LW 7.5c: your answers/guesses, please...

[SG1]

Re deal at toasterdudes/newtek, they have LW 7.5c with 2 apps; and that ver of LW is about last one that'd run on my lowly WIN98se (if I beef up the PC a bit). I wondered:

a) Does the c in LW 7.5c, mean something in particular? Interim build, maybe? (I'll feel stupid asking that, if the c means Copyright. Duh...)

b) Was LW 7.5, at least a fairly stable version?

c) I've read that LW's modeller is liked by many, but that Layout is also loathed by many; why is that? Layout, I assume, is - the tools or the interface arrangement? I'd expect that by ver 7 of anything, the interface would be reasonably mature/coherent.

d) The ad also says something about a "special/redesigned" LW interface: would you guess then, that, they spiffed up LW perhaps so that it works a bit easier with the other 2 toasterdudes apps in this sale?

Given the price on this deal, and being its for 3 apps - I thought this is about the best price I'd ever see, that allows me to hop on the LW train, and I think I'd pay the price even just to get a slightly older ver., of LW (from what I've read about the app., and its well respected rendering engine). And it would allow me, I assume, to then later pay for upgrades, to keep up with current ver. of LW(?)

And someone wisely advised me not to get more than I need; I'm "just" drawing signs - some of which are internally lighted at night; I'd like to be able to show that, or a sense of that, and I've seen on the web the killer renderings folks have done in LW, and the rather old faithful truSpace I use does ok but it sure has that "graphics on a PC" look - that I'd like to step up from and find a more realistic look that LW seems to have with its renderings. So... is LW more than I need? Or, is it a good app, to step up to. (esp. with this sale they are having)?

Thanks, for your help/info/opinions-guesses, to my query.
SG1 (Pat)

[Dodgy]

a) c is the version, 7.5c is the one but last of the 7 line of lightwave. There's a LW 7.5d version which is a free update, though I'm not sure it's compatible with the toaster if that's what you're getting.

b) 7.5 was a fairly stable version, you should be able to work with it.

c) I like Layout, though it isn't as advanced as some more recent software. I still find it pleasurable to work in, but it really depends what you're doing. Lightwave has always had a good renderer, but it's slow now compared to more recent efforts. It's not as 'integrated' as other packages, but I prefer it in many ways to others I have used, but it comes down to your particular style I guess. It's all text based, very few icons.

You can upgrade to 8.3 (an upgrade to 8, but all . updates are free!) for $495 (if your LW is a Standalone copy, which I assume means not with VT, you get Vue 5 Infinite for free!) Lightwave 8.5 is just around the corner as well, and that will be a free update.

I would say that Lightwave is definitely a good buy, it's flexible and feature rich for it's price. The other deals are just icing :)

[Wonderpup]

Hi SG1,

I think the main issue you'll run into moving from Truespace to Lightwave is the fact that Lightwave is essentialy split into two modules, one for modeling and one for animation and rendering. At first this can feel quite clunky, if you are used to being able to tweak eveything in one place. But once you get into the mindset of planning ahead a bit more, it can be quite helpful in that it forces you to be more organised in your workflow and to think things through more, rather than diving in and ending up trying to do everthing at the same time, which is how I used to work in MAX.

In terms of what you are trying to do with the signs, it sounds like modeling and rendering quality are your main issues, and Lightwave is very strong in both of these areas.