Best places to find deals on older versions of software?
ngon master
Can you trust sites like this? Or should I just check ebay weekly and hope something shows up?
3DS Max 9 - Warning probably a scam site
Warning Scam site
XSI 5.0 (I would like 6.0, but couldn't find it
http://www.avalive.com/Avid/0500-03780-01/30939/productDetail.php?utm_source=googleBase&utm_medium=feed&utm_content=0500-03780-01
Photoshop CS2
http://www.tamayatech.com/parts.php?i=23102174
I want to upgrade from my student versions so I can do some freelance work or indy games, don't need to spend 3k on the new versions of everything.
3DS Max 9 - Warning probably a scam site
Warning Scam site
XSI 5.0 (I would like 6.0, but couldn't find it
http://www.avalive.com/Avid/0500-03780-01/30939/productDetail.php?utm_source=googleBase&utm_medium=feed&utm_content=0500-03780-01
Photoshop CS2
http://www.tamayatech.com/parts.php?i=23102174
I want to upgrade from my student versions so I can do some freelance work or indy games, don't need to spend 3k on the new versions of everything.
Replies
I thought if you had a student version, you could upgrade to a full commercial license for lot less than the full RRP.
Have you looked in the XSI Mod Tool Pro? Its allows you to use the mod tool for commercial stuff, not sure what the license fully covers though.
it looks like $1,300, $2000 bucks off, but still... a ton of money.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2008/05/court-smacks-autodesk-affirms-right-to-sell-used-software.ars
Autodesk may not like it, but people have the right to sell used software.
http://www.law.com/jsp/cc/PubArticleCC.jsp?id=1202462515286
and the wikipedia entry for it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernor_v._Autodesk,_Inc.
sounds like its still an on going battle, and autodesk is targeting the sellers, not the buyers.
It still frustrates me that primary software (Max / Maya etc) is so obscenely expensive. I'm fine with the other software, ZBrush is reasonably priced, Topogun etc etc but I just don't understand how people fund the initial purchase of the main app.
Max here is £2970. Now I just built a pretty high-end PC for about £1000, and my monitor cost about £250. Still less than half the price of a single piece of software. The car I drive cost me £2200. I could go on.
I know it's always been expensive, I know the money is recouped quickly by work (hopefully) but for someone just starting out, or even small businesses, I've no idea where the funds are supposed to come from. I personally don't have a problem with pirating software for personal use but I'd never then profit from pirated software and think it's pretty shocking when that kinda thing goes on.
I've been in a position more than once where a company wanted some Arch-Viz done, in this case quite a notable car manufacturer and also a sports franchise, now the work was to be shown quite publicly and I'm running a Max edu version while I complete my degree, so I had to turn down both jobs since my license doesn't allow commercial use.
Another thing I was wondering; is there a way to purchase older versions simply because you want them? I personally find Max 10/11 run like crap on my machine compared to 09 which is what I use currently and I'd much rather purchase 2009 if I had the choice right now.
I'm gonna start looking on eBay too I think.
Your still not done once you've shelled of 3K on a commercial license as you probably want a subscription for the latest updates. Like i said earlier, you get penalized if your not on it because if you choose not to upgrade that year and say upgrade the year after the upgrade then is like half the full cost of the software and even worse is if you miss a few years (I think its 3 years) you have to shell out the full amount again to get to the latest version.
What about Modo or the new version of Lightwave thats in beta, they cost like a 1/3 of what Autodesk wants?
Just thought I should mention that if you buy an educational licence of modo for two years you can upgrade to a full licence for $395. This way, you can get the full package for $700. Unfortunately, this option is only viable to students who have at least two years more ahead of them, but its still a darn good deal.
The only reason I'd favour Max or Maya currently is the other areas like the scripts I use, the baking, and most importantly for my current job, VRay.
I dont think you can really call Autodesks software for individuals at their prices. Software for the corporates other companies. Artists dont usually get paid that much(I dont know how much but I'm betting with the cutthroat nature). A software that they have to have, they wont make the money back on one job or maybe even a few, and thats ignoring the enforced continual outlay.
There's no market forces there is no logical reason for why the software is that price except that they have a monopoly and can get away with pricing it that high.
You can find legit software cheap, just research. With all these companies going to the pooper, why can't you get some of their software?
Lightwave and Modo are fine for games, just get into the habit of splitting edges to get somewhat decent smoothing. And from there exporting to various engines is dodgy. I only model/render in LW. Never export.
I used to be a hardcore 3DS Max user till AudoDesk pissed me off so much over the phone. I had a client who was on version 6 and I was on 7. I bought v5 and upgraded as needed when new versions came out. So I installed version 6 and tried to activate. No dice. They said that version is void once I install the latest. So I have 2 HUGE boxes that are just nothing now.
Now I am in a corner because Autodesk bought Alias and now I am back in the "family". I can't even upgrade 3DS max 7, might as well buy new (never will).
XSI had a great product with foundation, $500 bucks, and the target was freelancers and people on a budget, it had basically all the features besides hair, some particle stuff, and I think some of the fancy batch rendering across servers option.
They do. The current licensing for students is 13-months renewable license for 3ds Max, Maya, XSI and mudbox. Pretty sweet, but only as long as you are a student.
Actually, its as long as you have a student email, and some colleges don't delete users or graduates out of the database.
but you can't use student software commercially, so its very illegal to do any freelance work or indy games that you could profit from.
I did some research and this site is most definitely a scam.
It's a real shame, it's so easy to prey on artists such as ourselves who can't afford to buy licences from autodesk. Hell, if autodesk had better priced alternatives to their licensing, these scams wouldn't exist and the world would probably be a happier place.
This is the key point.
There needs to be some kind of 'small business version' or similar. I have no idea how it would work but it could cover small commercial projects that occur only occasionally.
For example, a high end Arch-Viz studio might be turning over £20,000 a month in fees for visualisations and of course in this case the £3k asking price is manageable and it's easy to see where the return comes from.
But for people in positions like mine, where I may get offers for freelance jobs here and there that might total £2000 or so over the course of 12 months so a £3k investment in software is just not an option.
Exactly, to justify their prices, they buy up the competition then up their prices. They couldnt be more blatant. No competition no one to regulate, means everyone gets stuffed.
Its likely to get worse, they wont/cant innovate(because of what happens with large companys), they'll buy up more competition. Leaving less innovation and competition in the market, and stagnation.
XSI is now shipped with Max or Maya in their premium bundles, so you essentially get XSI for almost free. Just gos to show they bought XSI just to stop some other company like Dassault Systems getting their hands on it and pushing it alot further than Autodesk would.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/09/the-end-of-used-major-ruling-upholds-tough-software-licenses.ars
On a different note, that's why I love Luxology. They would rather a user that no longer wishes to use Modo resell it to another user (who might not be able to afford a new copy) so that the new user can then make use of the license and contribute to the Modo community. An unused license benefits no one.
Anyway the supreme court might sort it out, but knowing American corporate greed it's an open and shut case in favour of the almighty corps.
I'd like to see that happen an expiry date of say two years where the software becomes unusable, and your forced to buy the new one, sounds reasonably, its what the company's want, so why dont the do it? It would be interesting to see what the consumers make of that.
It also makes it illegal for you to *give* your software to others because you don't have that transfer right either. If you sold an old PC it would have to be stripped of the OS and just be a bare HDD. Wanted to sell an old iPhone so you could upgrade... you can see what the implications of this are when you start to really think about it. Crazy as this sounds.. at face value this even buggers charities up the ass because they rely on used goods and materials, they are now in possession of illegal materials!
I'm surprised that representatives of the secondary market didn't put their weight behind this one.. really seems to have gone on in the dark and under the radar.
The primary market is almost always going to be larger and more consolidated than the secondary market, which gives them a big boost on the political and legal front. Plus, it sounds like lots of companies from outside the software world jumped in on this ruling because it gives them a window to kill the secondary markets for everything from music to movies to books.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-09-14-court-ruling-threatens-used-games-market