I dunno… I’m kind of in a hurt for 3DS Max right now for a C&C3 mod I want to make REALLY badly. I found this site and thought it was too good to be true. Almost afraid to ask you guys if it actually is.
Oh please read their FAQ…
http://www.cheapsoftforu.org/faq.html?session=430151193208926
You’ll have a good laugh 
“There is no catch - the software versions that we sell are OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) which means you will receive the installation downloadable CD images only (they do not come in their original retail packing and do not include the manual). We do guarantee that all programs are the 100% full working retail versions”
“You get the full, downloadable version of your software. When you will download it , your software will be automatically registered to you and you will receive activation key, serial number or CD key necessary to activate your software.”
“Even though you are not able to register the product online you will be able to receive automatic updates of the most programs. When updates are ready to install you will see a popup window or an icon at the right bottom corner of your screen. Then you have to click on the icon and follow the instructions.”
Also from their faq
We minimize our overhead by stocking mostly top selling software only and try to get the best deals for them. We also sell what are called OEM versions, the same software as the box version without the box and the manual. By foregoing the fancy box and typically slim manuals you end up saving a considerable amount.
Do you really believe Autodesk is charging over $4000 for a fancy box and a “typically slim” manual? OEM versions of software are not supposed to be sold retail. This is just a sophisticated pirate. Using OEM software means you don’t have to crack the software in order to run it, and there’s nary a “Z” to be found on his fancy warez site. This guy is happy to sell you illegal software, and when this site is shut down, will probably open another.
I have never heard of OEM 3d Studio Max.
Like Orinoco said, he’s selling pirate software. You could get it free at many other places, if that’s your thing.
Googleing around, the Pirate Bay is a very popular website to download copys from via torrents.
By the way, why can’t you mod the game with Blender?
Shoot, just confirming what I already knew in my heart…
I can’t mod with Blender because the modding SDK that EA released for C&C3 is only for 3DS Max, not for Gmax. So unless you know of a W3X converter that I don’t…
I think I’ll e-mail Autodesk and notify them of the site.
[Edit] Heh heh, reported the site to both Autodesk and the BSA.:evilgrin:
I don’t know. But, I use Max at school, and even Max doesn’t come with W3X support, you have to BUY a plug-in.
Aren’t you a student? You should be able to get it student rate.
http://www.academicsuperstore.com/market/marketdisp.html?PartNo=859319&qk_srch=max
$195 for student rate.
You can get W3X support through the free modding SDK that EA released here.
PhilBo, that looks great! The only thing is it might be kind of hard to convince them that I’m actually a student. I could show them my diploma, but that means I’m out of high school. And I’m not in any college yet. Not to mention my Mom has had some trouble in the past getting academic discounts because we home-schooled. That would be perfect if it could work, though.
[Edit] Look at their eligibility chart. Homeschool = No.
Check out your local community college. I took a summer school course using 3dsMax, the total was around $150 (Including parking and one other course.) That should get you the academic discount.
The thing that put me off was the one year licence. And my anemic home computer, which doesn’t meet Max’s minimum specs (but runs Blender just fine.)
Actually, if you know Max well enough to make the mod, just enroll in a Max course and use the school’s computers. No need to buy it at all.
Or find someone willing to create a python export script for you. Looking at various W3X files, it shouldn’t be that hard to do. I just don’t have any programming skills, unless you count Visual Basic.
W3X and W3D are binary formats. From what I’ve been told before, only human readable formats can be exported/imported with python.
that’s not true, you can write importers and exporters for every file format you just have to know the file structure. blender uses python scripts for many binary formats.
Well, if anybody would like to take a crack at W3D here is a thread where some people are trying to figure out the file structure. Cracking W3D