Andrew Shpagin Posted December 31, 2008 Author Share Posted December 31, 2008 Andrew, have you considered offering (like Modo and other software vendors have in the past) Pre-Release sales from now, the first of the year until v3 is finally released? Perhaps enticing fence-sitters, and those owning other programs, to essentially get in at the current price (or somewhere in between what it is now and what you plan to charge then) and get a free upgrade. And to keep current license holders from feeling left out, perhaps offer the pre-release upgrade at half price. This is one of those effective marketing tools that gives you an infusion of cash during the development grind, and you entice more prospective customers to enter the fold than otherwise.Newtek and Luxology have had similar promotions, and they work. It also helps provide funds to advertise the promotion and subsequent release announcement. Thank for propose! I will think about this... But... It is really unexpected to me, but sales go very well now, even if peoples know that V3 will out soon. I don't very like pre-sales because I want to sell what is done to feel itself better. Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1412-3d-coat-30-alpha/page/142/#findComment-13078 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Shpagin Posted December 31, 2008 Author Share Posted December 31, 2008 Andrew,when you are working on quadrangulations , please have a look at this,the man who makes a deep research on mesh quadrangulations and Simplificationhttp://www-sop.inria.fr/members/Pierre.All...blications.html Thanks! Yes, I have read these articles recently. Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1412-3d-coat-30-alpha/page/142/#findComment-13079 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member GED Posted December 31, 2008 Advanced Member Share Posted December 31, 2008 Next alpha will prolong trial period. So, just wait 2-3 days. Oh thats not too long thank you very much. Im working on a little project at the moment where I would like to try using the normal map and occlusion baking. Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1412-3d-coat-30-alpha/page/142/#findComment-13082 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member jedwards Posted December 31, 2008 Advanced Member Share Posted December 31, 2008 Thank for propose! I will think about this... But... It is really unexpected to me, but sales go very well now, even if peoples know that V3 will out soon.I don't very like pre-sales because I want to sell what is done to feel itself better. I think your current marketing is quite good and suitable to your product and its price range. 3dC isn't even close to being in the same price range as others like Modo, and yet you give full access to the alphas to non-customers so they can see what they will be getting in 3.0 and actually use it, not to mention the full access to everything in 2.x. At best, Modo users get a few lines of text, the occasional image or short movie that shows off upcoming features, but it's all still pretty vague compared to what you can see/use immediately with 3dcoat. Granted, the products are different, but the principles are not. I bought 2.x because of the alpha, as I'm sure others have. Your pricing makes it advantageous to buy now with a slight upgrade fee without making the user feel like they are paying extra, since they'll pay more for the software if they actually wait for 3.0. Considering the huge amount of work and new features in 3.0 compared to 2.x I can't see anyone complaining about this without sounding ridiculous. The software is dirt cheap regardless of what version you buy in the end and new users are probably starting to roll in just from word of mouth advertising (the best kind in my opinion). I also think that pre-sales are rather shady. You are paying for a product you don't actually get to use or at least promising to pay for it when it releases, as I don't think lux actually charge your credit card till the product is released. It's more to the developer's favor to do this as it brings in customers based on promises - or worse - a few bucks off of a product you still haven't been able to see and use yourself, which is never a good way to sell a product. You have the best method available - try before you buy, and let the product speak for itself, which is much more favorable to the customer. I just find it funny how bigger companies are so tight lipped about their product releases for fear of competitive theft when you are doing the exact opposite and letting everyone not only see it but help develop it! As a customer I find that incredibly rewarding and much more worthy of loyalty to your product. It really makes the bigger companies efforts at masking their development look rather absurd - especially when I do sometimes see previews of upcoming features in their products and still find myself asking if it is worth it to upgrade. I've grown really tired of just handing over my money 'on good faith' and being disappointed. So please keep doing what you are doing Andrew. The push towards version 3 has been the best development cycle I've ever been part of. Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1412-3d-coat-30-alpha/page/142/#findComment-13085 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member mocaw Posted January 1, 2009 Advanced Member Share Posted January 1, 2009 I just find it funny how bigger companies are so tight lipped about their product releases for fear of competitive theft when you are doing the exact opposite and letting everyone not only see it but help develop it! I totally agree with the rest of your post- but I just wanted to point out that most publicly traded companies (unlike Pilgway and Newtek) can't talk about a product unless they plan to release it that quarter- even closed door tech demos can sometimes be an issue. At least this is what I've been told by large companies...but then again...who trusts large publicly traded companies these days? Besides a few touches to the web site, UI, and demos, I think the Pilgway team should continue as they are for now since it seems to be working really well. I just can't see this thing NOT continuing to snowballing through word of mouth etc. with little effort by the Pilgway team. Is this not the easiest program to recommend to people based on price or functionality?! So easy to "evangelize" it! Keep up the good work Andrew- your dedicated work ethics and mental flexibility are an inspiration to us all! Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1412-3d-coat-30-alpha/page/142/#findComment-13092 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member JulesD Posted January 1, 2009 Member Share Posted January 1, 2009 Also when working on quadrangulations, is it possible to allow this of meshes with texture already, and have the texture fit properly after the quadrangulations. The biggest problem I find is the texture being applied after, especially with meshes with groups, at the seams. Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1412-3d-coat-30-alpha/page/142/#findComment-13095 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member ldzywsj Posted January 2, 2009 Advanced Member Share Posted January 2, 2009 Andrew,really can't wait to see what you have done on mesh quadrangulation and simplification! But, I talk to myself be patient and wait you to make it better, you know,retopo takes good quantity of sale to 3dc, and mesh quadrangulation will bring retopo to a new level! Now 3dc is becoming a modeling as well as texture program.So mesh quadrangulation worth a long time to developing and waiting! Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1412-3d-coat-30-alpha/page/142/#findComment-13124 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Shpagin Posted January 2, 2009 Author Share Posted January 2, 2009 There was only 5-6 working days since start of quadrangulation. One method is almost ready. I am fixing last obvious bugs. But I don't think I will be able to make update today. To much small quirks. Also I am not 100% satisfied, I will continue experiments even after update. Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1412-3d-coat-30-alpha/page/142/#findComment-13125 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member otsoa Posted January 2, 2009 Advanced Member Share Posted January 2, 2009 Good ! take your time . Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1412-3d-coat-30-alpha/page/142/#findComment-13127 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member splodge Posted January 2, 2009 Advanced Member Share Posted January 2, 2009 Andrew,really can't wait to see what you have done on mesh quadrangulation and simplification! But, I talk to myself be patient and wait you to make it better,you know,retopo takes good quantity of sale to 3dc, and mesh quadrangulation will bring retopo to a new level! Now 3dc is becoming a modeling as well as texture program.So mesh quadrangulation worth a long time to developing and waiting! No rush Andrew. You're two years ahead of schedule anyway. It sounds like you plan on having several methods to choose from. I think this is a great idea as each method will probably have their own strengths and weaknesses. Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1412-3d-coat-30-alpha/page/142/#findComment-13130 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member kay_Eva Posted January 3, 2009 Advanced Member Share Posted January 3, 2009 one thing to throw out there: just thinking outloud as I have no idea what I'm talking about Maybe if you can use different methods of quadrangulation on different areas of the mesh. Like maybe you can choose to quadrangualate by UV regions, or maybe by some other form of arbitrary selection. I mean, for instance you might want simple slice quadrangulation on all digits such as toes and fingers but for the face you'll want it to go in rings probably, so u just cut the model up into regions and press quadragulate and tada Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1412-3d-coat-30-alpha/page/142/#findComment-13139 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member GED Posted January 3, 2009 Advanced Member Share Posted January 3, 2009 you might want simple slice quadrangulation on all digits such as toes and fingers but for the face you'll want it to go in rings probably, so u just cut the model up into regions and press quadragulate and tada wouldnt that result in seperate meshes? I mean the edge flow just wouldnt line up with the head/neck to the torso etc so you couldnt weld it together. Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1412-3d-coat-30-alpha/page/142/#findComment-13142 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member kay_Eva Posted January 4, 2009 Advanced Member Share Posted January 4, 2009 wouldnt that result in seperate meshes? I mean the edge flow just wouldnt line up with the head/neck to the torso etc so you couldnt weld it together. I don't see what it would hwoever I don't really have a clue what I'm talking about Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1412-3d-coat-30-alpha/page/142/#findComment-13169 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Shpagin Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 one thing to throw out there: just thinking outloud as I have no idea what I'm talking about Maybe if you can use different methods of quadrangulation on different areas of the mesh. Like maybe you can choose to quadrangualate by UV regions, or maybe by some other form of arbitrary selection. I mean, for instance you might want simple slice quadrangulation on all digits such as toes and fingers but for the face you'll want it to go in rings probably, so u just cut the model up into regions and press quadragulate and tada That is not bad idea at all. You are like prophet Really - now I am working over determining cylindrical parts. There is no problem to combine several clusters, but detecting is still an issue. I have made general method for quadrangulation and it works. Now I need to detect cylinders... Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1412-3d-coat-30-alpha/page/142/#findComment-13179 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member JamesE Posted January 5, 2009 Advanced Member Share Posted January 5, 2009 Andrew: did you change the pinch tool at all within the last couple of builds? It seems to work much better now compared to earlier builds. It feels much closer to what I get with the zbrush pinch tool now in that I can actually get proper pinching with it. I didn't have much use for it in previous builds as it wasn't giving me the sharp creasing that I expected. Edit: scratch that... I was using the pinch tool and not the voxel pinch Haha. Voxel pinch still doesn't give the results I want. =\ Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1412-3d-coat-30-alpha/page/142/#findComment-13211 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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