Express versus 7.5 - What's the difference?

[Tom Wood]

Hello,

I'm trying to decide if paying for the extra features in VT that I -don't- need (like live switching) is worth getting a complete package. I want to create a 3-5 minute trailer for a project that I want to pitch via DVD. It will be produced almost entirely in 3D, with perhaps some minor 2D work. What features of LW 7.5 are not included in LW Express? If this is a FAQ question, where is the link to the FAQ?

Thanks,

TW

[Paul Lara]

Originally posted by Tom Wood
What features of LW 7.5 are not included in LW Express?



There are many, including:

General Omissions
User cannot edit Menu Layouts or Keyboard Shortcuts
No Skelegons
No Metaballs
No Vmaps (Modeler will allow you to create and edit morph maps, but not other map types)

Surface Editor Omissions
No Surface Envelopes
No Special Buffers
No Ability to View Different Channels in Preview Window (i.e. specularity, diffuse, etc.)
Edit by ‘Scene’ Only

Graph Editor Omissions
Expressions
Higher End Features Such as Footprinting, Key Reduction, Channel Bins, Favorites, etc.
No Fractional Frames
No 'Match Footprint Timeslice'
No 'Lock Motion Keys in Time' option

Image Editor Omissions
No Processing Tab
No Reference Images

Modeler Omissions
Limit subdivision level to 3
No End or Start CP
No Pivot Tool
No Layers Window
No Layer Settings
Limit Layers to 10
No Symmetry Tool
No Spin Quads Tool
No Parts
No Skin Tool
No Expand and Contract Selection

Layout Omissions
No Fractional Frames
Limit Single Frame Resolution to 4k x 4k
Limit Sequence Resolution to 800 X 600
No Caustics
No Radiosity
No HDRI
No Screamernet
No 'Extreme' or 'Enhanced Extreme' Antialiasing
No Camera Mask
Limit Ray Recursion to 8
Single Camera Only
No Area or Linear Lights
No GL Transparency, Fog, Lens Flares
No schematic view
No Alternate Coordinate Systems
No Light, Radiosity or Caustics Exclusion for objects