Jim Charter <jrc### [at] msncom> wrote:
> Mike Thorn wrote:
>
> > I'm open to other reasons, but I think m1j nailed it: corps and
> > mainstream high-end artists think that it's worthless because there's no
> > price tag specifically designed to blow holes in their socks.
> >
> No I must disagree.  The high-end programs support so much that is
> necessary for collaborative, production work that your line of thinking
> is off base.  Ambitious artists are going to show their talents on
> commercial production tools naturally, but I realize you understand that
> part.  But POV does not get ignored because it is free.  It is simply
> not a tool for collaborative production work.  And I could think of more
> reasons.  Like that when you want to tap into a talent pool, as an
> employer, you also have to keep an eye to what that talent pool is
> trained to do.  And I don't just me a particular interface, but a whole
> range of technical norms like shaders and texture mapping for instance.

Well I have to agree with a lot of the posts here. In both directions. It is
not only because POV is free that it gets ignored. It does play a roll. As
I started this thread with the SDL has the power to fill the HIGH-END roll
if some changes where made. Povray alone is more of an Artist tool. If the
right changes where made to the SDL and a push to make it a standard used
by a number of engines and application POVRay would then be a small part of
a more elaborate production. Now it seems to fall outside the loop in most
productions.

An example of what I am talking about:
RIB format has no coding tools. No string function. No while loops. Or any
number of other tools. Maya uses a programming language as the root of its
activity. MEL. From what I have seen even when you use the GUI the script
is written in the back ground for you. In fact you can copy and replay the
script later to build the very same scene. Just like POVSDL. MEL is
embedded in Maya and is not a standard. Lightwave has LScript but that is
an interface tool not the root for the scene. Same with Max. I am not sure
about MentalRay and its interface Language. Now imaging if there was one
common 3D scene description language that many different programs connected
to. You could hand script part of the scene and pass it onto another app
that allowed materials to be built with a GUI and then onto an animation
tool that would set everything in motion. Pixar has built this very thing
but for their own use and they do not seem to be sharing much. That could
be where the wonderful idea and achievement of POVRay could step in and
bring this to the rest of us. Moray has started part of it but there is
still more to be done if that is the direction POVRay is to be headed. Like
I said this was just some thoughts I was having. I would really like to see
it all done in the spirit of POVRay. TOTALLY FREE but better then the rest.

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