Here you go, put some light and shadows on this with Artlantis, or any other
program you think makes geometry look good. I'm not pre-judging anything,
I was just guessing that nothing can beat Showcase. Help me find a rendering
program that can beat Showcase.
All I've seen here from any Autodesk post in response to the creation of this thread is something more agitating than helpful, something like "gee I haven't heard anything."
I'm not sure how long you've been working with Autodesk-products but this answer you'll never get from anu AD-employees before the actual releasedate.....nothing new here I'm afraid.
Just buy the license, start working with Showcase on a legal basis and stop whining about a 2015 or 2016 version....they'll both be exactly the same for sure...
botman-
Autodesk
07-24-2014
"Autodesk will discontinue Inventor Fusion
effective August 23, 2014 due to redundancy
with our Autodesk® Fusion 360™ product."
__________________________
So why do I suspect they will pull this same crap on
Showcase users? But this time without telling anyone?
And like I said, software vendors trying to put their
greasy fingers on our computers, and we don't want it.
botman- probably be best if you stay out of politics and stick with the geometry.
You said you believe Artlantis can render better than Showcase, maybe you
are right, that's why I'm asking you to show us if possible. Thanks.
botman- I'm not looking for any Autodesk employee to tell
ME anything. I'm just looking for Autodesk to do the right thing
on behalf of Showcase users.
I don't know Artlantis at all, i am curious.
But i know Showcase.
10 mins materials/scenes setup
7 mins RT
Simple, effective, smooth results. All i need from this kind of software.
Admaiora
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Thanks for your comments and the images.
"Simple, effective, smooth results."
Showcase is simple to operate, works like Revit, and
all that's a big plus, BUT, it's the "effective" that I've
been looking for.
I want to present the geometry in such a way, (with
good design of course), that the geometry will cause
a person to "yearn" for, or desire to have, those shapes.
Yes MentalRay is very honest and accurate, and good
for construction development, or even an early continuation
of the conceptual design with a head start on the construction
model, but will it close the deal quicker than Showcase, I
tend to doubt it.
I also think Showcase can look "gimmicky" if you are not
careful with it. It has a lot of contrast and blurriness by
default, lots of "eye-candy." I think some Image Control
adjustments are needed to bring the rendered objects
partly into the real world.
The more convinced I become that Showcase is a money
maker, the more concerned I become about Autodesk
taking the program away from me and putting it in the
cloud, where I would not use it, like they did with Fusion.
I HOPE they don't do that.
And I apologize to everyone about my political hawking.
@Anonymous wrote:
And I apologize to everyone about my political hawking.
One person's "political hawking" or concerned plea is another person's indication of passion. I agree entirely that what was/is a great tool that could do with a little love to make it even better is being overlooked. And, if the lack of development/changes to Showcase over the last couple years are anything to go by, is it going to be scrapped long-term.
I've said it before, it's almost as if the bean-counters (who never use any of the software themselves) just go through marketing bullet-points and see things like "rendering" ticked by Inventor, Revit, VRED, 3d Studio, Showcase, etc. and thus feel it's justified to cut out the smallest fish if "rendering" is covered by so many other products - with little awareness what Showcase actually brings to the party above any beyond any of the other integrated rendering packages (especially when "feature-sets" are compared with something like 3D Studio or VRED - which, on paper are all "just" 3d rendering packages...).
(note - As VRED is a relative newcomer to AD, I've not used it, so I have no idea where it sits on the see-saw - if it's closer to 3D Studio and massively complicated or Showcase and straightforward)
Sam M.
Inventor and Showcase monkey
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Yes, I don't know anything about VRED myself, but somehow its
description doesn't seem to rhyme with architecture.
"VRED™ 3D visualization software helps automotive designers and engineers create product presentations, design reviews, and virtual prototypes with realistic materials, physical camera settings, engineering tools, and even surface analysis modes."
Showcase is not only ideal for architecture, but it works like
Revit and communicates well with Revit. Without any other
good alternative to the old MentalRay for Revit users, I can't help
thinking the "bean-counters" want to use that Showcase rendering
engine to hold Revit users hostage in the cloud. And they know
how the Revit community would react if they were told that's
what Autodesk plans to do. It's been quite a challenge for me
lately trying to keep Autodesk out of my computer and out of
my life. I'm happy to comply with any license agreement and
submit to any inspections, but I want to operating the program
on MY COMPUTER the way I want to operate it.
Having said that, I want it to be known that I still have
great respect for Autodesk and all it has done for me.
SHOCKING NEWS!
Not news to everyone maybe. But when the question came up
about Showcase for 2016, and its suspicious development, I
said I bet Autodesk will no-longer let us buy and own Showcase,
that they will only let us USE it under their control. (Something
that is repulsive to me).
I was right, but it's not only going to be Showcase, it's going to
be ALL Autodesk programs. And that will happen on February 1,
2016. Until that point, you will still be able to buy Showcase 2016
and all other Autodesk programs as stand-alone programs and
use them YOUR WAY forever.
This is just so shocking to me as a Revit user since version 8. And
what it means for me is that Revit 2016, (and Showcase 2016),
will be the LAST Autodesk programs I ever use or buy. Wow.
Showcase is not a problem to use for the next 10 years or more,
it does the job just fine as is.
As a small firm Revit user, fortunately Revit is about as fully
developed as it will ever get. And in ten or fifteen years, Autodesk
will probably be out of business anyway. Because after this current
administration, Americans will be fed up with the idea of central
control, especially from a company that thinks it's big enough to
behave like a central government.
Enjoy the cloud propaganda.
Maybe you can run for president yourself and make this a better world and take control of things?
For as far as I can "read" your posts you're being very political engaged I would say....
And Revit being fully developed? Meh...don't think so...
(being a Revit user since V4 when not controlled by AD)
Maybe it's better to find other software instead of stating the same point over and over again on this forum?
Autodesk does a lot of things I don't agree with but I'm being realistic and know this firm for 25+ years.
The engineers are most definitely willing and actually trying to make things better (and really listening to users like us) but the marketing suits are only interested in money and they decide.
Willing to change this? Fat chance!
If your company is 100% depending on Revit and Showcase it's time to take a look at alternatives which are plenty available when you're seriously interested.
"what do you mean under their control?"
At the beginning of next year, you will not be able
to buy any Autodesk software program, you will
only be able to RENT it.
Ask yourself, what is the difference between a car
you own and a car you rent?
Autodesk is hoping as many people as possible
don't understand that difference before it happens.
So if you want to own an Autodesk program, and
use it the way you want to use it, then you need
to buy it before February 1, 2016.
I can't imagine anything hard to understand about
that.
"take a look at alternatives"
Yes we looked at the alternative and it is viable.
For a small arch firm like ours, buy and own Revit
2016 and be free to use it anyway we choose until
a new BIM program is introduced by another vendor.
You say you have used Revit for a long time like
I have, then you know Revit is quite mature, and
version 2016 will do the job very well for many
years to come.
I suppose AD is hoping most don't have the time
to get educated, but I encourage everyone to do
just that. Learn what it means to become a MEMBER
of an organization you'd rather not. Learn what it's
like to use a software program over the Internet
that is on someone else's computer. Learn what it
means when someone you don't know is looking at
what you create. Learn about the trouble you run into
trying to customize the way a program works when
it's on someone else's computer. Learn how the government
just took control of the Internet and its service providers.
Autodesk is hoping we all don't learn anything.
And now with less than a month to go, we can't even
find out if there will be a Showcase 2016. Because AD
doesn't think WE need to plan anything for ourselves,
they can do all our planning for us.
Autodesk was constantly at war with the AutoCad users
in the past, and I was hoping it would get better for the
new generation of Revit users, but it is getting much
worse than that.
Autodesk LOVES war with it's customers, always has.
Remember Microsoft at war with the whole world at
one point? They pulled themselves out of it fortunately,
but Autodesk is still gloating over themselves and
loving the war.
@Anonymous wrote:
At the beginning of next year, you will not be able
to buy any Autodesk software program, you will
only be able to RENT it.
But, hasn't it been effectively that for years now anyway? Long gone are the days of buying and owning software as if it was a physical medium. I might be wrong, but I thought all we have been "buying" for the last few years have been licences to use software - which is why there are limititation on reselling and why some older software can no longer be activated (i think). I think it's all in the EULA that we all agree to when installing the software.
If you go digging, there was the Vernor v. Autodesk case which argued that software is the equivalent to a physical object like a CD and should be treated as such (and thus be allowed to be resold). But, now we've all been paying into AD's subscription model for years, some of the arguements used in that case (that software is a 1 time up-front purchase) are possibly lost. It all gets a little murky with global laws as that was in the US and I think over here in UK it's always been licence purchases.
Sam M.
Inventor and Showcase monkey
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Learn this, learn that?
Who do you think you're talking to? Some noob, or what?
Look: In all your posts you keep on repeating the same over and over, desperately trying to get an answer which you know very well you will not get from Autodesk.
If you think you can buy a license Revit 2016 and use it for years to come you'll truly got something coming to you (and your firm) for Revit is not as mature as you think, maybe it's in adolescent state at best...
And how about working with files in 2017 format with your "owned" software?
Subscription or rent software is the best way to use to be prepared for the future, maybe it's time to change your mind a bit....
I sure hope you don't buy Microsoft Office for instance for it's the same principle: You buy a box which you "own" with software which becomes out of the from the day you start using it. This is a workflow from the 90's.
Just use the software which is available and you want to use the way you want to use it.
You're not able to influence the companies, even if they make you feel that way like Autodesk does. We all know better, things are the way they are and that's basically it.
On the other hand: You can start a software company yourself and make your own software.
"hasn't it been effectively that for years now anyway?"
When was the last time you operated a computer program
remotely over the Internet where that program was installed
on someone else's computer and not on the computer you
were using?
I think this is what Autodesk is hoping for, they are hoping
people will think cloud-based computing is just something
we've all been doing all-along. lol
That's what I mean about Autodesk helping people become
uneducated.
Got anymore comments about driving someone else's car
vs. driving your own? Or do you think we have all been
driving someone else's car all-along?
Not only uneducated does AD want their customers to be,
but delusional as well. They can get more money and more
control of people that way.
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