Substance designer is more accessible than ever
What do you like best?
I love that bridges can be done easily between multiple application for artist, game developers and such. Per example I created materials for unreal and could update easily the process without going back and forth by exporting/importing al the time. A great speed up. The fact that they give a free student License for those who are in need to learn or simply to keep an edge back at home is nice but they could be giving this opportunity for free like Unreal does.
What do you dislike?
the learning curve is intense. compared to substance painter designer is nodal based and, as easy it becomes after you tried this and that you still need to fail considerably a lot to do something significantly good. Although Substance designer is greatly appreciated it is still a niche programme which is reaching a a small amount of individuals in the development of video games. (mostly one responsible for an average 200 people team) this can be understandable because the package given for game developers is considerably expensive. Lastly tutorials community is small and is not teaching in general the how to but more the end results of many years of experience. It can be challenging for a new time beginner. Online classes are expensive.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
first and foremost is you need to get proper learning. Online tutorials are there and some are free also but there is nothing replacing a teacher to get up to speed quickly and get things done by yourself after.
What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?
As a developer i will use this program to create fast iterations of the material when asked or after reviews. this is a must since PBR is a science of precision and many trials.