Lumion - Test drive

Gaieus

Well, to chime in...

This upcoming release of Lumion is not "version 2" yet. As Pete said, it's more like 1.2 (though they number things differently - like "update 2" or so).

You can easily scale any tree or other plant (uniformly from top to bottom so it sticks to the ground)

scale tree.jpg
You can also paint your imported mesh (yes, you can import your terrain just like any other model) as terrain although currently, admittedly this is one of the weakest points (custom terrain/landscape) or better put this way; "many of the feature requests concern this area..." in Lumion - but since it's granted by the development, this is also the area where new features can definitely be expected.

As for camera movements; it seems that there will be some more improvements here as well although it is really up to the user to take the snapshots (that Lumion later "stitches" together as an animation similar to SU Scenes) more carefully. I guess after porting his models to Lumion, Pete was already too excited to see the result and did not pay as much attention to this part as to the model itself.

As for lights; yes, there are emitters ATM but I believe this is going to be one of the major areas of development, too. I do not need them too much (I would love fire much better; candle light, something like torch and the size of a fireplace or something is fine).

What I see is that with each incremental update (and obviously with major ones in the future) there are more and more new, insertable objects like cars, trees, people and such. There is a long list (in the "members only" area) with these requests and many of them are acknowledged by the developers. I will ask if I can repost those lists as I believe they could indeed influence people whether they are interested.

Here is a sneak preview into the new silhouette people. They can be made gradually transparent as I read etc. Now this is also something I would not ned too much but I believe many architects will like.

[flash=650,366:1yfzsj8b]http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=23686156&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"[/flash:1yfzsj8b]

Gaieus

I have split a part of this topic off and it can be read here.
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=37313

marvins_dad

I'm ready for Service Pack 2!

Gaieus

They had a € 100 off sale till May 8 and I think that was about the time (or rather the second half of May) when they planned to come out. Well, better a couple of weeks later than with a buggy version.

Ecuadorian

I remember when they said the software was being released "in November". They did so on the very last day of November. Maybe we'll see Update 2 on the very last day of spring, that is, June 20.

solo

There are many factors here, this update is a pretty major one I believe, not only is there changes to the core product, there are new features, content as well as licensing changes.

Personally I'd let them take their time and get it right, I have seen too many developers commit to a date and feel obliged to release something premature with bugs and needed fixes.

EarthMover

As far as I can tell service pack 2 only contains tonemapping features. I don't think the release hold up has anything to do with working out bugs and based on the previews, it's probably been ready for a while now. It's about taking the time to take what should be SP2 features and breaking them out into plugin packs, creating a new online store to sell the users the plugins and content, reworking the software security and authorization methods to more easily connect the user to the store and generally finding more ways to boost profits. In my opinion Act 3D should've better defined their business model with Lumion from the beginning as it really is beginning to feel like they are just making it up as they go. As of now, I'm more curious as to the price of the plugins than anything else. If I end up having to pay hundreds more for the plugins, I will be really disappointed and lose a lot of faith in these developers. Hopefully we find out in next week or so.

solo

I truly want to believe that they have thought this through and not turn this into a snatch and grab. I hope that they come up with a system that content is reasonable (as it's going to be exclusive so there will be no price war from 3rd party creators) and all updates to the core app be free.

I must be honest that I'm concerned about the fact that they control all content as that limits the scope of the product to their creators, I'd really like to see 3rd party creators like Vue has at Cornucopia.

Ecuadorian

+1 to what Adam said.

Lumion's price is high enough already. When you buy a license, it should come complete, not in a "light" form. I'm also quite dissapointed with the current turn of events. At the beginning it was implied that the object library would grow without extra cost to existing customers.

EarthMover

Exactly. Looking at what you get with programs like Vue or even Modo, Lightwave, C4D, etc. (I know it's not apples to apples, but just speaking about development and support costs being reflected in the market price) Other programs, which are in the existing price range of Lumion or cheaper and continue to develop more and more features with realtime raytracing, ecosystems, rigging, physics, etc. without adding it to the pricetag, then looking at what you can actually do in Lumion Lite and it feels like you are paying extra for simplicity, speed and a lack of learning curve. (rather than complexity) Creating a more robust piece of software with all the bells and whistles at the current price would seem to bring in more new consumers, rather than hoping to meet projections and boost bottom lines by digging deeper into the pockets of the existing user base. Hopefully someone, somewhere is working on a free open source project similar to Twin Motion or Lumion to offset the scales of the marketplace and keep the costs in check.

solo

I'm thinking that a company of that size and experience will think before acting, I'm also sure that they are aware that if they price themselves out of the market and alienate the students (especially in content by having unreasonable prices) then they will face a serious pirating issue.

EarthMover

I hope you are right Pete. I just hope they stop flip flopping. Also I wouldn't be so irritated if I didn't love the software, of which I have high expectations. I also realize it's in it's infancy compared to other softs and so I haven't lost faith in them just yet. Their attentiveness to the user base and awareness (and addressing) of our concerns is encouraging. Time will tell.

Gaieus

Guys, you are already putting Lumion down even before they came out with this new business policy and licensing technology.

When it comes to assets/object libraries, I agree with Pete that it should be open for 3rd party developers, too. I for one would not like to add sixteen different uniform policemen (knowing that Hungarian will not be among them) as well as you would probably not need 16 century Turkish janissary.

So this is pretty clear. If they cannot build everything, they should allow others. I am sure however that - like last time - there will be some extra stuff added in this field

As for the "feature" plugins - well, maybe... But we do not know the prices yet...

I am worrying more about terrain importing and editing options.

Ecuadorian

@solo said:

I'm thinking that a company of that size and experience will think before acting

No matter the size, they can make mistakes and will rectify if there's enough pressure from the users. Apple, for example, used to charge iPod Touch users for iOS upgrades, but now they don't. An angry mob on the Internet is a scary thing.

@solo said:

I'm also sure that they are aware that if they price themselves out of the market and alienate the students (especially in content by having unreasonable prices) then they will face a serious pirating issue.

They have had a serious pirating issue from day one. I can't post links out of respect for the forum rules.

Gaieus

@ecuadorian said:

They have had a serious pirating issue from day one. I can't post links out of respect for the forum rules.

And please, do not. I also know places where these pirated versions are "marketed" and if they are interested, I can show them (in PM) but not here (or their site as a matter of fact).

It's not just being over-anal about piracy and keeping to the forum rules but also, if we look around, we find a whole lot of respected contributors on these forums who partly share excellent and free plugins but partly also (try to) live on some of their commercial ones and we know there is piracy.

But indeed, this can be a serious problem.

EarthMover

Well, SP2 is out today along with the plugins. Lumion has switched to a basic and ultimate editions. You get one free plugin pack as an existing customer. All others are now $220 a piece! (around $900 to upgrade to Ultimate ) They've also moved away from the dongle all together and are using online activation and deactivation so it can be used with multiple workstations, just not at the same time.

@unknownuser said:

Lumion Ultimate

This is the normal version of Lumion with all plug-ins available:
* Trees and Plants
* People and animals
* Movie effects
* Special effects
* Environments and weather
Lumion Basic

This is the normal version of Lumion. You can extend it with plug-ins or you can upgrade it the the Ultimate edition.

Trees and Plants plug-in

This package contains many new plant and tree models for Lumion. It almost doubles the number of plants and trees available in Lumion.

People and animals plug-in

This package adds silhouette 3D models and silhouette billboards to Lumion.

Movie effects plug-in

This package add several important movie effects to Lumion: Depth of field, Lens flares, Sharpen, and “paint style”.

Special effects plug-in

With this package you can add special effects such as water, fire, smoke and fog to your scenes.

Environments and weather plug-in

Currently this package contains an awesome ocean feature for weather mode. This plug-in is essential if you need to create scenes featuring the ocean or shorelines.

solo

Have you downloaded the new update yet?

Ecuadorian

I started a new thread to discuss the update as this is no longer about a "test drive":
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=80&t=37871

EarthMover

I'm trying to download it now. Getting like 4-6 KB/sec or 4-6 days download time.

solo

I have, was pretty fast today.

Playing with the DOF feature.

[flash=640,360:32n4iub6]http://www.youtube.com/v/h2PJClGsrZk[/flash:32n4iub6]