I think switching depends on what kind of artist you are… if you are a cog in a bigger macine and only do one thing - then maybe it’s easier to switch.
If you’re a generalist or freelancer or part of a smaller company and do more things - you have more things to switch.
So I think it’s completely subjective how difficult it is to switch so lets not beat eachother up about it.
I know for ME I am in very deep with Max and am a generalist - I am fluent in the language and would hate to do it.
As i was following some SI communities as a silent observer i have just one thing to say:
In no other community i have seen more rampant 3ds Max bashing. Obviously it was common sense to show resentments against Max, and to a lesser degree Maya ( often unfounded, sometimes valid ) , even if they often meant to be only jokes. So the above number really does’nt surprise me.
It’s not easy, but it is typical. I have known of and have worked for many studios (from 3-60 people in size) that have switched between softwares, OS’s or simply worked in multiple software environments. A good pipeline can be somewhat software agnostic.
I am really not trying to pass this new revalation off as nothing, but I can’t see it actually causing artists to lose their livlihood or for studios to go under. they have 2-5 years to sort their stuff out. that’s an eternity in the CG world. And really, they didn’t see this coming? Come on. Everyone knew this was coming for the last 5 years.
SI artists were joking with me when I was learning it, saying that it wasn’t such a good investment of my time.
-C
csmallfield, yes. But, usually, we change software because the change is our decision. For example, because we prefer different renderer, or modeler, or because the new tool is better. This is the first time in my life that a I have to change software, a good software (I work very well with it) because the “software house” has token the decision that it isn’t convenient, economically speaking (for them) to support the development. AD bought XSI for the best pieces, and the rest, let him to rot. And with it, its users. This is my point of view. And, If SI users were resigned to this fate, this is a different matter.
Customer trust is the most important thing for a company and AD has lost it by last release of SI after saying “I think the future is exciting for Softimage…”
Yep I think that’s the whole point from a user POV. Add to that, that every experienced XSI user is now less preferable in the cg jobmarket than before.
What makes me nervous as a Maya user though, is the way ADSK tries to monetize the userbase of very complex software tools and continous to make wrong promises. Like faster development and concentration on other tools. No, they will continue to axe developers from the M&E division and business will be as usual after 1-2 feature (and bug) packed upgrades.
As for max, it should be clear by now that it is positioned as a design/archviz/gameasset tool.
And I’m not so sure about the game industry part because of ADSK’ Maya LT experiment.
Maybe it was a typo… perhaps they meant to say ‘the future is EXITing for Softimage’ :rolleyes:
Cheers,
Brian
According to the poll, there are more people who would rather go to Lightwave or Blender over Max. As if you would go from Softimage to Blender, Lightwave or “Proprietary technology” and consider it a lateral transition. That just seems so naive.
I haven’t had to open an Autodesk application in over a year now because I’ve managed to rework my entire workflow and process, and partially even my career path to get out of it.
Maybe CGSociety should start handing out ‘autodesk free’ badges under users names.
Doesn’t surprise me, its a question wich of these tools can be aquired alongside the current SI license. Considering monetary conditions and as a learning factor (time).
For those of you in Europe and other less litigious societies, be aware that in the US you can file a suit against anyone for any reason. Whether it is accepted by a court and goes through trial is another story entirely, but the suit can be started. Leaving that aside though, I think that there is a good case to be made for at the very least an injunction against Autodesk dropping support for the product in two years. They could be compelled to at least support it for, say, 5 years. As evidence, studios could speak to all the time and manpower they have had to spend to build their production pipelines, as well as the various statements from Autodesk until recently that everything was just fine with Softimage.
Also, suing is not the only option I mentioned. Boycotting Autodesk could also be used or threatened, to make them at least prolong this process more. If suing doesn’t work, there are still boycotts, and just generally making it clear to everyone possible just how bad of a company they are to do business with.
Finally, both these options, as well as planning and executing alternative solutions to transition and keep business running can all be done at the same time.
I didn’t use and didn’t see anyone else use the word b**ch, or anything else of that nature, like a couple of people above have alluded to. But I just don’t understand why any individual or company would just say “OK Autodesk, here, please take my money for some other product that I don’t really want, even though you just killed the product that I have depended on and built my life and business around for 20 years” without even raising a finger.
really? I dont recall much max bashing on si forums. I do bash max everytime I have opportunity but that’s just me.
This is why I moved over to Blender. It’s always in development and one big company can’t kill it.
it’s a straw poll and doesn’t really represent anything worth anything! :deal:
it’s only from the people who saw the poll and could be bothered to look at it and then fill it in…it’s hardly representative of the status of the softimage user base as a whole is it?
thinking and doing are islands on the opposite sides of the ocean from each other.
i guess most people filled in their choices full of anger and resentment toward autodesk
i’m sure if you offered notepad as an option it would get more votes than 3dsmax or maya. 
when softimage artists calm down and look toward their job choice options for 2016 and beyond there will be some heavy sighs and some begrudged choices to be made.
Mark Schoennagel’s fare well message and last Softimage demo
http://area.autodesk.com/blogs/marks/thanks-for-all-your-brilliance
That’s never going to happen. The way I see it, Autodesk purchased SI (and Maya) to get rid of some of the competition. The only reason for selling Softimage afterwards was to help pay for it’s acquisition. The bonus was the code they can strip from it to shoehorn into their other apps. Indeed, Softimage users actually helped fund the destruction of the program they thought they were supporting.
The lesson to take away here is to NEVER trust a corporation. They exist for one sole purpose, never forget that. They will say anything to placate fearful consumers whom tend to fall for it because they just don’t like being scared. It’s the wizards first rule lol. People will readily believe a lie because they wish it were true, or because they fear it is true.
In this case the company was bankrupt and thus motivated to sell Blender. Autodesk would be out of their minds to release SI back out into the wild and I don’t believe all of the artists affected by this have what it takes to pressure Autodesk and see it through to the end. A livelihood is more important and it’s easier to simply learn a new program if need be in order to keep that livelihood going.
As a C4D user, this doesn’t affect me directly - but as one who is love with Nodal Xpressions in C4d (with Xpresso) - the loss of ICE must be a very hard hit for softimage users, as there’s nothing like that specific toolset in Maya/Max.
And moving to Houdini might not be financially feasible for many softimage users looking for a something similar; a $4500 license + a required $2500 a year maintenance isn’t exactly a spur of the moment commitment to make.
You have described it well, and it’s exactly this type of common sense, upon which corporations dare to build up a monopoly. I think there is enough evidence on the net, be it through press releases or video interviews, that shows how ADSK has misleaded its customers to hide its real intent. To build up a patent trolling monopoly in the 3D content creation industry.
If I was an iXSI user, I’d join a crowdfunded lawsuit. Even if it would be just for the fun of it 