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I tested iClone V5 awhile back and wasn't very satisfied with it, again like you always using MoBu or Max, but with the revamp I am seeing with V6 it's night and day from V5

and has many more animation features, character features, lighting features, rendering better, the list goes on and on.

I am just opening it up now and it doesn't look like a cumbersome UI either, everything is pretty clearly labeled and the options windows are easy to navigate, a big plus

over some other programs.

It seems as they stated, they have partnered with Autodesk and it shows in just what I have made it through this far and watching some tutorials.

Just another UI to learn, but if it works as well as it seems to I won't mind and now with 3DXchange Pipeline, being able to export the edited Mocap files back out will be

nice, I don't believe V5 offered that, or the ability to import any character and retarget it easily, was kind of just like DAZ and iClone only models.

Definitely the price is right for scooping up to me right now, just gonna give it the 30 day trial limit before I do.

It has other add-ons for even more better performance of different aspects as well, as you probably saw in the previews.

Very cool, and I am not easily impressed :) I am sure will have its own glitches and hangs to deal with, just the life of the game.

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Actually, iClone 5 did offer 3DXchange--it's been available for a few years and it was the reason we purchased the full suite at the time.

We've actually been paying attention to iClone for a few years before the release of version 5 and 3DXchange. Prior to the release of 3DXchange, you needed to purchase a separate SDK or plugins for Maya or Max to get your own assets in and out of iClone. Back then, it just sounded like too much trouble to bother with.

Nowadays, we have a decent workflow that suites us but the version of MoBu we have is showing its age, and I'm always looking for better (or at least comparable) and less costly tools.

Please keep posting what you think of iClone 6. If you think its mocap editing tools are worthwhile, I think we will upgrade our license once we're done with our current short film projects.

G.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

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Oh ok, I didn't use it enough on V5, just the trial and never its 3DXchange before, I just thought V5 didnt allow import/export of characters as FBX or the BVH animations

files only, but I do think now its a better more streamlined approach in V6 as they describe it.

Well, it looks like the trial link for 3DXchange is now for V6, but it doesn't state that until you click to download V5.5, so I will test some soon.

I have all 2014 versions of Max, Maya and MoBu, so yes, there has been some changes since 2011, but I also still have Max 2010 I need for certain things.

Right, my thinking exactly, not doing the subscription thing for 2015 upgrade of any autodesk products, so I am thinking this may be a viable alternative, since they are

collaborating with Autodesk more now, may have been in V5 also, but it didnt show as much as it looks like now, though admittedly, I didn't dive very far into V5.

Link for enhancements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM7328frqSI

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Just to be clear, iClone 5 did not allow full interchange with other programs by itself--for that you needed the 3DXchange add-on. With 3DXchange, you got full I/O capabilities for geometry and animation where previously you needed special 'content developer' plugins for Maya or Max.

I think you still need to add 3DXChange to have full I/O capabilities for iClone 6, but I haven't looked into that to be sure yet. Let me know if you get around to trying all that out.

G.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

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Yes, 3DXchange still required, I have the V6.11 trial downloaded now, so will test it over next few days.

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First test BVH mocap import into iClone 6 though 3DXchange 6, using the supplied female G6 actor.

BVH was straight out of iPi, no corrections or editing were done yet, I just wanted to see how easily it transfered and looked.

Transfer was easy, just had to characterize the skeleton and convert it, best to have a T-pose out of iPi, but isnt needed if you want to adjust the skeleton in a T-pose inside iClone, which I did on this test. You can save out the profile and T-pose, so only need to do it once per skeleton.

I forgot, or didnt add the finger bones in the characterization, so the hands are stiff looking, but iClone also has some built in hand gestures that can be added at any point in the timeline just by dragging them onto the character, it should transfer any iPi/external gestures from the BVH if I would have added the finger bones in the characterization.

I didn't play with any of the scene stuff much yet, just added that stock scene for a view, I will get around to messing with all that soon.

This was just a Mocap import test, I did have to speed up the animation with the timeline, easy just slide it to less frames about 1/2 to make it run at 60 fps or so, faster or slower if you wanted also.

Next I will mess with the internal adjusting and cleaning tools.

Physics of hair and cloth look good, all that can be adjusted in many ways also, mass, elasticity, things like that, hair looks a bit floaty until that is tuned more I guess, but still not bad.

I tried using the meathod they show for importing a biped animation out of Max, but it didnt work right for me like they showed, the BVH file was much easier, but I will look into that more later.

Link: http://youtu.be/F5GUP59YAlw ... View in HD

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2nd test with more dramatic lighting and physics better. Didn't edit the animation yet, will get to that tomorrow and see how their tools work.

The animation seems to work very well, very fluid, feet very stable, pretty nice for no editing yet, it was my fault of course for the last videos appearance.

Link: http://youtu.be/UoPN868dqwg ... View in HD Sorry for the audio quality, its is just a test video, was easily dropped right from mp3 file right into the timeline

though.

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Sweet! I've been paying attention to iClone since version 3 or 4 but it looks like it's come a long way since even version 5. I see a few issues here and there but the overall result is still better than I expected from a quick test. And as you noted, that stuff can be fixed with a little more effort...no biggie.

I have to confess, your tests with iPi to iClone 6 is very intriguing. I'm going to have to take a closer look at this system myself once I'm done with our current animation project.

Thanks for sharing your research! :)

G.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

I'm guessing Inertial is better in it's not limited to volume. I'm using inertial at http://mocap.com.au, but have not tried iPi yet.

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Depending on the system used, but all tracking systems have some glitches and pops to be smoothed, just camera motion tracking seems to have less.

Any tracking can be fixed with any system in post, but iPi does allow internal correction properties and abilities many others don't, as it isn't a real time tracking process.

Range and accuracy of recorded motion also depends on the IMU system and it's individual components, not all inertial systems are the same and I am not a fan of PN, or Roko as they stand now, just wayyy too much post cleaning needed, even if they are a real time recording system.

Very few motions need more than a 20' x 20' capture volume in a home studio, (which would require a 28' x 28' area for set up), which is mostly what iPi has developed their system for, (I personally use a 22'L x 12'W area), if a more professional system is needed, for a studios with large area, iPi wouldn't be the choice for that anyway, as it stands now with use of PS Eye cams anyway, some newer more expensive cams have more resolution and greater range, so may be able to get a 30' x 30' volume with those if the studio area suffices for set up, as you would still need an approx. 8' minimum expansion area outside that for camera placement.

iPi works well for what I use it for, with good results, but there is a learning curve like with any camera system to get it performing well. I am talking RGB cams, not Kinect v2 sensors, Kinect sensors don't work well for my use.

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