Autodesk:Alias... Softimage happy?
 

http://www.softimage.com/products/xs.../default.asp#4

Turns out it seems like SoftImage is banking on a lot of homeless Maya artists and are hoping to lead the herd over to XSI oposed to Discreet's line.

If there's no more versions, we all got to go somewhere... keep with Maya 6/7, or just hop to one of the remaining companies... seems like Softimage is hoping that will just be XSI.

This 'easy migration from Maya' thing has been around for quite a few months - well before Autodesk announced its acquisition of Alias.

In any case, I HIGHLY doubt that autodesk would kill Maya or most of alias' tools at this point, given the high popularity of Alias and their products within the large business world. Frankly, I'm not worried yet that Maya will be unplugged within 8-10 years at the least.

The press release clearly states that "Autodesk will continue to develop the Alias product lines in conjunction with Autodesk's complementary products and technologies"

The press release goes on to say that the acquisition is "designed to leverage the strengths of both companies" (Doug Walker, CEO of Alias) and that basically Alias customers will be at the receiving end of benefits from "nearly $300 million in R&D spending" along with access to Autodesk products.

Though some of this may not be completely accurate, I don't think they can change much of their plan from the press release.

just my thoughts on't.
(though we all should give XSI a shot too for sure!)

Yea... Press releases are all public relations... check the locks on the Alias:Wavefront doors tomorrow -- see if they're the same as a few months ago.

many ppl and production houses have been trying to migrate pipelines to xsi since maya 6 or xsi 4....
xsi has alwas been able to mimic maya's [or 3d max] keymap. just like maya can mimic xsi's....

so there.

And then there us the advantage of xsi costing only a fraction of Maya's cost

haha if by fraction you mean in the upper 99% you are correct ;)

XSI : 1,995 USD or 6,995 USD
Maya : 1,999 USD or 6,999 USD
3ds max : 3,499 USD
Cinema 4d: 695 USD
Lightwave: 495/595 USD

Unless pricing differences are different outside the US

what r u talking about...
xsi price list is as followed

foundation *

USD495

essentials *

USD1,995

advanced *

USD6,995

and im sure u can opt for 64bit versions as well,

and permanent student licences can be bought for under 299$ USD for advanced version. unlike alias, where u need to keep renewing a student licence every year.

and xsi foundation is just like maya complete, which is probably in the 1,995 price renge.

the 495 was wat i saw... srry if i create a misunderstanding

oh man... that's weird. I definitely didn't know that. Now I feel like an idiot.

It's strange though, each of the prices only have a difference of 4 dollars. I thought Alias used to have a 499 dollar thing going as well so I figured all of them were evenly matched. And foundation can be used commercially? Awesome, but that's weird. I know there are a couple features and 64 bit support, but why would anyone buy essentials?

thanks for the info, I guess one learns something new and makes himself look like an asshole everyday :p
sorry

the XSI foundation price is definitely cool. Especially for game work, since all I need is polygons and a good UV system. lol ;)

When did that change then? When I got my Student license of Maya 5.0, it was for a permanent license.

Also, according to JourneyEd Europe , it still is an unlimited time license.