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Is there a cheap way of buying 3D Studio Max


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Delema................

 

I was made redundant a while back.

I am currently working in an office on contract.

I am using their license.

When the contract ends I will be out on my ear and with no license.

How do I go about buying a license ( or software ) and be legit.

Bare in mind I was made redundant no wages were given and redundancy will not come through for a good while yet and have amorgage and family to provide for.

Licenses are not transferable I have been down that road with the resellers.

Is there a cheap way of buying a Max license as I will be making money from Viz work, so free versions are not for my situation.

 

€3,800+€550(Subscr)+vat comes to too much ....and they wonder why people go down the illegal route............

 

 

So Any ideas people ?

 

Also bare in mind work is not abundant here in Ireland at all...........

 

 

phil

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thats easy go to autodesk.com and locate your nearest reseller they will give you some locations in your area. You can buy a student license but it only last for 13 month that is about a $100 you cannot buy max any cheaper then $35.000. You cannnot transfer the license unless you have writen permission from your empolyer saying something like they are willing to tranfer the license in your name but it's up-to autodesk at the end of the day.....

 

Oh your in ireland then you need go to www.autodesk.co.uk or www.cadpoint.co.uk/.

 

if you cannot afford max there are a lot more cheaper softwares on the market other then max it also depens on what you want to do with the software.....

work is not around in Ireland because not a lot of ppl use max i had to start my own company and i also found it hard max is mainly used in the US there are some ppl in the Uk who you use but they freelance.

Edited by datacrasher
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did u just wake up or something?

a student licence id not for use in commercial practice.

there is not s lot of work around because 70% or architects are out of work.

 

so any other brilliant thought you want to throw out there?

 

phil

thats easy go to autodesk.com and locate your nearest reseller they will give you some locations in your area. You can buy a student license but it only last for 13 month that is about a $100 you cannot buy max any cheaper then $35.000. You cannnot transfer the license unless you have writen permission from your empolyer saying something like they are willing to tranfer the license in your name but it's up-to autodesk at the end of the day.....

 

Oh your in ireland then you need go to www.autodesk.co.uk or www.cadpoint.co.uk/.

 

if you cannot afford max there are a lot more cheaper softwares on the market other then max it also depens on what you want to do with the software.....

work is not around in Ireland because not a lot of ppl use max i had to start my own company and i also found it hard max is mainly used in the US there are some ppl in the Uk who you use but they freelance.

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Dont be rude to me mate i know a lot about max and i have been using it for over 4 years and i am only trying to help you plus i just register with this fourm. if the student license is not good for you then that's all you had to say. BS there is not a lot of work that why i get stuff email to me every month is not it. there is work if you willing to freelance

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Dont be rude to me mate i know a lot about max and i have been using it for over 4 years and i am only trying to help you plus i just register with this fourm. if the student license is not good for you then that's all you had to say. BS there is not a lot of work jthat why i get stuff email to me every month is not it. there is work if you willing to freelance

 

ok fair enough .but the post did say I am in the commercial end of viz.

I have exhausted all the ways I know if getting around spending 4 grand which I don't have .

learning a new package after spending 6 years learning max and vray I won't do.

I have used form artlantis cinema 4d light wave .si microstation and I

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I am on htc hd2 can't seem yo write long mails will write a property reply tomorrow and will be in better form I promise.

 

phil

ok fair enough .but the post did say I am in the commercial end of viz.

I have exhausted all the ways I know if getting around spending 4 grand which I don't have .

learning a new package after spending 6 years learning max and vray I won't do.

I have used form artlantis cinema 4d light wave .si microstation and I

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You cannot get max any cheaper then 4 grand that is apart of life if you want max you have to paid for it we all have to pay for it it took me over 4 years to save up to buy max you may need to do two jobs before you have enough money to save up./.... unless your willing to get a teaching job where you can train people how to use max. I see a lot of ppl charge up-to £500 for a 3 day course

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I would be very surprised if teaching a training class for Max outside a university setting qualifies you for a student license, or if it's legal to use such a license for commercial use.

 

Now, I'm not entirely sure about reselling a license being illegal. (Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and the following statement should not be construed as legal advice, nor should it be acted on without consulting a lawyer.) In the US there was court ruling that made non-resell clauses unenforceable though I don't know if anything similar has happened in Ireland.

 

One other thing you might try. And again, same disclaimer. As you say, there is no lack of architecture offices running on short staff, and it's certainly true that there is less viz work being done than there was three years ago. Many of those offices have more desks, computers and software licenses than people to use them, so those are assets they don't know how to leverage. Give them an opportunity to do so. Talk to your friends in the business and find one such office, and make them an offer - you'll be on retainer and agree that the first n hours per month are at what they would consider a favorable rate (less than you'd normally charge). There will be many offices in need of such a person, as they've laid off the guy they go to when they need something Photoshopped. In exchange they will either assign you a desk with one of their unused PCs with some of their unused software, which you are free to use for freelance work when not working for them, though you use your own phone and mailing address. Alternatively, they can assign software licenses to your home PC.

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I know the answer to this lets be honest, but if there was any other way, I tought i would try and find it.

 

The lending of the licence seems to be the only way.

I would have to agree something in the way of a work pay off for the lend untill i have earned enought to pay for the full thing.

As i was trying to say last night , I have tried a lot of other softwares but I have put my heart and sole into learning Max for years and vray , and i know it very well now, so i would not be cost productive to switch at this stage of my career.

 

Datacrasher, where are you , in dublin ?, I started a CG ireland group on here, and it's just me at the moment, might be a good idea to get all the irish cg artist in on it and get talking about the business in general.

lots of years a of experience between all of us , somebody is bound to need advise tips or tricks.

 

Thanks for the advise.

 

Phil

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The guys who sell Max in SA once had a "pay off" option, you could by a PC with Max and then pay it back monthly. It worked out to about double, but you also got the pc. Not sure if that exists else where.

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To my knowledge there is no other way to do it unless you can contact a reseller and ask them if you can pay by dd (direct debt) but I don't know I would so ask Autodesk in the uk and but they may say “NO” you don’t have a lot of options really now a days… . Or you can get a multiple license so you can you it on 2 computers but you still need max. maybe you could get a loan from your bank and pay it off your bank but that make take a million years to do so..

 

No I am County Armagh portadown I don’t really like joining groups because I find them a waste of time

Edited by datacrasher
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I understand that it does not qualify you for a student license but there are a lot of ppl who teaches max outside university/college environment if your run a search online then you’ll find some.

 

There have been a lot of court actions against Autodesk saying a lot about there/their licensing but I think I read somewhere on Autodesk forum you could transfer the license as long as you have authorization from the seller. As I said “at the end of the day it down to Autodesk if they are willing to transfer the license”

Edited by datacrasher
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Do you have a credit card or could you take out a small loan to cover the cost? Sure you'll be incurring a debt but if you're confident you'll be able to find work you ought to be able to pay it back in a relatively short amount of time. No?

 

E

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Maybe it is time to look for an alternative. Several here use Cinema, I think both MIR and Luxigon use Lightwave, I know there are people lurking that use Modo. The downfall is that you will need to convert file formats from Max to whatever you choose which could be an extremely painstaking process.

 

There are other options.

 

You might even look at Blender in the mean time.

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I have used Cinema 4D R8 and for modeling directly i did not find it very good.

I used to model in Form z and import dxf , real pain.

Lightwave i really Liked ,..but they all have the same problem..1. they are not MAX, and 2.they do not have the same user base which is very important for solving problems.

 

Again thanks for the advise.

 

"No I am County Armagh portadown I don’t really like joining groups because I find them a waste of time "

 

I deserve that after the abuse I gave you last night.........apologies .

 

 

phil

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Well I wouldnt give up on other options. If you cant afford a Max license, then why not work with something like Sketchup and Vray. If you are setting up on your own you will have alot of downtime at the beginning, so learning something new will keep you busy and lend a sense of achievement whilst chasing those illusive early clients. You will also be more employable with a broader skill-set.

Good luck to you. Any advice for setting up a business /

freelance operation, feel free to pm me.

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Lads

 

Thanks thanks for all the advise.

On sketchup..........I can us it very well, and have many time but I do not like using it for big projects and it is seriously flawed on some of the tools i take for granted in max.

6 years at max and to step away from it now and re start a pipe line of work that i know works well( still room for improvement), but would not make financial sense.

 

How do company sell software like Max for 200 dollars or euros, surley it is illegal, but they do give a cert to say that you have purchased it, and if a clients wants to see proof thats all they would care about.

A guy did that i know strange one so why aren't being sued by autodesk?

 

Phil

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If you see max as an OEM or for 200 dollars/pounds, Euros Etc. there are no OEM max(s) it’s a con they may contain same for the OEM versions virus, Trojans and spyware and some nasty other stuff and if you buy them then that’s down to you not saying you will but it’s really a warning. You don’t want your computer infected with this stuff…. IMHO…..

 

I have no idea why Autodesk does not let ppl buy it’s software it’s really annoying but I guess it’s down to them.

 

Discreet was going to sell Gmax (now known as 3ds max, 3ds studio max, max) but Autodesk brought out Discreet and they Autodesk decided not too I guess they decided they could make more money in letting people buy a license(s)….

 

If people download the peer 2 peer (illegal) version of max then they will not get all the file, like the help files textures mocap etc…. and it may contain the stuff above…… IMHO don't do it lol

Edited by datacrasher
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