Does anyone know when the upgrade for ZBrush for Mac is going to become available. I bought Z Brush 2 last Christmas and still can’t use the newest version on my Mac. 
(I know I can use it through PC emulation software but it really hits performance)
Anyone got any thoughts?
Thanks.
I have Modo and I have a Mac and Modo is great app that works great on the Mac However I do not expect Modo 301 sculpting to match ZBrush. I have PCs, one with Windows installed but I want ZBrush on OSX. I have not purchased ZBrush but I will when they release a Mac version.
I have the advanatage of already testing Modo 301 in my shop now. 
Will sculpting in Modo 301 be the same as ZB? No.
Will it be better? Depends on your style, what your pipeline is, and how you use your tools.
Will it have all the features of ZB3? No.
Does it have features ZB3 doesn’t have? Definitely. Vector displacements for one.
Does it run better on Mac? Most definitely.
Can you create pure sculpted art in Modo 301 at millions-of-polygons resolution? (e.g. start with a simple sphere and sculpt a full head or body?) Yes.
Does it fit better into a Maya or C4D or XSI workflow? Definitely.
My opinions. YMMV.
-K
Better use the search function, before the thread gets locked. The short answer is Pixologic isn’t saying. They have used the analogy that it was about 6 months after ZB2 shipped for the PC that ZB2 shipped for the Mac. Considering that all efforts were still on ZB3.1 at Siggraph, I would estimate Siggraph + 6 months or January 2008 at the earliest. Aurick can speak to this if there is more to say on the subject.
There are instructions out there by Jason B. on how to get ZB2 to run under Rosetta some of the time. Alternatively, Pix will give you a free key to run ZB3.1 under Bootcamp, Parallels, or VMware using WinXP. Instructions for VMware are on my blog, www.lovecraftforest.com.
-K
OK thanks for that info. I will be upgrading Modo anyway, which I suppose I should order soon. I can check Modo sculpting out because that will be available before ZBrush 3 Mac anyway but I tried ZBRush 3 and was blown away simply by it’s realtime preview and sculpting tools. The most impressive software I’ve seen. I tested on a PC though.
Also, this is only my second post here but this forum is a bad advert for Pixologic if they want to sell this app to Mac users who are understandibly impatient for the release. Moved threads and locks etc. It’s a bad idea to prioritize one OS. It’s better to release ZBrush for both at once or only sell one OS version until you can release for both at once and with equal quality then you would not have all these threads. Maybe it’s to do with OSX Leopard but there are no explanations. Of course developing ZBrush is a huge task but I suggest Pixologic avoid this scenario in the future.
Modo performs perfectly on both PC and Mac and they get released at the same time. If this situation ws to change hell would break loose on the forums.
Agree 100% with you (as a long time ZB/Mac user.) But there are those in this forum who call Mac users “whiny” and “demanding” because of the failure to deliver a Mac version at the same time as the PC versions (or even a version of Zmapper at all.)
All I can say is that Pix has made their business decision (e.g. long delays for the Mac the version) and they clearly don’t want to talk about it, or even release useful information on when and where a Mac version will (if ever) appear and what features it will likely be missing. Adding it all up, I think the message from Pix is clear: “We don’t need the Mac community here.” The locked threads & heavy handed editing of other threads (even in the “Community” forum) is clearly an indication of that.
You mentioned Modo, so now this thread will get some nasty “Modo sucks” or “Zbrush kicks Modo’s hiney” and then Aurick will lock or otherwise bury this thread elsewhere. [And it did get merged into another thread!]
Cheers!
-K
I will certainly be checking the Modo sculpting tools out as soon as I get it but to be honest I just don’t see it even coming close to ZB3. I do have faith that Luxology will make it as good as they can but ZBrush is a dedicated sculpting tool. I also love the Z Spheres. I actually wish Luxology had spent more time on animation rather than the sculpting. I can see what they’re trying to do but I actually think many people will use ZBrush with Modo.
I just pray Pixologic release a good version of ZB3 for Mac ad they will get my cash. I use Mac and Linux here and being forced to use Windows is something I do not like. There is a thread here I just read talking about ZBrush for Linux. That would be awesome but a dream I guess.
Interesting if rambling thread here. I’m new to ZBrush and have purchased it because I find Modo difficult to use for organic modeling. Also, Modo is overpriced when I consider the price of ZBrush and the fact that if I wanted it I could get Lightwave for less than $500 with a Modo sidegrade. Modo is a slick modeler but top heavy with tools in my opinion. I have found it not so easy to get comfortable with, although I admire the engineering behind it. 3D software companies choose a direction and then go that way. This can be good for us because it often gives the buyer a clear choice…that is, if he can figure it out without spending thousands of dollars on “mistakes” in the process. My biggest disappointment with Modo 301 is that they did not include character rigging along with their foray into animation. Not that I want to make movies, it’s just that I need to be able to pose my characters. It looks like you can do that easily in ZB3, which I now have working within Windows XP on my Intel Mac. Still can’t get ZB2 for Mac to start up, so will have to wait for ZB3 for Mac, which I assume will be 64 bit. …Should be verrrrry nice!
I have the advantage of actually using both Modo301 and ZB3 in production environments, so I don’t need to speculate on Modo301’s sculpting ability.
In terms of price, you pick up Modo 301 for roughly the same price as ZB3.1 via DAZ for the rest of the month. In terms of Organics, Daz sculpted the Victoria 4 model in Modo 103 (about 2 years old technology.) In Modo 301 you’ll be able to start with a sub-divided sphere, just like ZB and sculpt away if that’s your preference. Modo301 won’t have zSpheres, but having done both ZSphere and SDS modelling (e.g. box modelling) for years, I still prefer the control I get with SDS. Almost all my ZB “base meshes” have been done in another application and imported in ZB.
As far as the rambling, well, that’s the moderating here. These messages were seperate threads that have been “merged”.
As a pure sculpt environment, ZB3 will be remain superior to Modo in many ways. As a modeller that has to fit into an animation pipeline, Modo 301 outshines ZB3.
As for people using Modo301 and ZB together, that is also definitely in the cards. We used Modo 203 to post process our ZB models for months (no Mac Zmapper.)
I think the questions for Mac users regarding ZB is that the future is pretty uncertain. This is not delusion but cold, hard fact. ZB2 didn’t work on Intel macs, and no patches or support came to fix it–just work arounds that only would allow ZB to start about half the time. ZMapper didn’t appear on the Mac at all. ZB3 has been released, but without a companion Mac version and only a vague “see you in months” and “we’re commited” kind of statements, but no real schedule.
Modo on the other hand: Simultaneous Mac/PC releases. Universal binary almost from the first day. Regular updates (ever 6-9 months). Modo301 in Release Candidate now with a late Septembe release target. Weekly updates from their CEO. No limited activation via network (which is killing me on virtual machines as I have “lost” about siz ZB activations between Paralles, Bootcamp, and VMware.) Developers who participate in their forums, etc.
I’m coming purely from the point of view of a hobbyist. 3D modeling is something I do only part of the time, sometimes going months at a stretch with no practice at all. The upgrade price for Modo 301 seemed too high, so I figured why not try ZBrush for only a C note more. I still have Modo 203 in case I need it, even though for my limited talents it’s somewhat confusing. One of the people who wrote a ZBrush book is touted as a guy who had no artistic background, and ZB was easy enough that he unleashed talent that he didn’t know he had. I don’t know how seriously to take this, since it’s a PR blurb, but the idea of having a 3D organic modeling program that brings out an unexpected level of creativity in ordinary hobbyists like myself, and gives them the opportunity to make something really cool, seems to me to have a lot of merit.
I’m certainly not bashing Modo, it’s definitely cool. Just maybe a little more than some folks can handle from the start without pouring a good deal of work into it. I think I’m in that boat. As for how seriously Pixologic takes us Mac’ers, I don’t know, but I have my fingers crossed.
Please forget Modo in this thread. The only thing we want is ZB3 and an also promised plugin. Or it’s a big lie they will make a Mac-version, or they need a (too) long time to do it. It seems to be hard to write software for Mac-OS 
I’ve decided to upgrade to Modo 301 myself - looking forward to seeing how well the new sculpting tools work. Looking at all the great work being done here with ZBrush 3 and not being able to try it for myself - is really frustrating. I’m really disappointed at how long it takes to get ZBrush upgrades for Mac users. With Modo being equally supported for both Mac and Windows users, it feels more like one big happy community. It doesn’t always feel like that as a ZBrush user. Sometimes it feels like there are the windows users, than there are those annoying mac users who just complain about nothing all the time. I’m not trying to be controversal, or divisive - just expressing how it sometimes feels to me. I really want to be able to use ZBrush to it’s, as well as, my fullest potential. It gets a little frustrating waiting here outside looking in. I know, I just need to relax and be patient, and that it takes time. Anyway, I’m hopeful the wait won’t be much longer, but I’m certainly not counting on it.
I dont mean to be a jerk or anything, but no one forced you to buy a mac. 
That didn’t take long. Thanks for making my point for me. When I understood ZBrush was for Mac and windows, I didn’t know it meant Mac users had to wait much longer. My mistake as you’ve pointed out.
My opinion is that ZBrush 3 takes the app way ahead of the competition. After you learn how to use it, which does not take that long, then it is very creative. You can play around in ZBrush much like you would if you were drawing or sculpting. You can sort out topology etc afterwards. ZSpheres mean it’s very easy to change models. In other apps you have to be a lot more methodical. V3 is the version that has made me decide I need to have ZBrush. Modo will not truly shine until they get the animation further developed (from where it will be in 301) because of the way animation will integrate with everything else in the app but I understand their move with the sculpting. Every app will need to have this. I also think that ZBrush and Modo will be a very popular combination on the Mac so long as ZBrush 3 Mac is OK and up to the PC versions standard.
Yes. I’m sure it’s remarkable, if only i could get my itchy little fingers on it. 
I need a Mac for audio production. that’s why I got one then I ended up using it 90% of the time for everything else despite having two PCs. PCs are fine but Windows isn’t. I’d love stuff to work on Linux and a few apps I use do. In future I will want Linux machines as rendering nodes for at least one app I use. Do I want to use Vista for this. No way.
Macs and PCs working together in harmony -No way! Next thing you know, you’ll see Red Sox and Yankee fans holding hands at the games. LOL
Macs and Linux work vey well in harmony.
Finally I’m still alive, working on a MAc, and I can say that: I ****ing happy with that !
If Zbrush don’t come to this platform, anyway, somebody will do the job for us ! As a longtime user of Zbrush, I’m really disappointed of this silence (1 year and an half).
If the CEO of Pixologic and the board, think that’s a better choice to give update for the leading OS system in this world (Microsoft Vista !!! Ha ha ha) , its money matter!
They want to give a good licks to those companies using Zbrush in production with PC clusters… of course (money money money…)
Now, I have a funny super fast render and useful animation system with EIAS, and also think to move to other software. (Modo is a good solution, and make great renders)
But still its a big big drama, a tragedy for longtime user like me.
That’s remind me, so many people quit the boat, and finally came back, because Mac computers are just selling well.
We will see, but I know now who is Pixologic… and for who they works !
Br
Nicolas