[big K]

actually the change of the licensing system used to be a win win sitution for all.
but you can´t expect this benefit to be continued endlessly.

modern pcs have much more cores and renderpower than they used to have (therefore the change in the policy - which was a good thing)
as you might have used more pcs when you bought your license they gave you 3 additional ones.

i am sure your pcs improved over time and you had a big plus because of that. with the old licensing you would have needed more licenses.

so now they reset everything and everybody has to catch up if he needs more machines to run with maxwell.

[sandykoufax]

nicole, you said the upgrade price is US$ 395 / € 345

but customer gateway shows only euro currency.

How can I pay it with USD?

[Polyxo]

New calculation:

I bought 3 licenses in Beta stage for 400€ each = 1200€
At that time I was allowed to install on 12 machines and could use the same amount of machines as editor-computers.

To get the same constellation back I originally had - without the generous donation of NextLimit one now needed to invest: 345€*12=4140€
With the licenses added NL gave away it one had to even double that sum.

[Maximus3D]

For how long will these upgradeprices be valid ? and i see the dollar price is set to match the euro price but when running the numbers the dollar does not match the euro. So it would be alot cheaper to pay with dollars for the upgrade than with euros. Correct ?

/ Max

[simmsimaging]

I am honestly more than a little shocked by the pricing structure.

Every other render engine that I use in production (Vray, mental ray, Fry, and now modo) all have *at least* 10 nodes included in their based license. Others are 50, or more. With the exception of Fry (which is on par for this aspect) *none* need nodes quite as badly as Maxwell to be a production render with typical deadline/render time issues, in a typical studio.

I would like to suggest that NL seriously consider changing this policy. With Vray I can run on 10 machines, and with modo on 50. Having at least *some* nodes included in the base license seems extremely reasonable to me. If you guys really expect many people to upgrade or new people to jump on board I think this could be a large turning point. For sure it will be for me.


b

[Polyxo]

actually the change of the licensing system used to be a win win sitution for all.
but you can´t expect this benefit to be continued endlessly.

BigK,
I have no childish expectations and am surely willing to pay a decent sum for a (very interesting) upgrade.
However you example doesn't fly. Yes, sure Computers got faster and Maxwell too.
But if the pricingsystem means that we can't afford to upgrade all our original licenses the benefit melts greatly.

Nobody else irritated that the upgrade-price exceeds the pricing of the first purchase?
What will the new version cost for new customers then?

[jo]

For how long will these upgradeprices be valid ? and i see the dollar price is set to match the euro price but when running the numbers the dollar does not match the euro. So it would be alot cheaper to pay with dollars for the upgrade than with euros. Correct ?

/ Max

Max I don't see any price offer and any date.
And I'm in US, so I see only $, no euros.

Ciao, Gio

[bjorn.syse]

I would also like to buy using Dollars.

[big K]

just one thing to be clear, as i have stated in my first post.

i am not very happy about the upgrade prices, too.

but you can´t use the calculation you do.
just because you bought in early beta for a reduced price, or you even got the extra license you can´t say it was cheaper back then.

what about customers who have bought one standard license after the policy change. they are able to upgrade for less then they paid. and this is the "normal" license.
and one old license used to work on 4 pcs. right, but only with 4 cores. that would be 2 pcs with 2 cores and so on. (and there already were pcs with more cores).
so when you bought your licenses you had this information.
now with 3 old licenses that would be 12 cores - like 1 1/2 pcs today. but you are able now to run 12 pcs with 8 or even more cores that is 96 cores ....
i don´t want to continue here as this isn´t working. neither in one nor in the other direction.

all we have are the prices - which i also think are quite high. especially the upgrade price from standard to node license which should be cheaper, i think.
this would also solve your "calculation"

[JDHill]

Holger, the old licensing was not per machine, but per processor. I'm writing this message on a quad core - it would have used a whole license under the old system, just as it does now. The change was made when multicore was coming into the mainstream; existing customer's licenses were quadrupled to help people who had invested in singlecore clusters, so they wouldn't be damaged by the move to per-machine licensing; for people who were already moving to multicore, this was a windfall.

That's my recollection anyway, maybe I'm remembering wrong, so feel free to correct.

[simmsimaging]

Holger, the old licensing was not per machine, but per processor. I'm writing this message on a quad core - it would have used a whole license under the old system, just as it does now. The change was made when multicore was coming into the mainstream; existing customer's licenses were quadrupled to help people who had invested in singlecore clusters, so they wouldn't be damaged by the move to per-machine licensing; for people who were already moving to multicore, this was a windfall.

That's my recollection anyway, maybe I'm remembering wrong, so feel free to correct.

I have to disagree that this was a 'windfall' - it was really more of shifting away from a licensing system that is punitive and outdated in the industry. Now it looks like we're shifting back. I won't be making that shift on those terms.

b

[JDHill]

I was writing specifically with regards to Holger's 12-machine scenario. I have no opinion on license policy in general; well I do, and you'd like it, but I doubt anything like it will ever be seen in the software world.

[sandykoufax]

Please make my location to US.

I hope to pay it with dollors.

395 USD = 480,000 won

345 Euro = 620,000 won

Pay with euro is 30% expensive for me.

[simmsimaging]

I was writing specifically with regards to Holger's 12-machine scenario. I have no opinion on license policy in general; well I do, and you'd like it, but I doubt anything like it will ever be seen in the software world.

I like the idealism in any case.

b

[Mihai]

So the Upgrade to V2 is De Facto a Downgrade and also more expensive than the original V1 purchase
(how much more is depending on the purchase-date).

• If you want to keep the same amount of Editor-seats for one license as before you now have to pay 345€*4=1380€
• A set which allows for rendering on 4 machines but restricts the Editor seats to just one costs 345€+(3*195€)=930€

If you choose the second variation you also lose the option to upgrade 3 licenses to full licenses again.

Both variations are more expensive as the undiscounted original price of the software; this is nothing I know as Upgrade-pricing.

There is one important thing to mention here, the only change to licenses applicable to all customers is that it was no longer per core, but per machine. In the case of beta customers, you got several licenses for FREE, besides the one you already bought (at half price). Which you have been able to use for almost two years, or more if I'm not mistaken.

So if I can offer a different point of view :

You have bought the software initially at half price
The licenses were changed so they are no longer tied to CPU cores
This is the first paying upgrade since Maxwell appeared, unlike other software companies that charge you every 10 months
You have gotten several licenses for free, which you have been able to profit from for almost two years