What if Softimage died?

[MauricioPC]

Not beating the dead corpses because it's fun ... but man, can't we see our PM show his face more? Or Softimage blogs with update posts about cool stuff? Right now, I'm feeling envy of the 3ds Max users (not the software, mind you).

And Maya LT has another Extension (two in the same semester after the software was launched).

http://area.autodesk.com/products/features/mayalt

Greetings

I hope you had a happy 3December!

Welcome to the newest blog here on the area, “The Max Makers”. It will be where the 3ds Max development team will post news, insights and points of interest in the world of 3ds Max. Since 3ds Max is a team effort, the postings here will come from a number of contributors. Besides myself, you will hear from; Sonja Muller, the Product Marketing Specialist; Michael Russo, the Software Development Manager; Kelcey Simpson, Product Design Manager and others.

Who am I?

I am Eddie Perlberg, the new Sr. Product Manager, Design Animation Solutions, M&E - Video Solutions Group (VSG) and Shared Services, which the super long corporate speak for Product Manager for 3ds Max and 3ds Max Design.

Prior to taking this roll, I worked here at Autodesk as a Technical Specialist in the Media & Entertainment division, evangelizing and demonstrating how 3ds Max fits into various workflows with a focus on Design Visualization. Some of you might recognize me from my previous blog, “With Design in Mind”. The future of that blog will be determined by others.

It has been my honor and privilege to talk with many you regarding the use and future of 3ds Max. There’s no doubt that, in the past, we have shared concerns and disappointments as to the messages we’ve received regarding this issue. We have scratched our heads as to the missed occasions to celebrate our accomplishments and missed opportunities to grow together.

Well, the good news is that those opportunities will be a major focus at Autodesk. The energy and commitment behind 3ds Max has never been stronger. As I went through the interview process, I was struck by the excitement to the long term success of you, the 3ds Max user. Let me repeat that “…the long term success of you, the 3ds Max user”. I know that there have been questions to the future of 3ds Max. I shared them with you. But, when I saw the team that had been assembled, the openness to new messaging and the investments that were being made in 3ds Max’s name, I knew that I wanted to be a part of its renaissance.

Prior to joining Autodesk, I was CAD Manager and Visualization Artist at a number of Architectural firms in the upper Midwest including Kohl’s Department Stores. Like many of you, I extended my passion for working with 3ds Max to doing side work in motion graphics projects and a small locally produced video game title. I have been using 3ds Max since 3d Studio vers. 4 and purchased my own personal copy of 3ds Max 2.5. In fact, I enjoyed my work in 3ds max so much that I incorporated the 3ds Max logo into a tattoo of mine a few years ago.

Usually at this point in my introduction, I can see the wheels turning in some of your noggins. He’s a DV guy and that indicates the direction of the product. I am proud of my background and will never hide from it. I can only assure you that I am committed to make the best 3ds Max possible for all of us. I am committed to make you more profitable. I am committed to make you more successful. Whether you create vfx, games or design visualizations, we all put in the same blood sweat and tears and it’s my commitment to you, the 3ds Max family, that we wake up every morning and go to bed every night trying make a better Max for you.

So, watch this space for more customer success stories, more good news, more insights and more in the world of 3ds Max and 3ds Max Design.

http://area.autodesk.com/blogs/max/welc ... akers-blog

[mirkoj]

nice for max.. now where is one for Softimage?

[Maximus]

Wait, Softimage have a PM? Cause afaik it doesnt.

[Falam]

I think everyone on this forum is the PM. They are advancing Maya LT faster then even I expected.

[MauricioPC]

I think everyone on this forum is the PM. They are advancing Maya LT faster then even I expected.

Yeah, it's moving really fast. And now The Foundry counter-attacked with a 40% drop on Modo 701 (it's only for two weeks, but it's very competitive). It's getting interesting.

[Hirazi Blue]

Cory Mogk, the Softimage PM (assuming he still is),
currently is blogging an "advertisement" for working in the cloud...

[MauricioPC]

Cory Mogk, the Softimage PM (assuming he still is),
currently is blogging an "advertisement" for working in the cloud...

Isn't that wonderful?

[Hirazi Blue]

Well, the video he shows actually isn't at all bad. It's clearly made by a division of Autodesk with a competent PR team...
;)

[MauricioPC]

Yeah ... would hurt them to do something for Softimage!!!! Grrrrrrrrr ... damn.

Well ... solution is to learn a the basics of Maya just in case.

We recently had the pleasure of running a game jam at the Montreal International Games Summit (MIGS). We took the regular game jam concept and pushed it to the extreme – Participants were only given 7 hours to make their games! To help them out, we provided a bunch of free tools including Maya LT, Unity, and access to Mixamo’s online library of 3D models and animations. We then drew a theme at the beginning of each day and let the teams go nuts. The themes were Opposites and Doors, both drawn randomly from a hat.
It was very interesting to see how much game 2-person teams could cram into such a short period of time, but we had some great results! The teams took advantage of Mixamo models, and Maya LT was put to good use for quick asset creation. At the end of the day, everyone was really excited to show off their game.
Check out this short video we put together to see how we did!

The only good thing I'm finding about this 'war' for gamers users is that some software are pushing Autodesk to move. Two extensions in less than 100 days of Maya LT is impressive. As a response, you got LightWave with a price drop ($ 995), you got The Foundry with a 40% discount ($ 895) and you got Cinema 4D with a $ 1000 off at the Black Friday special.

For people who were on the verge of buying software, this was a good week. Prices dropped, extension for software. Just don't ask about SI users!

-- EDIT --

Meet the “Deathsickle,” a Necrolyte weapon crafted from scratch for DOTA 2 using MODO Steam Edition. With an expansive toolset that lets you model, manipulate, texture, and paint just about any zany piece of gear you can imagine, MODO Steam Edition is perfect for DOTA 2 enthusiasts, modders, and aspiring game developers who want to put their own unique touch on the gameplay experience.

MODO Steam Edition will support asset creation for Team Fortress 2 as well. The software is based-on The Foundry’s award-winning MODO software, which is used extensively for visual effects and 3D animation in the film, design, and gaming industries. It’s been used in games like Borderlands 2, RAGE, DOOM 4, and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, to name a few.

MODO Steam Edition launches on Dec. 10th for PC (MSRP: $149), and a Mac version will follow shortly.


More information.

I don't like Modo that much ... but The Foundry is getting aggressive in the games market. With this price a Modo + Softimage is a powerful pipeline.

[angus_davidson]

I don't like Modo that much ... but The Foundry is getting aggressive in the games market. With this price a Modo + Softimage is a powerful pipeline.

The difference is that Modo listens to what people using their software actually want. With Autodesk they tend to only listen if its for Maya and by extension its little brother. Look how fast they have reacted to peoples concerns about Export, Polygon limit and Mel scripting. Now compare that to how they have handled our concerns about Softimage. Like night and day.

[MauricioPC]

The difference is that Modo listens to what people using their software actually want. With Autodesk they tend to only listen if its for Maya and by extension its little brother. Look how fast they have reacted to peoples concerns about Export, Polygon limit and Mel scripting. Now compare that to how they have handled our concerns about Softimage. Like night and day.

Exactly ... I can't say that this offer from The Foundry isn't tempting. I'm tempted!

And I'm tempted because we all know that Modo isn't yet a perfect program, but the update policies of The Foundry are cheap even if you miss a dot release, so I know that at Modo 901, the program will be a lot more powerful and the upgrade will cost little in comparison with other software upgrades of full versions.

-- EDIT --

But hell ... I won't spend money on it! I'll save it to be able to buy plugins from Eric and other great guys that are keeping Softimage alive! Because lets face it... it's still the best all-around software.

[Eugen]

The difference is that Modo listens to what people using their software actually want. With Autodesk they tend to only listen if its for Maya and by extension its little brother. Look how fast they have reacted to peoples concerns about Export, Polygon limit and Mel scripting. Now compare that to how they have handled our concerns about Softimage. Like night and day.

From my observation: Softimage devs do listen, and they care.
Everybody can try to get in the beta, to give feedback, and it is taken into consideration. The problem is the tight budget, not carelessness, and the budget is related to the market share.

[MauricioPC]

From my observation: Softimage devs do listen, and they care.
Everybody can try to get in the beta, to give feedback, and it is taken into consideration. The problem is the tight budget, not carelessness, and the budget is related to the market share.

I understand that ... but don't you get the impression that they don't want to increase Softimage market share?

[angus_davidson]

The difference is that Modo listens to what people using their software actually want. With Autodesk they tend to only listen if its for Maya and by extension its little brother. Look how fast they have reacted to peoples concerns about Export, Polygon limit and Mel scripting. Now compare that to how they have handled our concerns about Softimage. Like night and day.

From my observation: Softimage devs do listen, and they care.
Everybody can try to get in the beta, to give feedback, and it is taken into consideration. The problem is the tight budget, not carelessness, and the budget is related to the market share.

I am not knocking the Devs but Unfortunately the Devs are not the ones who make the decisions. How else do you explain he fact that the only major feature of the last release was something that was paid for by Autodesk Consulting via one of the Games companies. In other words your subscription fees got some bug fixes and bugger all else. Even the a fore mentioned feature was pretty useless because of the inability to work with Motion Blur.

The lack of market share is unfortunately directly related to lack of development not the other way around. If they had kept Softimage innovative and attractive to people their market share would have increased massively.

We teach Softimage in our course but few students use it afterwards (unless they are in on of the few studios here that do). Why is that. Well because it lacks things that people consider essential. They all agree that they prefer working in Softimage , but that they move onto Maya / Modo and occasionally Houdini.

Very few companies here use ICE so things like a decent view port is far more important to them. For certain things Softimage is really beginning to show its age and while its not a massive issue now. In 2-3 years it will be a deal breaker. Unless they rebuild Softimage (something I consider very unlikely because they are just not getting the budget / resources to do so) It will hit a usability vs profit wall.

[Eugen]

I, too, have that impression, of course. Softimage is not very important in the Autodesk portfolio.

But: let's stop caring about the outcome of anything. That would mean mixing the vibes with fear and doubt. Let's just make the next best steps, which simply means putting Soft to good use and giving constructive feedback, and we'll be fine. It's the only thing we can and need to do.

If there is or will be a better program for a particular case of use, then let's use this. (scanning the horizon...)

[Pooby]

Autodesk aside, the Softimage community has never been so active in terms of the constant stream of available new tools, so its worth remembering that, despite the seeming lack of significant updates.
I find it ironic that if Autodesk themselves added each year, a small fraction of whats available for free on http://rray.de/xsi/ I bet everyone would be pretty happy.
The fact is that despite Autodesk, Softimage is getting great enhancements on pretty much a weekly basis. In fact, more than any other software I know of.

There is 'dead' and there is 'dead' and I see Softimage as being very much alive