Couple of general VIZ questions

Hey guys,

I may have the opportunity to acquire a new copy of Viz2007 at a very attractive price, but other than what I've seen in some ads in the trade magazines, I know NOTHING about this bit of software. I understand it's a modeling, rendering and animation package, but my question is this...does it import from and export to Autocad and/or Architectural Desktop (or any of the other vertical products)? If it does and its objects can be manipulated by the other products, great! If not, it would be useless to me.

The other question is more along the lines of asking for an opinion....if you had the opportunity, assuming the answer to the question above is yes, to purchase this software at a realllllyyy good price, would you, or would you save your pennies for one of the others?

I've never used VIZ, but I do know that you can import dwg files for rendering. But since Autodesk has discontinued VIZ and replaced it with 3DS Max Design, I would have to say no to purchasing it.

Why are you thinking of getting into another program? You're using Autocad 2008 which has the same rendering engine as Max, so render quality shouldn't be an issue. Or are you looking at doing fly throughs and animation?

For my money, I would go with 3DS Max. VIZ is a dead program at this point.

I've never used VIZ, but I do know that you can import dwg files for rendering. But since Autodesk has discontinued VIZ and replaced it with 3DS Max Design, I would have to say no to purchasing it.

 

Why are you thinking of getting into another program? You're using Autocad 2008 which has the same rendering engine as Max, so render quality shouldn't be an issue. Or are you looking at doing fly throughs and animation?

 

For my money, I would go with 3DS Max. VIZ is a dead program at this point.

That explains why I couldn't find it on the Autodesk site! DUH! I was unaware that it had been discontinued. The resellers I've been looking at still have several seats of 2007 and 2008. No wonder it was so cheap.

And yes, I was looking for something to do fly-through with, and don't have a lot of money to play with. I can upgrade later if things get off the ground and I actually start selling some of that sort of work.

You said something about me using Autocad 2008....hmmm...that was a typo that I never noticed till now...I have 2007! I'll go fix that! Thanks!

You said something about me using Autocad 2008....hmmm...that was a typo that I never noticed till now...I have 2007! I'll go fix that! Thanks!

Fixed! Don't know how that 2008 option got checked....sheesh!

Well, if the price is right, then go for it. Maybe you can haggle with them and get the price even lower, since the program is being made obsolete. I'm sure they're probably anxious to sell the copies they still have left.

I may do just that! After all, money is money, right?

Thanks for your help. I was just curious if there were any big problems with Viz that I'd need to know about (other than the obsolete thing). If it works ok, then it will do to get me started and I can move to something better faster newer later (say that three times fast!)