Author Topic: Corona Render 6 Development Update Pace slowing?  (Read 6282 times)

2020-07-04, 04:33:24

yfrasier

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Maybe it's just me, but I was wondering if Covid-19 has affected development. It seems that since around November of last year info, updates, news and blog posts have been slower to come. Is it just me or has something else in the background changed? Even the forum seems to be getting less attention and updates. I noticed on Trello there was a tentative date for the release of Corona 6 for this week. I haven't seen any updates or information related to changes or progress.



2020-07-13, 02:26:35
Reply #1

Streha

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Is not just you.
Following Trello roadmap, they already postponed release date 2 times, first release date was "end of May", the second one was needed to be last week, and that is just i believe for RC version, stable one can take again from 1 week to month.  So with the current "estimated" release date in August, i think we will not see the Stable version before the end of that month.
I love Corona, but there is not much noise like before. It's sad that now when Vray & Corona are under the same roof, i was thinking that Corona team will have additional resources and help to move development on another level, but no, i as a customer think that they slowed down, maybe is Covid19, maybe is something else, i also wouldn't be surprised to know that Corona team worked on some Vray stuff, i saw that they have now exactly same sun/sky model. Remove public roadmap if you guys can't fulfill what you put there.

2020-07-13, 23:23:37
Reply #2

arqrenderz

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They are doing what humanly possible! making new technology brings new challenges and bugs on thousands and thousands of code lines, to fix or to make something new without hurting something elses is not an easy task. They could release the RC as is, and we all would be flooding the forums with  bugs and critics.

2020-07-14, 10:08:54
Reply #3

TYCHE

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I also think that it is very rude what has been written the last days on this forum.

1. Tentative means Tentative. Software Development isn't like baking a cake.

2. The only reason the release is delayed is, because the want to give you a stable realease.

3. I also dont think it is really smart to switch to a new version of your render engine just before starting a big new project, even if the new features sound lovely to you.

2020-07-14, 13:47:25
Reply #4

TomG

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Howdy!

News, blog posts, presence on forums etc. are no less than they have ever been (those are my area, so I can confirm that :) )

Extra resources from the merger - well, we have extra financial backing to hire more staff, but finding those staff is the same challenge it has always been, something we've spoken about many times before. We need to have great people, not just "someone to fill a role". If you've followed the information on that over the last few years, you'll know that Prague has an extraordinarily high rate of employment/low number of folks unemployed, which means few people looking for a job. And as I say, we are very picky :)

Extra resources was never going to be Corona programmers writing V-Ray code or vice versa. So, that hasn't been slowing us, but also, neither does that speed us up. As has been said from the date of the merger, both teams retain their independence.

The roadmap always comes down to it being Tentative. Either we can share what we are planning and thinking (with the risk that then of course it may change - dates may change, what features turn out to be possible may change), or we can remove it and stay silent and leave everyone in the dark until things emerge in the daily build. Both have their drawbacks, we go with the sharing as much info as we can, with the risk that then people will get annoyed when features are removed or dates slip. We accept that will cause some people some frustration, but we've decided that's less of an issue than keeping quiet. We renamed it Tentative as a result of the last round of discussion about that, but we won't be removing it, we believe in sharing what we can when we can.

We do want to give a stable release. It's been a big one, with lots of things in it, lots of new challenges, and to be honest we don't want to get into some "crazy crunch culture" like seen in, say, the video game industry. We'd rather our developers were fresh, well-rested, etc. and able to do their best job, rather than run ragged trying to meet a specific date. Of course we DO try and hit that date, and we do try and pick dates that we think we can meet, but software development is full of unforeseens, so all we can do is update that once we have what we believe to be stable new information. At the end of the day though, if something needs to take longer to get it working/working properly, then it will take longer. The other option would be to cut features, but we try to avoid that too.

Of course we don't want to delay and would love to hit the estimated dates, but all the above factors in to whether dates slip etc.

Hope this helps some!

Thanks!
Tom Grimes | chaos-corona.com
Product Manager | contact us

2020-07-14, 13:52:04
Reply #5

TomG

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Oh yes, also, we believe in a healthy work/life balance, and life has been extra busy for some of our team members recently ;)

https://corona-renderer.com/blog/company-news-and-new-team-members/
Tom Grimes | chaos-corona.com
Product Manager | contact us

2020-07-29, 23:40:15
Reply #6

Vjaramillo

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Yes...Please. Take your time with the release. The worst thing is to publish a bug ridden app. It's happen with other tools I use, and they have become a pain to use in our current workflow.

2020-07-30, 11:59:48
Reply #7

Frood

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Take your time with the release.

+1

Good Luck



Never underestimate the power of a well placed level one spell.

2020-07-30, 17:13:56
Reply #8

yfrasier

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I hope no one thought I was being rude. I just wanted some encouraging news from a product that has helped me immensely in my life. It's what I make a living with, I started using it shortly after it was first released and saw the potential in it even before the Chaos merger ever happened. Same thing for tools like Quixel and Substance (each bought by other larger companies).

That being said, I've been in the Archviz industry for over 16 years so when I see trends (hopping on the Corona bandwagon) before everyone else does, I tend to see how these things play-out. What I'm seeing now is the advent of realtime raytracing and how that will impact multiple industries. I posted previously asking if Corona had a plan to enter into that realm as I see the parent company coming out with Project Lavina. I'm also seeing a much larger buzz and push with products like Clarisse, Blender's Evee, Unreal Engine and Unity. These tools can't currently compare to Corona's capability, but as they gain traction and momentum I'm seeing greater rates of adoption of these tools even if they can't compare, because they eventually will, to some degree.

So as I see the whirlwind of news and information and technology build, I have to decide for myself and my team what we should be using next to keep pace with the change. So my questions come at the peril of seeing myself and an industry shift gears and start to use tools that may not yield the best results, but are faster. As the quality gap closes it just means people will likely move on as convenience almost always trumps everything else. (It's why Jeff Bezos is the richest man on the planet)

In summary, I just want to see one of my favourite tools, that allows me to make a living, thrive.. like I'm seeing the excitement around a lot of other tools starting to mature into the market. A please stay safe, I don't want anyone burning out either. I truly believe the 8-hour workday is a fallacy and should be stamped out.

Regards,

Yusef


2020-07-30, 18:05:03
Reply #9

TomG

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Hi! No-one thought it was rude, just genuine questions about a perception you had - we're happy to answer what is going on here internally so you can (we hope!) feel reassured that nothing has slowed down on our side :)
Tom Grimes | chaos-corona.com
Product Manager | contact us

2020-07-31, 16:08:42
Reply #10

yfrasier

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I see RC1 is in the daily builds! I'm downloading it now. I'd like to test out the Railclone Use Segment material option! I saw another post that says it's working.


huzzah!

2020-08-03, 16:29:26
Reply #11

maru

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Sum-up:
- We are working in full swing. There is a lot new stuff in V6. Some of those things is a result of Corona<>Vray cooperation.
- There is no need to remove the public roadmap. It is tentative.
- Remember the development of Corona is highly community-driven!
- I like lists.
Marcin Miodek | chaos-corona.com
3D Support Team Lead - Corona | contact us

2020-08-04, 15:00:25
Reply #12

bluebox

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- Remember the development of Corona is highly community-driven!

I know this will reopen the ongoing disscusion but is it really highly community driven ?
None of the 4 most wanted features people voted for in the poll is being developed in the current v6 development cycle lasting already 9 months. So being fair can we still say the above ?

2020-08-04, 18:24:23
Reply #13

burnin

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I believe it also shows how missed Jarda really is... so godspeed Corona Team, you're doing great work!
« Last Edit: 2020-08-04, 18:28:07 by burnin »

2020-08-07, 00:50:17
Reply #14

Vjaramillo

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Yfrasier...True on the realtime point. I see a lot of our designers using Enscape, Twinmotion and Lumion in their production because of the speed it has to create imagery.  They are starting to care less about quality and more on quantity, which is too bad. Project Lavina is pretty amazing so far.  I wish Chaosgroup, being the owner of Corona, would have though of being more proactive at including the ability to import both file types not just a .vrscene so that Corona users can also partake of it's fast workflow. I've been in the industry 20 plus years see the growing change. Realtime will be king in a few years and hitting a render button will eventually go away.

Vince

2020-08-07, 01:04:14
Reply #15

Jpjapers

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Sum-up:
- We are working in full swing. There is a lot new stuff in V6. Some of those things is a result of Corona<>Vray cooperation.
- There is no need to remove the public roadmap. It is tentative.
- Remember the development of Corona is highly community-driven!
- I like lists.

+1 for lists