Waiting to upgrade? Tell me why!

[Histrion]

Hey there. I've got AS version 5. Yes, version 5! I first installed it a couple of years ago, but what can I say, other things took priority, like shepherding our new baby into toddlerhood . Now with a new computer, I've reinstalled it.

Problem is, I can't get to any of the tutorials (http://www.e-frontier.com/go/animetutorials is no longer active), and the "Check for Updates" link on the Help menu leads to a broken link as well.

So... am I basically out the money I spent on this?

[jonbo]

Hey Histrion, if you go to the Smith Micro website you can still download the last version of AS5 which I believe is build 5.6. This is a free update. There are plenty of tutorials on youtube which were made with ver. 5 and there are plenty of users here on the forum who still use that version, so don't worry about finding help when you need it.

[InfoCentral]

The VTC Anime Studio video tutorials are in version 5 and still available and the Anime Studio Book for version 5 is still available as well.

[eago]

I don't see anything wrong with this, there's no reason not to target that market and turn them onto ASP. The upgrade didn;t remove any of the already included and capable power tools, you can still do with it what the previous version did, which was still immensly powerful. So a few of your wishes didn;t get included, but that certainly doesn;t mean it's any less powerful, it's just now able to appeal to a greater market.

And eventually those "easy animation" users will delve deeper into the tools that allow them more control, thus hopefully evolving into a more power user.

I didn't say its wrong, I just said that's why I didn't upgrade, because new version of AS doesn't offer anything I need that old version doesn't have which is the question in this thread.
This thread is not about "what you think of AS" but "why you aren't upgrading".

[JaMike]

I'd like to "upgrade" from the other software I am using, but I will not give you my credit card number to get a free demo.

I'll be waiting to upgrade until you make the PRO demo easy to download.

[Mikdog]

I got ASP8 as a deal where Smith-Micro used some of my material for their website and box-art, but man, I wouldn't pass on my credit card details for a free demo, nuh-uhh.

[matthewrobson]

Long term User. I animate for a living, doing mostly corporate video with a little broadcast and web animation thrown in for good measure.

I've used the trial of AS:8 and will probably upgrade for the following reasons:
1) single thread rendering
2) Morph Dials Scripts don't crash when rendering
3) 'Advanced Scripting tools' sounds like something that might lead to more scripts?
4) haven't used them yet but the patch layers look good

I've been using Anime Studio since version 5 and find the learning curve really easy, the price low enough so I can get my other freelancers to invest in it.

That all said, I have a couple of small gripes

1) Will any of the pro users be using the character template feature? I really can't see a use for it, be great to hear your thoughts
2) As many others have pointed out on this thread, the lack of ability to select keyframes over different layers makes animating complex characters a little slower than it could be.
3) There are some absolutely amazing scripts out there that massively improve the usefulness of this software. (morph dials, load / save bone animations to name a couple) It would be great if Smith Micro were to have some pages on their website guiding users to these, and not expect them to troll through forums on the off chance of finding something they might use.
4) run some stories on the studios and freelancers who are producing award winning work with AM, and let them share their own tips and tricks; basically foster and develop more of a sense of community through the main site.

Anyway, thanks for listening to all us users, and for producing a great product.

Matthew
http://www.matthewrobson.com

[GCharb]

A user created a page where peoples can upload scripts.

http://animestudioscripts.com/scripts.php

I will probably never use the wizard either, too restrictive, although some users seems to come with nice mods for it it is still too limited.

Not only selecting key-frames over several layers would male life easier but to be able to select control points over several layers would be a huge asset.

I agree with the promoting stories of users, like selgin or Scott through the main website.

Great post Matthew.

[JaMike]

It would be great if Smith Micro were to have some pages on their website guiding users to these, and not expect them to troll through forums on the off chance of finding something they might use.

This hits the nail on the head - for new users, especially professional animators, the lack of guidance from Smith Micro is really off-putting.

We need to know that Smith Micro wants us to use this software professionally. At the moment it feels like "Well, Anime Studio is for hobbyists, but you can use it to make money if you really really want, just work it out yourself." - it should be "Anime Studio Pro is for professionals, but is so easy that hobbyists can use it too, here's how."

GCharb shouldn't have to make a tutorial series to show people how to use Anime Studio professionally. It should be coming from Smith Micro. In fact, they should pay him to do it so it can be released for free*.



* Gilles, my agent fee is 10%, okay?

[GCharb]

GCharb shouldn't have to make a tutorial series to show people how to use Anime Studio professionally. It should be coming from Smith Micro. In fact, they should pay him to do it so it can be released for free*.



* Gilles, my agent fee is 10%, okay?

I take note!

They only reason I am thinking of charging for a large set of video tutorials is because I could not possibly justify the time it takes, otherwise they would be free and posted on my blog!

[GCharb]

Just came across this.

http://blog.smithmicro.com/2011/08/18/a ... io-artist/

They also feature Mike Scott on AS page

http://anime.smithmicro.com

But they could do more, and the blog I found through the Anime Studio Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/animestudio

[drapostrophex]

I've been using Moho since 2003 and purchased the upgrades until it went to eFrontier (I stopped using Anime Studio Pro at version 5.5). I would LOVE to upgrade to the latest version, but it's not 64-bit native. If you can get a version running on Windows 7 that can take full advantage of multicore CPUs, I would upgrade it in a heartbeat.

[chucky]

It's mostly OK n 64 bit , I know there were rendering issues sometimes that I experienced when imported mov's had audio on them.
There has been a point release since then , I haven't had the opportunity to test that again, generally though the multicore renders fast and well.
Have a search on the forum for those multicore issues and the pros and cons of the latest version, there is much discussion.

[drapostrophex]

Thanks! I'll check the forum for known issues and to see how well it works, overall. I'd just hate to upgrade to v8 and then have v9 come along in a year with a native x64 version. Animation is my hobby, so I suppose I can endure with v5.5 until an x64 version is available.

[GCharb]

V8 took care of pretty much all the multi-core rendering problems, at least for me!

I used to switch my system to one core to be able tor render in v7.

V8 also has the ability to render on one core if there is a problem.

I think it is also good to note that the problem was mostly with layer scripts confusing the whole rendering process, Mike posted on how to script properly for embedded scripts and V8 made the whole thing allot more stable.

As far as 64 bits goes, it only makes a difference if you have more then 3-4 gigs of ram in your system and allows software that we're compiled to 64 bits able to use it.

Now, unless you have extremely large Anime Studio files to render, 64 bits won't change a thing for you!