Hexagon planned update and long term free offering
Diomede
Posts: 15,125
Daz_Steve said
https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/3056261/#Comment_3056261
One of the big questions seems to be around what the plans are (and if there are any updates to) Hexagon. So let me chime in and answer that:
We currently have a new version of Hexagon in private beta, and expect it to be public beta (including DIM installers) within a couple of weeks. This new version has minor cosmetic updates and a lot of stability improvements.
We also have updates planned for Q1 2018 including (but not limited to) 64 bit support.
We also have more ideas for 2018 (and the future) and plan for Hexagon to be a key and growing component of our free oferring to customers.
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I suspected that something was going on when I saw a Hexagon product among the "new" irems offered last week.
My early bet is that Daz has realized that DS should never be made into a modeler (too confusing for core users), and have instead decided to farm that task out to an improved Hex.
Congratulations to Hex users!
It's much harder to integrate modeling into DS than it is to offer a product which isn't selling,.. for free.
hexagon is now competing with a plethora of "Free" modeling tools,. which are already 64 bit and stable.
I'm glad I paid for it back in May 8, 2006...:(
Wouldn't it be nice if they released something related to Carrara?
Hello friends, I have downloaded the free version and I have some issues running it, meanwhile I would like to ask, how different is Hexagon to Carrara? I have enjoyed a quite lot modelling on Carrara and since Hexagon was offered for free I did jump on it.
Regards
Otto
Otto -
I had similar questions in the Carrara Sale Email Message Alert Forum. I am not a modeller, but use Carrara's Model room to edit purchased models. Here is what a couple of very experienced users replied:
Diomede: Compared to Carrara, Hexagon has more types of tools in several categories of modeling functions, but that doesn't mean it can actually model something that Carrara cannot. If you become familar with Hexagon, you may be able to do some of your edits in fewer steps than if you use Carrara. It s very unlikely that you would be able to do an edit that you would not be able to do with Carrara. If you ever migrate to duf files, the bridge between Hexagon and Studio can be very convenient for quick morphs and adjustments.
PhilW: Yes, if you are working in Carrara anyway and aren;t doing major modelling work, then the vertex room and the integration into Carrara (such as being able to model in the Assemble Room as well) certainly beats having to export something, open another program, adjust something there, re-export back to Carrara. Although if you do pick up Hexagon, there is a lot of similarlity between it and the vertex room modeller, so the learning curve will be a little less. Also if you are aiming to do animations, Carrara is just a better environment to do that, Daz Studio even with various add-in tools which will cost you and which you will need to any serious animation in DS, still can't match what Carrara can do natively.
One thing I love about Hexagon is its wonderful bridge from and to Daz Studio. I use this to add new morphs and even new morph targets to an otherwise locked figure.
That alone makes it a huge boon to DS users at the very least. To be able to quickly bridge to and from Hexagon to add a new, needed morph is a powerful tool to have.
Regarding Carrara, I always remain hopeful that there will always be a place somewhere in development for Carrara at Daz... I really hope so.
Thanks Steve, once my issue be solved will do a try to the program, at a first sight the User Interface looks pretty nice, similar to other modelling programs as Blender...
By the way and now that I am here, and since support team hasn't yet responded, my program is not running well, it is very slow at this time I am using a PC with Windows 8, iCore3 4gb RAM and 1T Hard Disc, any ideas of what could be wrong?
Regards
Windows 8!
One thing you might try:
When I first started using Win8 and then 10, I ended up noticing that AntiVirus was kicking in and inspecting everything I did until I excluded those executables from the AV.
Also, for older 32 bit software like this, I'd find the actual exe file, right-click > Compatibility > run for previous version of Windows > Windows 7
Sometimes that works for me. I'm currently using Win10 on this laptop and Hexagon works great.
Several other reasons why a Carrara user might want to give Hexagon a try, especially if they're planning to develop it further:
Just a few food-for-thought thinks on Thanksgiving day
Thank you very much Dart, I have only few days with this computer, and its my first time using windows, I am noticing that I actually have Windows 10 installed, what else would be the problem? Should I need to try un-install and re-install the program? What would be the safest method to do it?
Thanks and nice to see you again!
try running it in compatibility mode
How can I do that? Can you teach me please?
I don't have Windows 10 but on 7 you rightclick on the exe and choose troubleshoot compatibility
Ok I have found it now but it seems that none of the options available works to me, still trying...
It is nice to know Hexagon is going to get worked on again. I wasn't expecting this.
I'm excited too!
It's what I suspected, Daz wants Studio to be seen as more complete, and to compete with Blender and others. They are now calling DS a "suite."
From the promo page: "Hexagon is easy enough for beginners yet powerful enough for professionals. Use it along with Daz Studio for a free 3D suite that enables you to build, animate & render!"
I guees they forgot they already have a "suite."
In the Bryce forum, I speculated that maybe Bryce would be upgraded next, and become the official DS "terrain" plugin. But Horo thought it might be too hard to get Bryce maps into Studio.
Two more reasons to be happy that Hexagon is supposed to get at least a minor update to 64 bit in 2018.
Hexagon can save in native Carrara format.
If you use Hexagon's bridge to create a permanent FBM for a genesis figure, the FBM will be available in Carrara.
They'll never forget about Carrara or Bryce. But that won't stop them from ignoring it.
But that doesn't change the brilliant move they're making by rejuvenating Hexagon, in my opinion. I agree with waht they said about "Easy enough for Beginners yet Powerful enough for Pros" especially if, like they say, their update makes it ore stable and 64 bit. There are several Daz PAs that use Hexagon.
Also (again, just my opinion) it feels to me like opening development for Hexagon could become a very good sign toward future development of Carrara. We already know that they 'were' working on Carrara - they got Quaternion Skinning working on their path to trying to get Genesis 3 compatibility.
Daz Studio is, and always will be, their precious baby to be nurtured before feeding anything else. When it was recently mentioned that we (Daz content users) are a small patch in the larger pool, that is only true when looked upon from a certain perspective - 3d Modeling. In truth, Daz Studio attracts an enormous number of followers that have no urge to model at all, but enjoy the use of models to (as Daz puts it) Create Amazing Art! And that's a real thing. "Over 3 million downloads" is a pretty big small patch.
The really good news for some of us Carrara users in the growth of Daz Studio is that is gives us stable opportunities to jump in and create art (3d model assets - models, textures/shaders, morphs, poses, etc.,) to add to their very popular store. Carrara users are a VERY miniscule voice in the vastness of this market. I think this is not just because of a lacking in constant development - even though I'm sure that helps play a role in it - but because we Carrara users are a special case of artists who want more than what DS or Poser can offer, and even the 3d modeling software like LightWave, Modo, etc., don't quite fit our needs as well as the wonderful enormity that is the Carrara workspace. Truly, we can do any sort of visuals we want to create, whether we ever get another update or not.
Oops... crap! I'm babbling again!
Glad to hear its going to 64-bit. That's actually fairly involved from my understanding, I don't think Daz would have gone to that expense if they did not have a future plan for it.
Maybe I won't have to learn Blender modeling after all.
are other things running slow on the system, 4Gigs might be the issue. though hex itself is fairly light. Going to the task manager and seeing the stats on cpu mem disk usage before anything is loaded and loading hex if something pops up that is causing the bog down. which anti-virus, also does it stay bogged down while hex is running or only at the start. what other programs are you running at the same time.
I have 3 licenses of Hex my oldest serial didn't work. Its too much to hope that Daz would wake up with Carrara but glad to see Hex getting some love.
I'm not counting Carrara out of the picture just yet. But nor will I sit by holding my breathe! LOL
It might not feed into the immediate pipeline that is Daz Studio, like Hexagon does, but it is still a worthy application to work on, for sure.
Speaking of that immediate pipeline, what else has an inline bridge? Bryce. Hmmm... would be cool to see a major Bryce update! 64 bit, perhaps?
I wonder if he is still referring to hexagon when he says "more ideas for 2018" ?
And he is talking about a "free offering". Could that mean they also have plans for a paid one, i. e. Carrara ?
Hexagon Beta is now released.
https://www.daz3d.com/hexagon-beta
Hello, Chickenman!
I have not had the stability issues that others report for the current version of Hexagon, and I read that the beta is not the upcoming 64-bit version. Therefore, I (bought) the free beta just in case, but I am not going to download or install it until I folks in the Hexagon forum put it through ts paces.
Same here. I don't really use Hexagon enough (right now) to warrant eagerly opening it up to see if I notice any improvements, but just in case I suddenly start playing around, I got it just in case.
Yes, he's talking about Hexagon ideas for 2018. Carrara is already a piad offering. Hexagon used to be, but is now one of their free offerings, like Daz Studio Pro.
EVen without updating it, I think that Hexagon is an amazing deal - even when they were selling it. Sure, I say that after saying that I don't use it much, but that's only because I own Carrara - and Love that! I also still stand by my statement from years past that Carrara is worth much more than every penny, even if bought at full Suggested Retail Value.