Maya 2016 new feature videos

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Hirazi Blue
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Maya 2016 new feature videos

Post by Hirazi Blue » 13 Apr 2015, 10:47

The Maya 2016 new feature videos have landed.
Evermotion seems to bundle them nicely on one page (and I'm too lazy to look for a better link):
Maya 2016 new features videos
Stay safe, sane & healthy!

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Daniel Brassard
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Re: Maya 2016 new feature videos

Post by Daniel Brassard » 13 Apr 2015, 16:28

More details on the new features and enhancement of Maya 2016, including new UI enhancement

New features

http://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/f ... llery-view

All

http://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/f ... llery-view
$ifndef "Softimage"
set "Softimage" "true"
$endif

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MauricioPC
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Re: Maya 2016 new feature videos

Post by MauricioPC » 13 Apr 2015, 21:35

What did you guys think of the new Maya 2016?

Does anybody wants the MCG on Maya as well? And for the Houdini users around here ... is MCG something like VEX?

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Mathaeus
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Re: Maya 2016 new feature videos

Post by Mathaeus » 13 Apr 2015, 22:07

MauricioPC wrote:And for the Houdini users around here ... is MCG something like VEX?
Really early to say anything, anyway, the way how MCG interacts with user, looks totally ICE-ish. Plus ability to output the modifier directly - so end end user don't need to deal with any node, if wanted (ok this is possible with ICE, but not so explicitly possible). Compiled instead of interpreted, this is more like Houdini or Bifrost - if it's implemented good, shouldn't be significantly slower in creation, than engine like ICE.
There are other things to know, for example ICE is doing some optimizations automatically, like killing of unnecessary attributes, while H expects this from author, generally. Also, is it possible for MCG to take the attributes created by standard modifiers, like ICE can take from SI envelope.

My wild guess, MCG thing is more focused on polygon creation, instancing, instead of 'playback' things. This is just a wild guess, but could explain why it's not in Maya.

In any case, hard to believe this will help in introducing Max in big facilities, but, for procedural creation, modeling, scene assembly and so, I'd believe we will see a lot of creativity and invention, once huge community will 'catch' this thing. Don't forget that Max already is a very strong 'classic' 3d app, so no big deal to apply MCG only where it is 'pleasant' - which is definitively an ICE style approach.

P.S. I think, MCG interface designer got a big reference for designing the best kindergartens all around the world, in future :)

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Re: Maya 2016 new feature videos

Post by nodeway » 13 Apr 2015, 22:48

Mathaeus wrote:Compiled instead of interpreted, this is more like Houdini or Bifrost - if it's implemented good, shouldn't be significantly slower in creation, than engine like ICE.
It's build on top of .NET, so I would't count on some massive speedups.

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Re: Maya 2016 new feature videos

Post by angus_davidson » 14 Apr 2015, 10:32

I suspect its a little bit of too little too late. Yes you can now do funky subset of Ice'ish stuff inside of Max, however if it came down to a choice between MGC and Fabric Canvas, Sorry but Fabric wins. If they had set it up similar to Bifrost which is only really called by the Host applcation, it could have been a lot closer.
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Re: Maya 2016 new feature videos

Post by MauricioPC » 14 Apr 2015, 12:28

I need to look more in depth at Canvas to see if it's that easy to create and share tools.

But while the performance is probably a lot slower, isn't Maxscript easier to learn, for the artist?

Not everyone one wants to be a hardcore TD.

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Re: Maya 2016 new feature videos

Post by angus_davidson » 14 Apr 2015, 12:56

The learning curve would be very similar. Both are node based (if your using Canvas) and both will require you to put in the same amount of effort to get to know. Difference is Fabric can be a standalone app or be used in whatever dcc app has been spliced. So what you learn isnt lost going from max to maya for example. To me thats why this development for Max is to late.
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Re: Maya 2016 new feature videos

Post by MauricioPC » 14 Apr 2015, 13:24

I definitely need to have a better look at Canvas them. I'll visit FE's site.

As for the 2016 releases, when you think about it being the last version you can buy to own, the Maya release looks more interesting.

By the way, Fusion 8 will work on Linux as well. Take that Foundry and the never released non commercial with crazy restrictions Nuke. :)

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Re: Maya 2016 new feature videos

Post by luceric » 14 Apr 2015, 13:51

MauricioPC wrote:As for the 2016 releases, when you think about it being the last version you can buy to own, the Maya release looks more interesting.
well the Suites will still be purchasable.

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Re: Maya 2016 new feature videos

Post by luceric » 14 Apr 2015, 14:02

angus_davidson wrote:The learning curve would be very similar. Both are node based (if your using Canvas) and both will require you to put in the same amount of effort to get to know. Difference is Fabric can be a standalone app or be used in whatever dcc app has been spliced. So what you learn isnt lost going from max to maya for example. To me thats why this development for Max is to late.
I don't think anyone is hesitating when they use ICE, Xpresso, or learning the graph in houdini, even though it doesn't port to another app. Or writing scripts for any applications.

Fabric is something that is taking all the bandwidth in discussions in the Softimage community because people are looking for a bit of Softimage elsewhere, but in the broad world, Fabric is essentially absent. Hundreds of thousands of Max seats are going to have the MCG built-in Max, it's just going to be there and doing exactly what it needs to do to create well-integrated Max modifiers that can be distributed and shared with other Max users. It's just going to be max, and not learning this other thing that another company makes.

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Re: Maya 2016 new feature videos

Post by MauricioPC » 14 Apr 2015, 14:09

Luc-Eric,

I'm in a workshop with Gilberto Magno (a great character artist from Brazil) and him and the other students have nothing but praise for what they saw in the videos about the new Maya UI. So ... congrats to you and the team.
The Bifrost fluid simulation system has also been updated, in what Vienneau terms the “TD release” of the toolset, as opposed to the more generalist-friendly implementation rolled out in Maya 2015.

In contrast to the existing, more menu-driven approach, Maya 2016 opens up Bifrost’s underlying procedural graph, enabling users to change the logic of a simulation or add in their own modifiers.

If that sounds a familiar workflow, there may be a reason for that: as with many other new features in Maya, it was implemented by the developers who used to work on Softimage’s ICE visual programming toolset.
http://www.cgchannel.com/2015/04/discov ... maya-2016/

And since you are here Luc-Eric, do you think that the last step on the BiFrost architecture will allow for something like MCG to happen?

-- EDIT --

I quoted the wrong part of the news. :P
Introducing ‘Project H’
Both the new UI and the revamped Hypershade are part of an ongoing initiative that Autodesk calls ‘Project H’ or ‘Humanized Maya’, intended to make Maya more artist-friendly, particularly to former Softimage users.

“We’re going to be asking a large number of users to switch to Maya [now Softimage has been discontinued],” says Vienneau. “They feel there’s work to be done in how Maya presents itself to an artist.”

Guiding principles of Project H, which will run through to Maya 2017, include consistency of presentation in the UI, and scalability across a range of devices, from 4K displays down to Windows Surface tablets.

There will also be more scope for users to create custom workspaces, as shown in the Hypershade video.

Vienneau describes the changes, many suggested by Softimage’s “strong” and “very vocal” user community, as being beneficial to long-term Maya users, not just those accustomed to other software.

“You get used to the way certain things work, but that doesn’t mean [they're] right,” he says. “That’s why it was good to have a new influx of users to question things.”

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Re: Maya 2016 new feature videos

Post by angus_davidson » 14 Apr 2015, 20:10

luceric wrote:
angus_davidson wrote:The learning curve would be very similar. Both are node based (if your using Canvas) and both will require you to put in the same amount of effort to get to know. Difference is Fabric can be a standalone app or be used in whatever dcc app has been spliced. So what you learn isnt lost going from max to maya for example. To me thats why this development for Max is to late.
I don't think anyone is hesitating when they use ICE, Xpresso, or learning the graph in houdini, even though it doesn't port to another app. Or writing scripts for any applications.

Fabric is something that is taking all the bandwidth in discussions in the Softimage community because people are looking for a bit of Softimage elsewhere, but in the broad world, Fabric is essentially absent. Hundreds of thousands of Max seats are going to have the MCG built-in Max, it's just going to be there and doing exactly what it needs to do to create well-integrated Max modifiers that can be distributed and shared with other Max users. It's just going to be max, and not learning this other thing that another company makes.
I have to disagree with you on that. Yes there are loads of 3dsmax installs, however the number of folks that are seriously going to use MGC will be a tiny fraction of that. The fraction that use it for serious VFX will be smaller still. I still see fabric as being more competitive particularly in the more high end space.

One thing I do agree on is that the new Maya interface stuff is a really good step in the right direction.
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Re: Maya 2016 new feature videos

Post by luceric » 14 Apr 2015, 20:27

MCG and Procedural modeling in max isn't really for VFX

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Re: Maya 2016 new feature videos

Post by Mathaeus » 14 Apr 2015, 20:40

angus_davidson wrote:I suspect its a little bit of too little too late. Yes you can now do funky subset of Ice'ish stuff inside of Max, however if it came down to a choice between MGC and Fabric Canvas, Sorry but Fabric wins. If they had set it up similar to Bifrost which is only really called by the Host applcation, it could have been a lot closer.
Well I don't see any competition, here. For long time, Max itself is enough huge, to do not need to compete against anything. After all, they were able to successfully ignore a much more important things than set of plugins (platform, whatever, don't know, honestly to say), you mentioned. Arnold renderer for example. On flip side, Max seems to be a leading 'exporter' of plugin technology.
First of all, I see the MCG thing as an great confirmation of 'our' concepts. Really welcome confirmation, as EOL of SI, as event negative 'by self', is able put the idea of visual programming inside 3d app into negative, too. At some point, people will forget why SI stopped, but they'll remember the related ICE thing, which also was 'unhappy, don't remember why'. Damage could affect the other small players, too.
Second, for decades, production of Max plugins is successfully dispersed all around world, to authors who never ever been members of development team. Some of them have even a little or zero of production experience. I'd say, a mix of good SDK and huge community is the key. In any case, force which can't be underestimated. Also, probably the most democratic environment for talents, contrary to our picture of Max's owner.
Personally I'll stay with Houdini, Maya LT should come this summer, Blender here and there. It's affordable combo, also I'd believe Houdini, as a 'actual master' in this case, should be even more valued, once such player as Max become a member of team.
But, I'd be mad if I wouldn't take some time in learning MCG. These systems are similar, it seems to be much easier to learn the difference, than getting the skills in 'direct' animation and modeling.
Very very welcome addition to Max, in any case.

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Re: Maya 2016 new feature videos

Post by MauricioPC » 15 Apr 2015, 15:06

Does anybody who was in the beta care to comment about this new TD release of the BiFrost toolset? Is it a node workflow?

I keep wondering when Maya will have a Pflow of sources to create particles. Way easier than a bunch of tabs and sliders.

P.S.: I posted this video at the 3ds Max thread, but I guess I should put it here for other people to see it.



P.S.2: It's funny to read on the 3ds Max thread and see people claiming for a new UI facelift like Maya had. I guess this also shows the good work done by the UI team.

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