I’m kind of curious to know about Pixologics business model.
As a user and huge fan of ZB, I love that I have never had to pay for an upgrade but these come at the expense of time.
As months turn into years it seems that we are ( as an osx user ) always waiting for something.
I can only assume that major studios fund Pixologic’s development and that as no one in those studios use Macs, development is put on a ‘when we have time to spare’ schedule.
As a user since 1.55 I’m sort of embarrassed that Pixologic haven’t seen any of my money for years!
I was wondering how many people out there would be willing to put there hands in their pockets to buy the occasional upgrade, if it means that they get it maybe 6 months earlier.
I am one for sure.
You cannot bribe Pixo to move faster on an issue that is important to you, any more than you can threaten them into it. This argument is the flip side of people threatening to use “X” product if Pixologic doesnt live up to their expectation of how or how fast to develop their product.
This makes the assumption that it is a matter of lacking for resources when they are not moving as fast as you would like on one of your pet issues. They have said in the past it is not an issue of throwing more money at a situation…it’s not a matter of hiring bodies off the street.
They will move as fast as they are able to, and no amount of wanting will change that. This is what happens when you are working on the cutting edge, and impacting an industry with each new release.
When and if they decide to charge for an update, it still wont make everyone happy, and it still wont make updates as timely as every might like.
You can either accept that, or not, as you like, and make decisions accordingly. But you cannot impose your will on them, either with money in your hand or contentious griping (people have tried both approaches for years). If they are in the position to do something, they’ll do it.
Easy Spyndel. I’m not trying to bribe anyone.
Just asking a legitimate question, and you are naive to think money doesn’t make a difference.
Autodesk has all the money in the world to to throw at the development of their products. But when they buy another one out, the meaningful development seems to slow down to a crawl, and versions are still released with things that make users unhappy.
And I’m taking it perfectly “easy”. It’s just that this statement has been made so many times before on the forums, you’ll have to forgive me for being matter of fact with the response. It really has nothing to do with you being embarrassed that you haven’t given money to Pixologic in some time…you married your comment with a backhanded complaint about Mac development not being fast enough.
Which is fine…that’s something that’s important to you. People that think Pixo is moving too slowly on an issue that is important to them usually go one of two ways. They either complain and threaten to use another product, or they insist that Pixologic should be taking more money.
In either event the answer is the same. You have no control over the situation, can’t impose your will on them, and you must either wait until they are able to do something, or not. Again, Im sorry for being matter of fact, but this is a very old argument.
As for the money thing, Pixolator has addressed the issue directly in the past, and said it’s not simply an issue of taking more money, or hiring more people. They have to hire the right people for them, and those people are scarce. That is how they want to run their company, and make their product, and you cant change that. I have no idea where to find that remark, so you can take my word on it, or not.
A pregnancy takes 9 month. Regardless how many women are pregnant, or how wealthy they are…
The Mac release takes as long as it takes. And btw… It’s in beta…
Lemo
Zbrush has the force of great ideas and good programming.
It is a fantastic software. Period.
I think that if it sold way less, Pixologic could have to make users pay for something, but evidently, business goes quite well with new users coming every day, even in this economic situation, and so they keep adopting the no pay method.
Pixologic rocks !
Mac users need to calm down, don’t forget zbrush started on windows and 99% of the industry use PC for professional 3D work.
Mac can also dual boot into windows, perhaps Mac users should be asking for a temporary PC lic or an interchangable Mac Win lic instead?
hhhhmmm?
I think if you start taking away consumer incentives towards a product then your going to find less support, meaning money is not the determining factor in innovative products, besides that no doubt pixologic have relationships with the top studios and possible government funding.
By the way this thread, really confirms my belief that Mac users have too much money and not enough…
my two cents
Why do PC user always bring this up. Yes OSX can run windows fine but you need to shell out for a full windows license and a new zbrush for PC (I believe is was asked whether mac user could have a pc license until the mac version was released, not happening though i believe the cost of upgrade to an additional pc license is not full price)
As a Mac user myself, still waiting for the upgrade and envious of some new features in 3.5, I’m happy to wait (used to that with zbrush) so when it is released it will be as bug free as possible. As it stands now 3.2 is a perfectly adequate tool.
Richard
Very right.
3.5 is not to special. Yes some fancy tools but nothing essential.
GoZ is the last thing id really want at the moment:D
I merely asked a question without looking to get stamped on by the ‘like it or lump it’ brigade.
It is obvious to any Mac user that that side of Pixo’s business is not as effective as it could be, but given the fact that it is effectively a free product once you have bought it, there is little to complain about. So I’m not complaining.
However, were I to be given the choice between getting an update when the PC version comes out or waiting 6 months, do you know what? I’d go for the first option. If paying for the occasional upgrade felicitates that option, I would pay.
I don’t buy the defense that Ofer finds it difficult to find the right people. That may once have been true but now they deal with the smartest people in the business. So clearly there are other priorities.
Neither was I suggesting that Pixo get in bed with Autobeast, we all see what happens there. I have no desire to pay a maintenance subscription.
Even though as Morph Division points out, as a Mac user I could afford it
