Will hexagon be around for a while?
wburton72
Posts: 0
Will Daz keep hexagon around for a while or will it be removed from the store one day? I wouldn't want to buy a program that's on death row.
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I don't know the answer to your query, but I've been using Hexagon for 2 1/2 years and will probably still use it even if they stop selling it because it's an efficient modelling program.
I would consider Hexagon an unsupported program, in the sense that it may not be updated ever again nor new versions released. But either way, it's still worth $20, even despite how old it is.
Hexagons interface, in my opinion, is unrivaled in ease of use.
I have a version of Amapi - pre-Hexagon - which was abandoned about ten years ago and works just as well as when i first got it :)
I'll keep using Hex as long as I have an OS which supports it, no matter what Daz does.
It may still work but if you want to progress in this field you might need to change your focus to a supported app.
I used to use Hex but have moved on to other applications. If you are on a Mac check out Cheetah3D for perhaps the best inexpensive package out there for it's cost.
The question...does it still run?
Yes.
Does it still do what you need it to do?
Yes.
Then why does it need to be 'updated'?
If you are comfortable with everything...UI, features and so on, there is no need to change to something else, even if the company has quit 'supporting' a piece of software.
From various posts in many different threads, everything in DAZ's line up is still 'breathing'...there doesn't seem to be a plan to kill off any of it...Bryce, Studio, Hexagon, Carrara all are still 'alive and kicking'...it's just active work is being done on some more than others. And for the most part, Hexagon is the least 'needy' of the work (that's not to say it isn't in need of some fixes and new features).
daz can't really compete with the other big guys....or at least has very little interest in doing so. bryce definitely needs a complete overhaul, since there have been many much better, higher performing, easier to use render engines released since.
hexagon is still largely functional, but it could use more features and bug fixes.
but you have to keep in mind, hexagon wasn't an in-house daz thing, it was commissioned and designed by a third party. so daz would have to commission them again for any type of updates. bryce itself has changed hands a lot in the last 20 years (yes bryce is 20 years old!)...which means bringing in a whole new team to work on software designed by someone else.....that's why bryce has largely only seen minor updates or feature additions.
right now I think daz gets most of its profit through selling content, not software.
the initial development of Hexagon was done by the french company Eiovia (hence the name) and that DAZ bought hexagon and Carrara from them. It hasn't been contracted out for updates
I don't know why you think Bryce has only had minor updates. DAZ 3D have done more with Bryce since they have owned it than anyone apart from the original creators. Even Corel added metaballs and trees. Plus the Bryce render engines were streets ahead of their time when Bryce was new, and others are only just catching up with them. The Bryce render engines still rock. And Bryce didn't change hands many times, not like some other popular software. MetaCreations, then Corel, then DAZ 3D. MetaCreations was formed because of a merger of several smaller companies, not a change of ownership. I should know, I have every single version of Bryce that works on a PC, starting with Bryce 2. in 1997
The question…does it still run?
Sort of but many tools (bugs) don't work very well
Does it still do what you need it to do?
No
Then why does it need to be ‘updated’?
If you are comfortable with everything…UI, features and so on, there is no need to change to something else, even if the company has quit ‘supporting’ a piece of software.
The answer : Future? Time? What are your future 3D goals and what is your time worth? The time you spend using Hex maybe better utilized fof learning an app with a future. Having said all this, I use my arsnel of 3D softwares on professional work where dependibity and productivity are very important to me. I am in the minority that would like to see Hex progress as a professional tool and not just for Hobbiest? The answer to my question, if it isn't updated it isn't a serios 3D tool for the long run and especially for professionals.
Call me the happy hobbyist then, I'm determined to learn to use every tool in the program. It's doing just fine for me so far.
I originally got Hex 2 and was pleased with it.
I now have the latest version and the only complaint I have is the problems I have finding a good bunch of tutorials to learn from, but I can usually find answers to questions here..
I have never had a crash with it (knock on wood),
Have you taken a look at Geekatplay - they have enough there to keep you occupied for several years :)
And never had a crash!!!
Okay, waiting for your tutorials. .pdf would be great or as an accompaniment to videos [but please to speak loudly and clearly as the sound card on this ol' laptop is crap, thanks] I have a few major projects I'd love to make ... and we all know Hexagon crashes lots over here. Sometimes it's me, sometimes it is not AFAIK.
:-)
Sinds my new rig I don't have many crashes anymore, but I still stumble upon bugs.
Sometimes I am unable to select faces when mirrored but what I stumble across the most is when I move a face, it just randomly makes triangles from the default shape so it erases a bit of mesh. Strangest thing about it (and the most annoying) is that somehow this bug disables the option to undo so I have to close the software and reload my last saved figure.
Being unable to select some faces on an area I am working on is really slowing the process of sculpting down as I have to work around it :(
Might help, might not, to 'weld' the .obj [even if it's supposedly already welded...] and/or to weld points that are close to each other [the one click button operation, not individually!] ... so far haven't experienced the making of triangles from squares but give us some more time lol ...
Hexagon 1.21 is my main poly modeler still. For as long as it still runs with my os/hardware.
DAZ could put a stop to all this customer doubt by making an update. It's long past due time for an update. Hexagon needs it. The customer base deserves it.
64 bit + crash bug fixes and improvements to the readability of the UI would go a long way. I would even be willing to show my support by participating in a beta and making a purchase (assuming it was done well).
Come on DAZ, you weren't planning to go anywhere for summer vacation anyway. Besides, all your kids would just be bored and playing their app games during the long hot car rides anyway!
Is it (Hexagon) even being worked on?
Does anyone know if Hexagon has been made more stable for Windows 8 64-bit use? Heard a lot of stories of woe, but love how user-friendly the interface seems on tutorial videos.
The only thing I've found like it is Google Sketch Up, but so far as I know, there's no easy way to import finished models from that to Daz Studio for posing in art projects.
All the C++ GUI tools would have to be re-tooled for Windows 8 probably. The version of WxWidgets is old I bet. Then the compiler used for Hexagon may no longer work with Windows 8, so that C++ code needs a do-over to work with the new stuff. Then add 64-bit to that. Might be easier for DAZ3D to just buy another modeler from someone than to write their own, if they don't have any spare full-time programmers.
I'm using SketchUp 8 (basic) and exporting models to OBJ using a Ruby script written for it.
Damn... :c
Me and a friend have lots of vehicle and prop ideas we can do to a fairly professional standard in stuff like Second Life, but aside from Sketch Up, nothing seems to have as user-friendly/intuitive an interface.
I know. The only reason I still use Hex 1.21 is because I like that GUI the best out of all the versions. I can't stand modo's GUI. So I use it just for rendering.
I've learned to use Hexagon via different tutorials and i must admit, that it is really eay to use, if you have understand it. i just use currently only a quarter of the tools in the program and I get results, which satisfy and surprise me everytime again.
Of course, I wish, that Hexagon will get some minor updates, especially some bugfixes. The best idea would i.m.o. to make a Designing Tool from Hexagon with all options to create easily clothes or props for any characters, with morphing and rigging in just a few clicks.