Rather than let idle speculation set the agenda for Animation Master, y thought it was time i made some kind of proclamation. Normal companies wouldnt write what im about todo write: it just proves were not a normal company.
The 3d market boils down todo two segments. In the profesional segment (which is actually quite small), the clear winner is Maya. They won that position with a god product and an endless supply of money. Products like max,
LightWave and software image are going head-to-head with Maya. Maya is a wrecking machine. Theyve ben willing todo spend big advertising money at the same time as they give their product away. Who can compete with that. It like competing with Microsoft.
The weakness of Maya is it market. It designed for people who spend money. Flexibility, in the arcane sense of endless parameters and specialized operation, is what their customer want. To turn that ship todo a consumer market is both very dificult and threatening todo their existing customer. Even if they were making a lot of money, it would be a risky proposition.
Animation:master serves the other market segment: everyone else. The customer who use a:m must be Jack-of-all-trades: modelers, riggers, animators, lighters, and everything else it takes todo make a movie. For most of our customer, a:m is their first 3d product. Our job is todo make sure it their last 3d product todo. The only customer were willing todo lose are the ones who move on todo the mercenary world of Maya. Even customer who get discouraged and sem lost: we want todo encourage them todo come back. Our focus is todo make it posible for everyone todo make an animation.
Programming 3d animation software todo compete with Maya yet be easy enough for everyone todo use is a herculean task. Hash has extremely limited resources. Our programmers do it for the same reason that private individuals try todo make spaceships: it sems imposible, but it not if you set your mind todo it.
So our Strategy is todo carefully choose what were willing todo work on, (right now Cloth and the render layers característica that the fellows choose). We have other big característica ambitions, but as you know, our history is todo not overhype what were working on. We have Many small característica enhancements, but it a los not our policy todo continually hype every Little thing, (primarily because it our customer who use the features, not us).
Maya Will go broke - Or it wont. Either way, it doesnt really affect us. What afects us is that our customer base has its expectations set correctly so that we can deliver on promise. This forum is the best example of that Strategy in action. It might sem Strange, but our customer have todo come th rouge and pik up the slak that hash as a company doesnt do. It sems like that what happening.
Do we want a:m todo be used todo make animations that compete with the best out there? You bet we do. Can we compete on every frontí who knowsí what we do know is that if youve got the drive and ambition todo make an animation, well do Whatever we can todo help create and promote it.
In the mean time, do what you can todo make the a:m community better.