Tuesday, December 2, 2008

to be honest - the artist formerly known as Antics


There's a lot to be said for the Gordon Ramsey way of expressing yourself. Shooting straight from the hip and getting on with it. I started as a beta tester for v2 and have been fortunate to have been commissioned a number of times for various demo pieces. Like a couple of other select few, I was asked to join the moderating team on the official forum and contribute to the official blog. So it certainly surprised me with the nov 28 news and now with the closure of the web site/forum. (F**K!) Like many others I have invested way too much time in getting across the product to just let it slide. When I setup my little previz shop under the name AMMO PREVIZ, I thought I had identified a future market. The concept was "AMMO" : to provide ammunition to the previz creator. I choose Antics at that point as it was the only one I felt suited my creative and 3d skill set. Even with the current owners orphaning the child, I can see plently of growth possible. This one product is in use by around 20,000 people. The best solution available to us all is one which takes into account the most popular features. Without taking away any credit for the artists formerly know as Antics developers, the product evolved in part as a result of our community feedback. So we do owe it to ourselves to keep the momentum going. So lets take the batton, stir the pot and work on that F***ng recipe. Please leave your mark for what worked best for you, in the comments section.

10 comments:

Ricky Lee Grove said...

Well said. I plan on continuing to work with the program and create films and tuts. Perhaps the modding community can step in and, like TM, hack the program to create new ways of using it.

One thing we have to do is archive all of the data available on the Antics3D site now. There is a ton of stuff they've put out.

PS I sure appreciate all of the work you've done on/for Antics and the community.

Anonymous said...

It's too late for the Antics site now since they got rid of everything but maybe we could save all of the tutorials they've put up on YouTube? http://ca.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=7F919565AD6BDEA3

Before they decide to get rid of that too. :(

Ricky Lee Grove said...

The Antics3d.com site is still up, although in a minimal mode. If you enter your registered email into their site you can access all of their content, tutorials and even download version 5.0. You have to have registered to get access though. It's my understanding that this material will be available until June, 2009, which is why I was suggesting that we archive all of the date somehow.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I believe the user base is big enough for Antics useage to continue.
I've sent an email to Brad requesting the Max models and/or the information we need to create our own animated assets.

Truly sad that the forum was taken down without prior warning. I had only delved into part of what was there.

I think the biggest concern is getting the product activated if you change computers. This to me is paramount, and needs to be sorted asap.

Anonymous said...

Sorry Ricky - I thought you were talking about the info in the forum threads like Hints and Tips. I know they had some good information there but that's now gone.

Anonymous said...

Ammo, as a new user of Antics please accept my thanks for all you've done making great animations and helping the community use and improve Antics 3D. Your blog is an important part of that.

I look forward to visiting the new forum you set up and try to do what I can to help you expand and share information and support among Antics users.

I wish Antics Technologies and their staff well and hope they succeed in their new venture. Consider this : We already have access to a version of Antics. Its no longer available for download or purchase to the general public.

So its time for us to really start enjoying what we have because nothing really compares to it. While there's other software, such as iClone 3 and MovieStorm, considering all the pros and cons, Antics 3D wins hands down. At least for me it does.

Just like being happier with XP instead of the newer Vista, plenty of Antics users will prefer v4 instead of v5. But regardless of what version you use, at least we can enjoy using it. To those coming late to Antics, they'll discover a horrible fact - they came too late. They missed the party.

Most of us, on the other hand, know the party isn't over until we leave. Thanks to you and those like you, Ammo, our party continues - just at another place.

See all of you on the new forums!

previz said...

Hey thanks!

Anonymous said...

Someone should accidentally release a sample license file for the hundreds of people that discovered Antics after they pulled the free basepack, or worse still, after the announcement...
The more users there are, the better the community thrives, with or without official support.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said "Someone should accidentally release a sample license file for the hundreds of people that discovered Antics after ... "

@Anonymous
Even if that was a good idea, let it be duly noted that I'm not sharing my license with anyone. If what you suggest does happen, it won't be me that made it possible.

Anonymous said...

Yes, please, where can I find V4 or V5 and a license key? It kills me that this is unavailable? Or would someone like to sell theirs? I'd pay for this, it's just unavailable.