Hasta La Motion!

Cinema 4D Noises and Nodes are now available in Redshift, or are they? A look into the confusing world of experimental updates.

C4D Noises in Redshift by Chad Ashley.

This week I found the latest Maxon Press Release, Redshift update integrates Cinema 4D Noises and Nodes for improved rendering workflow, in my inbox. It was some exciting news that I was quick to open and read.

Per the release, Redshift 3.0.12,

provides content creators deeper integration of Redshift within Cinema 4D. Redshift materials can now be defined using Cinema 4D’s nodal material framework, introduced in Release 20. As well, Redshift materials can use the Node Space system introduced in Release 21, which combines the native nodes of multiple render engines into a single material. Redshift is the first to take advantage of the new API in Cinema 4D to implement their own Node Spaces. Users can now also use any Cinema 4D view panel as a Redshift IPR (interactive preview render) window, making it easier to work within compact layouts and interact with a scene while developing materials and lighting. – Maxon

It was some pretty exciting news that garnered quite a bit of attention online.

Now there was something blatantly missing from this press release. Maxon never clarified that the latest Redshift release was in fact a beta.

Then I looked at the version number again. “3.0.12”

Redshift 3.0 has not yet been released, so this new announcement just fed further confusion.

If you were to head to the Redshift download area, you’ll notice that only v2.6.50 is currently listed. That is the recommended production-ready build of Redshift.

If you actually want to experiment with the C4D Noises and Nodes, you’ll need to find the Redshift experimental builds in the forums.

Experimental builds is the term used by Redshift for their beta builds. You get what you get. Know that there will be many bugs and likely crashes involved.

Typically Redshift experimental builds are just rolled out to users without much fanfare. But in this case, I was led to believe that C4D Noises and Nodes were production ready.

It seems like there may be some miscommunication between Maxon and Redshift regarding “updates” versus “experimental builds” but despite the confusion, we still wanted to investigate the newest feature additions to Redshift.

After a quick install, it was quickly apparent that this release IS NOT production ready.

Now to further investigate, I turned to our resident render expert Chad Ashley to take a deeper dive into the latest Redshift release. He too found a series of issues with this release. I asked for him to catalog his experience, and here are his findings.

First Impression

This is a good first stab at supporting both C4D noises and nodes, but this still feels very beta overall. I’d say that the noises seem farther along than the node experience.

I should note that the noises are missing some key features, like looping and movement, but they are at least functional. However, until the node system gets a bit more mature, I’ll be sticking with the Xpresso editor.

Redshift Node Implementation

I’ve never particularly enjoyed using the Xpresso nodes in Redshift or Arnold. Connecting those minuscule lines make my eyes water, so when Maxon released its own node-based material editor, I was very excited.

I even did some C4D node training (using physical) and got to know it a bit better. Overall their node system has a clean, functional, UI that doesn’t cause blindness but is not without its flaws.

A majority of the issues I found were with the node editor itself, not necessarily the Redshift implementation. Though there were a few things that bugged me.

• Ability to Mute wire’s is nice
• Ability to right click to replace nodes is useful
• Grouping is useful but would be better if groups could be opened/closed quickly
• Overall Node issue: Undo doesn’t work when connecting/disconnecting nodes.
• Overall Node issue: UI desperately needs a CTRL+A select all hotkey.
• Redshift Node issue: Some RS previews show black or are the wrong color for no apparent reason.
• Redshift Node issue: Frequently, nodes require a manual renderview refresh to see any changes.
• Overall Node issue: New nodes start in the center of the UI and not under your mouse as one would expect.
• Overall Node issue: Cant save node materials to the content browser (big one for me)
• Overall Node issue: No preferences to set initial view state for nodes (no previews, etc)
• Overall Node issue: Doesn’t support custom material previews
• Redshift Node issue: RS Texture nodes are shown on sphere material preview for some reason (see below image)
• Redshift Node issue: Referenced materials are not yet supported
• Redshift Node issue: Soloing upstream textures in a material with displacement shows the material with no displacement. Displacement seems to be omitted from upstream solos.

Redshift 3.0.12 textures display on sphere versus standard flat image.

Redshift Noise Implementation

Redshift’s implementation of Maxon’s noises is a welcome and long-awaited addition. It is fairly feature-complete with only a handful of omissions. I’m especially delighted that they included UV/vertex, Object and World source (spaces).

• Missing looping animation features.
• Missing movement + speed features.
• Would be nice to drive noise types with user data.
• Would be nice to drive noise seeds with user data.
• Maxon Noise material preview is on a sphere despite being a texture?

Left Redshift C4D Noise, Right Maxon C4D Noise.

It looks like Redshift 3.0 is on it’s way to incorporating some nice new features, but it’s apparent that the build just isn’t quite there yet. Which brings us to wonder when the public will finally see a Redshift 3 full release.

We saw issues with Arnold’s first GPU release beta which has made major strides since it’s first release earlier this year. With Maxon backing Redshift, let’s hope that Redshift is also quick to innovate and release big updates soon. It’s really starting to look like the GPU rendering competition is about to heat up.

Overall, it looks like there was a lot of “noise” made for features that aren’t ready for the public, but if you are tempted to play with the new experimental build, Redshift customers can find a download in the Redshift forums.

The post Redshift Gets Cinema 4D Noises and Nodes ⁠— First Impressions appeared first on Greyscalegorilla.

Microsoft added a huge slab of new games to Xbox Game Pass on Xbox One and PC. More specifically, it added not one, not two, but 14 new games, with 9 being added to the service’s library on PC and 7 dropping into the Xbox One library. Of course, there’s some crossover between the two, with a few games being added to both libraries. Highlighting this dirty dozen is Tom Clancy’s The Division, PES 2020, Metro Last Light: Redux, Ages of Wonder: Planetfall, Overcooked 2, and PES 2020.

The games includes My Friend Pedro (Xbox One, PC), Wandersong (Xbox One), Pathologic 2 (Xbox One, PC), Tom Clancy’s The Division (Xbox One), Overcooked 2 (Xbox One), PES 2020 (Xbox One), Demon’s Tilt (Xbox One, PC), Europa Universalis IV (PC), Farming Simulator 17 (PC), Ages of Wonder: Planetfall (PC), Human Fall Flat (PC), Metro Last Light: Redux (PC), Faeria (PC), Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Stirker (Xbox One).

There are so many games coming soon we had to turn this picture into a .gif in order to fit them all pic.twitter.com/tCoiwVxGdK

— Xbox Game Pass (@XboxGamePass) December 4, 2019

Every game from Xbox Game Studios launches onto Xbox Game Pass upon release. In other words, if one play more than games a year from Xbox Game Studios, it basically pays for itself with this alone.

The post Xbox Game Pass to introduce 14 new games in December appeared first on AnimationXpress.

To make sure The Crown’s period aesthetic was as authentic as possible, Netflix partnered with Framestore to deliver VFX for the third series of the show. The creative studio was tasked with recreating Heathrow airport as it was in the 1960s through a series of DMPs and the addition of CG elements.

The work on the series comes as part of an increasingly large slate of television work for the Framestore team including VFX on several other upcoming series for the leader in online streaming. Framestore’s television department needed makes sure The Crown’s scenes set at London’s Heathrow Airport in the 1960s were as convincingly realistic as possible; similarly to how the creative studio recreated a 1920s Kings Cross for the Downtown Abbey movie.

‘When you have to replicate well-known locations like Heathrow Airport, it’s very rare that you have in- depth reference materials to work from.It’s our job to do as much research as possible and pick visual elements that can be quickly associated with the location you’re trying to recreate,’  said Framestore deputy head of 2D Ollie Bersey.

To achieve this for The Crown, the team created several digital matte paintings of Heathrow as it was in the 1960s, with the unmistakable passenger boarding bridges from the period placed centre-stage so it was immediately recognisable. This DMP was accented with flashing lights, crowds, and ground staff and added to the background of the live action plates that feature the series’ cast on the airport’s apron.

‘The television team has had a really busy year working on some incredibly high-profile shows. The Crown is certainly one of Netflix’s most highly-anticipated series and everyone that’s worked on it is just  as excited as the rest of the show’s audience to see it return for this third series,’ commented Framestore VFX business development producer Benjamin Perry.

Along with a CG BOAC aircraft asset that was added into the scenes by Framestore’s artists, they also brought the series’ airport sequences to life by adding several runway vehicles and crowds into the shots. As well as the exterior Heathrow sequences, Framestore also worked on several interior aircraft shots, replacing window views with environments both on the ground and in the air. The most significant of these features a long, slow camera track through an aircraft for which, Framestore created a DMP of the exterior landscape and added CG clouds. As these part to reveal the view, the camera tracks back into the cockpit which the television team also enhanced to better fit the era.

The post Framestore VFX take off for series three of ‘The Crown’ for Netflix appeared first on AnimationXpress.

While PMCO Global Finals Malaysia is in it’s last day and the hype around the teams and results are still on, Tencent director of PUBG Mobile Esports James Yang, revealed the plan for the Esports scene for 2020.

Tencent announced a $5M commitment to its PUBG Mobile esports ecosystem, which will see three new leagues formed going into 2020 as part of a global restructuring of its competitive infrastructure.

2019 saw PUBG Mobile (coupled with the Chinese version, Peacekeeper Elite) players spend on average $140M a month on in-game transactions that includes character cosmetics and season passes that allow players to buy bulk cosmetics for the most current theme. PUBG Mobile is the first battle royale game to see $1B in revenue since its launch in March of 2018.

Registration for PUBG Mobile Club Open and further events will start from January, 2020 compared to March in 2019.

The post Tencent reveals the plan for the esports scene for 2020 appeared first on AnimationXpress.

“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible,” said Walt Disney and he did prove it right. Best recognised as the creator of Mickey Mouse, Disney produced the first full-length animated movie. His namesake empire still ranks among the top 10 most valuable brands.

Born in Chicago, Illinois on 5 December 1901, though he spent most of his childhood on a farm in Marceline, Missouri. His fascination with drawing began early when young Disney drew pictures of animals on his family farm. Family and friends encouraged the youthful artist, and Disney is said to have made his first nickel by drawing a picture of Rupert, the horse owned by the town doctor, Doc Sherwood.

The budding artist eventually found his first real job in animation, as an apprentice at an art shop. At the age of 19, Disney started Laugh-O-Grams, a company that produced short animated snippets that were shown in the local theater. At a later stage, Disney formed a new company with his brother Roy, The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio.

On Disney’s birth anniversary today, let’s take a look at some interesting facts about this legend:

• From 1928 to 1947, Walt was the man behind the mouse—literally. Even after the voice work was officially turned over to Jimmy MacDonald in 1947, Walt continued to do Mickey’s voice for shorts on The Mickey Mouse Club.
• Walt’s private apartment isn’t typically open to the public, but VIPs are occasionally offered tours. The furnishings remain virtually unchanged from when Walt used to spend time there, including a lamp in the window visible from outside. It’s always kept on to signify that Walt is always in the park.
• At the 1938 Oscars, Disney was presented with one normal-size statuette and seven miniature ones for Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
• Disney held the patent for Technicolor for two years, making him the only animator allowed to make color animated films!
• Shortly before his death, Disney had plans to build a ski resort. The Walt Disney Company ended up deciding to move forward with Disney World instead.
• In 1980, Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Karachkina discovered a minor planet and named it after Walt Disney. The planet is called 4017-Disneya.
• Walt Disney won 22 Academy awards and was nominated 59 times.

Happy Birthday Mr. Disney!

The post Happy Birthday Walt Disney: Want to know some unheard facts about creator of Mickey Mouse? appeared first on AnimationXpress.