| Tarn: | Hello everyone! Welcome to the first ever FXhome Live Webchat. We'll try to answer everyone's questions, so don't worry if your question takes a while to get a reply - it's on the list and we'll get to it eventually! |
| Only CSB staff can talk in this channel, to stop things getting confusing. Please submit your questions using the form at the bottom of the webchat page. The topic for today's discussion is AlamDV3. |
| Thanks for coming - let's get this show on the road with the first question... |
|
| pingpeppy asks: When Will AlamDV3 come out? |
| Tarn: | Having made many mistakes regarding the release of Chromanator, we do not want to repeat those exact same mistakes. As such, we're not going to announce a release date until we are 100% sure we can meet it. |
| Even big programming teams miss deadlines, and they have hundreds of programmers and artists working on each project. We are a small team of four people, which is why things can sometimes take longer. |
| So we do not have a release date yet, sorry. However, we are working as fast as possible and hope that it will not be too much longer and well before the end of 2004. |
|
| CoolKabe asks: Do you know how big the Alamdv3 download will be? |
| Tarn: | The download will be smaller than AlamDV2. Due to most of the effects in AlamDV3 being generated properly by the program, the download won't need to include large plugin image files. |
| The program will probably be slightly larger than the Chromanator download - maybe about 6-7 megs. |
|
JediMaster33 asks: Can we see some more of the interface and some more of the new features? (ie: More photos or a video.) Or, are you almost finished?  |
| Tarn: | We'll definitely be doing some more Spotlights on the new features and interface. The reason we haven't had anything for a while is that the actual visual part of the program is the last part to be finalised. |
| This means that while everything can be 'working', it doesn't necessarily mean that you can easily show people in the form of screenshots and videos. We'll definitely be looking to do Spotlights on Penguin, the new G6 look etc. |
| Keep you eyes peeled to the news page. |
| Oh, and in the meantime, here's a screenshot. Be sure to open it in a new window!! |
| http://schwar.fxhome.com/alamdv3_screenshot.jpg |
| timbuk2: | I think it looks pretty funky, much improved from chromanator already. |
| schwar: | Yeah, there are many enhancements to the interface. The timeline is much, much quicker for a start and supports 64 layers, rather than 8 or 16 or whatever it is at the moment. |
| Tarn: | Much, much prettier now too |
| schwar: | Yeah, several users helped get the interface right. |
|
| hungrymarshmelow asks: will you improve on the way the effects will be adjusted and reshaped? lets say like right click the mouse and get a rotation tools and just click and hold to rotate effect? |
| Tarn: | We're happy with the system we already have that has developed through AlamDV1 and 2 and Chromanator. AlamDV3 will have the same manipulation systems as Chromanator - ie, a right click to a quad will rotate it, while a left click will warp it. |
| This seems to be the easiest, quickest way of manipulating objects. |
| schwar: | Something I might add here...we are working on linking objects together so you can animate one object relative to another. I've got it working, but getting the interface right is proving quite complicated. |
| So you could have 1 main object (a planet) with 63 satellite objects, all animated to spin around it or something, and just animate the planet object and it sorts all the others for you. |
|
| embi asks: Will there be a support for importing 3D model files? |
| Tarn: | No, definitely not. AlamDV has never been a 3D program and that goes for AlamDV3 as well. It is designed to be a 2D effects package. |
| To make importing 3D models worthwhile you would have to generate the projects in 3D, implement a full lighting system and 3D animation and control interface - that's before you even get to the render engine. |
| Aside from the fact it would add many, many months (even years) to the development time, it is simply not what the program is meant for. Microsoft Word is not designed for 3D; neither is AlamDV3. |
| If we ever move into 3D, we will want to do it properly, rather than trying to force a halfway compromise into AlamDV. We still say that if you want to use 3D, you should use one of the many excellent 3D programs out there. |
| timbuk2: | Yeah, we've tried to allow you to import as many different formats as possible. We will be also supporting HD in these new apps. Trying to go more professional |
| Tarn: | But 3D isn't something we're aiming for with AlamDV3. |
| schwar: | Yeah, Tim’s new video support really is impressive. He has also extracted more performance from all his stuff. |
|
| m_kim29 asks: And how will AlamDV3 stand out from the rest of the speciall effects program and AlamDV2? |
| Tarn: | That's a good question. |
| We've designed AlamDV3 completely from scratch. It's not just a small update to AlamDV2, with a few extra bits. It is a completely, totally new program. |
| AlamDV2 is a cheap program for enthusiasts, a job which it does fairly well. |
| But with AlamDV3 we wanted to make a program for professionals, that would still be affordable and accessible to our original enthusiast users. |
| Anybody that has tried Chromanator will know how much better the interface is compared to AlamDV2. We'll be using a much improved version of that interface for AlamDV3, so it will look prettier and be more responsive to use. |
| AlamDV2 is also a very specific program. You choose a plugin, and place it where you want it. AlamDV3, however, will give the filmmaker many more options. It's all about choice and creativity. |
| The Chromanator tutorials show how versatile that program is, and we're aiming for the same flexibility with AlamDV3. There won't be a single way of doing something, and all the different features will enable users to innovate and create exciting new things. |
|
| Waser asks: Will AlamDV3 be released in the same way as Chromanator was, as in we get an unfinished version, and later get the full version? |
| Tarn: | We may adopt a similar strategy, although probably not to the same level. The pre-release of Chromanator was very, very different to what you all use now. We hope the initial release of AlamDV3 will be fully complete. |
| Our aim, therefore, is to release the full program with the first release. However, as with all our products, we never call them totally 'finished' because we are always looking for ways to improve them. |
| No doubt we will get new ideas from everyone who uses AlamDV3, some of which we will incorporate into future updates, like we did with Chromanator. In fact, as well as AlamDV3 we will also be releasing another Chromanator update in the near future. |
| schwar: | We need to get something fairly final with AlamDV3. The process we had for Chromy helped us a lot at the time, but I don't think it will now. As for the Chromy update - it will be adding all the new interface bits from alamdv3 - the new timeline with 64 layers for instance - and a new render engine. |
| timbuk2: | Plus all three programs will use the same fundamental code, so once we've got it right for one, everything else should fall into place. |
| schwar: | Indeed. |
|
| Jonne asks: Will you release a demo soon??? |
| Tarn: | It is highly unlikely that a demo will be available before the main release of the program. A demo is a cut-down version of the full version, so the full version needs to be produced first. |
| Once the main program is completed, it can be modified and restricted to become the demo. Doing it the other way around isn't possible. We wouldn't want to release an early demo as it would not reflect the quality of the finished product. |
|
| rmw asks: Will it be possible to use custom pictures (or sprites) with the particle generator? |
| Tarn: | It will be possible to use custom pictures for your particles but we have yet to finalise what formats and sizes we will support. We are even hoping to support movies as particles - but that might come a little bit later. |
| schwar: | It really depends what people want...The particle engine is one of the bits which will evolve a lot over time. |
| Tarn: | The particle engine is something totally new for us, a really big step. |
| schwar: | So we'll put up some more info about what directions we can take and let you vote so things like video texture support, or other control options. |
|
| AndrewtheActorMan asks: What will the new Particle Generator do exactly? Create smoke, explosions, dust...etc? Some more details on this would be nice. Thanks! |
| Tarn: | The particle engine will be great for these kind of effects. Although the engine is pretty much finished we're still interfacing it with an easy to use keyframeable control system. There will be all your normal controls for emiter rate and angles as well as gravity and colour. |
| It should be stated that the best way to make an explosion is to use stock footage which is also something we are looking in to for the future. |
| schwar: | We will be offering 3rd party stock footage in the near future, for really cheap. We've already got people like Sollthar lined up to provide this. As well as footage we'll offer sound effects and music for your films, all professional and very inexpensive. |
| Hope we'll have all that in place by the end of the year. It will even allow some of the community to sell their own stuff via fxhome.com. Malone is working hard on it so you can be sure it'll be amazing, and we'll link it in to the program as well. |
| On top of this we'll offer a selection of free stuff provided by CSB - Chromy backdrops, some stock footage etc...so there will be a free section (to users of our applications) and a large very cheap section. |
|
| evman101 asks: I really like the alamdv1 feature for lightswords in alamdv2. Will Alamdv3 support an alamdv1 mode? I really hate chromy's masking system and how it doesn't have a frame by frame draw thing. |
| Tarn: | You can't really draw a mask frame by frame and tween it, as each mask will have a different amount of points. If this is something people are interested in we might be able to investigate a new masking tool. |
| As for the 4 point lightsword mode this is sure to stick around - its the best way to draw them afterall. |
| schwar: | Yeah, are people really wanting frame-by-frame masking? I'm not sure how it would be implimented, but in the future we can try it. |
|
| Hybrid-Halo asks: Piracy seemed to be a difficult problem to deal with for alamdv2, users could share serials and plugins and there was no way to stop them effectively. What measures will be in place to secure alamdv3 from pirates? |
| timbuk2: | Ah, one for Malone here. |
| malone: | Unfortunately the more popular our programs become the more they will be pirated. We think it’s important to protect our programs but not at the expense of our legitimate users. I think the current key system for Chromanator has proved to be a good compromise. It uses a very strong encryption technique which is a huge improvement over AlamDV2. |
| I plan to implement a similar system for AlamDV3. We will also be including the expiry system from Chromy which not only stops piracy but also helps make sure everybody is running the latest and greatest version of the program. |
| schwar: | Here is one about chromy: |
|
| Kid asks: One feature many people want to see in Chromonator is the ability to export mattes to use in other programs, do you have any plans to add that? |
| schwar: | This is something we were gonna hold back for a future version. |
| but I think you'll find it in the next version of chromy now |
| also the ability to use exported mattes inside the program |
| should give people way more power with their compositing |
| Tarn: | which will make complex comps much, much quicker and easier |
| the hologram tutorial, for example, will be much simpler |
|
| Rawree asks: How will the Alam generated muzzle flashes compare to the ones available as V2 plugins? |
| schwar: | I bet loads of people are interested in this one. Wonder if I can find a screenshot... |
| Tarn: | we've completely redesigned the muzzle flash system for AlamDV3. It will give you much more flexibility and won't restrict you to using pre-rendered images like in AlamDV2. |
| schwar: | Yeah, I've got a fairly old screenshot somewhere... |
| The new system is 3D, so you can point your muzzle flash where you like. |
| malone: | Also means we won’t see movies with the same muzzle flash over and over again, each one can be unique. |
| schwar: | And I think it can make like several billion different flashes depending on the seed function. |
| Tarn: | That's right folks.....SEVERAL BILLION |
| timbuk2: | heh |
| schwar: | http://schwar.fxhome.com/alamdv3muzzle.jpg |
| That’s a really old picture. It basically shows how it’s made and then blurred. |
| timbuk2: | You'll be able to change the shape to suit whatever gun you're trying to emulate as well, and the colour, etc... |
| Tarn: | you'll never have the old problem of 5 muzzle flashes in a row looking identical. |
| schwar: | It should be the most sophisticated muzzle flash generator around - like better than anything at any level. You can change loads of stuff about it, colour etc.. |
| Tarn: | as with all aspects, we've really striven to make each section the best at what it does. ie, the best muzzle flash system, the best lightsaber system... |
| schwar: | I'm working on the star-type muzzles (sure xcession will tell me the correct term) but it should be able to do everything you want, at any resolution, which is the main thing. |
| Tarn: | that's the other big thing about AlamDV3 - it's resolution independent. You can enlarge the effects without any pixellation worries. |
|
| 4Jex asks: will AlamdV3 retain sound? |
| timbuk2: | The simple answer is yes. |
| schwar: | Unlike Chromy, which has no single source clip, both AlamDV3 and DigiGrade have a single source, therefore they can keep the sound of that clip. |
| Tarn: | The problem with sound support in Chromy is that any project has multiple sources. When doing compositing you really need a full sound mixer, which is currently better served in a dedicated NLE. |
| timbuk2: | We have not been able to mix sound for this version, but who knows what could happen for the future. |
| Tarn: | Like with the 3D support question earlier, doing full sound mixing support is beyond the scope of the program for now. |
|
| er-no asks: I've heard that CSB might be in a spot of financial trouble? It sounds very worrying! What's happening? |
| schwar: | This is a scary one. Well, technically it is true, we are very poor at the moment. |
| * | timbuk2 counts his pennies |
| * | Tarn looks on the floor for crumbs to eat |
| schwar: | With slow sales of AlamDV2 (due to AlamDV3 and no advertising), we are on the edge. Hence I've now moved in with my parents for a while to conserve funds. |
| Anyway, we are ok at the moment. We could do with some schools making some bulk orders, but we have a very nice investor who is backing us at the moment. |
| Tarn: | Base line is that Schwar has left his house for the moment in order to give us the ability to keep supporting the products and developing all the cool new things for you guys. So everyone say "Thank you schwar.” |
| timbuk2: | Thanks schwar!  |
| Tarn: | Thanks schwar! |
| schwar: | Hehe. We'll let you know if things get worse. |
| malone: | This is what we love doing and I'm sure we'll all continue no matter what. |
| timbuk2: | I know I will. |
|
| pooky asks: Will there be a way to make muzzle flashes light up their environment, like AlamDV lightbulbs did? |
| schwar: | Let’s get this one out of the way quickly: Yes, the muzzle flash system should have automatic lighting and lens flare you can switch on, just to make it look special.. |
| Tarn: | we've tried to add lots of extra options like this into AlamDV3, little extra touches that you can use if you want - all about choice, like we mentioned earlier. |
|
| Fart Vader asks: What blur effects will be avalible when rendering in dv3 |
| timbuk2: | We're going to add more blur effects than what we have got in Chromanator currently. I've been working on radial/zoom blurs, as well as a smoother area blur. |
| schwar: | The blurs in AlamDV2 were mainly added to counter the poor rendering. AlamDV3 has no jaggies, Tim’s amazing render engine sorts that. You can just expect perfect, smooth, high quality renders. |
|
| aenigma asks: what is your projected retail price for ADV3? will it be more the ADV2? |
| schwar: | Ooh, another scary one. I expect most people here don't need to worry - you either get it free or for the discounted upgrade price. But for people who have not purchased yet we must warn you the price is going up. |
| AlamDV3, Chromy and Digi will probably be sold for £59.99 or $99 |
| Current owners need not fear. |
| Tarn: | AlamDV3 is such a huge advance, we can't really keep it at the same price. |
| timbuk2: | There will be a news post about this, and a set time before the price does go up, so you still have a chance to buy it at the current price. |
| schwar: | Yeah. |
| Tarn: | However, we will always strive to keep prices low, as our low-budget and enthusiast users are vitally important to us. |
| schwar: | basically we've stayed at £49.99 for a long while now which doesn't reflect the quality of the program or the changes in the market. |
|
| kevinmcpoland asks: for those of us that will be paying for an upgrade, when can we purchase it to help the funding of CSB? (like we did with chromy) |
| schwar: | That’s an interesting question. You guys are so good to us, and we know you would all help if you could. Problem is we don't think its fair to take any money from you until we have a final version. |
| Maybe once we get to a near final internal version or something, but not at the moment. |
|
| Redhawksrymmer asks: What will the penguin particle system actually be able to do? Can you add forces or blockers to the particles to make it look like they are more reacting to the environment? |
| schwar: | Well, blockers no. To have blockers is very complicated as it needs to be 3D really. This is something we are looking in to for a future version of something  |
| But for now you can have gravity, wind and even change the weight of your particles. |
| timbuk2: | There will be presets for this of course, so you can just add ‘smoke’, and it'll react like smoke. |
| schwar: | Yeah. Loads of presets. |
| timbuk2: | Then change the direction, or whatever fits your movie. |
| schwar: | Indeed. And most attributes are keyframed. Some are constants for a particle, but many can be changed. |
|
| Hybrid-Halo asks: Tarn's being doing a fantastic job with the chromanator tutorials, and I'm assuming that he will be releasing many alamdv3 tutorials. But will there be a section where users can submit their techniques and tutorials - like the plugin system works now. So a tutorial could be verified and rated then put on display? |
| schwar: | That is so happening |
| Tarn: | Good idea hybrid. |
| timbuk2: | Tarn has indeed done a good job with the tutorials |
| Tarn: | We had discussed that a while back, and it's something we'd definitely like to do. |
| schwar: | We kinda hope Tarn might even write some books on the new apps. |
| timbuk2: | hehe |
| Tarn: | However, we would have to monitor them a little more closely than the plugins - we'd want all the tutorials to be absolutely top notch. But we'd definitely welcome tutorials from users - I'm always happy to help out, if people have a great idea for a tutorial but need help with the writing etc... |
| schwar: | Yeah, the more we can all help out each other the better. It’s a community after all. |
| timbuk2: | Keep tarn busy |
| schwar: | Yeah, it’s not like Tarn does anything otherwise ;P |
| timbuk2: | hehe |
|
| Arktic asks: If you were limited to just one choice, which of the new features of AlamDV3 would the team members say is the one they are most pleased with or excited about? Cheers. |
| Tarn: | ALL OF THEM! |
| schwar: | heh |
| Tarn: | I think personally I'm most excited about the new lightsword system. Being able to create lightswords using the same system as Chromanator's masking system gives me goosebumps. |
| schwar: | That’s a really hard one, I've got to love the particle stuff. But AlamDV has always been about the lightswords and muzzle flashes. |
| timbuk2: | I'd have to say one of my new functions, not sure I can say which one though, it’s a closely wrapped secret. |
| schwar: | But then the interface is really my baby, so like Tarn all of it. |
| malone: | Personally I am hugely impressed with the interface. If anyone remembers the AlamDV1 interface they will realise how far we have come. This new version of AlamDV will blow away all others. |
| It’s a shame there’s no big rainbows in it tho |
| Tarn: | Yeah, it's hard to emphasise the improvement really |
| timbuk2: | Yeah, the interface is awesome. |
| schwar: | heh, but you miss the rainbow layers of death |
| timbuk2: | Perhaps there might be a rainbow skin? |
| Tarn: | AlamDV1 -> AlamDV2 was a fairly logical shift. But AlamDV2 -> AlamDV3 is a whole sea change, it boggles my mind occasionally. |
|
| embi asks: Will there be a drawing tool to draw masks by hand or draw own overlays like hud's or something else |
| schwar: | Well, if people really want the drawing frame-by-frame mask thing we can try it. As for like painting tools, that’s not really AlamDV3. |
| timbuk2: | Yeah, again a whole new ballpark |
| Tarn: | Perhaps embi could elaborate a little? As you can draw masks by hand already - like in Chromanator. |
| schwar: | The hud could be done very easily in Chromy. Making a background or something, then a target to move about. Would be very simple in Chromy. |
|
| Serpent asks: Can you use behaviors, similar to moition? Like their buuterfly effect in the nAB video? |
| timbuk2: | I think he means Apple’s 'Motion' here. |
| schwar: | Well, you can output animation paths and you'll be able to attach objects to other objects. So you could do something very similar, probably with more control. |
| Although motion is an amazing package, in many cases it removes your power with presets. |
| timbuk2: | Yeah, I've seen video clips and have been very impressed. |
| schwar: | AlamDVv3 will do most stuff for you, but if people want it to take over animation stuff you'll have to let us know. |
|
| evman101 asks: who will be beta testers, and when will beta testing begin? |
| schwar: | Beta testing has been going on already on and off. |
| timbuk2: | The beta testers are people who have helped out on FXhome a great deal. |
| schwar: | The team has already been selected - there are about 15-20 beta testers - the same people who worked on Chromy. They are a great team and work well together, to keep things simple it wouldn't be good to change them at this point. |
| Tarn: | They did such a bang-up job on Chromanator that we're bringing them all back. |
|
| AndrewtheActorMan asks: Thanks for answering my question earlier. Will a more variety of files be able to be imported into AlamDV3, such as Photoshop PSD files? Also will AlamDV3 be able to import Chromanator Project Files and Chromantor import AlamDV3 files? |
| schwar: | Nope, the programs are individual. |
| timbuk2: | Again PSD files are 3rd party and would take a great deal of coding for them to be imported. |
| schwar: | Ahem, I can probably do that, at one level or another already. |
| timbuk2: | heh, oh right. |
| schwar: | Will have to check what level of support I have for it. |
| timbuk2: | But not to support multi-level I doubt? |
| schwar: | But it’s often best to just save as a png or tga and import that. |
|
| Waser asks: Is making plugins for AlamDV3 going to be that much different than making them for AlamDV2? |
| Tarn: | Yes. |
| schwar: | Well, you don't make plugins in AlamDV3. AlamDV3 has internal CG plugins. It can also import alpha image streams, therefore covering all the current plugins. Chromy will generally be used for stock footage which needs keying. |
|
| er-no asks: What's happening on the Digigrade front? |
| schwar: | Ooh, er-no would ask. |
| timbuk2: | I've been working on a lot of new stuff for DigiGrade already |
| schwar: | To be honest, I'm currently making AlamDV3 and DigiGrade at the same time pretty much. I hope they will be released very, very close to each other. |
| There will be a big talk like this about DigiGrade soonish. |
| timbuk2: | Not to give too much away |
| Tarn: | Yeah, we'll focus on DigiGrade once AlamDV3 is on its way out the door. |
|
| CoolKabe asks: Can you please explain in greater detail what the "CG" part of Alamdv3's features mean? |
| schwar: | This means that they are made by the program rather than pre-rendered images like AlamDVv2. This allows you to scale them to almost any resolution. |
| timbuk2: | Like the muzzle flashes, lens flares, Penguin. |
| Tarn: | It means the image doesn't exist until AlamDV creates it. |
| schwar: | Indeed. |
| Tarn: | So it can be custom created for that specific project, unlike in AlamDV2, when all the images have already been created and you have to somehow fiddle them into your movie... |
|
| Hajiku_Flip asks: Will you guys offer more than just a 4-point tool for Lightsabers? While it works for many cases, in order to achieve really great looking lightsabers you usually need more than 2 points for the hilt. This of course ruins the ability to tween, so you have to compensate ease of use and quickness for quality. But will there be any support for that? |
| schwar: | That’s one big question. But yes, we will offer 4 point and 180ish point, like the masks. |
| Think we'll go for the last question now. |
|
| Nagual asks: You have come a long way since you first made an appearence a couple of years ago. Where do you see yourselves 2 or even 5 years from now? |
| Tarn: | Nice question Nagual |
| schwar: | Question of the evening goes to Nagual |
| timbuk2: | Hosting another web chat... |
| malone: | ...from the beach... |
| timbuk2: | ...in mexico. |
| But yeah, good question. |
| Tarn: | I'll be selling tickets in the West End for Malone's latest dance tour. |
| schwar: | heh, 2 years I would think we'll be doing some work on AlamDV4, or something similar. |
| timbuk2: | Which would be a full editing suite. |
| schwar: | No! |
| no no no |
| |
| Tarn: | We have many, many plans - if all goes to plan, we'll be around for a long while. |
| malone: | As a team we are constantly discussing new directions we could take, as a young company we have a huge amount of options open to us. |
| schwar: | Yeah, we have these current software plans, but also some non-software plans. And I think those might be well underway in 5 years. |
| Tarn: | As malone says, there are many routes open to us. Some are a natural evolution of where we are now, and some...aren't. |
| malone: | We are pretty confident that all our new apps will make a massive impact, and this will allow us to innovate even further. |
| Tarn: | A lot of our future plans are community-based to some extent, so we hope a lot of you guys and the other FXhomers can join us for the ride |
| malone: | Yeah, we always want to stay well connected to the community. |
| Global domination cant be far behind |
| schwar: | Yeah, what he said. |
| Before we end I would just like to say thanks to Malone who set up all the systems for this webchat in record time. As you can see he did a great job. |
| Tarn: | Yeah, nice one Malone. Seemed to work really well, although it did confuse pooky. |
| timbuk2: | hehe |
| Tarn: | That's all folks - thanks! |
| timbuk2: | Thanks for coming! |
| Tarn: | We'll leave you to Malone's little dance... |
| malone: | : D/-< |
| : D|-< |
| : D\-< |
| * | schwar fiddles |
| Where is the off button? |
. You guys wount mind if I ask questions in just regular chat then will you, sence your so nice and all.
