Kinda like the same feelings I'm going through. I am gonna go into hibernation, until anything as powerful as softimage emerges.
What Autodesk don't realize is this: All the people using Soft are extremely creative. I can not speak for all of them, but only for myself. I chose Soft, because it is the shortest way from my brain to the TV screen. Now Autodesk is putting obstacles in the way of my ability to create. As so many others in this thread, I have also been looking at other solutions. I am already a power c4d user and it's a good app, but Softimage was my step up! I will keep using both until something better comes along. It will not be Maya. Not yet. Not ever. Cause I've been there and I couldn't work with it. That's why I chose Soft in the first place. There is going to be a big vacuum where soft (and especially ICE) was... And an equally large group of dedicated creative users who are looking for software to serve their needs right now. Whichever company fill up this void fastest and with a set of tools that best emulates Softimage will WIN. Not only the battle for those users, but the battle for which software delivers the most creative work to the industry. (this is needless to say, where Softimage is now) I believe the solution will come. It will come from a provider nobody thought of. They will be small to begin with, but they will start growing rapidly once the creatives start using their tools to produce amazing work. I'm so looking forward for this day to come. Until then, I'll use the tolls I have. I am a creative. I will not be dictated. I will chose and create my own future. V On 20/03/2014, at 17.55, Paul Griswold <pgrisw...@fusiondigitalproductions.com> wrote: > > I had some time away from the office today and while I was driving down the > highway I started thinking about the situation and I'm no less pissed off > today than I was when they made the announcement. > > I've been watching as many Modo and Houdini intro videos, tutorials, etc., > that I can find and what I've discovered is, neither of them can replace > Softimage today. > > If you're a TD, then Houdini is probably a great way to go, but I'm another > one of those people who don't like to script and want to keep things simple. > Everything in Houdini seems to involve writing at least a little script here > and there. > > Modo on the other hand looks very simple and straightforward, but it's > lacking a LOT of power. I noticed in some demos on things like instancing, > the viewport REALLY slowed down. It doesn't look like it's ready for > prime-time when it comes to dense scenes. The way everything you do is > "frozen" is crazy these days. I can't believe if you extrude along a curve > the geometry doesn't stay stuck to the curve. Until Modo makes some major > moves, I just think it's a step up from Lightwave. > > I'm leaving Maya out of the picture because in all honesty, Autodesk is > totally delusional if they think Maya will be a good fit for small shops > working on tight deadlines. Maybe in 5-8 years Maya will finally hit its > stride, but I'm assuming by then the entire M&E division will have been shut > down in favor of just licensing patents & technology. (seriously - mark my > words - I am confident the entire M&E division will be shut down) > > I started thinking about most of the jobs I've done over the past few years, > and I can honestly say I don't think I could do 90-95% of them in either > Houdini or Modo as easily as in Softimage - if at all. > > So where I stand now is - totally screwed. I either have to put faith in The > Foundry that they'll bring Modo up to Softimage's level in the next 2 years > or I have to spend the next 2 years really digging in to Houdini to get > myself up to speed again. > > In either case, I don't see a positive outcome. I'm not young and I have a > family. I can't work all day, then spend the evenings learning new software. > This BS about artists not putting all their eggs in one basket just is a > slap in my face. I put my faith in Autodesk when they said "the future of > Sofitmage is bright!" When I was told over and over again I was being a > conspiracy nut when I said Autodesk was intentionally trying to destroy > Softimage. Well, look where we are now. > > Murdering Softimage without having ANYTHING remotely close to replace it is > like peeing on my face and telling me it's liquid sunshine! > > Maybe Autodesk is right. Maybe the all-in-one approach of Softimage is dead. > Maybe I'm out of touch with how the world of animation & VFX works these > days. > > In any event. I'm a very unhappy paying Autodesk customer. I do not feel > like my money has gone to anything I paid for. > > -Paul > > > > >
