trying not to think of Maxon - Maxoff jokes
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I just thought I’d jot a few thoughts here to share.
Any day that I use ZBrush is a good day! I started using ZBrush in 2010, when it came onto the MAC platform and I continually have had my mind boggled by all its working features. For me, it’s all about the MESH (often Heavy Mesh)!
I just want to mention one feature (among probably scores) that continually delivers for me. When I go to hit Dynamic Subdivision, and get the error message that I need to “fix the mesh,” I simple hit the “Fix Mesh” button and all, in a matter of seconds, is fixed. Remarkable! This software just works! And twelve years later I am still in awe.
Pixologic on YouTube has more experts providing more hours of helpful and inspiring content each month than there are hours in the month, and I do watch a lot of it. Always appreciative. I am perpetually learning all that I can and loving the abilities I have been using inside ZBrush, which I find is – probably the most, innovative and rewarding product I have ever had the opportunity to learn and use.
As an independent freelancer, for me, I have never had a problem paying for software that I use on a regular basis, like Adobe CC: Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects. Not cheap, but not crazy either.
C4D – although I used to work with it when I was working full-time and was provided with it at my desk, was my go-to for 3D work. But the pricing outside of that job, for me as a freelancer, has been price prohibitive – as much as I admire it.
I only pray that I will be able to afford to remain a part of the ZBrush community. Here’s hoping!
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Gotta agree with you there. Zbrush will always mean the world to me, even if it were to actually die one day, i would still look back and remember how it literally got me INTO the 3D World, and away from using Super Sculpey or Monster Clay… how it literally has changed my entire life. for the better. 3D Printing, doing things 10 years before i would have laughed and said “Thats Science Fiction, i doubt we’ll be able to do that anytime within the next 30 years or more”
that’s why, even though i am still dreading Maxon buying Zbrush, im trying my best to HOPE for the best, cause the software, and people behind it… the community, it all means so much to me. its not a question of “oh well ill just go get 3D Coat” no other program could HOPE to fill the hole Zbrush has filled right now. and even if i didn’t buy another update for 10 years, the program i have TODAY is worth more than its weight in Gold to me. if Zbrush went Sub only, i would be very sad, but if it was $40 a month like it currently is? id probably pay it. because its (WORTH) it. maybe someday another program will surpass it, but i don’t live in Maybe-Land, i live in “Today” and TODAY Zbrush is still the best tool for the job. even without another update. but i fully hope and plan to buy any updates in the future, as long as they’re SANE and/or worth the price.
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Will there still be free upgrades for ZBrush perpetual license holders?
Moving forward, perpetual licenses will only receive bug fixes, but not additional features or functionality for free. Subscribers will receive all feature updates and other fixes as long as their subscription is active.
To provide the best customer experience and performance, we truly believe all customers should be running the latest version. Cutting-edge technology and performance require agile development and delivery. All Maxon products, including ZBrush are fully dependent upon third-party hardware, operating systems and software solutions. In order to maintain compatibility with the latest hardware, drivers and host application updates, our development teams are constantly updating, optimizing and ensuring stability.
I bought ZBrush over 10 years ago, that means that I have to pay for the updates from (2022) now on?
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Yeah, you got one free “Update” this year, then any other “Updates” will be paid. they don’t currently know how much any updates will cost, they could be tiny, they could be hundreds of dollars. nobody knows. but they just gave out a free “Patch” that isn’t counted as an Update. so that tells me “Updates” will be Substantial, BIG Updates, and “Patches” Will be Free, little add-ons and bug fixes for free. just my two cents though
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There is a middleground between perpetual licenses and subscriptions that just end access to apps with Your last payment. IntelliJ Idea, on of the most popular IDE’s out there, has a rent-to-own model: You start a subscription for a year. After that, You are free to keep the version You started with indefinitely. The company is confident enough that their updates will be worth it and a large enough batch of customers will keep their subscription. Folks who don’t need the bleeding edge at any time pay effectively once, and are free to use a fully functional, but not the latest, version until they need or want to upgrade again.
I’d love to see more companies adopt this model. It has obvious benefits for all: companies still generate a steady income of revenues, while customers have more choice how and when to upgrade. Also, most importantly, peace of mind: if anything happens and You can’t afford a subscription temporarily, You still have a fully functioning software. It effectively eliminates this end-of-access anxiety that probably many have and which is possibly the reason why the subscription-only model is so, well, hated.
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Zbrush works great on Wine and wine can run some really really old windows software. Just saying…
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Yeah it’s definitely not for sculpting, but it looks like it’s all we gonna have left
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What is Wine, exactly? ive never heard of it. (I mean, of course i know of the Drink, very well lol)
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It’s a windows emulation layer for Linux.
Linux still supports the old Wacom tablets that Wacom has dropped support for in their drivers. And Wine can run all sorts of windows software. Valve Software ( the game studio ) has poured a lot of work into Wine for supporting windows games on Linux, and now it’s even better at running other windows software.
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And one day we may receive an email saying zbrushcentral/pixologic websites will no longer be available… got one from adobe about substance.
When will there be a Zbrush update?
I’m entitled to free updates for a year, but nothing is being released.
Theo
Oh gosh, that’s so generous of Maxon. I can get Zbrush up to date to the latest version of ZBrush, 2022.0.5, that I currently have, but for half price, and for a whole year!! Wow!!!
So from this it would imply to me that a perpetual update will be more than 1 year of half price subscrption, so more than 50% of " GBP 322.80 Billed Annually"
While @aurick had denied the price list from here before, this is updated, and dated 25th May 2022…
“ZBrush 2022 – Upgrade from Zbrush m2531 € 579.00”
If they misunderstood something in January, they are still “misunderstanding it” with an updated list from late May!
Pixologic has
It’s looking like [quote=“Theobeest, post:104, topic:418100”]
That doesn’t automatically mean that those upgrades must be expensive. Nobody knows as of yet how often perpetual license upgrades will be available or how much they will cost.
[/quote], well, the news is incoming, and it’s not looking so rosy.
Thanks Maxon
So, just so I understand…I’m basically going to have to pay a yearly subscription now just for the program to work properly (ala upgrades)? And I’m not even seeing a price on the 50% off voucher.
Don’t get me wrong, I do get it (cynically). Indeed, I’d always wondered previously how long Pixiologic could sustain the free upgrade model; now we know! Still hard to not feel pretty hosed by this move.
Well everyone knew it couldn’t last forever…
pixo would have had to do this anyway… so… its just business. in fact them being a much much smaller company with not much resources… the fees might have been even higher than what Maxon is doing…
I just get Maxon one - and will write it off on taxes…
back to working rather than bitching in forums… cost of doing business…
free forever was a loose loose proposition… and wasn’t sustainable anyway.
All this has achieved is to kill off the hobbiests…
I’ve owned ZB for many years and now that I’m all but retired I will NOT be paying upgrades/updates . I would far sooner switch to Blender. I have no use for Maxon’s software what so ever. So your offer of a 50% discount for one year for Maxon One is pathetic and pointless.
For shame…
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Hi all,
do you know if the perpetual licenses we have will still be valid?
I mean, do they expire at some point or can we use them indefinitely? Me personally I won’t pay Maxon for a subscription ( even 50% off for one year) and Zbrush as it is, absolutely covers everything for a long time.
P.S. Oh, and thank you Pixologic for almost 20 years of great stuff! I owned Zbrush since version 2. Well, it is what it is.
In the small print down at the bottom of the emails they do state:
"Disclaimer: This offer is being presented to you because you are a ZBrush perpetual license holder. Rest assured, perpetual licenses are not being eliminated. However, perpetual licenses will not receive free upgrades past ZBrush 2022.0.5. Discount is valid for Annual Subscriptions only. "
So for the moment at least there is no direct change to what we have, only for updates that might come after.
How terribly, terribly sad this all is.
I get the business case; Zbrush is a niche software title and has a finite audience/market, when it achieves dominance, sales plato with only a little growth because, broadly speaking, everyone who needs the software already has it. Pixologic doesn’t care because they make enough and are passionate about what they do, they build a community of devotees whose love, enthusiasm and artistry will always inspire enough new users to make the company profitable.
Maxon has a different model, they’re all about capturing audience/market and ensuring a continued revenue. They see Zbrush and think ‘un-tapped revenue stream’, they make Pixologic an offer too good to refuse. They win, we lose.
There is no version of the unfolding story which is in any way good for current/historic users, the plain facts are that we will now have to pay for something we used to get for ‘free’. And the thing I find really offensive in the modern subscription age is when a company starts charging you for a service you already get, for free, but word it like they are doing you a favour! 50% off is 100% more than I used to pay.
The energy crisis and the cost-of-living crisis have hit hard enough already, there’s no room in my finances for another weighty subscription, I’ll see where we are in a year but I don’t like where we are now.
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I just saw the regular price for these subscriptions…about 355$ US/ 460$ CAN per year, and I’m not sure that includes the price of actual Zbrush upgrades. Is anyone here going for this, still?