Lupus: How long did you have to wait for your registration to go through? I can no longer access the mail I bought it with so I can only hope that they send out a link to the alternative mail...
I preregistered several days ago, when I filled out the form and submitted it took me to a page saying congrats blah blah, and I got an email straight after confirming my registration. But the email with the download link was actually sent to a different email address (I think it was the one I initially registered zbrush 2 with), even though the pre-registration I just did had the confirmation sent to a new address.
I actually bought ZB2 on Monday to get the free upgrade, etc.
I tried to pre-register but was told by support that my purchase was too recent to be in the database, but that they had input me manually into the list of upgrade recipients....
with the realtime shadows, it really makes a difference in terms of the visual feedback you get while sculpting, some really nice new materials as well.
the turntable feature is great too, you don't have to worry about exporting maps and rendering turntables in maya/max, just do it all in zb
The free upgrade was announced well before people even knew mudbox existed. It just took that long to release it. Pixologic has always been generous with their updates partly because they occur so infrequently. I actually haven't paid for an upgrade since I bought it at version 1.55b.
Aye, initially it was zbrush 2.5, free upgrade due about 2 yeras ago (or more). Then they changed it to zbrush 3. It would have got them a lot of flak if they charged for the upgrade, after having promised a free upgrade and not delivering it within a couple of years of it's due date.
Just played a bit with the turntable, very handy. There are a few bugs with the programs, hopefully there will be a patch to fix some issues.
For example, if you are retopologising a mesh, and save, whe n you load it looks fine. You can see the wireframe of the geometry you've built, but when you edit is as you did when building the new geometry, there appears to be nothing going on. Points don't connect, they don't move etc. but if you jump into adaptive skin preview, you can see that things ARE happening. So it's like working on an invisible mesh as you can't see what you are doing for the most part.
Loading Zbrush feels like loading a game o_O; Interface feels cleaner and tighter... they actually put tools panel on the right side for you to begine with.
Trying out the matcap... very interesting idea.
Love the real time materials and shadows
Weird, been a user since 1.55, filled out the registration page for my upgrade 3 days ago, and still no confirmation mail. Oh well, I guess I'll shoot 'em a mail.
The new tools and shaders are very cool, though it's still one of the worst 3D environments ever. The navigation is utterly poor still and they simply won't concede that there are other, more traditional (for many, better) ways people want their navigation to work. Still doesn't seem like you can mouse focus. If they addressed the bloody things half of the 3D community moan about they might find themselves selling more, these things are hardly expensive requests either. Instead they seem happy to alienate allot of people by not offering customisation. Well done. I commend them for the innovative tools (transpose is incredible), but Christ does it still make me angry.
can anyone confirm that is is possible to work realtime on a model with like 20 million polys or more? or is it like mudbox and requires loads of ram and cpu power and most people end up dividing the mesh into parts to get all the details in?
I just sculpted realtime on a 7 mil poly mesh..navigation was smooth with only the occasional memory compacting. Mind you i'm working on a really old laptop, pre ht and dual core with only 1gb of ram.
I haven't gone too far with hd polygons, but 100 mil poly's usually works ok for me
EDIT: I could probably push the normal subdivisions a bit further, i'll have to try it later
ehm, if you like your undos, your partial hides and whatever taking endlessly and you don't mind being interrupted every now and then by a "compacting-mem" break, then yes, you should be able to. scuplpting itself works very well even beyond the 10 million mark (nothing hidden) here. no dotted strokes and a very nice, clay-esque feel to it.
without zmapper, zapplink and considering it's not so few crashes, this puppy is nice to have but cannot replace Z2 in production right now imo.
I really enjoy this upgrade, and to me this is an upgrade. Unlike autodesk's software upgrades.The program seems smoother now, better refined, and I like some of the new shaders, makes me feel like I'm sculpting in Plasticine or Super sculpey, haha.
The only problem I came across was importing into max...I just don't think it's going to happen, haha, my computer isn't powerful enough to have such a dense mesh in max.
Zapplink 3, Zmapper 3, updated displacement exporer and some other stuff are due in the not too distant future (taken from the forum). Zmapper and the displacement exporter are supposed to be able to extract HD details.
Z3 easily replaces Z2 for me - but I wasn't using Zmapper all that much either. The fact that it actually handles higher rez meshes much more easily, including import and export makes it that much easier to bake all my maps elsewhere. I prefer the extra control I have of being able to group and bake my high rez meshes however I want in XSI. Hopefully Zmapper will do more than just normal baking and provide a solution for multiple subtools etc. Otherwise I won't have much use for it. Looking forward to any and all updates, but right now I've got a decent system worked out between Z3 and XSI.
I didn't really think it was worth starting a thread in the 2d/3d forum over, but does anyone know anywhere with tutorials or advice on good sculpting? With my initial attempts, in both silo and zb3, I'm having a little trouble figuring out how artists are getting such consistent and clean surfaces -- dunno if I'm misusing some tools, not spending enough time per subd level, or doing something else wrong with my workflow. I can figure it out on my own, eventually, but if anyone does have a good link I'd appreciate it.
I should've read this thread before diving head first into ZB3 at work. Zmapper and ZApplink are a necessity and I'll be stickin with Z2 until this is remedied.
Daz: did you try checking the email address that you originally registered/purchased z2 or z1.5 in? I heard a lot of people had the info sent to old email addresses, and not the one that you registered for your z3 upgrade with. You've probably already tried, but figured I'd say something. Good luck!
I think It's too bad that the program still uses backwards terminology and 'make one mistake and everything breaks' workflows. I guess I was expecting this rewrite to take the app in a more standard direction but it's unfortunately not the case.
The power of the sculpt tools is really impressive still, it seems like I can subdivide forever! Rotating the models is still clunky in a large 'document' tho. I remember there were ways to speed up response time in Z2, like displaying a lower res mesh when rotating the asset but I can't find it anymore...
I reall ywish they'd release a Zbrush3Light focused on sculpting only, with a dedicated engine and such. The rapidUI button is getting close to it but switching from rapid to classic is VERY crashy.
Also is there some documentation about the brush sliders handling? I don't think I understand their purpose, thought it was more simpler before but I think I am missing something obvious. Seems like you can mix behaviors but I don't get how to restore them to default.
As much as i'm loving the speed and looks, i can't stand the rotating. When you're zoomed in on your model (Which is also awkward), you need to zoom out to be able to click outside the model?
Also, the whole 'tool'-idea seems strange to me. I get that it's still 2.5d at heart, but can you actually save a tool with ctrl-s? for me it tries to save the document, which --this i learned the hard way-- doesn't save the tool. The tool being the model. Which makes absolutely and total sense.
In the end it's almost all about terminology though, which is hardly a problem, but i --like pior-- would've liked to have seen more focus on the sculpting.
also, i had noticed that changing light color/intensity/place do not making just any effect to materials, i don't know how to explain, but try to change it, you'll see.
when you going to pm details, do not use perspective(P)
it will make some really scary things, and crash.
You won't really see an effect when using MatCap materials, as colour is based on the direction of the normals. When you render though the material tends to get washed out.
Replies
I need this app!
I tried to pre-register but was told by support that my purchase was too recent to be in the database, but that they had input me manually into the list of upgrade recipients....
However, its now Friday and no e-mail. wtf!?
with the realtime shadows, it really makes a difference in terms of the visual feedback you get while sculpting, some really nice new materials as well.
the turntable feature is great too, you don't have to worry about exporting maps and rendering turntables in maya/max, just do it all in zb
Anybody know why the upgrade is free? I'm figuring it's a strategy for not losing clients to mudbox, because the upgrade seems major you know.
Just played a bit with the turntable, very handy. There are a few bugs with the programs, hopefully there will be a patch to fix some issues.
For example, if you are retopologising a mesh, and save, whe n you load it looks fine. You can see the wireframe of the geometry you've built, but when you edit is as you did when building the new geometry, there appears to be nothing going on. Points don't connect, they don't move etc. but if you jump into adaptive skin preview, you can see that things ARE happening. So it's like working on an invisible mesh as you can't see what you are doing for the most part.
that should give you a nice boost
Trying out the matcap... very interesting idea.
Love the real time materials and shadows
yep, alt and clicking/dragging for everything is really awesome..and easier on the fingers too (compared to the maya style navigation)
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Agreed. And I've been using 'traditional' 3d apps for the last 15 years. Love it just the way it is.
I've managed to crash the program quite a few times today when blurring a mask
Introduction to ZBrush 3
Tools and Workflow with Meats Meier
I haven't gone too far with hd polygons, but 100 mil poly's usually works ok for me
EDIT: I could probably push the normal subdivisions a bit further, i'll have to try it later
without zmapper, zapplink and considering it's not so few crashes, this puppy is nice to have but cannot replace Z2 in production right now imo.
The only problem I came across was importing into max...I just don't think it's going to happen, haha, my computer isn't powerful enough to have such a dense mesh in max.
do anyone have same problems?
i just got 3 yesterday so i'll be playing with it all night tonight.
....
without zmapper, zapplink and considering it's not so few crashes, this puppy is nice to have but cannot replace Z2 in production right now imo.
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Thats interesting & disappointing, Z3 has not any tool for normal map ?
Strange , is n'it ?
http://zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=44876
Anyway, Im pissed, 5 days and 2 e-mails later and still absolutely no reply of any kind let alone an upgrade link. I guess I'll have to call them.
Pretty responsive now though.
And I think this is how you change what it starts up as.
http://www.subdivisionmodeling.com/forums/showthread.php?p=27804#post27804
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/elitemodel3/retopo_result.jpg
But I'm sure it will be ironed out soon.
I think It's too bad that the program still uses backwards terminology and 'make one mistake and everything breaks' workflows. I guess I was expecting this rewrite to take the app in a more standard direction but it's unfortunately not the case.
The power of the sculpt tools is really impressive still, it seems like I can subdivide forever! Rotating the models is still clunky in a large 'document' tho. I remember there were ways to speed up response time in Z2, like displaying a lower res mesh when rotating the asset but I can't find it anymore...
I reall ywish they'd release a Zbrush3Light focused on sculpting only, with a dedicated engine and such. The rapidUI button is getting close to it but switching from rapid to classic is VERY crashy.
Also is there some documentation about the brush sliders handling? I don't think I understand their purpose, thought it was more simpler before but I think I am missing something obvious. Seems like you can mix behaviors but I don't get how to restore them to default.
Matcap rules. But has no undo...
Also, the whole 'tool'-idea seems strange to me. I get that it's still 2.5d at heart, but can you actually save a tool with ctrl-s? for me it tries to save the document, which --this i learned the hard way-- doesn't save the tool. The tool being the model. Which makes absolutely and total sense.
In the end it's almost all about terminology though, which is hardly a problem, but i --like pior-- would've liked to have seen more focus on the sculpting.
Anyway, Im pissed, 5 days and 2 e-mails later and still absolutely no reply of any kind let alone an upgrade link. I guess I'll have to call them.
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Me too
I want to plaaaayyy.
when you going to pm details, do not use perspective(P)
it will make some really scary things, and crash.