, and Vue. I worked on a trial version of 3DS Max for about a month.

    At first, I preferred 3DS Max to Maya because I liked the interface better but after I saw how configurable the Maya interface is, I figured I could declutter it and in some ways, it feels less kludgey and more thought-out than 3DS Max does. I personally find Lightwave's interface very clunky and old-fashioned.

    Eventually, I might migrate to Maya/Max or Lightwave but for right now, Carrara is a very cheap alternative that does most of the stuff I need to do. I'm not really good enough at this stuff yet to get everything out of Carrara that it can do let alone Maya/Max or Lightwave. And as a hobbyist just planning on doing single-frame renders for personal websites (although I have been eyeing animation for some projects), that higher priced software seems like over-kill. Having something that can easily work with the Genesis-based stuff I already have is a huge bonus, as well.

    One of the big selling features for me for something like Maya or Lightwave is the amount of training out there. For Carrara, there are a few things like Infinite Skills but for Daz... there's not a whole lot out there especially compared to things like Maya.

  • evilproducerevilproducer Posts: 9,040
    edited December 1969

    First off, I wasn't going to even post to this thread. Why give it the bump? But since Carrara is actually gettin' a bit o' love, I figured why not post something positive as well


    I don't think Carrara is dead, despite the hyperbole from some people. I certainly don't consider myself a Pollyanna type either. There are things that frustrate me about Carrara sometimes, but over-all, it's been very stable for me and one of the best software investments I've ever made.


    I came from Raydream Studio 5, I also had an early version of Bryce and Poser (can't remember for sure which versions, ditched the disks eons ago). I liked Raydream the most, but longed for atmospheres and posable figures. Once Raydream's company went kaput and various hardware and OS upgrades rendered it unusable I found Carrara 5 and bought it. I skipped C6 and went to C7 Pro. I would like to get C8 Pro, but that will have to wait a bit and the 8.5 Beta would be nice, but personally I could care less about the Genesis figures.


    To me, Poser and Bryce were one trick ponies. Carrara combined their functionality into one package, plus added some of my favorite things from Raydream. There were also many additional benefits and features that I had read about in high end programs that Carrara also had. Maybe some of the features aren't as up to date or lack the fit and polish of their high end counterparts, but they still work (maybe with limitations) and are available to those users that otherwise wouldn't be able to afford them.


    I'm no code jockey and I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference from the code for CSS or C++, but with all the changes they're making just to add Genesis and other bug fixes, I'm sure it's a very complicated endeavor and personally, I'd rather have a stable piece of software than a buggy bag of bloat which is what people complained about for Carrara 6 as I recall.


    Just a reminder to people that seem to be freaking out about DAZ's commitment to Carrara: When I first started lurking here, I was using C5 (I had skipped 6). C7 was just around the corner, and DAZ had announced a new version of D/S. OMG! The world was coming to an end! Carrara was going to be dropped! Then C7 came out and all was good, except for the bugs. C7.2 came out and squashed a bunch of bugs and all was even better. Then DAZ announced a new version of D/S and it all started again! Carrara was going to be killed and there would never be a C8. Ironically, the people using D/S were jealous of DAZ's attention to Carrara when C8 was announced.

  • Kodiak3dKodiak3d Posts: 223
    edited December 1969


    Don't they keep updating Carrara's beta?

    No, it hasn't been updated since July. They keep giving an updated serial # to use (and very kind of them to do so).

  • ManStanManStan Posts: 0
    edited December 2012

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh8mNjeuyV4

    I have never made it a secret that I am a pessimistic cynic :P

    Post edited by ManStan on
  • petefpetef Posts: 47
    edited December 1969

    As an registered owner of both Modo 601 and Vue Infinite 11 I myself have just "come back" as such to Carrara Pro, a new system
    made me decide to have another a look at Carrara's ability's with its NPR and Vector-style output and instead of paying $200 for a Modo plugin to do just NPR rendering I very glad I did reinstall it.

    I'm lucky that I'm in the position to throw some processor grunt at any renders which for my needs are more than good enough, noise free and clean, its an easy to use app, has a great community of users and plugin developers.

    I'm going to back Carrara buy buying some content and a few plugins this weekend and if anyone else has been putting off buying any said plugins or content maybe now is the time to spend as it will also show that apart from the "woe is me" brigade that people still want Carrara to be around, EVERY 3D app has issues without exception and every forum people love to shout about it, you then look in the Gallery (insert app of choice) at the amazing and talented work that said app is helping the artist to produce and you wonder what people are moaning about.

    Here in the UK good few years back a famous Jeweler said how crap the stuff was he sold at a conference, months later that statement killed a £200million pound business, would DAZ really be stupid enough to do a promo then tell its buyers oh btw thanks for your money but were now killing Carrara Pro and thanks for that $285 (promo price), these are clever business people not fool's.

  • edited December 1969

    I liked Carrara and got as far as 7.2 I think. I still have it installed and used it the other day to render an older project. I think that my main concern was the reliability of the software with 'industrial' size scenes and projects. I did face a fair number of crashes etc. (PC).

    I moved to Cinema 4D several years ago because I needed something more reliable and because I had a staffer who knew how to use it to help with the learning curve. I have since learned quite a bit and haven't regretted it at all. Maxon has a special about twice a year, and allows crossgrade discounts. In fact, DAZ Carrara Pro is listed as a qualifying side-grade and will save you $100 on the entry level version at $995. Then you can consider upgrading further if you need the extra stuff.

    The other good news if you are used to using DAZ/Poser content is that there is a reasonable plug-in called InterPoser Pro for $75 that brings much of the Daz/Poser interface right into Cinema 4D. I have found that the IK posing for me still works better in Daz, so I export the keyframes as an animation and bring it into Cinema 4D. It isn't the perfect workflow, I'm still trying to fine tune some things since a recent project brought me back to Daz for some clothes/props. But it does work and if I can just get better at manipulating these figures again, it will be great.

    Cinema 4D has been growing a lot in the last few years, esp. with Lightwave taking so long on their update. There are a good number of people using it professionally.

    Anyhow, I'm not in any way connected to Maxon, just giving my thoughts/experience. If anyone wants to message me or ask further questions, I will certainly try to assist.

  • Kevin SandersonKevin Sanderson Posts: 1,643
    edited December 1969


    Just a reminder to people that seem to be freaking out about DAZ's commitment to Carrara: When I first started lurking here, I was using C5 (I had skipped 6). C7 was just around the corner, and DAZ had announced a new version of D/S. OMG! The world was coming to an end! Carrara was going to be dropped! Then C7 came out and all was good, except for the bugs. C7.2 came out and squashed a bunch of bugs and all was even better. Then DAZ announced a new version of D/S and it all started again! Carrara was going to be killed and there would never be a C8. Ironically, the people using D/S were jealous of DAZ's attention to Carrara when C8 was announced.

    I remember it that way as well. Much wringing of hands about nothing.

  • cipher_Xcipher_X Posts: 121
    edited December 1969

    I just started using Carrara Pro 8, after going back and forth for a couple of years on whether to add it to my system or not. Even if Daz decided not to spend anymore resources on future builds I would still be very happy with the purchase and what it can do in its current version. I hope Daz continues to develop it, as i am not really interested in moving to DS4.5 in order to use Genesis and it would be great if they ported Carrara to seamlessly integrate that figure.

  • edited December 1969

    Please dont get me wrong..... I LOVE CARRARA! Always have, even with HER untamed anger, and unpredictable attitude but that thing she does with her VERTEXS... MAN I need a cold shower.

    ANYWAY yes I am one of those veterans from waaaaay back! I got into carrara when it was RAY DREAM! AH THE GOOD OLD DAYS!

    Man I thought my head would EXPLODED when RAY DREAM/carrara got soft shadows! It was over the top!

    AND yes. I had no idea MAYA was $3,700 when I asked about it. But soon as I did I went looking to buy it BUT not at that price tag!

    When it was announced Ray Dream,carrara was being bought by DAZ I got a bad feeling and a pain in my tummy! Those feelings and that pain is still there.

    Many have said, and I do NOT agree but am coming closer to it, that DAZ is a content seller and MAY entertain/humor its fan with an occasional software upgrade.

    ANy company serious about it's 3D Programs would of combined HEX and CARRARA and maybe BRYCE and DS a long time along and gone at it full tilt since.

    IF DAZ would do that they would more than combined Carrara hex and maybe the other two they would have a unique, powerful, irresistible product the 3d world would still be talking about.

    DAZ is simply not interested in doing that!

    Its like having a half built 1968 Z-28 Camaro, a half built 72 Dodge Charger and a half built 62 Mustang in the garage and all your interested in doing is selling Chevy, Mopar and Ford Merchandise all day long!

  • McGuiverMcGuiver Posts: 219
    edited December 1969

    I too love Carrara, but also understand the Daz commitment to get Genisis ironed out first. I have had to put Carrara aside for my own commitments, therefore, I can wait for updates.
    I have no desire for Genesis & I do have a usable version of Carrara 8 pro in hand.
    I really don't see Daz dropping Carrara....I'm sure they know it's a great, affordable 3d solution. As I stated in the other thread...it would just be nice to let valued customers know that development may be delayed, of course it will upset some users, but no word at all may be worse.

  • edited December 1969

    McGuiver said:
    I too love Carrara, but also understand the Daz commitment to get Genisis ironed out first. I have had to put Carrara aside for my own commitments, therefore, I can wait for updates.
    I have no desire for Genesis & I do have a usable version of Carrara 8 pro in hand.
    I really don't see Daz dropping Carrara....I'm sure they know it's a great, affordable 3d solution. As I stated in the other thread...it would just be nice to let valued customers know that development may be delayed, of course it will upset some users, but no word at all may be worse.

    DITTO! Any information from DAZ about the progress of the next carrara release is held closer to the vest than the most top secret government programs! SORRY it's not that big a deal to the rest of the world DAZ just us.

  • CarltonMartinCarltonMartin Posts: 147
    edited December 1969


    Just a reminder to people that seem to be freaking out about DAZ's commitment to Carrara: When I first started lurking here, I was using C5 (I had skipped 6). C7 was just around the corner, and DAZ had announced a new version of D/S. OMG! The world was coming to an end! Carrara was going to be dropped! Then C7 came out and all was good, except for the bugs. C7.2 came out and squashed a bunch of bugs and all was even better. Then DAZ announced a new version of D/S and it all started again! Carrara was going to be killed and there would never be a C8. Ironically, the people using D/S were jealous of DAZ's attention to Carrara when C8 was announced.

    I remember it that way as well. Much wringing of hands about nothing.

    And ultimately, it's just software and business. My "office" is littered with software that mutated into other packages, died, stopped working, whatever. My body doesn't work right, so I'm not going to obsess much over software, there are much bigger issues to deal with. I really am increasingly a curmudgeon, I guess.

  • Kodiak3dKodiak3d Posts: 223
    edited December 1969

    I absolutely love Carrara. I still say it has the potential to be one of the best 3D suites available if DAZ would throw a little more time and money behind it. The ability to use premade content should not be underestimated.

  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 37,712
    edited December 1969

    well, I am still promoting it http://forum.reallusion.com/FindPost143954.aspx

  • Harry DresdenHarry Dresden Posts: 376
    edited December 2012

    Well if Carrara is dead I guess I just paid $171 for a corpse (Pro version). That blowout sale was just too good to resist. Heck they even chucked in M4 and V4 with all their morphs and bits to say we love you too man.

    The thing is though DAZ has always done right by me. Sure they are inclined to take their time with some things but I do trust them enough to believe they won't sell me something they don't plan on supporting.

    Now if I can only figure out how to make it play nice with Genesis and geografting. The textures are all messed up on the geografted parts for some reason. And Genesis figures takes a bit long to load but I guess all of these problems will be fixed. Eventually.... ;)

    Post edited by Harry Dresden on
  • edited December 1969

    Carrara is sort of like one of my children. On of the good ones and I want to see it grow blossom and be all it can be and Like hating one of my kids spouse because they are not good for them..... I blame DAZ for holding Carrara BACK...

    Carrara is a great wonderful program but it could be so much more. Its like watching one of your kids or friends that has endless skills and talents all day long.... flipping burgers at McDes, when they are in their 30s.

    I have said this many times but here it is again...

    If DAZ would roll HEXAGON into carrara in place of it's extremely limited Vertex Molder carrara now uses. And maybe some kind of more sophisticated "GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL molder" such as BRYCE. NOW that would be a better mouse trap. ANd they coudln't keep it in stock

  • RealtimeRealtime Posts: 95
    edited December 1969

    Carrara is sort of like one of my children. On of the good ones and I want to see it grow blossom and be all it can be and Like hating one of my kids spouse because they are not good for them..... I blame DAZ for holding Carrara BACK...

    Carrara is a great wonderful program but it could be so much more. Its like watching one of your kids or friends that has endless skills and talents all day long.... flipping burgers at McDes, when they are in their 30s.

    I have said this many times but here it is again...

    If DAZ would roll HEXAGON into carrara in place of it's extremely limited Vertex Molder carrara now uses. And maybe some kind of more sophisticated "GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL molder" such as BRYCE. NOW that would be a better mouse trap. ANd they coudln't keep it in stock

    You are right on brother. Go with modules! One interface, one asset management system and browser.
    Carrara would have no competition!

  • FenricFenric Posts: 351
    edited December 1969

    I'll chime in with some Maya information (2012 version, 64-bit)

    I have found it quite unstable - I crash Maya far more often than I crash Carrara. The Hypershade room in particular is ridiculously easy to crash (straight to desktop, no hope of saving), but I also took out the UV mapper twice. Some of the trouble might be that it doesn't like the "game" level video card (GeForce) I have, because I get weird OpenGL errors in the log sometimes. It may be expecting a workstation level card (Quatro or FireGL).

    Polygon modelling is clunky at best and I hate it: there is way too much opening of sub-windows to do simple tasks. I'd much rather use Hexagon for modelling, despite all it's crash-prone issues.

    UV Mapping is pretty easy, though, and has some nifty features.

    You can very easily get DAZ/Poser stuff into Maya... if you have Carrara :D Export as FBX and it goes right in. You can even do very limited re-posing (switch the joint method from linear to dual quaternion, and don't expect to adjust things too much)

    Rendering has a lot more options, include hardware-assisted. You do have to be careful when shading to pick features that are available in the renderer that you want to use.

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,106
    edited December 1969

    Well if Carrara is dead I guess I just paid $171 for a corpse (Pro version). That blowout sale was just too good to resist. Heck they even chucked in M4 and V4 with all their morphs and bits to say we love you too man.

    The thing is though DAZ has always done right by me. Sure they are inclined to take their time with some things but I do trust them enough to believe they won't sell me something they don't plan on supporting.
    You got it right, my friend! And I feel that Daz3d will ALWAYS treat us that way, as they have right from the day they've first opened their virtual doors! Bravo!

    Now if I can only figure out how to make it play nice with Genesis and geografting. The textures are all messed up on the geografted parts for some reason. And Genesis figures takes a bit long to load but I guess all of these problems will be fixed. Eventually.... ;)

    Rather than repeating everything, check out our advice on this thread, where we've helped out another new Genesis in Carrara 8.5beta family member. :)
  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,106
    edited December 1969

    Fenric said:
    I'll chime in with some Maya information (2012 version, 64-bit)

    I have found it quite unstable - I crash Maya far more often than I crash Carrara. The Hypershade room in particular is ridiculously easy to crash (straight to desktop, no hope of saving), but I also took out the UV mapper twice. Some of the trouble might be that it doesn't like the "game" level video card (GeForce) I have, because I get weird OpenGL errors in the log sometimes. It may be expecting a workstation level card (Quatro or FireGL). Which is another $3,000 + to add to the setup!

    Polygon modelling is clunky at best and I hate it: there is way too much opening of sub-windows to do simple tasks. I'd much rather use Hexagon for modelling, despite all it's crash-prone issues.

    ...and "I" have been preferring Carrara to Hexagon, if that's anything to offer about that!
    You see, even that you can find ways of 'Importing' Daz/Poser stuff into these "Big Boys", I really don't like using them as such.

    Carrara is the true "Big Boy" software if you want to purchase many of your assets as pre-rigged Poser/DS style figures. It truly is the only beast of its kind!

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