Where to go after MB7std?

#1

Arrrrrgh!

OK I upgraded to MB7std about a week before Autodesk announced that MB std was to be discontinued. The License is tied to my very EOL PowerMac G4.

It seems that the license is much more restrictive than I thought. Basically my enquiries to Autodesk were whether MB7std would be recompiled for Intel Mac UB or if not, whether I could run the license under WinXP using BootCamp or similar. It seems that I will not even be able to move the license as I replace my hardware without upgrading to MB7.5pro.

Autodesk’s customer service (I think rather dismayed exAlias) mentioned an upgrade offer which expires in August or that I could cancel my upgrade to MB7std as I am still within the 30 days grace (just).

Whilst MotionBuilder is important to my workflow (camera blocking and minimal character animation for archviz) I do not need the additional functionality of the pro version but would like to continue using the software on newer hardware.

Has anyone had more luck than I dealing with Autodesk?
Or suggestions of an alternative suitable for camera blocking & light character animation on a Mac/intel platform.

Thnx
BB

#2

Ok unable to edit above so…

Finally some clarity from Autodesk

Although there is unlikely to be a recompile to Universal Binary should my hardware fail or need to be replaced, I can relocate my license for a fee of £109 + VAT, I can also change platform in the process.

I’m still disappointed that MB Std has been discontinued but at least I can continue to use the license that I have paid for, subject to the above fee.

#3

So, how much was the upgrade offer?

#4

More than I’m prepared to pay right now. Basically it’s the difference between Std & Pro.

#5

That just made the decision not to upgrade my 5.5 version any further. I think that this is going to kill the program as being widely used. I believe it will become application specific.

#6

Well, after I received an email from Autodesk that they would no longer issue licenses upon reinstalls (after July 2006), I started to look what other animation products existed.

I then found Messiah Studio, and asked them if they would do a side/upgrade special offer. I thought many of you may be interested in their response. Cheers !!

Motion Builder to messiah:Studio Workstation competitive upgrade:

[font=Arial][size=2]At the request of Motion Builder users, pmG Worldwide is offering a limited time opportunity for Motion Builder users to “pay less and get more”. Trade up to the Award winning power, speed and ease of use of messiah:Studio Workstation for only $219, with Free Shipping to all countries (a $100 savings special).
[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=2]With Messiah:Studio Workstation you’ll not only get a world class animation program, you’ll get messiah’s exclusive Setup Mode for easy rigging and non destructive rig editing; real-time animation speed, the industry’s fastest and easiest to use bones, .htr and .bvh mocap import, Soft Body Dynamics, Particle system, Expressions, plug-in API, and much more.

Best of all, included for this special price, is messiah’s complete renderer with Displacement mapping, Global Illumination, Node based Shader system and more.

messiah comes with a hardware key as it’s license, so you’ll always be in control.

Start having more fun, while getting more done, and bring out the best of your creative potential. Order today. Go to: www.projectmessiah.com and click the “upgrade” option on the “shop” menu; or from the new purchase page, click the “upgrade existing products” button at the bottom of the page. Select the buy button next to "Motion Builder to messiah:Studio Workstation"

To experience more of the interactive animation power of messiah, download this demo reel video: http://maks.free.fr/reel/

[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]pmG Worldwide LLC[/size][/font]

– Luis Mederos
luis@ltm3.net

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#7

Thats fantastic!

Any news of a mac version in the works? If Messiah had been available on the Mac platform I would never have bothered with MotionBuilder (version 5 thru 7) in the first place!! Great software… please port!!

BB

#8

Good offer from Messiah, but like others, I need a Mac version preferably… although, should I buy an Intel Mac, then I could use it under BootCamp.
However, I doubt I’ll upgrade my dual 2.5 G5 anytime soon. 12-24 months atleast.
Is the Messiah offer still good?
Totally sucks about Autodesks plans for MB licenses. That’s appalling customer care. They deserver a lot of bad Karma.

#9

A word of caution from a Messiah:workstation user:

Messiah is no replacement for Motion Builder.
Sure it does have fabulous bone set-up, fast & easy key-frame animation…

…but when it comes to using motion capture look again. There are little to no clean up options and make sure to do your research on the Messiah forums (here at cgsociety) about the ease (or dis-ease) when importing BVH or HTR files.

There’s also a surprising lack of documentation in using the program (very frustrating!!).

My 2 cents.

#10

There’s also a surprising lack of documentation in using the program (very frustrating!!).

Not entirely true. The animation features are VERY well documented. (Even have nice animated gifs within the docs to help illustrate tools/functions) Its the rendering/shading features that are lacking in information.

…but when it comes to using motion capture look again. There are little to no clean up options and make sure to do your research on the Messiah forums (here at cgsociety) about the ease (or dis-ease) when importing BVH or HTR files.

If there is something specific that you are looking for…suggest it. pMg generally listens to suggestions and implements what is needed. Over the past 3-4 months they’ve released 3 patches with some excellent additions and fixes. So its worth letting them know.

#11

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