Is this product still being updated?

[annapheiffenberger]

Re: Is this product still being updated?

And by the way, I wasn't implying you were lying, I simple asked you to tell the truth? Why did you immediately think I was catching you in a lie?

[dkendig]

Re: Is this product still being updated?

I thought you were implying that we were trying to hide something, so I apologize, perhaps something was lost in translation. Some people have the impression that we are a large company with all sorts of blueprints and charts mapped out all over the place, and secrets that we try to hide from our users. This most certainly is not the case, we have always tried to be as open as we can about upcoming development plans and current development status. Any time we seem to be dodging questions, is when you're asking a question we don't have an answer for. For instance, when is the next VfR version going to be out? I really can't say anything that would be remotely accurate at this point, so I really can't say. It sounds like I'm dodging the question, but I honestly don't know the answer. So let me fill you in on what I do know:

-V-Ray for SketchUp and V-Ray for Rhino share the same core code base, and the majority of the code for V-Ray for SketchUp will be used in V-Ray for Rhino. The only part that will change is the interface between our plugin and Rhino, obviously this will need to be a bit different than the interface with SketchUp.

-We have organized the installation of our current V-Ray for SketchUp plugin, so it will not interfere with the upcoming V-Ray for Rhino version.

-We have gotten our new core plugin to a fairly stable state, but there are some bugs with it still. (There is still a beta testing process going on for new patches to V-Ray for SketchUp).

-V-Ray RT probably won't be in the next release, but our latest plugin rewrite that we have been doing over the past year or two, will allow us to roll out new features and updates MUCH faster than we ever could before. Just ask the SketchUp guys, we've been able to cover a lot of ground very quickly.

-All changes to our plugin in SketchUp will directly carry over to V-Ray for Rhino. Ambient Occlusion, IES lights, Material ID render channel, Per material displacement options, new texture mapping types, etc.

-Rhino's SDK isn't a confusing mess like SketchUp's SDK, we have always been able to develop in Rhino at a significantly faster rate than we could develop for SketchUp.

-We will be doing our beta testing process like we have been doing our VfS beta testing process, so as soon as we have a beta version available, we will begin signup (I really have no idea when this will be, please don't ask, we will have an announcement on the forum when this happens though).

-I'm not sure what our plans with RDK are just yet.

-We plan to support Rhino 5

-V-Ray for SketchUp development will be on hold while we develop V-Ray for Rhino, at least until we have the core integrated in to Rhino. Then after that point, we plan on having simultaneous releases of V-Ray for SketchUp and V-Ray for Rhino from that point on, because they use the same exact plugin core.

-When we do get to completely dive in to V-Ray for Rhino, we will likely be able to fix a few issues in our core plugin, so when we do a public release of V-Ray for Rhino, we will likely have a simultaneous release of a new V-Ray for Sketchup.

-The new V-Ray for Rhino version will likely have the same UI as V-Ray for SketchUp, so it won't really look all that different than the current version of V-Ray for Rhino. We do want to clean up the UI some before we roll out the public update for V-Ray for Rhino. There's some spacing and layout issues in the current UI for V-Ray for SketchUp.

-We have gotten our plugin connected to Rhino, and we have been able to render! So that's nice step forward. There is still much integration and a number of fixes that need to be done before a beta version can be released. When the beta starts up though, I promise we will plaster notices all over the forum. So far we can't really render anything too complex, so we still need some time to get this thing to a point where someone would actually want to test it. (rendering spheres and boxes with a default white material isn't too awful exciting)

-We have 2 developers. Myself, and Joe. Joe is currently working hard on Rhino integration and core bug fixes, buried up to his eyeballs in source code. I have been working on V-Ray for SketchUp fixes and core bug fixes. I also have been coordinating with our beta users, and other folks on the forum, like right now Between the two of us, we're quite busy. Once we hit pause on SketchUp, both of us will be on the Rhino project full time, at which point we might be able to handle a beta version of Rhino, because then I'll be free to coordinate the beta process and talk to users like I did with SketchUp.

So there ya go. A nice little dump of information. I hope that this update has been helpful. Again, we really do not wish to keep any secrets from you guys. When we have an answer, we try to answer to the best of our ability. I'm sorry I wasn't able to give an answer for everything that someone wanted to hear. I know you guys want a new and fancy UI, as well as every bell and whistle that V-Ray for Max has. We want it too!

First we have to get our new core in place, then we can roll out various bells and whistles. How fast can we roll out these bells and whistles? It depends on which ones you're talking about. For example the IES light took a lot more work to integrate than Ambient Occlusion did. Ambient Occlusion took less than 10 minutes to add to our product. IES lights took a day or so, and then we had to fix a couple bugs with it. We plan on not really adding too many new features this time around though. Our main goal for this next version, is to get our new core in place, and to make sure that it works the way we need it to, before we start throwing in new features.

Is there anything I missed?

[andreas]

Re: Is this product still being updated?

thanks for the detailed Info !

I will wait as patiently as possible

keep up the great work!

Andy

[annapheiffenberger]

Re: Is this product still being updated?

Thank you so much DKENDIG.

This really helps me, and thank you for talking so openly and honestly!

A few software companies should take a note of this.

Cheers
Anna.

[dkendig]

Re: Is this product still being updated?

I'm glad I gave a sufficient answer. I always try to be as open and honest as I can be, but as a result my natural smart ass personality leaks through a little bit sometimes .

[GRIMSHAW-ARCHITECTS]

Re: Is this product still being updated?

Very good to read all this. Thank you for the update!

[pickinboy]

Re: Is this product still being updated?

Any chance of addressing the ability to allow large models time to transmit over fast net connections?

We have been getting great results with DR Spawner - looking forward to 64 bit...

[matthiasmohs]

Re: Is this product still being updated?

@ DKENDIG: thanks for your post, looking foreward.

[dkendig]

Re: Is this product still being updated?

Yup, we get closer to a beta every day. We really want the Rhino beta to be a clean beta process, we have learned a lot from the SketchUp beta that we have been running for the past year or so. It's important to have the public test the product asap... but testing too early can lead to excessive bug report volume, disorganization, and a lot of wasted time. We really want to be sure that we don't waste your time, or our own with an alpha build. We want it to be fairly solid before you get your hands on it.

[Micha_cg]

Re: Is this product still being updated?

Sounds like a good plan.

Best would be if VfR 1 and VfR 1new could be parallel installed. I wouldn't like to use the new build for daily work, but would like to beta test it.

[dkendig]

Re: Is this product still being updated?

it can't completely co-exist due to issues with the plugin having the same product ID, but you can load/unload the .rhp file, and leave the rest of the installation intact without an issue I believe. There may be some incompatibilities with some of the chaos group files that we redistribute though. You can definitely have one version in stalled in Rhino 4 and the other installed in Rhino 5 though.

[LeoBonilla]

Re: Is this product still being updated?

Give me!!!!Give me!!!!Give me!!!!Give me!!!!Give me!!!!Give me!!!!Give me!!!!Give me!!!!Give me!!!!Give me!!!!Give me!!!!Give me!!!!Give me!!!!Give me!!!!Give me!!!!

[LeoBonilla]

Re: Is this product still being updated?

DK since you have been lost in Skype I asume you are working!!! lol how is the thing going? ;D

[dkendig]

Re: Is this product still being updated?

it's going, but still not ready for the public.

[Micha_cg]

Re: Is this product still being updated?

You can definitely have one version in stalled in Rhino 4 and the other installed in Rhino 5 though.

Good idea. I don't use v5 for production.