[Polyxo]

Mihai,
I can not follow.
I originally bought 3 licenses. This from day one on allowed me to install on 12 single core machines back in 2005.
One License was valid for 4 individual computers with no more than 1 processor.
This worked -I had them installed on a cluster of 10 machines like I had originally planned it.
Please look this up when in doubt.

After the licensing change (now per machine regardless of processor count) I could run on 12 machines regardless
of the processor count quite the way I described in my example. I could run 12 full seats inside a network with
my originally bought seats. That also worked - I did that for a University workshop once.

I'm talking here - I repeat it - only about the the number of the licenses I originally bought.
It would cost me more than 4000€ to get this number of full seats back.

It would cost even the double of that price when I upgraded the free licenses.

[simmsimaging]

I know it's not your policy, but if you are going to stand behind it on the forum then you are in the line of fire my friend

Anyway, gotta go with the market, and our prices are getting driven down all the time actually. But price for service and price for products are not on the same scale so it's not always directly relevant.

I'm going to be blunt and say, from a business perspective, that I don't think Maxwell was really worth the initial investment, and V2 is maybe looking like it will change that. People's experience will vary but I think that larger body of people who bought and use Maxwell are probably not using it for every day/all day production. For a lot of pro's Maxwell is a fun toy that they wish they could do more with. A much larger group just never bought it at all for this reason. (this does not mean just people on the forum - who will likely blast me for this- but what I think is true of the broader CG world.)

I have used it for maybe 1/2 dozen jobs in the last few years. Everything else is Vray or mental ray in the earlier days. I would have liked to, but it just did not deliver some results, and some it delivered too slow. Again: I would have *loved* to use it - but I couldn't. I am not alone in this.

If you want to get people to use your product and make a serious dent in the user base out there NL needs to stop acting like they are doing everyone a favour just by making Maxwell available. The boutique attitude is alienating, not endearing. Your sales will tell the real story I guess, but you won't be getting one from me with this policy that I can only see as gouging your clients, and not building with your clients.

b

[big K]

I'm talking here - I repeat it - only about the the number of the licenses I originally bought.
It would cost me more than 4000€ to get this number of full seats back.

O.K.
this is really crazy. if you need all the seats, that´s really tough.

this is the problem when the pricing is not announced before the release.
i am pretty sure that NL has not considered all cases and might have changed some prices after a discussion.
but now they can´t go back. people have already paid for the upgrade.

[simmsimaging]

Who paid for an upgrade already? Is V2 even out yet?

[big K]

yep, it is out. and people already paid.

[mverta]

People who consider Maxwell "worth it," I expect. Users like me, who have made a living thanks to it for going on 4 years now.

_Mike

[Polyxo]

I'm talking here - I repeat it - only about the the number of the licenses I originally bought.
It would cost me more than 4000€ to get this number of full seats back.

O.K.
this is really crazy. if you need all the seats, that´s really tough.

What I know as common update pricing is 1/3 or maybe 1/2 of the original undiscounted pricing.
So 1350€ or so for 12 complete seats would equal about half of the price one had to pay for V1.
No problem with that!
In my case - and I am certainly not alone the (untruncated) upgrade price is nearly twice the original investment.

( I completely disregard here that I bought very early and got a great discount.)

[Polyxo]

People who consider Maxwell "worth it," I expect. Users like me, who have made a living thanks to it for going on 4 years now.

_Mike

You might have a look at Bretts Website and customer list. Seems that there's no Beginnner talking.

[mverta]

What does that matter? I work in Hollywood on marquee projects every day, too. He uses VRay; I use Maxwell. He doesn't consider it "worth it,"; I do. Takes all kinds to make the world go around. Anyway, you're welcome to portend the End of Maxwell because of the upgrade price if you like. People have been predicting the End of Maxwell for a billion different reasons since the day it came out; a fact which I always find amusing on release days.


_Mike

[Maximus3D]

Many of us consider Maxwell to be worth it Mike, but very few are as successful and rich as you are so finding the cash for the upgrades is no easy job, especially not for those people here with alot of licenses they need to upgrade.
I'm afraid that all this is gonna push alot of us old users away from Maxwell now.

/ Max

[mverta]

Yes, you'll have to keep using that crappy 1.7 Maxwell.

_Mike

[Polyxo]

Anyway, you're welcome to portend the End of Maxwell because of the upgrade price if you like.

I don't predict anything Mike. All I'm saying is that the upgrade-pricing is not a fair deal.
Would you pay twice of the original price of your original Maya license for an upgrade without
moaning?

This is what the new license scheme means to me.

[big K]

mike,

i know what you mean.
but we are not only talking about quality. we are talking about how much the initial product cost and the relation to the upgrade price.
a price can be seen as fair by many clients (you will never get them all happy) or a price might be considered too high, which is the case here for some users. i don´t know how many.

[jo]

Yes, you'll have to keep using that crappy 1.7 Maxwell.

_Mike

I see the emoticon.
Anyhow, It's not nice.

Gio

[mverta]

As I recall, my original Maya license was something like $15,000, so I'd complain, yes. I remember that and my SGI Octane together were total something around $45,000. So from my chair, Maxwell is, um, not expensive. But relative measure notwithstanding, if you use Maxwell professionally, I honestly can't see how you couldn't afford it. We manage to scrape the money together for the computers and monitors, and other things we consider "essential" for our work. I think if Maxwell is an essential part of your workflow, and you're making money with it, the upgrade is worth it. And ultimately, that's the measure: it's not the money, it's the value.


_Mike