RETIREMENT Q&A

General questions and troubleshooting SOFTIMAGE©
angus_davidson
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Re: RETIREMENT Q&A

Post by angus_davidson » 05 Mar 2014, 11:10

We unfortunately dont have that option, Cant get any new ARC licences from the 24th of this month. Thats also somewhat irrelevant as we cant offer a course using discontinued software anyway. Even if it wasn't a legal issue, we just wouldn't get any students ;(
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azurecgi
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Re: RETIREMENT Q&A

Post by azurecgi » 05 Mar 2014, 11:15

luceric wrote:It's completely safe to upgrade to Softimage 2015 or the ECS 2015.

It's the year after that you should, indeed, cancel your subscription in order to keep your perpetual license to Softimage. It's crazy, but I'm just telling you what the facts are. There is one bright spot for Premium Suite: you'll be automatically upgraded to the Ultimate Suite, which you means you get Max. There is no 2015 Premium Suite.
So, I take the transition route and start using Maya more and more in my work, but still have projects using Softimage up until say 6 months before the end of the transition deal, meaning I really have to keep a copy of Softimage somewhere in my pipeline for tweaks to legacy work / access to old models etc. for at least a few more years after 2016.

What we are being told is, get up to speed in Maya then cancel your subscription to maintain a perpetual copy of Softimage, and then buy a new copy of Maya at full price?

Just when you think Autodesk can't f**k you over any more, they find another orifice!!!

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oz42
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Re: RETIREMENT Q&A

Post by oz42 » 05 Mar 2014, 17:21

I'm really confused about this.

I am deeply saddened that Autodesk have canned Softimage. However I want to keep on using it, long after 2016. I accept that I will probably have to start learning Maya or Max in the meantime but I definitely still want to keep on using Softimage, even if it's eventually unsupported.

Maurice suggest that in order to keep on using Softimage after 2016 we should stop our subscription before the deadline. The problem is, I am a freelancer and so only have one license. If I side-grade to Maya how do I stop the Softimage subsciption in order to keep using it after 2016 but keep renewing the new Maya subscription??

Surely the better option is to just let us keep on using Softimage after 2016 regardless of the new subscription we're on. It doesn't sound too impossible to achieve.

BenR
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Re: RETIREMENT Q&A

Post by BenR » 05 Mar 2014, 17:59

oz42 wrote:I'm really confused about this.

I am deeply saddened that Autodesk have canned Softimage. However I want to keep on using it, long after 2016. I accept that I will probably have to start learning Maya or Max in the meantime but I definitely still want to keep on using Softimage, even if it's eventually unsupported.

Maurice suggest that in order to keep on using Softimage after 2016 we should stop our subscription before the deadline. The problem is, I am a freelancer and so only have one license. If I side-grade to Maya how do I stop the Softimage subsciption in order to keep using it after 2016 but keep renewing the new Maya subscription??

Surely the better option is to just let us keep on using Softimage after 2016 regardless of the new subscription we're on. It doesn't sound too impossible to achieve.
I came here to say almost exactly the same thing. I am also a freelancer with one license. If a client comes to me and says "Remember that project we worked on for 3 months in 2013? Well we need you to make some changes and add a couple of new animations." Obviously I have to be able to access the scenes from that project. So my understanding is that when I move to a transitional license for both Softimage and Maya, that license will cover both applications for the first 2 years, and only Maya if subscription is maintained after that. So given my need to access old Softimage assets, I will have to discontinue subscription and keep Softimage 2015 and the latest Maya I receive. Then if I want to continue with Maya I will have to get a new license for $3k. Maurice Patel said on the list that the reason for this was Autodesk's "revenue accounting guidelines". Now, I Am Not An Accountant. And I know that accountants can be strict and demanding. But it seems to me that Autodesk could find a way around this. If they wanted to.

azurecgi
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Re: RETIREMENT Q&A

Post by azurecgi » 05 Mar 2014, 18:03

BenR wrote:
oz42 wrote:I'm really confused about this.

I am deeply saddened that Autodesk have canned Softimage. However I want to keep on using it, long after 2016. I accept that I will probably have to start learning Maya or Max in the meantime but I definitely still want to keep on using Softimage, even if it's eventually unsupported.

Maurice suggest that in order to keep on using Softimage after 2016 we should stop our subscription before the deadline. The problem is, I am a freelancer and so only have one license. If I side-grade to Maya how do I stop the Softimage subsciption in order to keep using it after 2016 but keep renewing the new Maya subscription??

Surely the better option is to just let us keep on using Softimage after 2016 regardless of the new subscription we're on. It doesn't sound too impossible to achieve.
I came here to say almost exactly the same thing. I am also a freelancer with one license. If a client comes to me and says "Remember that project we worked on for 3 months in 2013? Well we need you to make some changes and add a couple of new animations." Obviously I have to be able to access the scenes from that project. So my understanding is that when I move to a transitional license for both Softimage and Maya, that license will cover both applications for the first 2 years, and only Maya if subscription is maintained after that. So given my need to access old Softimage assets, I will have to discontinue subscription and keep Softimage 2015 and the latest Maya I receive. Then if I want to continue with Maya I will have to get a new license for $3k. Maurice Patel said on the list that the reason for this was Autodesk's "revenue accounting guidelines". Now, I Am Not An Accountant. And I know that accountants can be strict and demanding. But it seems to me that Autodesk could find a way around this. If they wanted to.
If it's a case of having to enter a 'sale' into a spreadsheet column, surely they could do it for a nominal sum like $10!

Lord Futzi Voldemort
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Re: RETIREMENT Q&A

Post by Lord Futzi Voldemort » 06 Mar 2014, 01:32

luceric wrote:It's completely safe to upgrade to Softimage 2015 or the ECS 2015.

It's the year after that you should, indeed, cancel your subscription in order to keep your perpetual license to Softimage. It's crazy, but I'm just telling you what the facts are. There is one bright spot for Premium Suite: you'll be automatically upgraded to the Ultimate Suite, which you means you get Max. There is no 2015 Premium Suite.

This is by far the most idiotic thing someone can come up with. You get two apps I don't want, pay a higher subscription fee (I guess, for ultimate) and lose the right to use XSI? That is incredible stupid. You don't keep customers this way. AD has completly lost it. Instead of adding XSI to all packages for free like the other apps they ruined or ditched, they manage to piss off everyone even more? Dumb. The dumbest thing ever. It looks like AD doesn't only want to get rid of SI but of it's user as well.

I swear I'm gonna be as honorable as Autodesk presented itself to us.
I'm now part of an endangered species...

adrencg
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Re: RETIREMENT Q&A

Post by adrencg » 22 Mar 2014, 19:53

Why would any of you stay with Autodesk after this BS? Do you really want to keep giving them your money? There's other software besides Maya and MAX.

Autodesk is never going to stop doing what they do if you keep supporting them with your money.

luceric
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Re: RETIREMENT Q&A

Post by luceric » 22 Mar 2014, 20:43

The discussion above is now wrong, you get to keep your license of Softimage forever, even on subscription. I recommend doing something like lock the topic to not confuse other people
Last edited by luceric on 24 Jul 2019, 16:18, edited 1 time in total.

adrencg
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Re: RETIREMENT Q&A

Post by adrencg » 24 Jul 2019, 14:04

has anyone recently changed computer gear and reactivated Softimage on the Autodesk site? I was able to do it a couple of years ago. Before I wipe everything I want to make sure I'll still be able to generate a license file.

If not..is anyone using a cracked version? It wouldn't be outside of ethical bounds to do that since Autodesk killed the product. I haven't migrated fully yet to another software and I have old projects always coming up for changes. I still need Softimage.

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Hirazi Blue
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Re: RETIREMENT Q&A

Post by Hirazi Blue » 24 Jul 2019, 14:38

Do you have a network license? If so: look here... (creating your own "dongle"!)
If you are using a 2010 version or older of Softimage I'd advise you to hurry.
AD stops issuing licenses for that generation at the end of August.
But if it's a more recent version, registeronce should still work until March 2021...
Stay safe, sane & healthy!

adrencg
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Re: RETIREMENT Q&A

Post by adrencg » 24 Jul 2019, 14:45

Hirazi Blue wrote: 24 Jul 2019, 14:38 Do you have a network license? If so: look here... (creating your own "dongle"!)
If you are using a 2010 version or older of Softimage I'd advise you to hurry.
AD stops issuing licenses for that generation at the end of August.
But if it's a more recent version, registeronce should still work until March 2021...
I'm using 2014 sp2.

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Hirazi Blue
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Re: RETIREMENT Q&A

Post by Hirazi Blue » 24 Jul 2019, 14:47

adrencg wrote: 24 Jul 2019, 14:45 I'm using 2014 sp2.
But are you on a network license or a stand-alone license? If you are on a network license you can try to create your own "dongle" as described in the thread I mentioned in my previous post...
If you're on a standalone license this won't work...
Autodesk is to stop providing new activation codes for versions of its software older than those covered by its product lifecyle policy: typically, anything more than three versions back.

The change comes into force on 31 August 2019 for the 2010 editions and older software. Other editions not covered by the lifecycle policy will stop being activated in March 2021.
(Quoted from here)
Stay safe, sane & healthy!

adrencg
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Re: RETIREMENT Q&A

Post by adrencg » 24 Jul 2019, 15:18

Thanks for that info. Will buy USB adapter today.

One more question....when installing XSI on network nodes, would the installer read the dongle on my main workstation as the new license info?

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Hirazi Blue
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Re: RETIREMENT Q&A

Post by Hirazi Blue » 24 Jul 2019, 17:18

I have no experience with this kind of setup, but I would assume this works normally...
Doesn't the render node only need to know the "name" of the computer running the license server?

Like I said, I have never had a setup with render nodes... Maybe someone else can chime in... :-?
Stay safe, sane & healthy!

adrencg
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Re: RETIREMENT Q&A

Post by adrencg » 24 Jul 2019, 21:57

I can confirm it works. I bought an ASUS usb wifi adapter this morning.

I used registeronce to generate my new license file.

Used LMtools to stop the service.

Used configure tab to point to the new license file.

restarted service in the LMtools panel.

Ran Softimage and it worked.

So now when I nuke this system, I won't need to go to the Autodesk site to generate a license...because I can't do that anyway since Softimage isn't listed in my products anymore. Now the big thing is protecting that usb dongle and backing up the new license file. I'm assuming those are the only two things I will need after my new machine is ready.

adrencg
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Re: RETIREMENT Q&A

Post by adrencg » 08 Aug 2019, 05:37

Just to confirm....hopefully someone smarter than myself about these things can help:

I now have a USB dongle and license file (created with registeronce) and Softimage is currently running just fine with that.

Over the weekend I'll be building my new Ryzen 3900x system and will need to get Softimage up and running on that new system. I've been learning Cinema 4D and Blender, but I don't feel comfortable enough yet to start a job on either of those two software. And I'm about to start a big job worth good money which will take me to the end of the year. I'm imagining a scenario where I get the new system up and running, but Softimage won't work because of the dongle.

As long as I have that physical usb dongle and license file, I will need no trace of my old hardware to make Softimage open and work correctly...is that correct? I will not need to deal with the Autodesk site at all during the setup? Sorry if I'm being dense, but a lot is at stake here. I desperately need to re-do my computer with the fastest CPU on the planet and I also need to start this job with Softimage...as much as I don't want to.

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