AD: new SI licensing plans!!!

[Manticor]

So things go back to the way they were in reality ...Autodesk doesn't develop anything for softimage but now you don't have to give them your money .Pretty much almost the same as the past 5 years except the users arent obliged to pay autodesk anything.
So the wise decision would be to stick with softimage and get new tools via Fabric Engine for the foreseeable future.

[luceric]

Well that's an improvement. But does that mean that we would need to maintain a Maya subscription in order to continue using Softimage if we go with the transition offer beyond 2 years? It seems unclear. The updated Autodesk announcement says:

If you need to use Softimage after February 1, 2016 you will be able to access it through the Subscription center in the same way that Subscription customers can access prior versions today.

My understanding is that one loses access to old versions if subscription is dropped and only the latest version is considered perpetual. So does that mean that you lose access to Softimage, or that you continue to have access to the latest Maya and the latest Softimage which you had obtained during the term of your subscription?

That paragraph just says that that Softimage 2015 will be available as download from the sub center, after 2016, when it stops shipping with the migration bundle. It's part of this paragraph about the end of the migration : "We will no longer ship Softimage with these products. If you need to use Softimage after February 1, 2016 you will be able to access it through the Subscription center in the same way that Subscription customers can access prior versions today. "

[Pancho]

The thread title gives me the creeps all the time as I read rules as a verb.
Moderator edit: you're absolutely right, I changed the title ;) - HB


What kind of people made these decisions in the first place? How ill minded can sombody be to not realize this from the beginning? We think of Autodesk as an evil corporation. The truth is far worth and meets the core of Hannah Arendt's book on Eichmann, "The Banality of Evil". They simply don't care and know what they are doing. As simple as that. They might be highly educated, but that doesn't mean that on a social and global level they are competent.

[Hirazi Blue]

As this undoubtedly will get buried under other posts on the mailing list, I’ve decided to cross-post it here as well. I probably am interpreting everything wrong here, but as I state in the following “I’m having a hard time processing all this ATM”. After yesterdays change of plans, Autodesk issued an updated pdf. In my view one thing is however still unclear (to silly old me), that's why I posted the following mail to the Mailing List, directed at Maurice Patel:

Thanks for the update, but it raises another question:
(If this is a stupid question: sorry, I’m having a hard time processing all this ATM.)
Two quotes…
From the OP:
“Based on your feedback we will be adding the ability to continue to access Softimage indefinitely
with your Subscription entitlement even after we stop support on Softimage in April 2016.”
From the FAQ
“If you need to use Softimage after February 1, 2016 you will be able to access it through the Subscription center in
the same way that Subscription customers can access prior versions today.”
In the FAQ one element from your OP seems unclear. You clearly speak of accessing “Softimage indefinitely”,
while the FAQ states the usage “in the same way that Subscription customers can access prior versions today.”.
As I understand prior version rights aren’t indefinite. I believe older versions cease to be available after three years even under this program.
While I assume/hope the condition you’ve laid out in your OP to be correct,
but if so the FAQ could use some clarification in this respect.

Again, I am painfully aware, that I’m probably missing something here, but at the moment I have a hard time focusing on the important stuff due to everything that is currently going on…

The last sentence of the quoted text is grammatically wrong on so many levels but I wanted to quote what I sent to the Mailing List...

[KLONOA WORKS]

what about the new users can they purchase softimage ?

the thing that make me crazy they said at end of march I cant purchase softimage is that the shipment,
and I can purchase the download version ?

[angus_davidson]

Havent heard anything on that or the state of the EDU versions.

[BenR]

Well that's an improvement. But does that mean that we would need to maintain a Maya subscription in order to continue using Softimage if we go with the transition offer beyond 2 years? It seems unclear. The updated Autodesk announcement says:

If you need to use Softimage after February 1, 2016 you will be able to access it through the Subscription center in the same way that Subscription customers can access prior versions today.

My understanding is that one loses access to old versions if subscription is dropped and only the latest version is considered perpetual. So does that mean that you lose access to Softimage, or that you continue to have access to the latest Maya and the latest Softimage which you had obtained during the term of your subscription?

That paragraph just says that that Softimage 2015 will be available as download from the sub center, after 2016, when it stops shipping with the migration bundle. It's part of this paragraph about the end of the migration : "We will no longer ship Softimage with these products. If you need to use Softimage after February 1, 2016 you will be able to access it through the Subscription center in the same way that Subscription customers can access prior versions today. "

OK, so then I'm still unclear about the following situation: I transition to Maya and maintain my subscription beyond the Feb 2016 cutoff. Then in 2017, I let the subscription drop. It's my understanding that I can continue to use Maya 2018 but not earlier versions of Maya. Can I still use Softimage 2015 under my perpetual license? Sorry if I'm being thick about this but I'm not seeing a clear answer yet.

[xowgax]

Havent heard anything on that or the state of the EDU versions.

PDF states

All Softimage licenses will still continue to work after April 30, 2016

Hopefully we're covered..

[angus_davidson]

Havent heard anything on that or the state of the EDU versions.

PDF states

All Softimage licenses will still continue to work after April 30, 2016

Hopefully we're covered..

Have had an Update from Maurice that new ARC and Student licenses will not be available, but you can continue to use the old ones until the license expires. For student and ARC licences this is normally a 3 year period from when you got it..

Check you license file it will tell you if and when it expires

Kind regards

Angus

[Hirazi Blue]

FYI, Maurice Patel has replied to the Mailing List post I quoted here earlier:

The mechanism is the same. Your comment about three versions back applies to what is made available as new releases are issued. No new releases for Softimage will be available so the situation is not really identical and the three version back limitation does not apply. Also the three limit back is about access to licenses not about existing ones. For example if you are using Maya 2009 today (more than 3 versions back) you can still continue to use it although you would only access 2011, 2012, 2013 from the Subs center.

[scrubjay]

I still do not understand what happens to those of us teaching it. We are on Autodesk support, and have no interest in switching to Maya or 3DS Max. Will I be able to have students dl the 2015 version? If we are forced to switch, I can assure you I will go to Cinema 4d (the integration into After Effects is quite good) or a Houdini with/without Modo solution.

If I taught Maya I would have to slow down all my classes. There is no way to cover the same amount of material in it, I have tried. 3DS Max would need plug ins to make it comparable, and then we get into non-standard versions and all sorts of other nonsense.

[angus_davidson]

I still do not understand what happens to those of us teaching it. We are on Autodesk support, and have no interest in switching to Maya or 3DS Max. Will I be able to have students dl the 2015 version? If we are forced to switch, I can assure you I will go to Cinema 4d (the integration into After Effects is quite good) or a Houdini with/without Modo solution.

If I taught Maya I would have to slow down all my classes. There is no way to cover the same amount of material in it, I have tried. 3DS Max would need plug ins to make it comparable, and then we get into non-standard versions and all sorts of other nonsense.

This depends as to when it is released.

If your on subscription you will be able to download it and install it in your classes. However the students will not be bale to download the free academic versions after the 28th of March 2014. ie no working from home for them. If your apply for an ARC license now it will give you 3 years during which the students can borrow a license by bringing their machines in for 6 months at a time.

For us we have a legal obligation not to teach EOL Software so we have to migrate. ;( We went from teaching Maya to teaching softimage and it made a huge difference. now we have a mountain to climb again.

[bb3d]

My subscription expires in August 2014, so I will be able to download and activate Softimage 2015, but I will definately not renew my subscription.
Now I understand that my license will not expire after that, but the question for me is, whether I will have access to service packs in the next 2 years or not, because I won't pay money just for bug fixes.

[angus_davidson]

Service packs and bug fixes should be available for download

[Unaided]

That Autodicks help you with SI license in the future, beyond 2016 is not good notice, and why?
Because they know a software will be dead with new hardware and new operating system updates.
You can choose keep using SI (I will do the same), but I know that I must have been a computer with current capabilities and current o.s. versions to run SI forever.
The only good news from Autodicks is that they release Softimage rights, and put SI for sale. Is the only good thing they can do it. And this is opposite for its strategy.

[kat]

That Autodicks help you with SI license in the future, beyond 2016 is not good notice, and why?
Because they know a software will be dead with new hardware and new operating system updates.
You can choose keep using SI (I will do the same), but I know that I must have been a computer with current capabilities and current o.s. versions to run SI forever.
The only good news from Autodicks is that they release Softimage rights, and put SI for sale. Is the only good thing they can do it. And this is opposite for its strategy.

Quoted for Agreement. too much proprietary technology is the excuse that they gave for not doing exactly what you suggest. I call bullshit.