Perpetual vs. Subscription Software

Lately, just messing around with Blender, Embergen...not subscription in general.
Lightwave ..No subscription ..and it seems to stay that way with Lightwave Digital.
 
I recently went out and bought ZBrush @prometheus

I think it's the last perpetual license they'll ever produce because now the MAXON website doesn't sell it anymore.
I just managed to find a reseller of theirs who does so that's why I was able to get it.

I figured that is an essential one because it's always mentioned and it seems to have export/import capabilities with all the major 3D software programs.

Somehow I don't think it'll change all that much after it becomes subscriber based.

It's just a 3D sculpting program that doesn't seem to have changed all that much over the years.
What you create now will still be usuable years from now.

so I thought I'd get it now as a perpetual license while I can because it'll probably be the same 5 years from now.

However, the people paying subscription will probably end up paying more for a perpetual license over the next 5 years.

I saw that Cinema 4D was no longer being offered as a perpetual license too.
 
fashion said:
I recently went out and bought ZBrush @prometheus

I think it's the last perpetual license they'll ever produce because now the MAXON website doesn't sell it anymore.
I just managed to find a reseller of theirs who does so that's why I was able to get it.

I figured that is an essential one because it's always mentioned and it seems to have export/import capabilities with all the major 3D software programs.

Somehow I don't think it'll change all that much after it becomes subscriber based.

It's just a 3D sculpting program that doesn't seem to have changed all that much over the years.
What you create now will still be usuable years from now.

so I thought I'd get it now as a perpetual license while I can because it'll probably be the same 5 years from now.

However, the people paying subscription will probably end up paying more for a perpetual license over the next 5 years.

I saw that Cinema 4D was no longer being offered as a perpetual license too.
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Cinema 4D, no interest, too expensive, and also..if no perpetual licens, it will not be on my world chart to purchase.
Zbrush, good tool, you can´t go wrong with that if you can spare the money to get it.
I have tested it for quite a while some time ago, but I do not have it now, it may be that I get it later anyway.

Zbrush isn´t just a sculpting program, though that is what I think it should do with excellence foremost, it renders, it is a 2d painting software as well.
If you are to apply for jobs over here on many VFX, game companies, Zbrush is almost always required.

Though I need to boost up with a new computer rather than software, that includes a much better cpu, and better cuda rtx cards to handle the Embergen simulations even better,and also boost up some volumetric rendering.
 
Yeah, you can probably do without Cinema4D since its competitors are more widely used and do most of the same things C4D does. I don't think it has that significant a market share. They seemed a tad overrpriced. I think before it became subscriber only, they were asking 3400 USD or Euros for a perpetual license.

I suppose C4D would only be essential if you had a client who was paying your software costs.
Or if a person was working at a place where it was used all the time and client specifically asked for it.
 
fashion said:
I suppose C4D would only be essential if you had a client who was paying your software costs.
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Not very common I believe, you would be better of financially I believe with just a few main 3D apps, which would be blender and lightwave as for the cheapest things to get.

fashion said:
Or if a person was working at a place where it was used all the time and client specifically asked for it.
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That may be the case sometimes.

Maya, max and blender, before houdini even, on the official ads over here, currently none for Cinema4D or Lightwave, unreal and unity are also some that has quite a few ads over here, but of course the stats would be slightly different if you were to ask each VFX company for instance, and also different depending on country and local regions.
 
prometheus said:
Maya, max and blender, before houdini even, on the official ads over here, currently none for Cinema4D or Lightwave, unreal and unity are also some that has quite a few ads over here, but of course the stats would be slightly different if you were to ask each VFX company for instance, and also different depending on country and local regions.
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....but I wonder if that'll change since the new version of LW came out.

What do you think? Will it mount a successful comeback @prometheus ?

I went to a site called Jobs Indeed and some places in Vancouver asked for MODO.

None for LW, but also none for C4D either. so in that regard they are in the same boat.
But at least LW is a lot cheaper and won't be as much as a drain on the wallet.

I think C4D is mostly used in the Film/TV industries of the US.

Look on CraigsList for American cities & it shows up as a job skill/requirement.

Rarely in Canada tho. I don't think most places here invest in it.
 
I have a feeling they will not change that licensing, at least they will provide a perpectual license, even if they offer prescription, they could give the best of worlds for users that way, subscription that would give you cheaper updates and maintenance that a perpectual license will not offer, only one year sort of..then you have it without being locked or hijacked, but to take advantage of new updates, service relelases and other offerings, perhaps a certain subscription model could work.

Pointless to speculate of a successful comeback, they are too early in their aquirement of it, and development, things will change during the upcoming year, years.
I like what I see so far in relation to previous releases, but it´s a long way to be really successful I think.
And one thing they need to adress, even though they are busy with the actual product, the new forum..they need to fix that soon. ( probably march.)

There are a few individual Swedish artist that has made some freelancing, also commercial work using Lightwave partly, though how much or how less they are using it know I do not know.

Lightwave 2023 60 day demotrial is sitting on my account at Lightwave digital, waiting for me to test it.
In particular I need to check octane and VDB rendering, and TFD.
Currently still..yeah, still messing with clouds these last 12 hours straight today, and some Embergen simulations and WDA cloud assets, then final Blender rendering, oh..and some space explosions ala star wars style, which isn´t commonly seen simulated by anyone I think that uses Embergen, mostly they do more of the earthly explosive stuff.
 
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By any chance do you know what LW's licensing system is like @prometheus ?
That is - is a constant Internet connection needed to use the product?
Does a person need to be logged in all the time for it to work?

Or Is it like it's been before - just activate the software and no Internet connection needed?

I started the zBrush software the other day & a person needs this MAXON app which is separate from the software.
They start up the app and then it allows them to fire up zBrush.
No serial number is needed, but the app is tied to your email address.
It's a similar system to STEAM and Substance Painter.
So like STEAM the Maxon user needs to be on the Internet all the time to run the software.
And it can only run one computer at a time using the Maxon app.

I suppose they do this to prevent piracy.
 
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Markc said:
Lightwave works offline, once activated.
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I suspected that, no change.
I was in bed sleeping, couldn´t answer fashion earlier than now.

Fashion would however need to send a mail to the lightwave digital group, and request a trial version so they can set that up on the account, there is no public direct download, which unfortunately isn´t helping new users to test and get interested, but it´s their choice to market it as they do..perhaps it really takes some time and fix technicality behind a public demotrial, otherwise I think they miss out on customers, you present the product the best you can, and apart from developing the actual product, you should really make sure you present the option to try it before you buy it.

They got two-three main issues right now with the marketing, that is no forum open publicly, and the forum is below all critics, and there is no demotrial for users to just click on to try, new users mostly will just look at the page once, then go away without being more interested when you can´t follow discussions properly with ease, nor download a demo.
 
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Regretablly, I didn't grab the LW software when I should have when it was first announced @prometheus

But I'm still interested in getting the LW upgrade for one reason alone - to try out that Volumedic software you told me about. But I suppose ya don't even need version 2023 to make Volumedic work.

That is one unique app which sets LW apart from other 3D software that could make it potentially quite lucrative.

I'm thinking about medical professionals - who might pay a lot for those kind of images.
I'm sure in your country like mine, with well-estabiished medical systems, those services can be billed out at a high hourly rate.

Anyways, if I get the Volumedic software, I'll let you know
 
fashion said:
Regretablly, I didn't grab the LW software when I should have when it was first announced @prometheus

But I'm still interested in getting the LW upgrade for one reason alone - to try out that Volumedic software you told me about. But I suppose ya don't even need version 2023 to make Volumedic work.

That is one unique app which sets LW apart from other 3D software that could make it potentially quite lucrative.

I'm thinking about medical professionals - who might pay a lot for those kind of images.
I'm sure in your country like mine, with well-estabiished medical systems, those services can be billed out at a high hourly rate.

Anyways, if I get the Volumedic software, I'll let you know
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Not sure which version you refered to as missed?

If you talk about the first release that had some bonus deal, perhaps..but it´s like buying in to something a bit blinded, I rather wait and see what it can do by testing it to have that as a cushion when deciding to buy, not panic buying in to great offerings just because it will save you money.

Volumedic is still not a part of the lightwave release, you have to buy that additionally..Unless the author himself, Elmar who now is part of the Lightwave development team, comes up with the idea of including it if possible, some lite version.

But..you still do not have much use for it unless getting CRT scans anyway, so ..still a limited use of it.

Yeah, let me know.

over here, just been testing some workflow/pipelines on Embergen and Lightwave, masking painting (works) bullet dynamics simulations with rigid bodies, works, with separated transformed mesh masking to decide what is on fire or not(works)
Bullet dynamic simulations with cracking up single mesh pieces in parts mode, it works to, but you need to do the export differently.

Bone animation fbx export to embergen, so you can set up hoses, tornado meshes, and other stuff with skelegon bones and convert to bones ..so that works to for simple stuff so far, daz figures a bit tricky with wrong deformations in embergen, have to check that.
nodal motion on lightwave objects and export to emberge, it works too.
Motion FX modifier in Lightwave to embergen, it works too.
Particle FX to embergen, kind of works too, at least per frame generation and if you fx link, or nodal motion link mesh object to the particles.

So pretty much a lot of stuff from lightwave to embergen seem to work fairly decent.
Need to check some soft body dynamics as well though.

So I am busy right now RND testing the Lightwave workflow to Embergen.
Camera matching seem to work as well, if you set the proper step rate in the simulation that matches lightwave camera frame rates.
But darn it, these are the things we should be able to discuss on the new forum, but it´s just pointless to do it over there at it´s current state.
 

subscription is the worst.
  • They can be expensive. Especially if you subscribe to a lot of services, the cost can add up quickly.
  • They can be inconvenient. If you're constantly trying to remember which subscriptions you have and when they're due, it can be a hassle.
  • They can be difficult to cancel. Some subscription companies make it very difficult to cancel your account, which can be frustrating.
  • They can lock you into a contract. If you sign up for a subscription with a long-term contract, you may be stuck paying for it even if you're not using the service anymore.
  • They can be a waste of money. Some subscriptions are simply not worth the cost. If you're not using the service regularly, it may be better to cancel it and save your money.
 

but really, the worst thing about subscription is backwards compatibility.
the lack of it.

companies should to like 3DCoat instead, and EmberGen.
Rent to Own.


 
erikals said:
subscription is the worst.
  • They can be expensive. Especially if you subscribe to a lot of services, the cost can add up quickly.
  • They can be inconvenient. If you're constantly trying to remember which subscriptions you have and when they're due, it can be a hassle.
  • They can be difficult to cancel. Some subscription companies make it very difficult to cancel your account, which can be frustrating.
  • They can lock you into a contract. If you sign up for a subscription with a long-term contract, you may be stuck paying for it even if you're not using the service anymore.
  • They can be a waste of money. Some subscriptions are simply not worth the cost. If you're not using the service regularly, it may be better to cancel it and save your money.
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All good points.....(y)
I am a hobbyist....so sometimes don't use a particular piece of software for 6-12 months.

For me subscription is just a money pit.
 
I bought the Adobe Creative suite at the black friday deal in 2022, but I didn´t have the time to use it as much as I should, and then the nex update would be so expensive, so I had to shut that down, so pretty much a waste of money there.

blender can provide a decent software that is competetive as open source for the 3D market, I can only hope software in the 2D realm can do the same, like krita, inkscape and another alternative to indesign.
None of those 2d tools are really competing, they provide a one man hobby show for free, but they are not making it in to what you may use at a company, unlike blender actually.
 
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