By t. patrick o'hara (Tpohara) (12.212.125.150) on Sunday, February 02, 2003 - 08:02 pm:

i just inherited (business, not death) the full version of lw 5.6 (parallel dongle and all) and plan to move over to lightwave from my old (and long used) truespace (v3). my uses to date of animation are all for graphics within video production, though if i can figure out a solid market (not something over saturated with talent) for more in depth animation, i would probably try for it.

i have already figured out that the whole logic behind the interface is radically different between treuspace and lightwave 5.6, now i am trying to figure out if the jump from such an old version to the current one (7.5, i guess) is as radical a departure? i just spent quite a bit in this takeover and even $500 to upgrade seems steep without a significant and rapid return on the dollars.

will what i learn with 5.6 be able to transfer over? should i wait the month or two until i can afford the upgrade and just stick with truespace in the interim?

any opinions are appreciated, and i thank you for your time and consideration.

By Larry Shultz "SplineGod" (Larrys) (216.244.32.222) on Sunday, February 02, 2003 - 08:49 pm:

Most of what you know on 5.6 can be transferred over in a short period of time. If you are doing this as part of your business, what do you need from an upgrade at this point that you cant do with LW5.6? Im only saying this from the standpoint of being tight on cash. If cash is an issue I would upgrade by making the next job pay for it.

By t. patrick o'hara (Tpohara) (12.212.125.150) on Monday, February 03, 2003 - 07:41 pm:

thanks, Larry. i guess you have answered my question. i will go ahead and learn 5.6 and move up if/when i am ready for more serious production animation.

i appreciate your time, sir.

By Christian Avalos (Cavalos) (64.213.56.192) on Tuesday, February 04, 2003 - 11:34 am:

Wait for the next release

By Digital Freak (Trilogy) (203.33.171.196) on Tuesday, February 04, 2003 - 03:23 pm:

The next release will be 7.5b, a smallish free update to LW 7.5.

So it would make no difference if you upgraded now, or 3 months from now.

I guess it depends on if you Need LW 7.5 now,
or can make do with TS... 5.6 still does plenty.

By t. patrick o'hara (Tpohara) (12.212.125.150) on Tuesday, February 04, 2003 - 04:31 pm:

thanks again to all who have answered. right now, i think i am going to learn what i can in 5.6. truespace had what seemed significant drawbacks when i wanted to do more complex modeling and animation, especially for training vids for manufacturing environments. right now i think that much of what i want to do can be accomplished with what the manuals show, now i just have to get down to business and learn. personally, i think it could add a lot of stuff that truespace could not, and it might even be enough to delay my upgrade on after effects.