How did Hexagon lose its way?
mykyl
Posts: 19
I have been playing around in hexagon again and it really is second to none for many features and speed modelling.
Not sure why for hexagon 2.5 it says on its for sale page that its not a universal app. If that was correct it would not be running at all on my mac.
It runs stable. I have not had any crashes at all in over a week of continuous modelling although I have turned of all the graphical fancies like reflective surfaces while modelling.
How did this lose its way. It should be in every ones arsenal.
Watching this video reminded me again why Hexagon drifting by most people is crazy. http://blip.tv/cgdreams/hexagons-most-liked-features-1107138
Mike
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Comments
Fast Extrude is the tool I used most often in Hex. It's the most powerful modelling tool it has.
I had it running on two otherwise very stable macs and I could not complete a single tutorial without blowing up to the desktop after a few minutes. Switched to Blender after weeks of frustration and found it had so much more in the way of resources and dev and stability.
Runs great on my mac mini and mac pro, before the last update, i couldnt get it to run
The same for me. Before the last update it was unusable. It also restates what I am saying. People still THINK it is really unstable still. Theya re missing out.
Mike
I was using 2.5,
When was the last stable release released?
2.5.179 was the last release. when? years ago
2.5.179 is the version I am running.
I just started using Hex. Can't say if it will be stable or not yet.
Anyways is there a auto save that automatically saves ya work every 1 minute or 5 minutes ?
Thanks
I've been searching for a new modeler.
Hex has a reputations of crashing so I was skeptical to try it.
But it looks like a killer modeler if it's usable.
I half to find a new modeler cause I've been using C4D 9 for years.
C4D 9 and Windows 8 didn't work out.
Since Hex ,about .reads 2008.
I'm skeptical if Hex will keep up with Windows upgrades.
Your taking chances with Hex.
Would be my best guess why CGI Artist don't try Hex.
Since I started on TrueSpace my first 3D App. I would have been happy to stay with it if it worked.
Gets old having to learn new app's. In stead of creating Art.
You would be surprised at how many top CG artists do in fact use Hex:)
Try Nvil http://digitalfossils.com/ as far as I know it is the only standalone modeler in active development and is pretty amazing.
Hexagon is awesome......not all the bells and whistles and a little quirky here and there...but brilliant none the less.
I just keep praying for development, it has such huge potential to be great.
I own Lightwave and Modo and still I keep using Hexagon.
@ Rorrkon
I still use Truespace, it has fascinated me since 1998 my first 3d app also :), that and Bryce. It had and still has what Hexagon does not, plugins and scripts. And this leads me to Mykyl's original post here.
Hexagon quite simply has the cleanest and fastest interface to work with, I now use it in all of my projects one way or another, just try dragging a .obj file over from a folder and away you go, great. But it is, as he mentions loosing direction, it falls short as it has no scripting or plugins, which is a shame, as that would be a way to carry on with its development.
RorrKonn you mention a new modeller, well I thought I would never get the hang of this application but found it equally as addictive as Truespace, I use the free version (of course), and it has the all important scripting and plugins that keep it alive and moving forward.
With a very large and helpful scripting and user base, Sketchup, is a whole world on it's own and better for it, I would not have been able to create this scaled and detailed British Telephone Box, referenced from one just around the corner from my flat here in London without using some of the excellent freely available plugin scripts.
And Merlin the cat would not have a Shaker style cat closet with all mod cons :)
I'm liking Hex
truespace had a auto save Hex got one ?
that automatically saves ya work every 5 minutes.
I'll check sketch up ,Nvil out.
Have LW 7 thinking about getting LW 11.
but I can't really tell a difference between LW & Blender.
It's a shame Blender has such a odd work flow.
Drives me insane trying to model in Blender
No auto save, RorrKon best if you need it to use incremental saving, it has to be done manually though just remember to "control+shift+s" every so often, I have never used it as I tend to "control+s" mostly or "save as" when happy with the stage arrived at.
Hex files I have noticed are extremely good with low file sizes compared to . obj files of the same model.
Yeah, they all have their uses and specialties - all depends on personal preference and what you want to do, which tool you would use.
Hex actually has pretty useful sculpting abilities - the attached pic is of a cartoon head sculpted in Hex by Nate Owens - starting from a cube.
Auto save has its uses, but I think sequential is better - with auto save you could save something bad over your good model and no way to step back.
How do you get the mesh to stay a solid wireframe mesh when your modeling on that mesh ?
When I model on a mesh it's a semi transparent wireframe mesh ya can see the back of the mesh.
I do not want to see thru the mesh.
Don't want to see the back.
Since Hex wasn't made for windows 8 don't know if it will do right on windows 8.
How good are LW's rigs for humans ?
Click on the little icon, it toggles "Activates the transparent display of sub-selection"
Hexagon does have plugins and scripts, it is just we do not know how to build/add them (no info).
How good are LW's rigs for humans ?
Not that I have played with it yet but Genoma in 11.5 looks pretty spiffy.
https://www.lightwave3d.com/learn/article/genoma-revealed/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfut_KXamKw
I have a personal assignment I am working on in Hexagon / Lightwave which will call for me to do some work in rigging.
Hexagon does have plugins and scripts, it is just we do not know how to build/add them (no info).
As I said Steve, Hexagon does not have plugins or scripts :-)
Hexagon is a app that seems to work for some really well, and for others hardly at all. Iv been using it for some time, and still to this day use it, often over the great modelling tools Modo has to offer. Hexagon just allows me to get in there and get things done with little fuss. When im working on concept sculpts in Zbrush, and build a quick mesh within Zbrush, the chances are its going to create some real problems with topology, and Hexagon is the first place I take it to in order to fix it.
+ 1
Click on the little icon, it toggles "Activates the transparent display of sub-selection"
I wish I had known that a long time ago...
You know what's funny. I have Maya. I have Hexagon. I've been flipping back and forth between the two and I'm finding this is working for me for some strange reason... I'm just learning the modelling tools in Maya, though... so as I get more into it I may be there rather than in Hex... just not quite comfortable with them yet.
I find looking through all those Autodesk products on their download page a little daunting, Although I have spent a good many hours with 3DSMax in the past I think for now I should leave it to you younger fellows. Do you suppose that the 36 month student licence might apply to a solitary older chap like myself ? :)
It applied to a 50 year old homeless man... :)
wancow you got me there, now I don't now whether to laugh of cry..
Laugh :) It's less expensive :)
...I don't know why Hex still keeps crashing and freezing on me with no warning. I have the latest update, more than enough memory and processing power on the new workstation (even though the app is still only 32 bit), a fairly fast, powerful GPU (with 1GB DDR5), yet, ten minutes into a simple project (like creating a 1950's style rocketship) it either freezes up or crashes to the desktop.
...and I haven't yet tried anything like apply smoothing, extruding, or working with complex curves (which I will need to do for the fins).
Yes, the UI is very nice, but I just wish I could actually make some progress on a project without having to backtrack every ten to fifteen minutes as even intermittent saves are only as good as the last one I did. It would seriously impact the workflow having to save after every little I change I made.
Development really needs to take a long hard look into these stability issues. I actually paid for Hexagon several years ago during a sale (something like 55$), so yes, I find it a bit discouraging to still experience the same issues with it that I did on the old 32 bit system.
I'd really like to know what others are doing to get it to run smoothly compared to what I have been experiencing.