Milo Update: Multiplayer?

Milo report! The question currently on our minds is this: how can we best make use of UE4's built-in networking capabilities? We're building into the core architecture the ability to support multiple connections if we want to use it. It seems pretty cool! Here are some fun potential ways we envision using it:

Co-working: Milo's core could allow for multiple machines to be working in the same project at the same time, with one acting as host. What happens when two people try to do conflicting operations? We have no idea yet, but that shouldn't be an impossible problem to solve. Do people even want this capability? We also have no idea, though we suspect so. It's definitely intriguing.

VR: We're in the process of adding VR support to Milo, and we've always intended it to be VR-fluid, meant to work equally well both inside and outside of VR, and even side by side. With networking and the ability to join a session, you can have Milo up with a project loaded on one machine on your regular screen, and join the session with another VR-dedicated machine to work on your model in VR. It saves on processing power, allows easy access to a non-VR version when you need it, and allows others nearby to view progress more easily while one or more people are lost in VR working.

Remote client demonstrations: This one's particularly useful for archviz (we think), but your clients in a different location could open Milo and join your session via networking, allowing you to easily show them what you've been working on or take them on a fly-through. Perhaps a free viewer-only version of Milo could be available to send to your clients to install.

Modeling lessons: Have a bunch of students join your "class," either as observers only, as co-editors, or perhaps each with their own little model they have ownership of, so you can move around the scene and talk to them at their stations (with supported voice chat?) as they work.

As a point of clarification for any who may have wondered, Milo will be its own, standalone application, just like Silo; it's running on the Unreal Engine but doesn't require you to have the Unreal editor installed. We also have a question for you: what other 3D tools are you aware of which support multiple users in these ways? How (and how well) do they work? Any other interesting networking uses you've seen or would like to see?

We also enabled and tested raytracing support, and all is working there. We'll need to grab a newer graphics card at some point, though, before we can really see that shine and have something to show you all. We're excited to try it out more fully in the future!

-John

"Lightroom-killer" CameraBag 2020 photo editor launches with new features and non-subscription pricing.

Nevercenter today launched CameraBag 2020, a major new update to the independent studio's standout, Apple-awarded photo/video editor for Mac and PC. It's the software's first full version update in over three years, and includes significant new features along with a new pricing model, which remains subscription-free. These updates position CameraBag even more strongly as an upstart Lightroom-killer in the photo editing space.

"There's a clear, growing annoyance among consumers with the subscription model for desktop software," said Tom Plewe, President of Nevercenter and lead developer of CameraBag. "The big companies may feel they can force it on their customers, but we're able to provide photographers with an incredible alternative."

CameraBag 2020 comes in two versions - CameraBag Pro 2020 for editing both photos and videos, and CameraBag Photo 2020 for editing photos only. This new release of CameraBag includes a much-requested spot heal tool, interactive white balance, advanced auto exposure, dozens of new tailored presets in several new collections, big speed improvements, and more. Additionally, CameraBag is moving away from fewer major releases (spaced further apart) to a continuous-release model.

While many first think of CameraBag as a Lightroom replacement, it has gained recognition on its own for its innovative design and features that are simply not available in Lightroom. CameraBag combines the benefits of quick-access presets and powerful adjustment tools in one simple and easy-to-use intuitive interface, where every adjustment applied to the image appears as a tile in a tray. Tiles can be easily rearranged and adjusted at any time, or saved as layerable, editable presets for later use. Another key feature that sets CameraBag apart from Lightroom is full video support (in CameraBag Pro), allowing videographers to use the exact same adjustments, presets, and tools on both photos and videos. CameraBag also features uniquely advanced tools available nowhere else, in addition to hundreds of high quality presets.

CameraBag 2020 is available now for $50 USD for CameraBag Pro, and $30 USD for CameraBag Photo, both at www.nevercenter.com/camerabag. A free trial is available. Pricing includes access to both the Mac and PC versions and a year of free updates to newer versions.

CameraBag 2020 is also coming soon to other store platforms, such as the Mac App Store, Steam, and Setapp, where pricing models may vary per platform capabilities.

Links
Website: nevercenter.com/camerabag
Press info and images: nevercenter.com/camerabag/press
YouTube video series: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBJ9U0NYh_Hj4Wwb-MjPdEH_sko6yXVWa
Questions/contact: info@nevercenter.com

Today we're happy to announce the launch of CameraBag 2020, a major update to our highly-awarded photo and video editor for Mac and PC..

CameraBag 2020 continues to come in two versions: CameraBag Pro 2020 for editing both photos and videos, and CameraBag Photo 2020 for editing photos only. This new release of CameraBag includes a much-requested spot heal tool, interactive white balance, advanced auto exposure, dozens of new tailored presets in several new collections, big speed improvements, and more. Additionally, CameraBag is moving away from fewer major releases (spaced further apart) to a continuous-release model.

Try CameraBag 2020: nevercenter.com/camerabag

See the CameraBag 2020 trailer at: youtu.be/9QQIQFbg7Es

Here are some of the great new features:

• New spot heal tool
• New interactive white balance adjustment
• New auto exposure adjustment
• Dozens of new presets
  • Portrait: Freckles BW 1-2, Portrait Curve 1-5, Gentle Focus, Portrait Shadows Green, and more
  • Landscape: Autumn 1-3, Beach 1-4, Landscape BW 1-2, Sky+Earth, Sky+Foliage, and more
  • Architecture: Interior 1-5, Exterior BW, Building Detail, Sky+Buildings, and more
• New image info window for viewing image resolution, bit depth, and file path
• Totally reworked rendering engine for greatly improved speeds on hi-dpi/retina displays
• Added saving of 16-bit pngs and tiffs
• Support for loading .exr and .hdr images (Mac-only)
• Various interface updates and improvements
• Bug fixes (especially on hi-dpi/retina displays)
• Plus more!

CameraBag 2020 is available now for $50 USD for CameraBag Pro, and $30 USD for CameraBag Photo, both at nevercenter.com/camerabag. (There is also a free trial available.) All CameraBag 2020+ licenses purchased from nevercenter.com include one full year of free upgrades from the date of purchase, regardless of the version number or size of each upgrade. This new continual upgrade schedule will allow us to release larger updates more regularly.

This is a paid upgrade for ALL users who purchased a version of CameraBag before August 1, 2019. If you purchased CameraBag Photo 3.x or CameraBag Pro 3.x from nevercenter.com in the last 90 days, your upgrade to the new version is free; simply download the 2020 equivalent and use your same registration information.

CameraBag 2020 is also coming soon to other store platforms, such as the Mac App Store, Steam, and Setapp, where pricing models may vary per platform capabilities.

Enjoy!

Best,
Nevercenter

The past couple of weeks we've been largely focused on the upcoming new version of CameraBag, but we've also quietly made good progress on fundamentals in Milo. We created a new selection system and have face and object selections (with multi-select) and manipulation working with the new system. This was more complex than it may sound, but the result is a very solid foundation. It's fun to start being able to play with shapes while all the realtime rendering capabilities of UE are active.

We also enabled and tested raytracing support, and all is working there. We'll need to grab a newer graphics card at some point, though, before we can really see that shine and have something to show you all. We're excited to try it out more fully in the future!

-John

[edit: whoops, sorry about that offset cursor in the gif]

We're thrilled to announce we've received a MegaGrant from Epic Games for Milo, our Unreal Engine-based companion to Silo which we envision as a realtime renderer, modeler, and much more. Milo was already under active development in the background, but this grant makes a huge difference; it will allow us to take several months and really focus on experimenting and exploring the possibilities.

 

We're excited. Epic's Unreal Engine offers a ton of potential new avenues to explore, beyond the rendering capabilities we're already taking advantage of. We're asking the same questions we had when first developing Silo: how can we as a small team make something new and innovative that's also practical and genuinely useful for artists working today? (For example: we're intrigued by Unreal's VR capabilities, but can we make something non-gimmicky that you'd want to use day in and day out?)

 

Please keep in mind that some of what we show in the coming months will be experimental. But the end result should be a more exciting and interesting product than we could afford to develop otherwise.

 

Our progress so far has given us both a solid base to work from and a crash course in the inner workings of the Unreal Engine, which we'd never used before. So far, so good! But we've got a lot to learn. We're excited to share our progress with you along the way.

 

-John