A question of curiosity (can't see a section for this)

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Not_Coen
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A question of curiosity (can't see a section for this)

Post by Not_Coen »

I was out of touch with Muvizu for many years after using the very first generation releases - partly because my computer was way too old and slow for later versions and then because a close family bereavement took all my time and energies for a very long time. So I'm at a loss to know when, how and why the Muvizu project came to an end in the hands of its original developers who seemed so dedicated to the entire project.

> What happened to end up causing Muvizu to be sold or handed over to meshmellow?
> Are we at an end of all the hassles and mayhem that many folks seem to have found since meshmellow took over?
> Has the development of Muvizu now reached a conclusion with 'Player' and 'Pro'? Or will work continue - and if so, by whom?
> Or is meshmellow now simply going to be a marketing outlet? (And will they actually be promoting Muvizu?)
> I'm assuming that the pdf v.2 manual dated 2016 covers either the final incarnation of Muvizu - or very nearly its final form?

For many years I used what could and should have been a superb 2d animation program called 'Artoonix' but the developers made one crucial mistake when they started developing it ... they allowed for only one unlockable pivot point instead of multiple & lockable pivots. I always believde that to be one key reason why the program failed to make any real impact in the world of 2d animation. I'm now wondering if Muvizu might end up on the same sort of dusty shelf within the realms of 3d animation if development and promotion don't continue.

Anyone got any thoughts or answers to me questions? .... Many thanks in advance if you do.

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Doc
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Re: A question of curiosity (can't see a section for this)

Post by Doc »

Not_Coen wrote:
Fri May 25, 2018 3:11 pm
> What happened to end up causing Muvizu to be sold or handed over to meshmellow?
> Are we at an end of all the hassles and mayhem that many folks seem to have found since meshmellow took over?
> Has the development of Muvizu now reached a conclusion with 'Player' and 'Pro'? Or will work continue - and if so, by whom?
> Or is meshmellow now simply going to be a marketing outlet? (And will they actually be promoting Muvizu?)
> I'm assuming that the pdf v.2 manual dated 2016 covers either the final incarnation of Muvizu - or very nearly its final form?
1. Digimania, the company which create Muvizu, was funded and run mostly by investors due to the small profit made from their software. One of Digimania's main shareholders pulled out and put the company into administration. The administrators took their time finding a buyer for Digimania's software, all the while draining Digimania's bank accounts. Eventually, the rights to Muvizu, Minimaker, and Voxelise were sold to Meshmellow. This is a company which seems to have many names, but worked alongside Digimania in the past to create the asian character pack and a few other packs.

2. No. They just about managed to reinstate the website, but all they've done is changed wherever it says "digimania" to "meshmellow". It even still says "in administration" on every page as you have probably seen. The Muvizu assets and wiki are still not online on their website, hence why we are hosting the assets http://www.anizu.uk/assets and wiki archive http://www.anizu.uk/wikiarchive for now.
Right at the end of last year, they managed to fix the server side of Muvizu's inbuilt licencing, however they broke it again 3 months later and we're back to either manually changing files and MAC addresses or using Meshmellow's really dodgy/buggy licencing add-on. I estimate it will be at least a year before we're "back to normal" if that ever happens. We set up this site as a temporary measure for the administration, but clearly we're going to need to keep running it for a while...

3. I believe so. If Meshmellow get their act together they may add some additional content packs, but they're limited in knowledge and licencing for the Unreal and Scaleform bits (So most of the inner workings of Muvizu).

4. Their goal must surely be to promote Muvizu so they get their money back, but they've had almost a year and barely anything's happened.

5. Yes, there are a few errors in the manual, but the vast majority is up to date. You may also like the video tutorials http://www.anizu.uk/help

Not_Coen
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Joined: Mon Mar 19, 2018 10:39 am

Re: A question of curiosity (can't see a section for this)

Post by Not_Coen »

Very detailed responses - many thanks.

What experiences I've had of dealing with meshmellow via email have made we wonder what on earth they think they're up to or whether they have any real idea of what they're going to do with 'Muvizu'.

What happens if Muvizu Pro is installed and the online registration fails ... does it then simply run as the cut-down free version, or what?

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Doc
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Re: A question of curiosity (can't see a section for this)

Post by Doc »

Not_Coen wrote:
Sat May 26, 2018 8:20 am
Very detailed responses - many thanks.

What experiences I've had of dealing with meshmellow via email have made we wonder what on earth they think they're up to or whether they have any real idea of what they're going to do with 'Muvizu'.

What happens if Muvizu Pro is installed and the online registration fails ... does it then simply run as the cut-down free version, or what?
When using the old licensing system still built into muvizu: If you haven't activated yet it will default to the 30 day free trial. If you have activated in the past, Muvizu only checks local files so there's no worry there (Unless you change to a new computer). With Muvizu:Play+, you will instead just be given a very stripped down version of Muvizu.
With Meshmellow's licensing system which has the dodgy English on the start screen, I have no idea.