Non-Commercial Maya or 3DSMax: Did it Disappear?

Brian "Panda" Choi

Hey ya'll,

Doing this on behalf of an author friend who's interested in hobby using 3D.

He tried finding the noncommercial version of Max or Maya, but he and I can't seem to find it.  The one where there's 3 year licenses per iteration.  Did they discontinue those?

pior

I don't think there has ever been such a thing, or was there ? If I understand correctly these were educational (as in, for students) versions.

And regardless ... your friend would be much better off picking up Blender anyways. There is no good reason I can think of to tie oneself to a bloated commercial package like Maya or Max, especially now that they lost their edge over the open source/free equivalent, features-wise.

sacboi

Other than the EDU licencing, there's also 30 day trial versions available as well:

https://www.autodesk.com.au/products/3ds-max/free-trial

...and I'd not necessarily agree with the above comment in terms of excessive feature sets or lack thereof. An example, I've used both Blender and Max for more than a few years in a semi-professional capacity, from that perspective each toolset IMO comes with it's own suite of strengths and weaknesses so it really boils down to what your friend has in mind creating on a limited budget as a pastime activity.      

Kwramm

There's Maya LT, which is cheaper, and its educational version, which is free to registered students for 3 years. I don't think there's any Max offering, other than really old GMax

throttlekitty

Like the old Personal Learning Editions? I'd email Autodesk about it, I've got a hunch they might have an answer.

oglu

there is an educational license...
https://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/maya

zachagreg

Im going to say go with Pior's advice. There is really no point in dropping that much cash on something like a modeling tool. Blender is great for a lot of things and if there is hole burning in your pocket then there are some awesome scripts that are purchasable to add some really nice workflows and features. Textools, the hard surface tools, etc. Or spend your money on things like Zbrush, Marmoset, or substance. Honestly there is just no reason to drop a couple thousand or a couple hundred on Max or Maya especially for hobbying when you get it free in Blender.

PixelMasher

the educational version of max that you can get a free 3 year licence. For students and educators, and they don't require a .edu email or anything. I would lump in self education as a student these days, it's 2018, and that is a more common route than ever. The more people that are familiar with their software only helps them grow as a company in the long run. It also helps to have relevant experience in software used in studios. It's never been a deal breaker but it's one less question mark on HR's tick list.

just don't be a scumbag and use it for freelance work :P If your day rate is less than a months worth of max/maya subscription, you are probably doing the whole freelance thing wrong to begin with and joining the race to the bottom.

https://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/3ds-max

JordanN

PixelMasher said:

just don't be a scumbag and use it for freelance work :P If your day rate is less than a months worth of max/maya subscription, you are probably doing the whole freelance thing wrong to begin with and joining the race to the bottom.

https://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/3ds-max

I recall the free version leaves behind a "watermark" so if another person tried to open your file, they'll immediately be told they're running the student version. I also believe Autodesk has their own methods to finding out if their software is being used illegally, because they keep logs every time Max/Maya is activated.

Eric Chadwick

There is indeed a warning pop-up when opening an edu model in a licensed version of Max.

Eric Chadwick

There is indeed a warning pop-up when opening an edu model in a licensed version of Max.

RN

There's Modo too.

FourtyNights

But you can do some "laundering" with your models made in the student version of Maya or Max, by filtering them through Blender, am I right? ;D

zachagreg

@FourtyNights lol just use Blender then

Eric Chadwick

Not if the client wants files in native Max or Maya format.

We need .Max files here because material settings are not preserved by other apps, but they are when models are authored natively. 

Brian "Panda" Choi

I'll say for my buddy edu license will be more than enough.  He's just hobbying.