boomji thanks for your interest in ZIva!
I'll answer your questions below:
Q: Hardware
1 .We have 2 machine configurations.
A. Ryzen 5090 12 core @ 4.3 gzh + RTX 3090
B. Xeon platinum 24core @2.4 gzh + RTX 8000
Which one would you recommend for a Ziva + Maya pipeline
A: That's a tough one. For the time being, we benefit more from clock speed, than from number of cores, but the linear algebra library we use is from INTEL, and performs best on their hardware, so it's kind of a coin toss.
I'd probably go with the cheaper of the two.
Q: Does the GPU matter as of this release ? Would a dual RTX 8000 or 3090 setup be any better than a single GPU
Is there a Ziva beta version or an upcoming version that supports GPU compute so we can offload processing onto the GPU
A: Our physics are solved on the CPU, so the GPU doesn't have any direct bearing on our simulation performance. This may change in the future, though I wouldn't be able to give you a timeline for that.
Q: Software
If we get the Ziva assets (Gala and Adam) can they become obsolete with a software update
A: They should still simulate on future versions of Ziva VFX. We are continually improving our tool and workflow though, so our best practices may change in the future.
Q: Does a Ziva remote license come with a studio subscription
A: What is a remote license?
Q: How can ziva batch help a studio with 1 (or 2 ) seats
A: We internally find it very useful to be able to run simulations on our render farm, and for that we use Batch licenses. This way artists can send off test simulations or kick off multiple shots at a single time.
Q: Technique
We want our character to have the ability to heave and breathe during combat. Is it possible to art direct this after the ziva sim so we don't have to redo the entire sim when changes are requested
A: There are a number of ways you could approach doing this, that would not require a re-sim. To get the best looking results though, I'd recommend it.
Q: Important : Can we transfer the muscles from the Adam asset onto our asset that resembles a humanoid ape. The entire point of buying the Adam asset would be to repurpose it to simulate the anatomy of an evolved Ape ( human proportions ) with minimal effort. for e.g go from the Male Adam asset to what Mateusz Matejczyk has done for his kung-fu gorilla (once again our ape would have human proportions )
https://community.zivadynamics.com/d/390-kung-fu-gorilla
A: You could, though I would recommend starting with Mr. Ink - as is it a much simpler asset and you'd really benefit from going through the process with it first, before diving into attempting it with an asset as complex as Max.
(Also, we will have an update to our human models coming in the not too distant future)
Q: Is Mateusz Matejczyk with Ziva now ? Will he be able to guide us on how to achieve similar results initially
A: He is working at Ziva now, though he is quite busy with other tasks, so I can't promise his availability. We could discuss separately if you are looking for some direct support.
Q: Is it possible to use Ziva Studio for simulating facial anatomical deformations . For example I would like to simulate the FACS AU 7 (Lid tightener) https://media.imotions.com/images/20190411123350/AU7-lid-tightener.gif
A: It is possible, and we have done similar things in the past, though facial simulation is quite challenging.
Best,
-jj