I work on Zbrush for anywhere between 40 to 70 hour weeks, and usually this is is with a large number of subtools applied to each model, but not always. The models are usually 50k polys each average and are not really straining Zbrush in respect that it is running at a good speed. The problem is that on the Mac Zbrush crashes on me around every 10-15 mins at least and with the same task on the windows version there is no problem what so ever and it runs so smooth. Both versions of Zbrush are run on the same Mac machine which has dualboot. I am running a dual quad core with 10gb ram so plenty for Zbrush and other apps. Every step of the way whilst the versions have progressed I have found that the PC versions are far more stable, and as you know always one or more steps ahead in development.
I can’t load texture maps to multiple subtools in the Mac version without it crashing, I have to keep checking when I add/clone my obj files to Zbrush as they loose their parameters (shown in the export pallet) and everything shows as NAN, and so I have too keep snap shots of settings and often retype them in, scale/x/y/z etc. When I fill the background with a texture so that I can transfer the details to my model via polypaint it crashes so very often when the texture is over 3k x 3k. Generally the more complex the work the more stressful it is to work with Mac Zbrush as it adds the extra complication of quitting often.
On the windows version I load up my model with all the subtools, drop in place every texture map (by the way the texture maps are 1028 x 1028 jpg, so lightweight), and basically anything I do it seems to cope with.
So my question is that in the light of the progress differences between the Mac version and the Win version is there much light at the end of the tunnel for Mac users. Should we move platform?
which is not straight forward as 3.2 mac doesn’t always seem to open in Win 3.5, and so I have had to obj everything to work with one of my more complex models sets. I even have a load of older models on mys system that I produced on the mac that neither the mac nor win versions can open so I wished I has saved them out as obj’s for safe keeping.
I visit the forum and often hope to read something that offers a resolve, and the thought of Windows and Mac releases occurring at the same time sounds like a good thing but is this ever going to happen? I want to be focusing on my work and jumping back and forth from win to mac to use vy various softwares and Zbrush is my main work horse software. Has anyone else found from working in both versions that the Windows version is smoother, un-crashing and works properly? and Pixologic, what’s happening in the world of Zbrush for Mac?
sigh…