Is Flame Becoming a Legacy Tool?

Flame Tools and Tech
1

Note to Randy and the mods: Hi Randy, I realize my previous attempt might have looked a bit too “polished” or bot-like, which probably triggered a red flag. I want to clarify that I am a real Flame artist, and while I used an AI tool to help organize my thoughts and refine my English (as it’s not my native language), the frustrations and points below are 100% genuine and come from my daily grind in the suite. I care deeply about this tool and this community, which is why I’m raising these points. Please see this as a heartfelt “user manifesto” rather than spam.

Hi everyone,

Before I dive into some critical thoughts, I want to start by expressing my deepest gratitude to this incredible community. The level of support and the “we’re all in this together” spirit in this group is what makes being a Flame artist special. I also want to thank the developers—your work is why we can do what we do.

However, because I care about our future, I have to address the growing gap between Flame’s “legacy” structure and the requirements of a modern 2026 VFX pipeline.

Here is why I believe we need a paradigm shift:

1. The Windows Barrier & The AI Revolution

The heart of the AI and open-source revolution (Stable Diffusion, ComfyUI, etc.) beats on Windows and mainstream Linux distros. By being confined to Rocky Linux and macOS, Flame is isolated from the most significant technological leap in VFX history. While Nuke users integrate local AI nodes, we are stuck with “black box” ML tools. Without Windows support, Flame is becoming an island in an ocean of innovation.

2. The Absurdity of the Installation & Update Process

In 2026, the fact that we cannot update from within the app and instead must handle massive full installers and DKU configurations every single time is a massive productivity killer. It’s an archaic technical burden that shouldn’t exist anymore.

3. Shot-Based Flexibility vs. Rigid Project Structures

The industry has moved toward dynamic, shot-based workflows. Flame’s rigid “Project/Library” hierarchy is a bottleneck when hundreds of versions and metadata-heavy shots are the norm. We spend too much time fitting the pipeline into Flame rather than the other way around.

4. “Technical Hell” for the Indie Artist

Flame has become a “Technical Hell” for independent artists. The requirement for certified hardware and complex environments creates a massive barrier to entry. This “exclusivity” is leading to a shrinking talent pool. If new talent can’t easily access the tool, the ecosystem will eventually starve.

In Conclusion: We don’t just need “new nodes”; we need a fundamental shift in how Flame exists in a modern ecosystem. I’m curious to hear your thoughts. Is Flame still the “King of Finishing,” or is it becoming a relic of a bygone era?

2

What are the requirements that you mention? This sounds like a complaint from 15 years ago. People run Flame (non-optimally) on MacBooks.

2 Likes
3

I agree completely with point 2. The updating and upgrading process with Flame is a relic that shouldn’t exist in this century, and Flame is the only app I use that causes me stress to update.

4

This topic has been discused a lot of times. I’d rather would like the devs spend their time fixing main bugs like paint corruption, motionvectors, etc…than spending a whole year re-writing and porting flame to windows. But no doubt Flame on windows would attract more people, definitely.

I don’t know which app you mean, but nor Nuke nor DavinciResolve, nor Assimilate Scratch and none of the high-end PostProduction tools I know update within the app itself, they all must run an executable. Maybe I agree that DKU could be part of the Flame installer itself, avoiding two-step process installation.

Not sure what you mean. Could you elaborate more?

Like GPM said, there’s people running Flame on mac, even old macs, there’s also people running Flame on really old linux boxes with uncertificated hardware, it’s just that they don’t get “support” but they run! You still talking about SG box? but not doubt the fact flame requires expensive hardware is what makes it a reliable tool in terms of performance. That’s for example the case of Scratch and Davinci Resolve. Resolve is not as optimized for performance as Assimilate Scratch is! This was also the case with Nuke/Flame while ago. (Not sure if still happening) but yeah, I do remember Nuke8 was HELL SLOW compared to flame.

5

The subject of the post has some validity, the details, so/so.

  1. Most AI stuff is cross platform. Plus windows is FUCKING wretched.

  2. DKU + App install is not that damn hard dude.

./INSTALL_DKU
./INTALL_FLAME

  1. Library operations are horribly slow I agree. To the point where sometimes I choose not to save as often as I would like since it can take more than 30 seconds for all the bullshit Flame does. But the layout, is “OK” for me. Not amazing, but we make it work somewhat efficiently. Maybe you can give an example of a “Flexible” project structure?

  2. I agree here that there is definitely some complexity in the configuration of Flame outside of the “Data Island” workflow.

2 Likes
6

Nuke introduced something they call I believe the “Frame Server” awhile back, that makes Nuke often render much faster than Flame now for many operations.

1 Like
7

Actually I meant the way Nuke 8 operates itself and not just the rendering part. The scanline bar thing was something that really bothered me at that time. Nuke 8 felt very slow. (Not expecting to start a nuke discussion)

1 Like
8

(post deleted by author)

9

Always glad to hear critique of Flame, as I do often, and good to have a new voice.

Just curious, when was the last time you worked regularly as a paid Flame artist? Some of your complaints come from a bygone era.

We see manifests like this come through every few years, and so far, it’s never come from a working Flame artist — but that it comes from someone who just joined, as you did.

The fact that you pre-apologized to the moderators seems to suggest that you’ve been booted from here before.

3 Likes
10

1. The Windows Barrier & The AI Revolution

Gibberish

2. The Absurdity of the Installation & Update Process

Work harder, learn more

3. Shot-Based Flexibility vs. Rigid Project Structures

More gibberish

4. “Technical Hell” for the Indie Artist

Buy a mac

(Not sure why the forum responded to you @cristhiancordoba? - must have been some of that technical hell)

3 Likes