"I'm not interested in Windows-MacOS wars" (and yet ...)

[erikals]

Mac = Looks cool and Attracts chicks.

[jwiede]

Does nobody here use non-polygonal modellers with LW?

Yep, started with adding MoI at some pt, then later added Bonzai3D (eventually upgrading to full FormZ at v7), and then finally Rhino. Of the three, I find myself using MoI for quick stuff, and FormZ for more involved stuff (in part because it offers decent support for migrating geometry between NURBS-based and SDS-based configurations).

I added Rhino fairly recently, and largely for Grasshopper support, but have yet to fully "integrate" it into my workflow. With the addition of Grasshopper, it can do a bunch of stuff that FormZ cannot (yet, anyway). If FormZ were to add equivalent procedural-/parametric-focused control to Grasshopper, I'd probably just sell off my Rhino license altogether, as it's kind of redundant otherwise.

When working with that kind of stuff, I need high-precision ability to work with and replicate curved surfaces, and a more CSG-like toolset, so adding a NURBS-type more-CAD-like modeling pkg like FormZ/Rhino made perfect sense. MoI is good if you have occasional needs (and is great for format conversion as well), but lacks a lot of ops/tools that become fairly important once you get more seriously into NURBS-type modeling.

Now that FormZ has a full NURBS/poly/SDS toolset, in some ways it's a bit ahead of Rhino if you're mostly focusing on working with NURBS towards producing final poly/SDS-based geometry output (for rendering or whatever). However, Rhino's Grasshopper functionality is currently unmatched on FormZ, and pretty awesome for certain types of work.

Given the low cost, and high utility, I'd strongly recommend MoI just to have. It offers a lot of value outside "modeling" per se (such as NURBS/CAD format conversions, etc.), and so even if you need more than it offers for NURBS/CSG-type work, it'll still be quite useful (IME).

For anyone seriously considering more "complete" NURBS-/CSG-type modeling toolsets/pkgs, I strongly recommend trying both FormZ and Rhino and reach your own conclusions. They each have their "own way" of handling various common scenarios, and it's likely if one doesn't fit your workstyle well, the other may fit much better.

[Julez4001]

Fair enough. Believe me, I was i.......c OS (and hardware). My last hold out was for Mac only software like Final Cut Pro (and this is a very compelling reason - no other editor has some of its real-time rendering capabilities).

What real time rendering capabilities still exist only in Final Cut Pro??

[wesleycorgi]

What real time rendering capabilities still exist only in Final Cut Pro??

I misstated what FCPX does. What I mean is how Final Cut Pro X uses multi-threading and is rendering underneath the hood while you continue to edit. As a result, it renders much quicker than most NLE's (it toasts Premiere that's for sure!). However, I understand Resolve has multi-threading, but I have yet to plunge into Resolve. If you have a suggestion for a Windows NLE that is speedy as FCPX, that would be great.

[raymondtrace]

I'm doubtful that is an exclusive feature for the past several years. Even a free, open source NLE like kdenlive can do multithreaded rendering as a background task.

[wesleycorgi]

I'm doubtful that is an exclusive feature for the past several years. Even a free, open source NLE like kdenlive can do multithreaded rendering as a background task.

You're probably right. Whenever I see performance bake offs, I never see any other NLE approach the rendering speeds of FCPX. In a video I watched this morning where they compared FCPX, Premiere, and Resolve using a mix of media (1080P, 4K, etc.) FCPX took seconds, Resolve was about 2 minutes and Premiere took tens of minutes to render out a video. I would love to see performance comparisons of kdenlive or any other open source vs. FCPX.

[Verlon]

All kinds of reasons. That is not to say that there aren't all kinds of reasons to make some other choice (masochists need computers too!).

FCPX is really fast at what it does and insanely easy to do powerful editing. It reminds me of an early SpeedEdit presentation where they talked about how NLEs were trapped trying to emulate editing film and ignored the power of digital. Resolve incorporating Fusion looks enticing though.

What I like about Mac is that is requires so much less tinkering than Windows. I recouped hours every week by not supporting Windows in my house. You want to run Windows? Fine. If it breaks, take it to Geek Squad. I will help with Mac problems, or will, if one ever comes up. No "why cant I find...." or "Why does internet explorer do this...." or "it just won't boot."

Once I moved my gaming to consoles (and much less gaming overall), I no longer needed to run Windows. I simply decided that I would not run software that didn't run on a Mac. I would find a way to make what I had work, and be done with it. There is plenty of good software for most needs. Sometimes screaming for more is just being a gear junkie. I do not need Lightwave AND Modo AND Blender AND Maya AND Max AND Cinema 4D. Being really good with 2 of those would cover more than enough ground. Only one of them doesn't support Mac anyway.

[rpsolo]

I'm afraid to switch. I've used mac for nearly 30 years. I still don't know what video card to get that will let me use Octane. Or if I need an additional fan once I add that.
I've looked at PC alternatives but the prices seem to be about the same. Around 4 or 5 grand. I would appreciate any help. Sorry if I contributed to the offness of the topic.

[Bitboy]

It's sad. All the people who have sold out and are no longer running Lightwave on the Amiga, as it should be......

Well.. Getting my Amiga's up and running again with a Vampire card in one of them, so I'm tempted to try Lightwave on it since it'll be 200x faster that standard. Simply just because it could be fun. Anyone knows if it's possible to downgrade a Lightwave license and get the Amiga version for real? Or is getting it impossible? Chuck?

[erikals]

I'm afraid to switch. I've used mac for nearly 30 years. I still don't know what video card to get that will let me use Octane. Or if I need an additional fan once I add that.
I've looked at PC alternatives but the prices seem to be about the same. Around 4 or 5 grand. I would appreciate any help. Sorry if I contributed to the offness of the topic.

get a cheap laptop PC, if you think the OS is ok, buy a PC, but assemble the parts yourself. way cheaper.
https://pcpartpicker.com

[erikals]

Well.. Getting my Amiga's up and running again with a Vampire card in one of them, so I'm tempted to try Lightwave on it since it'll be 200x faster that standard. Simply just because it could be fun. Anyone knows if it's possible to downgrade a Lightwave license and get the Amiga version for real? Or is getting it impossible? Chuck?

probably not, though, perhaps you can find an old LW Amiga version on eBay, or here.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...amiga&_sacat=0

[Bitboy]

Thanks, it is mainly for fun since I have LW 2018 here on the PC. Been getting into the Amiga jive again with all the new hardware that's coming out for it. Fun times!

Back to the platform war! Even though I don't care about platforms, got a lot of different computers here - whatever works for anyone is fine I'd say.