Jump to content
3DCoat Forums

Newtek (Lightwave) has been bought by Vizrt


Recommended Posts

Source...

Vizrt, the world’s leading provider of visual storytelling tools for media content creators, has acquired NewTek, world leader in IP-based, software-driven live video production solutions. The acquisition creates the largest company in the broadcast space that is dedicated to enabling IT based video production. The goal is to make it possible for people to tell their story using video, whether they are a kid in a classroom or a tier-1 broadcaster.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Reputable Contributor
6 hours ago, druh0o said:

I think it's not about Lightwave, it's about broadcasting products. But probably this will affect Lightwave somehow.

I agree. Depends on whether the new parent company appreciates having a robust and mature 3D application to leverage in the CG industry, or if they view it as a lost cause. The split app arrangement was always LW's albatross. I always felt CORE was their only way out, for long term longevity.  Will be interesting to see what transpires next.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Advanced Member

If some of the essential tools in modeler were ported over to layout, the split isn't an issue anymore.

They've already started weightpainting and morph sculpting in layout which is the most critical for animation and fx. 

A few polytools in layout would be enough. People usually create assets in zbrush anyway or for viz stuff any modelling app does that fine. Remember that Unreal is the most popular viz app right now and people basically do the same workflow as lightwavers are doing. Create assets in one app then send to Unreal.:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

The developer of the LightWave Octane plugin stopped development of the plugin.

Source...

 juanjgon » Fri Oct 29, 2021 8:53 am

Hey guys,

I've been a LightWave user since the Amiga days, working with it in several companies first and getting my own license as a freelance around the LightWave 7 days. It has been my main tool as artist for at least 15 or 20 years, and also the platform for some of my first external renderer plugins like Arnold and Octane for LightWave, projects that probably have opened the doors of my current job as a full-time software developer. I only can say a big thank you to all the LightWave users that have supported the plugin development with your purchases or subscriptions, and it has been great to see how many amazing projects have been done with Octane and LW in the past years. Also thanks to Otoy for giving me the opportunity to work on this project.

Leaving the Octane for LightWave plugin development has not been an easy decision, but please, don't blame Otoy or Jules for it. They didn't force me to leave the plugin development at all, it was my personal choice. The lack of enough time on my side to work on this project is of course part of this decision, but probably the main factor to leave the project is related to the fact that the LightWave development is dead. There is nobody on the other side working on it, nobody to add, fix or improve the multiple problems and limitations that LightWave has on the SDK and core sides to support such a complex renderer plugin like Octane is now. LightWave as dead software also means that there are fewer users working with the plugin each day, so well, personally it is hard to find the right motivation to spend so much time trying to find workarounds for problems sometimes near impossible to fix, or to try to improve/refactor the incredibly convoluted code that the plugin has to work in so old architecture and with so many limitations.

Also, I want to say that the people who paid a new subscription in advance are not fully wasting money. It is true that the plugin is not going to get the 2021 Octane core in the short term, but like happens with LightWave itself, you can still work with Octane in your projects, probably for a long time, and you can use your license with other applications, from Blender or Unreal to C4D or Houdini. In this case, thinking about your money, there is even a small but important difference, LightWave is fully abandonware, while I'm still here to at least partially support the current Octane for LightWave plugin build in my spare time. That means that a critical issue can still be fixed, and a question can still get an answer from the plugin developer. Try that with Newtek & VizRT and we can talk about wasting money :(

Anyway, thanks all again. I really hope that you can still work with LightWave/Octane for a long time, or at least you can find a good replacement for LightWave and use Octane with some of the other amazing supported applications out there.

-Juanjo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...