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Cinema 4D Indie version - What's your opinion about this?


okazaky

Cinema 4D Indie version  

95 members have voted

  1. 1. Should there be a C4D Indie version?

    • Yes, Cinema 4D is too expensive compared to other packages and I've switched to another package or I am planning to do so.
      58
    • Yes, Cinema 4D is too expensive compared to other packages but I'm not planning to switch to another package.
      28
    • No, Cinema 4D is not too expensive and there's no need for a Indie version.
      4
    • I'm not sure about this / I don't care.
      5


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Hi

 

I work in a small studio in Portugal and we use in our pipeline 3 software packages. Houdini for vfx, 3ds max for rendering and cinema 4d for character animation and motion. We have several licences and by far the c4d license is the cheapest one. Houdini fx costs a lot and 3ds max is like 3 times more than c4d plus the ton of expensive plugins it takes. Plus the c4d license is floating wich is very good since houdini and 3ds only allow a limited number of seat changes.

 

The way i see it, since this is a professional tool i dont mind to pay because it will generate income. In fact, i'm much more pissed that some tools in c4d are old and in urgent need of an update (render engine, particles, painting and sculpting tools, etc),  than having a low budget version of it. 

 

 

cheers

Joao Batista

 

 

 

 

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I think it is important to remember is that... the indie licenses in general is not aimed at big studios, who are already with c4d in their pipeline, and of course, compared to another 3D package, like Maya for example, it is much cheaper...

I think the indie option for C4D is essential for the "one-person" studios out there, hobbyst, freelancers, and anyone who wants to move towards a more 3D production, and cant make a living out of the software just yet.
For these people, yes, C4D is super expensive. And I think it is extremely necessary for MAXON to start looking at this like other companies have already done. 
Maybe adding a cap on production income with the software, like Autodesk has done with Maya, is the way to go.

Having a software being more inclusive and acessible to different types of professionals, with different incomes and realities is never a bad thing in my opinion.

 

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As a studio the C4D License is not very expensive, Maya or Max cost 3-4x the amount

The Maya indie version is pretty terrible, we have such one

 

But for the Indie dev, Teenagers and solo people, having no Indie or free version is a big mistake tho and it very noticeably cripples the amount of new people that get into cinema and something needs to happen before the community dies out

 

Lets be real, without people cracking it, nobody would get into C4D in the first place, something needs to happen to get new people in

 

The 17 year olds who either crack it or don't bother and just use blender, these are the future users and future company owners who then buy C4D licenses

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1 hour ago, Shrike said:

As a studio the C4D License is not very expensive, Maya or Max cost 3-4x the amount

The Maya indie version is pretty terrible, we have such one

 

But for the Indie dev, Teenagers and solo people, having no Indie or free version is a big mistake tho and it very noticeably cripples the amount of new people that get into cinema and something needs to happen before the community dies out

 

Lets be real, without people cracking it, nobody would get into C4D in the first place, something needs to happen to get new people in

 

The 17 year olds who either crack it or don't bother and just use blender, these are the future users and future company owners who then buy C4D licenses

Heya @Shrike🙂
Im curious to know, why the maya indie version is terrible? 
I ask because I considered getting this license for myself in the future.
Is it because of the income limitations? You cant make more than certain amount using this license and such...
Or other reason?
 

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2 hours ago, FLima said:

Heya @Shrike🙂
Im curious to know, why the maya indie version is terrible? 
I ask because I considered getting this license for myself in the future.
Is it because of the income limitations? You cant make more than certain amount using this license and such...
Or other reason?
 

 

Hey

Its probably ok for the price if you want to learn maya and later get the full version but it has a lot of artificial blockades,

like not being able to do certain UV actions, not exporting a certain amount of polygons, etc etc

At that point its better to use blender for sure. If you plan on using it as your main and only thing, I wouldn't

 

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Houdini apprentice is free with limitations in rendering, no external rendering and limited to FBX export.

Houdini Indie is fully functional with $100K limit on income. I use Indie and can budget for it.  if I skip a couple of versions it is still same price or stop updating it reverts to Apprentice and I can still use it and all files I created under Indie.

 

one place where SideFX really shines is there customer support. I found a bug in latest roll out, contacted support, they emailed me back that they confirmed bug and rolled out a fix along with other issues three days later. when I have had other issues, they respond within hours with a fix or solution as to why I was getting result I was.  even on weekends until about 2100 hrs central US. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/12/2021 at 12:12 PM, Nicensteiner said:

Hi,

 

I'm working with C4D since 2005 as my main 3D package and I absolutely love the software. C4D has always been my favourite tool and I've used it for all of my productions. But I think MAXON is heading in a strange direction with their pricing policy in general and I'd like to find out if other customers share my opinion or if it's just me.

 

Firstly, I'd like to summarize my opinion:

C4D is just too expensive compared to other 3D packages and there should be a lower priced indie version of C4D for individuals or smaller studios with a revenue <100k per year.

 

Here's why:

 

If you compare the prices of the most common 3D packages, C4D's price is ridiculously high.

 

Maya Indie: 327,25 € per year
3Ds Max Indie: 327,25 € per year
Houdini Indie: 222,15 € per year (or 329,50 € for two years which is equal to 164,75 € per year)
Cinema 4D: 724,79 € (compared to Maya and Max: +121%, Compared to Houdini: +226%)

 

Basically C4D is about 121% more expensive than Maya and Max per year and 226% (or 340% if you choose a 2 year Houdini subscription) more expensive than Houdini.

And that's the comparison with the most basic version of C4D. If you need redshift for VDB renderings or just the GPU speed, it becomes even more expensive.

 

I don't take Blender's existence into account because it seems a little bit like comparing apples to oranges if you compare a free tool with a paid one. But nevertheless, Blender is actually a GREAT alternative to all other packages and I think it has become a very serious competitor.

 

I personally switched to a combination of Blender and Houdini Indie and I think it's a very powerful toolset. But I have to admit that I'm a little bit broken hearted and a C4D Indie version would make me very happy.

 

So what do you think about the pricing? Am I missing something? What's your opinion about this? I'd really like to hear about it!

 

Cheers,
Nicensteiner

 


I chose option one. Though I have to mention that I'm just a hobbyist and not using C4D professionally. For those who do, the cost may matter a bit less. But for me just doing 3D as a hobby, I could no longer justify the C4D pricing with Blender being free and as good as it is. I still have my R21 perpetual license of course but won't get the subscription and probably will not upgrade any further. I was using the the Mograph edition before which was good deal more affordable, but now they've done away with those options and you can only have the full, expensive package. An affordable Indie version might bring me back, though I might just stick with Blender.

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For me as a freelancer the upkeep and cost of Cinema 4d (Studio bundle) wasn't maintainable, so I switched to LightWave a decade ago, and later to Blender + 3dCoat, because LightWave just did not receive mentionable updates and wasn't being modernized - excepting the render engine, which was updated to a slow CPU only one (which produces quality renders, but with the competition doing it much faster...).

 

At work (part timer) I have access to C4d, as well as Max and Houdini, so I still use C4d at times. I still very much like working in C4d. Heck, I started out on the Amiga, and used all versions at home till version 9. I loved working in it.

 

But as a freelancer 3d is only a smaller part of my work, so C4d is just too expensive. Besides, Blender does everything I need, and does it (really) well - the rendering is brilliant, and I then ask myself the question why Cinema still lags behind in this area: even to the point that at additional cost a third-party render engine or investing in Redshift is necessary to remain competitive. Or why not stick with Blender and then get that Octane license, saving a lot of money again...

 

This is really, really odd in my opinion. Even if an indie version would be made available by MAXON, I doubt it would make a dent before the aging internal /physical renderer is updated to either a GPU-enabled version, or include Redshift - but I cannot envision Redshift to be included in an indie version.

 

I feel an indie version with limitations wouldn't be very successful. We've  observed that with Maya, for example.

 

It's funny, because just before MAXON decided to do away with the prime, broadcast, studio, etc. versions, I actually stood on the precipice of purchasing a Prime license, and use that at home, and the full version at work. But that is no longer possible... And based on MAXON's decision to consolidate all versions into one, I think the Prime version never was very popular to begin with, and again it wouldn't have been able to compete with the open source alternative in the semi-long run.

 

I am unsure what would work? With Blender being a strong (and ever improving) free alternative, I don't know how to compete with that - an indie version must be competitive.

 

For studios the current C4d licensing must be quite attractive, no doubt. Perhaps MAXON's best decision is just to forget about hobbyists and small-time freelancers... ?

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10 hours ago, hvanderwegen said:

For studios the current C4d licensing must be quite attractive, no doubt. Perhaps MAXON's best decision is just to forget about hobbyists and small-time freelancers... ?

 

Then at some point, inevitably, C4D users are going to die out, new studios are not going to use it, income will dry out. Sure, years ago when Blender wasn't as popular people just used a cracked C4D version to learn, as @Shrike mentioned above. But nowadays they're just going to use Blender, especially since it's only getting better and better.

Visit my Portfolio on Artstation.com & Follow me on Instagram

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I teach c4d and also use C4d. Even as a small time freelancer, the cost of C4d is not a big deal to me personally.

 

For students, or someone looking into getting started with it. It is more problematic. Yes they have a student license, but once they graduate or their license expires they are no other options but full price. Not an easy thing to justify fresh out of school and looking for a job. Same thing for a hobbyist. An indie version could potentially solve this problem. I am sure MAXON has done some research into this, but to me if you can get students/hobbyists hooked and provide them with a cheaper license to get them started, hopefully they get to a point where they grow into the full/commercial license.

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13 hours ago, DasFrodo said:

 

Then at some point, inevitably, C4D users are going to die out, new studios are not going to use it, income will dry out. Sure, years ago when Blender wasn't as popular people just used a cracked C4D version to learn, as @Shrike mentioned above. But nowadays they're just going to use Blender, especially since it's only getting better and better.

Honestly, I think MAXON sales would increase if they offered an indie perpetual license for 50% of the current price ($1750 base and $500 upgrade cost) but with rendering limited to 2560 x 1440 and animations limited to 300 frames.  That keeps it purely in the hobbyist category -- big enough to appreciate your work on mid-range monitors with animations long enough to show off what you just learned.

 

Of course, they could do nothing and let the hobbyist market completely go to Blender.  I wonder how painful it will be for them to watch Blender catch up and over-take C4D in ALL areas (interface, features, speed, quality, stability).  I would imagine that will be a painful thing to endure after all the work they have put into it.  But there is time for MAXON to consider an Indie version because given Blender's pace of development they have at least until...hmmm....say.......some time in June before they need to start worrying.

 

Dave

Sorry...but I simply do not have enough faith to be an atheist.

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