C’est la vie.
Blame Steve Jobs!
After June 11, no serious Mac user is going to waste their time downloading any 3D app that’s not true 64bit and doesn’t support OpenGL 2.1; so what’s the point of Pixologic releasing a Mac version of ZB3 alongside the Win version, only to have it become obsolete a few weeks later.
ZB3 looks to be brilliant, but it is still very much ‘WinXP’ when it should have been built exclusively for ‘Vista’ - DirectX 10 not OpenGL - meaning that ‘Win’ users can’t take advantage of Vista’s ultimately superior graphics system.
I’m very much a Mac user, but I’d rather wait a year and have ZB3 exclusively as a ‘Leopard’ app than be dished up something that has to be compatible with obsolete OS’s like 10.4 and 10.3. And if as widely expected, all Apple apps released on or after June 11 - April 13 for FCS - will be 10.5 only, then Pixologic is doing the right thing in delaying ZB3 until Apple’s plan for the future of OS X is made known.
well, ZB has its own UV mapping : GUV tile and AUV tile which allow you to paint directly on your object.no need to create UV in other apps.
its rather better to import ZB uv in your animation app. for example, this is doable with Zwave, a Lw plug that just imports ZB uvs and place em int your existing Lw objecy(YAY!)and this brings several advantages.
also :a flat UV will be always distorted in some way
and, in zb 3 you will use no project master, for painting so, you’ll work similarly to bodypaint right now. and, there’s also zapplink if you wanna ever use ZB with photoshop.
but, thinking into an antistic way : the best way to paint an object is directly in 3D, and this is particularly valid for organics.
as for inorganic objects and related UVs: the best method IMO would still be to do em in apps like Silo, Modo, Maya, Lw, whatever.
Athough the uvs work fine in Zbrush and other apps they are not usable for painting on in photoshop, as the uv maps zbrush produce are prety visualy messy. Theres the other thing about having the seams in a desired place.
If im using 100% zbrush then its not a problem but if im going to spend days producing a full charcter id rather have a well layed out uv map. Of corse having mesh projection in ZB3 makes the whole process much easyer as you can go back and take your base mesh into another application to uv map and re project the details back on. Im used to using a well layed out map and take it into photoshop to make other maps out from the same map.
The Mac version of ZBrush 2.0 is not at the same level of the PC version. The activation code is much more cumbersome and has never been fixed. Intel macs have been out for quite some time and all major apps have been either upgraded or re-released as Universal binary but ZB had no changes. It’s no mistery that the Mac OS version is a second-class citizen. Creating a multiplatform application is a very challenging task. I’m glad that Pixologic as had the long sightedness to chose OpenGL instead of DirectX, at least that move made it possible to have a Mac version. Of course the Windows market is several times the Mac OS market so their choice is pretty logical and understandable. I don’t like it, as I have to start ZBrush 2 several times, pray that it doesn’t crash, Force Quit it, re-try, pray some more etc. but I understand it. My guess is that Pixologic is small enouhg that testing and certification is taking almost all their development/QA resources and when it comes crunch time for the release of a new version, they simply don’t have the resources to do parallel development.
And no, using Bootcamp or Parallels is not an option. I use a Mac exactly because I don’t want to get iinto the mess that is Windows. Been there, moved away, never looked back. I love ZBrush, but not enough to make me change my whole work environment for it.
On another note, I don’t know if waiting for Leopard is really what is holding it. Even if Leopard comes out, there will be plenty of people still using 10.4 for quite some time. No, I think it’s just a matter of manpower. Hopefully we will get an ETA soon. On the other hand, being this a free upgrade I can’t quite blame Pixologic for anything. I expected to pay for 3.0 and I believe that the new features grant right to ask for new money. If paying for an upgrade, a reasonable price, not what Corel is asking for Painter X upgrade, would make development of the Mac version more expedited, I would gladly do so.
Take care.
I know about the current UV methods in zbrush…
But… what I mean is… since you have all those other cool and usefull features… it would be pretty lame if they haven’t thought about a decent way to layout uv’s for your model.
just wonder if they have something included we don;t know of… I mean… Silo 2 will have LSCM mapping for example… would be nice to have something like that in zbrush to.
Tohether with the ability to retopo your mesh… it will be a killer app for basicly doing almost anything.
Until then… I’ll use some external app to layout uv’s… just love to know what pixelogic’s plan is about this… 
but they are pretty quit lately probably preparing for the release…
Peter
Just like everybody else I have been looking forward to this next update of Zbrush and I thank Pixolator and his team for all their efforts to make sure that it will run as smoothly as possible, the wait will most certainly be worth it. Also I appreciate all the amazing new features to assist those amongst us who are not very technically minded to do our artwork without too much difficulty.
It was ZBrush that first gave me any incentive to carry on with 3D graphics but I did stumble a lot with the perspective aspect, which was probably down to me as others coped with it okay. The new perspective feature and real time shadows will be a great addition.
Over the time I side tracked into other software that I made limited headway with and wish I hadn’t wasted money on it as I eventually always come back to ZBrush and would probably have done better to have worked only with that. I shall definitely endeavour to fulfil Ofer’s wishes that we utilise ZBrush fully and turn out complete works in Z with the new version, as I personally did in my early stages with it. With all the new features I am sure that is not going to be a problem, illustration work is my main interest, Zbrush is really the most versatile program for that aspect.
I still run my old Windows 98 computer for my Internet connection, I use my XP computer purely for graphics with no Internet connection. I have Flash updated to the latest version but find that the ZBrush 3 films on Pixologic’s site load but when I try to play them I get nothing. Has anybody any idea what settings I might have wrong, the help would be appreciated, thanks. I did download the main film and that was great, now I am anxious to watch the other films.
Dave 
i’m sure there will be some uv development, not just beacuse like people said before me, this would be the only part of the work where you would have to leave zbrush. I think the porjection function have very much in common with uvs. in the video they projecting a plane to a head. making uvs is similar to that
I know of a few people that are waiting till after ZB3 release before perchasing it.
There is some un answered questions here. If v3 upgrade is free only to users that have regerstered before V3 comes out, then will V3 have a higher price tag? Second question is, Zbrush v2 was upgraded to the 64bit version recently. Why would pixologic upgrade V2 if V3 was intended to replace it? Maybe and I say, maybe v2 is still going to be avalible from which a upgrade fee is required for thoes who waited untill its release before perchasing.
Can somone please explain this more clearly or give a indication if there will be a notification on new prices/upgrades before reasing V3.
The Mac version of ZB2 actually had some advantages over the WIN version. During the 6 months it took to port the perspective features were improved, I aslo think it managed memory better due to OSX. That said there is still no mac zmapper for ZB2 :(.
Also Zbrush does not use OpenGL or Direct X… thats why it can do what it does at the speed it does… they wrote thier own GL… OpenGL only shows up in zmapper… and limits u to project to under a million poly model for that reason.
I think a lot of mac users would pay a small fee if it meant the OSX version was ready sooner by enabling Pixo to throw more resources at it.
I was certainly dissapointed that the release of ZB3 WIN and OSX were not in sync, i can understand it. Not only is the user base smaller but the OSX landscape has changed a lot over the last couple years, i just dont have to like it :).
We will find out on or around May 15 what the ETA is. I think the fact that lisence transfers are being endorsed is a good indication it is a ways out. I may very well bootcamp it rather than be left behind like when ZB2 came out.
yep, i can understand this. its the traditional way to work with Uvs.
but actually, the ZB UV maps methods give you totally undistorted results, where a traditional, unwrapped UVmap is always distorted. and you have to paint distorted things to meke em look good when applied to the model.
therefore , the best method would be to do it all in ZB and simply forget Ps LOL!! really, ZB makes this process easier.
i just tried to apply textures from ZB to a Lw object through a nifty plug called Zwave, that applies UV information to an existing Lwo. it works great most of times, and you have no seam problems.
with ZB3 it will be even better , given the fact you’ll be able to paint your model directly in the 3d viewport with no real need of PM.
this being said, i’m not against traditional Uv and unwrapping tools. but, i don’t expect this from ZB at all. it would be awesome to have them so that people don’t switch from app to app, but i can live however.
Nemoid your right about the seems, and if zbrush is being used for a project where by your the only one creating everything, then zbrush uvs are fine and do work in every other app iv tryed. Maybe some how iv been lucky but I havent had any seem problems with the traditional uv mapping.
The only time id be using traditional uv mapping is if the model was to be used commercialy. In the case of my future figures I have to use traditional mapping for others who dont use or have zbrush to texture the model. I think the thing here is that we have both options, and as much as it would be great to have a uv editor in ZB3 its not needed. I was a sole zbrush user once and had no other applications at all, I got by.
I now use many applications and dont have a problem with that as long as they are afordable and not a nightmare to use. There are a fair few uv mapping apps out there now and are very well priced. lucky for me I use Hexagon 2 uv mapping tools from which do a fine job for me. I noticed you use Lightwave, Im learning lightwave, as after much research Lightwave boast the most value over all other traditional modling applications that have a exceptional rendering/animation package. Lightwave has hair and cloth which is missing in applications like XSI foundation, Modo and zbrush. Iv seen too many bald characters lol.
I don’t understand why you guys say it’s not needed.
Don’t forget that Zbrush is being used by a lot of game companies for example.
For a game character it’s important to have a good UV map, same for a film quality model the UV’s are important. Now you have to do that in another app if you want more control over your UV layout. (preferable If you need to manage the texture size for lot’s of models in a game)
IT wouls be more than logical if they at least think about some better way to apply/modify UV’s for a model.
I just don’t think we are going to get any response until the release about this.
and then again… They call themselves PixeLOGIC so … I expect a logic change in v3
Peter
well, as far i know, ZB has been integrated into so many pipelines involving several apps, that it would be a no brainer for a texture artist to use it to completely texture a character.i actually think this happens yet with apps like bodypaint and ZB using PM.
as it happens for sculpting and extracting disp maps, the same will happen more and more for characters, exporting all the related maps.
however, since many apps used for animation have UV tools yet, probably Pixologic doesn’t feel the immediate need to code em for ZB as well : XSI found. has good uv tools, and so it is for Modo, Hexagon (which is quite cheap) and more… Lw itself has some good plugins for em.
As I said in my last post I would not personaly use anythink other than the traditional mapping for uvs if it was for comercial usage. I cant see how any commercial company would base all their work totaly from zbrush 3. Most companys have one or more solid high end application like Max, Maya, Lightwave, as well as all the additioinal programs they have been using to do the work before Zbrush 3 has even come, this means zbrush 3 will still be a pipe line implementation and not a one end soloution.
On the other end we have hobbiest where by the need for traditional uv mapping is a personal option, where by they can choose from a few cheap applications. Ultimate Mapper, Mapping magic and Uv mapper pro are 3 that come to mind. If they do add UV mapping editing then great stuff im all for that but if they dont I wont make too much of a fuss being I do have other reasonable options. For me even for a hobiest id choose the traditional mapping as theres no going back once that map has been painted. If its a fun sculpt and I have no reason to ever use a model other than a still any uv cords will do me as long as its clean. Saying all of this im basing it off current limitations that will be lifted when I have ZB3. I can go back and map it any time before painting any maps, mesh projection and extraction and transpose will be key tools for my pipeline.
Long time lurker, first time poster. Please be gentle with me.
I don’t want to sound like spam advertising something with my first post, but there is an open source UV unwrapper being developed called Roadkill. I haven’t used it myself (I don’t have any good models to properly unwrap), but some of the people over on the XSI forums seem to be saying it’s usefull.
http://www.pullin-shapes.co.uk/index.htm
Hope that it might help people, if not, well it’s only a few weeks 'till Z3 and who knows whar goodies we’ll find then.
Simon
As a game artist I wonder how flexible the retopology feature will be.
Can we tranfer high details from a zbrush mesh to a mesh we created and/or UV ed in another app?
example work flow
1 base mesh 1 created in z brush or max or maya
2 detail pass in zbrush
3 create retopology mesh in zbrush (the ingame model)
4 export max or maya etc and UV retopology mesh then export back to zbrush
5 reimport and capture high res detai on UVed mesh
6 Paint and tweek
7 export textures (normal and difuse hight bump occusion etc)
8 export mesh to max or maya to tweek textures and create spec / or gloss maps etc
9 rig and get in game.
10 rinse and repeat
any thoughts
may 15th can’t come soon enough
well after looking at the awesome beta3 images and what they are saying about just poly painting, it would seem that this new version still will not have multiple texture maps, it would be nice to be able to have at least two maps to paint on the same time so you could paint over the seam.
i wonder - if u gurus’ were creating all these amazing models with zbrush2, zbrush3 will rocket your work to space…as for me… i’ll need a pair of glasses…and hours of reading and practicing…zb2 was definetly THE prg…but zb3…looks like something else.
congrats to all of u
if Pixologic was building just another Max or Maya, then I would gawk at the lack of UV tools… but pixologic is doing nothing of the sort… I think their approach can be summed up as “let’s explore every possibility that hasn’t been done yet… if it already exists in another app, it’s optional”
I personally love this approach… if it’s not an innovation, they don’t bother… this is what makes ZBrush such a revolutionary tool and such a necessity to so many artists after they’re exposed to it… because ZBrush makes a point of doing everything that other apps cant
what does this translate to in the UV realm?.. “let’s make a button… when you press this button, it instantly builds perfect UV’s for you… we’ll call it Adaptive UVs”
to my knowledge, no other app has this button… and if you need a specific UV configuration for some purpose such as game textures, then chances are you’re already using a Max, Maya, or equivalent app for animation purposes which is bound to be decked out with extensive UV toolsets as well