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ZBrush wins Game Developer Mag, 2003 Front Line Award

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#1

And the momentum builds…

The January 2004 issue of Game Developer Magazine gives their FRONT LINE ART catagory award for 2003 to three packages: Maya 5.0, Facegen Modeller 3.0 and ZBRush 1.5!

to quote:
"ZBrush was another wonderful surprise. I was taken aback by the depth and robustness of this package. I was expecting a simple utility but was rewarded instead with a program that nearly has enough features to compete with the big boys. I feel absolutely confident that I could do many organic models with it easier than with Max or Maya.

In addition to its rich feature-set and standards compatibility, it is also a low-profile application that doesn’t tax your system for resources needed by other programs. With a bit more tuning, ZBrush can one day compete head-to-head with the industry-leading content-creation tools" - Michael Dean

Congratulations guys. It’s about time the 3d Mainstream start acknowledging what all of us already knew.

Sven

#2

The review is OK but I have to wonder about a few of his statements:

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>"…nearly has enough features to compete with the big boys."<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>"…With a bit more tuning, ZBrush can one day compete head-to-head with the industry-leading content-creation tools."<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Obviously Weta has a different opinion than Mr. Dean. :rolleyes:

#3

OMg is the guy in for an even bigger suprize with the next version…I can feel it…
MWOHAHAHAHA!
MMMWWOOAHAHAHAH!

#4

Wonder if he was a beta tester too.

#5

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Obviously Weta has a different opinion than Mr. Dean. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, he has a point though. Weta didn’t use Zbrush 1.5. They used the new Beta version of Zbrush, which I would assume had a little more “tuning”.

I think Zbrushs’ greatest feature is it’s price. It’s easily over $1,000 or more less than those “Big Boys” and I’m assuming that will eventually attract more users to Zbrush in the future. Especially with the new Z’s features.

#6

Beside’s we have Pilou.

#7

@wchamlet:

considering price & features:

what we have are our wishes for features that the next version (the free one for registered users) should have.

What we don’t have is the knowledge of how much of these features will follow in a later version, that will not be free for anybody.
ZBrush 1.55b is a bargain, sold under price, there is no doubt about that I guess.
But, there is simply no reason that this “feature” will remain, sort of glued to the programme. It would be only logical if some of the “coolest” features would be kept for this later version, likewise it would be the right thing to do to sell this version at a higher price - if I ever understood “marketing”.

#8

Zerebrush: that would be just to cynical to consider :wink: :frowning:

The main feature of displacement mapping was originally slated for release in 1.55 and was first mentioned around September 2002.

I have the feeling (just a feeling mind) that the free upgrades are Pixologic’s way of honouring a commitment they made to provide this feature to the users at that time.

So rather than holding features over so they might then raise the price of ZB, I think/hope that Pixologic are instead clearing the decks of prior commitments before concentrating on the next surge forward.

In general, I think it is a bit sensationalist to compare ZB with programs like Maya. There is no way that ZB could replace Maya and was probably never even meant to compete with it, but rather work hand-in-hand with it. With respect to 3D animation, ZB is a utility program, providing features that other programs don’t have or don’t do so well.

#9

@ bonecradle:
Considering that selling software does not - in the result - differ that much from selling other goods for the purpose of earning money, I don’t think that a procedure like I mentioned could be called cynical.
It’s a simple calculation: the last time I paid to pixolator.com has been for version 1.23. Then I’ve got 1.55 for free, and now I am in for ?.?? - free again. This covers 2 years roughly. Ok, I don’t know how many of those registered users (forum-wise) are in demo mode, and how many users are not in this forum: but just take maybe around 4000 as users that actually bought the way I did, and then do some multiplication.
See what I mean? All this money was a gift for us (registered users that bought at least 1.23) - on the other hand: all that money “went down the drain” for the company.
So, to compensate the next non free version (not the update “just around the corner”) MUST have some highlights apart from just being new, clever, whatever!
The only way I could think of a reason to buy that non free version would be the fact, that (as an example) displacement mapping will not be in the last free update, but be reserved for the non free version.

I tink the whole discussion about “our” last free update is a bit useless >> for me: there is still a whole lot to learn with 1.55b (and that would not change for the next month’s, to say the least), and I believe that a lot of ppl might be very disappointed, seeing the upgrade.
Well, it’s not cynical or pessimistic - realistic could describe it. But: only my opinion.

#10

Can I toss in my two cents concerning the next upgrade and the future release of 2.0? It goes like this…

First, a little (pre-ZBrush) personal history: Last February I read a small review of ZBrush in one of the graphics magazines and decided it was time to take another look. I downloaded the 1.23 demo (or was it the 1.51 by then?) and at the same time discovered this fantastic community at ZBCentral. My member number was 3401.

Within weeks I was hooked and I decided to buy. I purchased my copy the very week 1.55b was released.

Since then there has been an accelerating momentum in both new owner/users and new members joining ZBCentral (now its closing in on 9000 members. In less than a year the forum membership has almost tripled!)

Then, as teasers about the next release started appearing I noticed that both Pixolator and Matthew were careful and consistant about mentioning that the next upgrade would be free, and also that it would be the LAST free upgrade. Very precise wording on that, and I wondered why. Actually, it was obvious.

With software, any hint of a new version to be released can stop current sales dead in the water if new buyers think they will soon be hit with an upgrade fee.

Through tantalizing posts and guarded responses to queries, they were advertising several of the great new features AND emphasizing the FREE upgrade… and the new sales just kept rolling along, especially on the heels of the well-deserved publicity and word-of-mouth ZBrush has received. (Viral marketing at its best.)

A free upgrade builds good will for faithful userbase who will appreciate all the wonderful, updated features it sports, and they’ll tell other artists all about it.

I bet a year or two from now most of those same satisfied users will be happy to pay the upgrade price for version 2.0 when they finally see all the amazing advances THAT release will contain. (I certainly will be.)

Will sales drop off after the upgrade is released? Maybe not. There are going to be lots of modelers and game art people who will learn how valuable ZBrush and the new features could be for production of their art - and that will likely result in a rush of new sales. Pixologic is probably depending heavily on that bounce.

Now some pure speculation based on absolutely NO evidence. I strongly suspect that version 2.0 WILL involve a complete rewrite of ZBrush, from the ground up, including a conversion to a true WINDOWS interface and environment. (Not sure what that might mean for ZBrush Mac users…)

A similar thing happened when Autodesk moved 3dStudio from DOS to Windows. The new environment allowed them to design a whole new and much more powerful interface with scrolling side-panels and tabbed menus and introduced the potential for sophisticated 3rd party plug-ins. It took them several years of secret development to get the first Windows release ready.

By the same token, I’d speculate the day that version 2.0 IS announced, anyone who buys a copy of ZBrush version 1.? after that date will get a free upgrade copy of 2.0, or be required to only pay the difference in the purchase price. Again, there will be minimal loss of interim sales.

Oh yeah, one more (reluctant) speculation. 2.0 will probably be sold through dealers. No more online purchases… which may mean the nature of Pixologic as a company and its user base will likely change, forever.

And who knows, perhaps the company will have succeeded so well by that point that it will be purchased by one of the bigger 3D software companies.

It is fun to speculate about this stuff and a year or so from now I’ll be interested to see how well my crystal ball was working…

Sven

#11

Good post Svengali!

I agree with a lot of your ideas, except for the Microsoft Windows dependencies. There isn’t any reason for Pixologic to abandon their Mac version, especially when it operates as well as it is. Rewriting their entire program to be dependent on Windows code would be suicide IMO. If anything, I can see Pixologic rewriting their code to be more Unix friendly, to appease the Linux, Mac OS X, and even Windows crowds. And besides that, interface technology doesn’t require an extensive rewrite to work. If you don’t believe that check out X11 on Mac OS X, which provides OS X’s Aqua interface without any recompiling whatsoever.

I can honestly say I fell hook line and sinker for the “New Version will be out soon” line. And to be honest again, I have loved most everything about Zbrush so far! Aside from an import/export issue though.

I’m spending my time now looking into how I can implement the new features of the next version, so I can’t really complain about the wait.

#12

Zerebrush: when I said it would be cynical, I meant that it would be cynical of Pixologic not to include displacement mapping in the next release, as they have already said that they will do. I didn’t mean that your opinion was cynical.

Svengali is right. It makes good business sense to offer the free upgrade.

Pixologic are probably fairly certain that the new features are going to net a whole new and large user base who aren’t particularly interested in ZB’s art capabilities.

These people wouldn’t pay for 1.55, which doesn’t have the features they want, and then pay again for 1.6/? Instead they would wait and just buy 1.6/? So by offering the free upgrade, Pixologic entice people to buy 1.55 and thereby get their money now rather than later, money that is probably needed for development.

If Pixologic now turn around and didn’t include the displacement mapping feature in the next free upgrade after wooing these buyers by saying it would be, they would disenfranchise a large part of their user base overnight.

And what will be included in the version after the next release? Zbrush is already a strange beast so who can tell. Did Pix ever think that ZBrush would include displacement mapping when it was originally conceived as an art/painting program? Perhaps he saw an opportunity whose time had come and grabbed it (just read the thread on mapping in the Spiraloid forum). It does mean though that more and more there will be people who buy ZBrush who never use its 2D and 2.5D brushes, the materials or the rendering engine among other things.

The future devlopment of ZBrush will be interesting to watch. The sensible thing would be to cater to the largest part of its your user base, but would that mean that certain parts of ZBrush will not be developed further?

Whatever happens, when Pixologic starts charging for upgrades, they will have to start supporting more than one version, so I wonder if their password/registration system will become redundant.

#13

We’re stuck with the displacemant mapping, are’nt we?! :wink:
But, if my memory serves me right: dm was annouced to be in 1.55. So…!

#14

Leonardo has not displacement mapping :smiley:
Pilou

#15

Ze: yeah, or even 1.51, but that is why we aren’t being charged for the next upgrade - I think - I hope. You know though, I still can’t figure why 1.23 to 1.51 was a free upgrade, but there you have it.

Pilou: yup, but Leonardo couldn’t animate to save his arse :stuck_out_tongue:

#16

Hi Bone
So for move it he has imagined that :stuck_out_tongue:
Pilou
Ps Have you remarked than Leonardo writed in inverse ! (was left handed too)
So a mirror was necessary
:smiley:
Curious guy indeed!