You can release plugin’s in an incremental way. But not a new architecture…
It seems to me that a lot of people are not able to accomplish anything with the current version according to their own words. It will be interesting to see the ground breaking results of the artists who demand V2.5 the most right now once it is out. Let’s see how the main forum lights up with new masterworks in the near future… or not 
Cheers
Lemo
Now you know as well as I lemonnado that it is the “tool”, not the artist behind it.
Why I can’t even loosen a nut without my multi-purpose, gold plated, rubber gripped craftsman wrench.
I can’t even loosen a nut without my multi-purpose, gold plated, rubber gripped craftsman wrench.
Wrong! 
I think it’s more analogous to a swiss knife that can do almost everything, but some things aren’t there forcing you to juggle between tools. While there is nothing wrong with this, it would be much cooler if you didn’t have to =)
Maybe they’re busy switching to a Voxel engine, like Claytools. Then you can drill holes in your ‘clay’ models, and really mess with them, w/o worrying about mesh distortion…
Then when done, you’d use 2.5’s remeshing and projection tools to export a detailed obj…
I can dream, can’t I? <:)
NOTE: This is also rampant speculation and humor. Do not take it seriously. 
Juggling swiss army knifes… That’s a thought…
Whittling super scupeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyouchhhhhhhhhh
Lemo
Let’s remember if you bought the original Zbrush back in the day your still on the free ride, thats the best kind of customer care you could hope for. I forget how much it cost like $149 or $249 something negligable like that.
Have something to add that has bothered me for sometime.
My perspective is fanboy, hobbyist, etc. I don’t do this for a living.
Have stated many times my immense satisfaction with the program.
Good investment, like the updates etc. Am really not eager for the
2.5 update.
Still have a lot of things to learn in this version.
I am a fan of zbrush, the forum and the people who run it.
Having said all the political and heartfelt things, let me mention that which troubles me.
I was at Siggraph this year, great trip, great presentation by Zbrush crew.
Went back several times, saw it from beginning to end about 4 times.
Liked the demonstration a lot.
They were basically demonstrating all of 2.5. Not 2. From what I have seen
this has been the way it has been done for awhile now at various presentations
Now, the features interested me, I took notes to explain to people.
But it was a demonstration of 2.5 with a casual mention of free upgrade when
available. If they had stressed 2.0 and casually mentioned 2.5’s features I would have understood it.
So, there were a lot of people there who purchased a program with features
that did not exist.
Suppose you are someone with buying influence, either directly or indirectly.
You buy the program or cause to have the program bought because of features that are not available.
And then you wait. After awhile you get impatient. After a longer period you
get more than impatient. Then there is a video out of someone using the features you bought the program for. But you don’t have it.
My criticism amounts to the fact that for a long time zbrush has been, in effect, selling something that doesn’t really exist.
To keep showing movies and demonstrations of something not there is essentially not fair.
My suggestion for future versions is to basically keep the promotions to a minimum until it is a least partially ready to be sold. Hype for potential sales is common. But as witnessed here, if carried to extreme, is discouraging to customers.
One of the reasons I mention this is that I convinced a few people to buy
this program based, in part, on what was promised. I say in part because I
stressed what could be done now.
They are nice enough to joke about it.
Until they see the videos.
Or read the advertisements.
We, the owners and fans of 2, know what we have. We know what to expect.
We know that the new version will be great.
But there are others to whom this period will leave a bad taste.
This is basically a flaw in a program and organization that has come a long
way with a great program in a relatively short space of time.
Correct:
“But there are others to whom this period will leave a bad taste.”
I also bought it (probably 40% of the reason) because of the riging which comes out soon… (more than 1 year has passed…).
After it did not come out I invested into another product to do the task (XSI). I am sure that there is not a single user who does not feel like that.
But, it does not help. There was no date given and till it’s out it’s like that sign in the one mexican bodega: ‘Free Beer Manana!’. Next day you come by again… and there is that sign again… so you drop by the next day…
Hope that free keg is out there soon with the Pixologic crew serving us a cold one!
Lemo
Next day you come by again… and there is that sign again… so you drop by the next day.
Agree totally, we share the same perspective.
But think of the shows that are being shown now and have been out
there for some time. Think of the website with all the promised goodies.
Associate saw the rigging feature and went gaga, 1 year ago.
I know the Pixologic logic ( like that ?) by now.
If you comment ,you only open up the floor to more needless debate and
speculation.
If you are silent you are still accused of indifference
It will be ready when it is ready.
I personally accept that and the ensuing delay.
But I wasn’t the one that talked my boss into purchasing it.
I am not the one with the plans to put it straight into the pipeline.
I am not the one in California who wants to attend or send someone
to send the school on Zbrush for a version that my be updated.
I am also not Auricks publisher who wants the book.
I am just a simple unassuming folk, content with his lot.
( is it here yet?)
Lemonade and Bicc39,
Your last couple of posts on the wait for 2.5 sums it all up! What more could be said, that would express the users, the fans and the future buyers feelings on the wait. Your words will be here for all to read and more then likely also the silence until the day of release.
Your words will be here for all to read
Oh My God!!!, i hope not:D
thank you
I can live those minds in a heartbeat.
I can imagine being the one that talked my boss into purchasing ZBrush.
I can believe It was I that had ‘plans’ to put it straight into the pipeline.
I can dream I was the one that planned to attend or send someone
to school on Zbrush.
I can put myself in the mind of auricks publisher who wants the book.
I can pretend these mild embarrassments are mine, those missed profits are mine, the knowledge that something has been due and is ‘late’ and I’m not to blame is mine.
I can literally spend entire moments drunk in the stench of my own discontent.
But in the context of Pixologic and their ocean drinking achievements. Why would anyone honor the wealth of the discontents dry-mouthed delusions.
You are most generous I think.
And… looking at it… It is really the corner stone of pretty much everything I do.
If I have to check out a .OBJ then I do that in ZBrush as the .OBJ importer is the single best importer of all other apps I have. If there is something wrong, Zbrush will tell.
I would like to take a look at UV’s as well. UV-Txt and I’m all set. I wish to slap a texture on it without render tree and what not, Zbrush does it with the click of a button.
I need to create a height map for a weird landscape -> Zbrush.
Deformation of procedural geometry with and without masking in the blink of an eye… -> Zbrush…
And the best friends… the very best is that this tool is at the lower price range of all the other tools hich I do NOT use because ZBrush is doing a better job (once you bend your mind to understand the core…).
I’m not (to much) a fan boy. But I won’t write something like this for another app. Maybe XSI… but that’s it then. XSI is a monster… ZBrush is the ultimate swiss army knife for the creative soul.
Cheers
Lemo
Yeah. Me too. It’s been nearly two years though. (11-27-04)
But in the context of Pixologic and their ocean drinking achievements. Why would anyone honor the wealth of the discontents dry-mouthed delusions.
( Antimorph 11/07).
As is the usual case, you cast pearls among swine.
I write swill.
Pleasure to see you read something I posted.
Can you elaborate on this? I’ve heard great things about XSI and have now started to learn it, but I don’t really see it to be that great compared to the other ‘complete’ applications… What’s so monstrous about XSI? I’m getting used to it and the selection tools is great, but all the modifiers seem to add a little too much required thinking =P. I’m still sticking with modo for modeling. Not to mention that Softimage is advertising it as a character creation tool rather than a all purpose 3d app.
I’m a 3D newb. I’ve tried blender, use Silo, and tried demos of C4D, modo, XSI, maya and a few others.
Ease of use wise, I find this to be true:
Silo>C4D>Modo>Maya>Blender>XSI.
XSI seemed to require a LOT of mouse jockeying to do even simple things. Silo and C4D, I was able to figure out by just playing around with the interface. Since 3D models require a lot of polygon pushing, it should be dead simple to do that. XSI was about as fun to use as blender for me.
Monstrous functionality. Not my tool of the choice for doodeling. And imho it IS a multi purpose app. Just extra dandy for animation. I meant Menster in a good way.
Lemo
After having used quite a few different programs XSI has become my main 3d weapon of choice. It is “complete” and can handle enormous polycounts extrememly well. It’s a full blown animation package for 500 bucks…that’s monstrous in and of itself. Ive used Modo a bit and apart from a few gee whiz features I don’t really see much difference between it and XSI. They are both next gen apps, but Softimage is complete…whereas modo is not. The initial learning curve for any app is going to be hard, speaking from experience. I found Maya to be extremely cumbersome, as well as max. Modo was a bit more streamlined and Ive not touched C4D yet. As for XSI being a character animation package only, Luc Eric from Softimage commented on that not being the case but that they are focusing their energies moreso in that realm than others but that isnt their ONLY area of development. You can read his full reply at www.xsibase.com as my quoting isnt precise, just an overall gist of things. I believe we are right on the brink of the next version of XSI and with Leonard Teo, the man that brought you CGSociety.org, CGTalk, Ballistic Publishing, as well as Philip R. Taylor, CAT product designer joining the Softimage team recently I think the future is even brighter for XSI. There IS a reason Valve switched their pipeline to XSI during mid-production of HL2 and it wasn’t because XSI was too hard to learn ZB2.5, XSI v.5.5/6 coming out soon…I think we are in store for a VERY merry Christmas indeed! If not Christmas, than a very happy new year!