Genuine enthusiasm without the need to be rewarded still exists.
10 Likes
Actually there are two kind of subscription. The first one is the fair, good market one, when you get a permanent subscription with a lower price, paired wth a one-shot but higher software cost (think dependant job vs freelance; you accept a lower wage in exchange for stability and almost unexistant marketing cost, against a one time higher fee for your services)
The other is the ill, debunked market one, when you get a permanent subscription with a higher price, paired with a waning one-shot license (think hedge funds - where product are bought by speculators, removed of costly marginal users, packed into a scaffold, and let there to stay, slowly shedding money)
You never know how is going to end. In time, those convenient low one-shot packages can always fall short to fatigue, lust for luxury goods, change of life on the part of our developers… time goes by, and people get old. And they want to cash in something for their retirement… so, when user base is grown, and product is mature, it’s time to ripe. The guys with the big shoulders and big pockets chime in and - you know what - they sell. Time to go for that long year out.
Add to this workplace distruption, covid amenities, and the general dissolution of the western empire… and you get the picture. 
3 Likes
Wow. I never imagined Pixologic being sold off would have such dire consequences…
8 Likes
(ten character filler)
3 Likes
Pun spotted at the ZBrushCentral forum:
Maxon ➔ Maxoff
6 Likes
I just did the same. It’s comforting to know that I can at least keep using ZBrush 2022 for a long time to come, if Maxon’s perpetual license upgrade price turns out to be a greedy one. 
Hey !
Every time I check in here here I fear a little that this thread is going to be back up on top. After the initial shock I am so much hoping for a little period of relative Z calm for at least the first half of the year. So many other pressing issues to be concerned about right now
There is a 2022 0.5 patch release version just out. I’ve not updated yet since 2022.0.2. Has anyone else.
1 Like
I feel you, @Toka . 
I’ve just installed 2022.0.5, since I had impulsively uninstalled ZBrush out of sheer Maxon frustration.
It feels like the famous Simon & Garfunkel song “Hello ZBrush my old friend!” But ominous clouds are still drifting above ZBrush since the Maxon takeover.
The past weeks I’ve taken a deep dive into the 3D Coat sea, and although there’s lots of stuff to love in there, such as the great spline tools, the UI / UX is still slightly idiosyncratic, and it can be a bit buggy and unstable, particularly after a lengthy sculpting session.
My current plan is to keep ZB installed until we know the price for upgrading a perpetual license. If that price turns out to be reasonable, I won’t mind upgrading. Otherwise I’ll keep using ZB 2022 until Blender Sculpt Mode and/or 3D Coat make it fully obsolete. Nomad Sculpt might also get a desktop version sooner or later. I asked for it over at the Nomad Sculpt forum. The developer is still focusing on the tablet app, but I guess there will be a desktop version in the future.
4 Likes
Ah, yes, the larger gizmo icons that turn out to have been introduced in ZBrush 2022.0.3 are really nice. 
3 Likes
Metin trying to hit uninstall on Zbrush…
13 Likes
Welcome home… 
1 Like
Yes, 3D Coat and Blender Sculpt Mode can’t fully beat Sensei ZeeBee yet. But hey, I’ve really tried hard to go for 3D Coat. Spent weeks learning and exploring my butt off, and 3DC is really not bad at all. Currently, ZB is just still a bit better overall: UX / workflow, brush engine, tools, polygon capacity, stability, the works.
Thanks! Let me put it this way: ZBrush is still the only tool so far that makes me feel like I used to feel when I was drawing as a little kid: carelessly enjoying creativity, without boundaries.
By the way, @Musashidan , I 
Jet Li’s films. He’s still one of the best martial artists I know.
And @Debuk , I also much enjoyed Kung Fu Hustle. 
4 Likes
Yeah me too. still, sorry for the dumb joke. Its just after I read @Musashidan s post I had that image in mind.
2 Likes
And this is precisely why Maxon felt confident enough to place every former Pixologic customer on subscription-only DRM as soon as possible. They know the users will stick around even after they start the price hikes (because they effectively bought themselves a near-monopoly on digital sculpting).
My guess then, many users will not leave even after they sunset ZbrushCentral (absorbed into the official Maxon forums) and begin the process of converting as many as they can to having Cinema 4D as their DCC home.
Man, I was a Chinese cinema nerd back in the late 90s. I had a collection of over 150 classic Shaw Brothers/Golden Harvest/etc films all on VHS. 
Had pretty much every Jet Li film ever made.
4 Likes
Can we please be clear about what is a known for sure and what is simply speculation.
Official word is that perpetuals will be continued. Although we do not know in what form or for how long or what the pricing will be. Nobody officially to my knowledge has yet mentioned ending perpetuals for enforced subscription. And nobody officially has ever suggested to my knowledge placing all existing permanent licence holders onto a subscription only system. This was worded as if it had already happened. Speculation is inevitable with so much up still up in the air and we all have been speculating here. But please when speculating can we keep it measured and clealry sign posted. Otherwise the facts become blurred and confused.
What could make this acquisition situation more complex than it initially might appear is the size and diversity of the ZBrush user base community combined with the unique character and innovative brilliance of the company behind it up till now.
There are still so many unknowns. I am not trying to be overly optimistic and I certainly don’t feel at all super optimistic. I just think it’s important we are clear about when we are speculating vs what has happened or is actually known and has been officially announced.
What can be said for sure I think is that this whole tale is an example of just how unpredictable the commercial software industry can be. Anyway, all the best.
3 Likes
We should check if we weren’t separated after birth, Dan.
4 Likes
Yeah, I also wonder what the core team of Pixologic already knows, but doesn’t dare to disclose.
My guess is this:
Maxon probably has full control over the future of ZBrush, otherwise Pixologic would reassure ZB users that they should not worry about possible radical changes in pricing / upgrade policy.
Looking at Maxon’s prices and subscription policy of C4D, Redshift etc., they will converge to ZB subscriptions, and will probably ask an upgrade price for perpetual licenses that matches the yearly cost of monthly subscriptions, which will be at least 12 x $40 = $480. This will mean you’ll need to pay half the price of a new license or more to upgrade every year.
If that’s the case, I will choose one of these options:
-
Maybe upgrade during a possible special discount offer period, such as Black Friday.
-
Continue using the last supported version of my perpetual license (2022.x.x).
-
Go full Blender Sculpt Mode + 3D Coat.
Let’s hope for the best, as the future of the ZB user community should not be messed up by corporate greed.
One thing’s for sure: I won’t be upgrading my Keyshot for ZBrush license anymore, as that would require even more recurring investment, and Blender + Cycles / Octane / Luxcore are very competent Keyshot competitors, with GoZ for Blender being a great tool for seamless transfers of a scene between ZBrush and Blender.
1 Like
If it comes to it you can always use the current version of ZB forever without any more updates. It’s long since feature complete and has everything you need to keep using it. I honestly don’t see where else they can take it without plugins.
The weirdest thing I’ve seen this week is Pixologic advertising an inhouse job opening in LA. This is the first time in 20 odd years that they’ve ever advertised a job publicly. Probably to fill Joe Drust’s absence.
3 Likes