VT[5] and Lightwave [Archive] - NewTek Discussions

Thalek

11-20-2007, 01:22 AM

I'm a tad befuddled, as appears to be increasingly a habit as the years go by.

It appears that LightWave has become decoupled from the VT[x] suite and will only be available separately in the future. Unless I'm mistaken about that, too.

So, I went to Safe Harbor to see about getting LW 9.3 now that I've got my copy of VT[5]. For VT owners, they have an upgrade for LW 9.3 that runs about $600.

They also have a SpeedEdit/LW 9.3 bundle for a bit more than half that. Which is sort of like buying SpeedEdit and getting LW 9.3 for free.

Seems to me that I would be better off getting the bundle for less money than the VT LW "upgrade".

What am I missing? Why would the VT LW upgrade be more expensive than buying the bundle, if I'm actually getting more in the bundle? (Don't point out that one has PDF manuals and the other has printed manuals, because printed manuals aren't worth $200+ to me.)

So, is there a good reason for me to buy the VT LW upgrade instead of the bundle?

billmi

11-20-2007, 06:33 AM

I recently bought the LW Companion upgrade. I remember when I was first looking seeing a LW upgrade that was a couple hundred dollars less and had a bonus copy of Speed Edit with it - probably what you were looking at. But on closer inspection, it was a LW upgrade for existing Lightwave (i.e. with a dongle) owners, not Lightwave VT owners.

The LW companion upgrade includes a dongle, and is designed to be sold as a competitive upgrade to people who own other 3D animation systems, but is also available to VT owners who want to move up to the current version of LW.

wvp

11-20-2007, 06:41 AM

Well keep in mind that VT5 includes SE as its editor but you also get Aura, a seperate CG app and of course the Live switching ability with all the new kool live sets,matts, etc.
I think thats why the VT/LW deal is more than the SE/LW deal

Thalek

11-20-2007, 12:01 PM

Thanks for the insights, Billmi.

Wvp, if it included VT[5], I'd agree with you, in fact, it would be a bargain at that price. It was just LW 9.3 for VT owners. It's possible that the bundle was as Billmi says: an upgrade for people who already own LW with a dongle; the VT package apparently is something more.

JReble

11-20-2007, 05:59 PM

Sooooo.....ummm....ok.

I must admit I'm also more than a little confused about our lightwave options. I ordered upgrades to VT5, and we got Lightwave 8.5 with them. Now I find that the emminent virtual set designer will require lightwave 9 beta. (I know aura will be an option as well) But if I want to use Lightwave to make virtual sets, I need version 9.

So what's the most sensible route to get there???? Is the only option to acquire another complete license for Lightwave 9, or is there any route to get LW9 tied to our VT Board(s)??

If I have to buy a completely additional license for V9, what is the best price option I'm going to get given the plethora of existing Lightwaves and other Newtek apps we already have? And I suppose the newly arrived copies of V8.5 with the VT5 will just collect dust on the system after that. Verrrry confusing. :eek: :grumpy: :bangwall: :rolleyes: :screwy: :compbeati :foreheads

SBowie

11-20-2007, 06:05 PM

Not to sway you one way or the other, but I think you will be suprised how much can be done with set images rendered from *any* version of LW, but compiled into LiveSets using the Aura plugins. I expect you will even be able to 'fake' reflections and refraction fairly handily.

This being so, unless you really need .9.x for other reasons, maybe a 'wait and see' approach would be sensible.

Thalek

11-21-2007, 04:43 PM

Going back to Safe Harbor and reading with a more discerning eye, the Speed Edit/LW bundle apparently has an upgrade version of LightWave, not a full version, and is therefore probably intended for people with a full version of LightWave who need to upgrade to the latest version.

The VT "upgrade" is apparently more like a cross-grade, allowing VT owners to get a full version of LightWave to replace their old version. It apparently allows us to join the main LightWave production stream, thus eliminating the need for VT-only versions of LightWave.

Here are the Safe Harbor links for the VT cross-grade http://www.sharbor.com/products/NTKN0300122.html and the SpeedEdit/Lightwave bundle http://www.sharbor.com/products/NTKN0300138.html so you can judge for yourselves.

billmi

11-23-2007, 10:05 AM

Yep, I was in the same boat - my key reason to go to 9 was for the virtual set designer, but I had pre-purchased VT[5] with LW VW 8.5 instead of 9.

According to Zane at NewTek, that companion upgrade was the most direct route for me to take to LW9, though I saved money and went with the .pdf manual version.

mixmasterwes

11-24-2007, 03:50 PM

lwaddict

11-26-2007, 09:12 AM

Totally lost...
I recieved my VT5 upgrade, which I paid for what...two years ago?
And only now do I realize I'm not getting LW9?

The changes that took place between my payment and my reciept are bewildering...but I'm sure that Newtek has their reasons.

Like my nick implies, I'm addicted...so I'm not going anywhere.
Just wish I got the full info on the date of purchase is all.

lwaddict

11-26-2007, 09:13 AM

From reading the other posts...
am I to understand that a dongle for 8.5 is coming then?

billmi

11-26-2007, 12:04 PM

From reading the other posts...
am I to understand that a dongle for 8.5 is coming then?

No dongle for 8.5.

Assuming I understand this all correctly....

If you bought LW8.5 version of the VT[5] upgrade, you've got all you are going to get. This upgrade was a few hundred dollars cheaper than buying the upgrade with LW9.

If you bought the LW9 version of the VT[5] upgrade, LW9 with a dongle will ship separately sometime after all the VT[5] upgrades have shipped.

Any update as to the completion of the virtual set designer?

If you search for some of Dr. Cross' posts, I believe "soon" has been the operative word.