I'm confused! (Anime studio 6)
Moderators: Víctor Paredes, Belgarath, slowtiger
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Agent_Smith
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2008 11:39 pm
- Location: Santa Cruz, Ca
How to Do A Software Reveal
If you want to see a prime example of a software reveal that got everybody exited and talking, have a look at these guys: Luxology, makers of Modo, a relatively new 3D application.
This is how they announced the new features for their upcoming version 4 (or 401, as they choose to call it). Just click on the little button that says "More" to see all the pages or use the arrow at the bottom of the page.
One of those pages was revealed per week. So every week a new feature or set of features was revealed.
The result was that:
- It really got the whole community buzzing for weeks.
- Everybody in the community already knows what all the new features are by the time the software gets released. Because you would only be fed one feature a week, you had plenty of time to fully appreciate it and talk about it for a week on the forums. So when the first reveal showed "fur", there were several threads about fur rendering. The beta testers and programmers would chime in and answer questions. By the end of that week you knew most things you wanted to know about fur rendering.
- At the last reveal, they showed off some of the cool stuff beta testers had come up with. The next day they announced pre-ordering. Needless to say at that point countless people jumped on it.
EDIT: Oh, and it's very much the done thing to offer the upgrade/full license at a reduced price the first month or two.
This is how they announced the new features for their upcoming version 4 (or 401, as they choose to call it). Just click on the little button that says "More" to see all the pages or use the arrow at the bottom of the page.
One of those pages was revealed per week. So every week a new feature or set of features was revealed.
The result was that:
- It really got the whole community buzzing for weeks.
- Everybody in the community already knows what all the new features are by the time the software gets released. Because you would only be fed one feature a week, you had plenty of time to fully appreciate it and talk about it for a week on the forums. So when the first reveal showed "fur", there were several threads about fur rendering. The beta testers and programmers would chime in and answer questions. By the end of that week you knew most things you wanted to know about fur rendering.
- At the last reveal, they showed off some of the cool stuff beta testers had come up with. The next day they announced pre-ordering. Needless to say at that point countless people jumped on it.
EDIT: Oh, and it's very much the done thing to offer the upgrade/full license at a reduced price the first month or two.
Last edited by Manu on Wed May 27, 2009 11:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Agent_Smith
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2008 11:39 pm
- Location: Santa Cruz, Ca
Whenever ASP 6 PRO comes out I will make sure to buy it. Yes this is perfect I have been saving up for something but did not know what... lets hope it is not too pricey.
Also I think not telling anyone about this or any features of ASP 6 was in retrospect an ingenious idea. Think of how many people will be posting ( like us ) wanting to know when it comes out and where can we buy it. Having this news all spur of the moment was something I don't think anyone of us were expecting.
Also I think not telling anyone about this or any features of ASP 6 was in retrospect an ingenious idea. Think of how many people will be posting ( like us ) wanting to know when it comes out and where can we buy it. Having this news all spur of the moment was something I don't think anyone of us were expecting.
Last edited by aleXean on Wed May 27, 2009 11:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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synthsin75
- Posts: 10051
- Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:20 pm
- Location: Oklahoma
- Contact:
From purchasing ASD6 retail, I inquired about the Pro upgrade. This is the message I got back:
This is just totally uncalled for to breed this much animosity in their loyal customer base. I mean, Wal-mart got the damn scoop!
Also, it would have been nice to know that beta testing had begun. Many may have been hoping to be included, and it would have been nice to know before now.
Does SM give a shit? It really doesn't look like it. For Mike and Steve, I really hope they treat their employees better than their customers.
That said, I'm loving what little I can play with of ASD6. From Vern's post, I'm sure I'm missing out royally. I was thinking of trying to help get people up to speed on some of these features, so they'd be familiar with them when it's released, but I've just read about tutorials forthcoming.
I'm sure I couldn't do it justice. Beta testers?
Smith Micro fouled up the 5.6 release and has now proven their ineptitude once again. I have no doubt that Mike and Steve are doing a great job. It's just awful that their hard work has to be dragged through the mud because SM can't realize the value of this forum.Thank you for your interest. Smith Micro Software is currently not directly selling Anime Studio 6 or offering any upgrades to it at this point in time.
This is just totally uncalled for to breed this much animosity in their loyal customer base. I mean, Wal-mart got the damn scoop!
Also, it would have been nice to know that beta testing had begun. Many may have been hoping to be included, and it would have been nice to know before now.
Does SM give a shit? It really doesn't look like it. For Mike and Steve, I really hope they treat their employees better than their customers.
That said, I'm loving what little I can play with of ASD6. From Vern's post, I'm sure I'm missing out royally. I was thinking of trying to help get people up to speed on some of these features, so they'd be familiar with them when it's released, but I've just read about tutorials forthcoming.
I'm sure I couldn't do it justice. Beta testers?
Drawing and Selection point tools
Hmm drawing tools are new. They are improved. The killer new feature with the tools are the little blinky highlighting of the cursor on the screen, like adding points, and connecting points etc. It is much easier now to see what you are doing.
The new translate point tool can deselect and select point/s. That is a HUGE improvement over the previous versions tools. You can click on a single vector to select all the points. You can even "Shape select" which is a great new option for the translate point tool. However to select multiple points by dragging or lasso you would still use the Select points tool (G).
The new tools are not "exactly" like Fazek's tools but are improved. I've been using them and although it was different at first from what I was use to I did get use to them. I think new users won't have anything to complain about. Many of you may still want those Fazek tools and there's no reason we can't keep using them.
Shape Creation
I never had a problem with the shape creation tool or process. I don't know how much easier it can be made. The Fazek replacement tools will always be around so you can use those.
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I have always felt that the script feature was one of the most important features. I have to say I was never concerned about specific tool behaviors. Mike can't possibly make everyone happy with how the tools behave and I knew there would always be alternatives. I think the new tools are good right out of the box. If old users or new users want something else those tools will be available. That is exactly WHY the script modifications are such a fantastic undervalued feature. We DO have the option of using Fazek's tools... uh... as soon as they are fixed up... I should get started fixing up Fazek's tools so they can be ready asap.
As for new feature tutorials... yikes! I barely have scratched the surface of those myself. I'm slapping together my new web site as fast as I can. It will probably be a "work in progress" as far as tutorials. Those things take time to do. I haven't focused on the new features as much as doing some tutorials for other old stand by techniques. Remember I had not done tutorials extensively before. I want to get some good video and do a video tracking tutorial although Mike did one that is pretty fantastic. It's a simple process really.
As for other new features... they are pretty... simple and self explanatory at least from my point of view. As Mike has indicated he has some cool tricks up his sleeve (like putting an audio layer in a translated bone layer to track a character walking and talking... sheesh... never occurred to me.)
No update is going to make every single person happy. And for Anime Studio this is doubly so from all of these posts and the fact we have waited so long. I would suggest those really "angry" at SM or Mike for what happened wait a bit before settling on a specific emotion. You don't want to cut off your nose to spite your face. AS 6 is going to be the same thing regardless of how or when it was released.
Just take a chill pill... sit back... and think how much you enjoyed using AS all this time with the old version. Now there is a new version and it is good... it's great. It's more than I expected to be honest.
-vern
Hmm drawing tools are new. They are improved. The killer new feature with the tools are the little blinky highlighting of the cursor on the screen, like adding points, and connecting points etc. It is much easier now to see what you are doing.
The new translate point tool can deselect and select point/s. That is a HUGE improvement over the previous versions tools. You can click on a single vector to select all the points. You can even "Shape select" which is a great new option for the translate point tool. However to select multiple points by dragging or lasso you would still use the Select points tool (G).
The new tools are not "exactly" like Fazek's tools but are improved. I've been using them and although it was different at first from what I was use to I did get use to them. I think new users won't have anything to complain about. Many of you may still want those Fazek tools and there's no reason we can't keep using them.
Shape Creation
I never had a problem with the shape creation tool or process. I don't know how much easier it can be made. The Fazek replacement tools will always be around so you can use those.
-------
I have always felt that the script feature was one of the most important features. I have to say I was never concerned about specific tool behaviors. Mike can't possibly make everyone happy with how the tools behave and I knew there would always be alternatives. I think the new tools are good right out of the box. If old users or new users want something else those tools will be available. That is exactly WHY the script modifications are such a fantastic undervalued feature. We DO have the option of using Fazek's tools... uh... as soon as they are fixed up... I should get started fixing up Fazek's tools so they can be ready asap.
As for new feature tutorials... yikes! I barely have scratched the surface of those myself. I'm slapping together my new web site as fast as I can. It will probably be a "work in progress" as far as tutorials. Those things take time to do. I haven't focused on the new features as much as doing some tutorials for other old stand by techniques. Remember I had not done tutorials extensively before. I want to get some good video and do a video tracking tutorial although Mike did one that is pretty fantastic. It's a simple process really.
As for other new features... they are pretty... simple and self explanatory at least from my point of view. As Mike has indicated he has some cool tricks up his sleeve (like putting an audio layer in a translated bone layer to track a character walking and talking... sheesh... never occurred to me.)
No update is going to make every single person happy. And for Anime Studio this is doubly so from all of these posts and the fact we have waited so long. I would suggest those really "angry" at SM or Mike for what happened wait a bit before settling on a specific emotion. You don't want to cut off your nose to spite your face. AS 6 is going to be the same thing regardless of how or when it was released.
Just take a chill pill... sit back... and think how much you enjoyed using AS all this time with the old version. Now there is a new version and it is good... it's great. It's more than I expected to be honest.
-vern
Mike, you mentioned asking what we thought would be a fair price-point for the upgrade to ASPro 6.
Did you ever see this thread?
How much would you be willing to pay for an upgrade to V6?
If I remember correctly I voted for $200, so $129 is a bargain!
It looks like you've done an amazing job on this and if it's any consolation, there wouldn't be any negative comments if people didn't care a great deal about the amazing product you created.
Did you ever see this thread?
How much would you be willing to pay for an upgrade to V6?
If I remember correctly I voted for $200, so $129 is a bargain!
It looks like you've done an amazing job on this and if it's any consolation, there wouldn't be any negative comments if people didn't care a great deal about the amazing product you created.
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TheChewanater
- Posts: 134
- Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:25 am
Cool, AS6! ^_^
A few questions-
Will there be a trial for AS6 soon? I want to try it so I know weather it's worth it.
Is there a Linux version for Debut? I WANT A LINUX VERSION FOR DEBUT!
Will layers be hideable in the layer window when you move the track? I requested that along with a track editor only a few weeks ago, so I don't think that was a response to my request, but it'd be nice. (if you don't know what I'm talking about, see this.
A few questions-
Will there be a trial for AS6 soon? I want to try it so I know weather it's worth it.
Is there a Linux version for Debut? I WANT A LINUX VERSION FOR DEBUT!
Will layers be hideable in the layer window when you move the track? I requested that along with a track editor only a few weeks ago, so I don't think that was a response to my request, but it'd be nice. (if you don't know what I'm talking about, see this.
But I love that feature. It makes it easier (for me, at least) to manipulate parts of something without screwing it up.GregSmith wrote: Tell me it's not true - you still have to use 2 tools - one to select points and the other to manipulate them, (shortcut "G" and then shortcut "T").
Mike, can you or Heyvern give us a bit more info about new additions to the scripting interface?
From Heyvern's first post I found out that the interpolation mode of each keyframe is now available, which is cool. Is that the extent of the additions or are there a number of other Easter eggs waiting for us. I can't help but think that with Heyvern being a beta tester there would have been a lot of arm twisting going on to open up the interface just a little bit more.
Can we store our own data in the file?
Can we store and load keyframes for all animation channels? (curvature, and layer order are the main ones I can think of that were missing).
Can we load and save anime files from a script?
Also, if there are significant changes, will an updated version of the scripting documentation be made available to users?
From Heyvern's first post I found out that the interpolation mode of each keyframe is now available, which is cool. Is that the extent of the additions or are there a number of other Easter eggs waiting for us. I can't help but think that with Heyvern being a beta tester there would have been a lot of arm twisting going on to open up the interface just a little bit more.
Can we store our own data in the file?
Can we store and load keyframes for all animation channels? (curvature, and layer order are the main ones I can think of that were missing).
Can we load and save anime files from a script?
Also, if there are significant changes, will an updated version of the scripting documentation be made available to users?
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synthsin75
- Posts: 10051
- Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:20 pm
- Location: Oklahoma
- Contact:
Huh...double ditto for me.Rudiger wrote:Mike, can you or Heyvern give us a bit more info about new additions to the scripting interface?
From Heyvern's first post I found out that the interpolation mode of each keyframe is now available, which is cool. Is that the extent of the additions or are there a number of other Easter eggs waiting for us. I can't help but think that with Heyvern being a beta tester there would have been a lot of arm twisting going on to open up the interface just a little bit more.
Can we store our own data in the file?
Can we store and load keyframes for all animation channels? (curvature, and layer order are the main ones I can think of that were missing).
Can we load and save anime files from a script?
Also, if there are significant changes, will an updated version of the scripting documentation be made available to users?
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slice11217
- Posts: 279
- Joined: Thu Mar 30, 2006 6:12 pm
- Location: Verona, New Jersey
What about the graph editor? Have they made it so that it's actually kind of functional, so that you can affect the in-between frames by tweaking the curves between the keyframes?Rudiger wrote:Mike, can you or Heyvern give us a bit more info about new additions to the scripting interface?
From Heyvern's first post I found out that the interpolation mode of each keyframe is now available, which is cool. Is that the extent of the additions or are there a number of other Easter eggs waiting for us. I can't help but think that with Heyvern being a beta tester there would have been a lot of arm twisting going on to open up the interface just a little bit more.
Can we store our own data in the file?
Can we store and load keyframes for all animation channels? (curvature, and layer order are the main ones I can think of that were missing).
Can we load and save anime files from a script?
Also, if there are significant changes, will an updated version of the scripting documentation be made available to users?