[simmsimaging]

I've made my views on the node pricing clear on another thread, but this seems to be the place to consolidate the customer feedback - so here's my .02:

Upgrade price is fair, node price is overblown and based on a model that is 10 years out of date, and was never really fair to begin with. Maxwell is good, but you *cannot use it for typical studio work without nodes*. Even then it's iffy at times. For every 1 person who comes up and says you can there is another that will agree with me, and another 1000 users of other render engines who say different. It's just an established reality.

I really don't think the speed of V2 is going to make all the difference in that equation, except for a smaller set of cases - and if it would then then why not throw in the nodes for free since we don't need them anyway

Anyway - MXW *needs* nodes more than most engines. The nodes should be packaged with it if NL wants to a) grow their market share and b) not alienate a good chunk of their user base.


b

[yolk]

[zoppo]

[mashium123]

[tanguy]

Muhahahaha so good !

Nice Zoppo, very nice

[trick]

[yolk]

hey! you misunderstand me..i'm with you guys.

i had the exact same look as kermit when i saw the rendernode prices

[zoppo]

sooo ... the guy in the blue shirt is a render node?
do they come in female form, too?

[yolk]

of course not! that's batman

[ivox3]

If you add in the hardware price of that render node + software cost, maybe that picture errr render isn't worth a thousand words, but a thousand dollars ? lol..

Well, I'd like to see NL make money and I'd like to not see users get their backs broken at the same time, especially the serious ones with investment into the extra nodes. What to do - what to do ... dunno, ..but there sure seems to always be some controversy with a release. Just gonna have to wait and see this one play out ...

I will say that NL has always been flexible in considering the user base at large, hopefully someone is still putting some thought on this ...

Personally ... I have to wait and sneak the cost of V2 into the next project, they'll never see it coming. lol..


And now, this goes all to all those left with short sticks ... :LOL: I'm sorry, .. I had too .. lol..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb4PbTuHwC4

[tanguy]

For me, for example, it should cost me 10000 $ to update my whole production pipe from the V1 > V2.
Now maybe that is the "real cost" of all the brain behind the engine, but in this case... WHY THEY DIDN'T TOLD US THAT BEFORE ?
MAYBE THE CUSTOMERS LIKED TO BE AWARE OF THAT AND PREPARE THE TREASURE TO BUY THE PHENOMENAL WONDERFUL GEM... NO ?
That also why I am disappointed.... Really sad about the customer policy. And when I read:

I will say that NL has always been flexible in considering the user base at large, hopefully someone is still putting some thought on this ...

...
Now I am wondering if it was not to enlarge the customers community in purpose to struggle more wallet after the big V2 launch... I am maybe the Evil Lawyer... but that stinks pretty bad...

Regards,

[Polyxo]

Here is a quote from a private Email conversation between me and a leading Industrial Designer
of a world famous consumer electronics company in the USA. I met him short before the Maxwell V2
release in Berlin.

At that occasion I recommended him to have a close look at Maxwell.
This seemed to make a lot of sense when I listened to his depiction of
their work-situation. It's a cluttered multi-platform-environment:

The Designers work with Rhino and Modo, Engineers with Solidworks, the external
viz-guys with Cinema 4D, of course on Mac and Windows-machines.
I thought Maxwell could help them streamline quite a bunch of things in their pipeline, as each
of the mentioned software-products is supported by Maxwell.
Everybody could work from common design templates using libraries with defined surface finishes.
and Light-setups. This way one could make sure that wherever in the company someone started
off a render (from regardless what platform) the outcome would match once set up internal standards.

This is what the Designer said after looking at the V2 feature-list and pricing:

[...]But I looked again at some Maxwell images and they are awesome!

I still do not quite like their licensing approach. Their render engine is
so slow that adding render nodes is a must for production, so even if they
give you free nodes it is already costing you tons in hardware plus
electricity, and they want more money on top of that, so we have to
subsidize their lack of speed? Makes no sense.

[trick]

For me, for example, it should cost me 10000 $ to update my whole production pipe from the V1 > V2.
...

Now the dilemma is: are you going to put more $$$ in Maxwell just because you felt you already invested a lot (although probably less then you need to stay on this ship)...or use your brains

[tanguy]

NO, I amusing Fry either in production. I was waiting to see what happen in time decrease, because Fry Sp2 is awesome in Speed. I would like to use Maxwell because is plugin is more interesting in term of prod habit, fully integrated to Max. But now, no way, this integration doesn't cost so much bucks for my point of view. And technically, Maxwell, even the V2 is blown by Fry, from far...
So I ll just keep going to use V 1.7.1 until it will be useless and switch for Fry in my full pipe.
I am the CG supervisor of a pretty cool studio in NY, and believe me, they just lost a customer with a 30 nodes farm and 6 workstations CG artists. It is what it is, but I don't want to have my balls somewhere I never choose.

Bye Bye Maxwell Community !

Regards,

Tanguy BODIVIT

[Richard]

There has certainly been some action on the Thea forums over the last days from fledging maxwell users awaiting pricing, release date and full features list.

So I guess it seems that people will cast their votes with their wallets! For the developers there this timing possibly could not have been better!

Mind you for me it is becoming a hard decision, having seen Tom's post - Behind the scenes of V2 I do struggle as the built in quality of V2 is outstanding.

I think I might wait till the release of 2.1 to see if instancing is better addressed! I'd still though love to see preview of HDRI or at least a way to more easily locate them correctly. A feature I still haven't used due to the trial and error time in set up!