Is the perpetual license for Marvelous designer worth buying?

Mimir

I'm currently a student and want to become a professional character artist (for games), I have recently bought zbrush and I find making cloths really time consuming. I want to buy Marvelous designer but I'm not a fan of the subscription model, I know the perpetual license doesn't come with the updates and bug fixes but it is a one time fee. Is it worth buying the perpetual license or should i just pay for the subscription?

Also the perpetual license for Marvelous 7 is 30% off on steam which is why i'm so tempted to buy it, as i'm probably not going to get it for any cheaper. If someone can give me some insight on what I should do I would really appreciate it.

thomasp

personally i have no idea about steam and what it means to have your license associated with that but i don't think MD is advancing in fundamental ways that would quickly render your version outdated. the general workflow has been stable for a bunch of years now - at least the way i've used it.

Mimir

thomasp said:

personally i have no idea about steam and what it means to have your license associated with that but i don't think MD is advancing in fundamental ways that would quickly render your version outdated. the general workflow has been stable for a bunch of years now - at least the way i've used it.

Thanks for the insight, I'm just a little worried about newer versions getting cool new features but if they don't advance much as you say then I think the perpetual license seems like a good deal. Btw I would rather not have it on steam but the sale happens to be on steam and not on their website, which kinda sucks because apparently you can't use MD offline.

thomasp

i think at this point it'll be mostly convenience improvements like the ones listed at https://www.marvelousdesigner.com/learn/learnmd7 not workflow changers. perhaps someone who's into creating complete and thoroughly refined outfits ready for simulation right in MD might have a different view on it but i just try to get the basic look with a few nice folds and then get into zbrush as soon as possible.

Mimir

thomasp said:

i think at this point it'll be mostly convenience improvements like the ones listed at https://www.marvelousdesigner.com/learn/learnmd7 not workflow changers. perhaps someone who's into creating complete and thoroughly refined outfits ready for simulation right in MD might have a different view on it but i just try to get the basic look with a few nice folds and then get into zbrush as soon as possible.

I think I only want to use MD as a starting point, like you said to get nice folds and creases which I can then refine in zbrush. So I will probably buy the perpetual license. Thanks for the replies you've been really helpful.

jzweigii

I know this thread is a little old, but MD is having a huge sale right now. Selling the perpetual license for $240, shy of half off, if you’ve not bought it already. I was also contemplating the one time license, as well. Would like to hear if you went through with it or not!

kittinzaa

I just got the license for $216 got extra 10% discounted by the end of trial test.

ARTEHAGA

Do you know if it is possible to buy an old legit perpetual licence from someone on eBay like MD8 if I live in Europe? That way I will just need to pay the extra money to get an update to MD9.

EvilCG

A perpetual licence is a great choice if you have a consistent workload, even more than you can handle. However as work can fluctuate and you might not use MD every day, even week, getting a subscription is a great way to stay on top of your budget and use only when you have a project that requires MD. 

Alex_J

I have a perpetual license. I don't use MD a lot, but when you need it it's a huge time saver. I paid about $400 I think for the perpetual license and I'm really glad I did because the latest updates that came out made the program 100% better for me. Big increase in productivity and joy in using the software.

"is the license worth it?" You only need to do the math. Figure out how much money you'd need to make to get your return, and then figure if it's likely you'll make that much. I realize the thread is old, but this is the answer for this question anywhere.