Alias|Wavefront Releases Free Version of Maya

Gribflex writes "There's good news today for those of us who are heavy into 3D modelling and animation. Alias|Wavefront has released a free version of their popular software Maya. That's right, free." Maya Personal Learning Edition, for Windows and Mac OS X, offers unrestricted access to the features of Maya, but displays a watermark on images, uses a special non-commercial file format, and plug-ins are not supported.

Comments

Wow

[omega9]

What a lot of bitching going on in here. Get some coffee, eat a twinkie and lets break this down.

A full version can cost over $6,000. How many of us are going to legally purchase a full copy of Maya for home use? Only those who are serious about getting into the field of 3D would consider that. Now, how many of us are interested in production quality 3D and would like to play with the toys the pros use? I certainly am, and I bet there are a lot of others.

So Alias|Wavefront makes a killer move and covers a lot of ground by making this free version available. First, it makes available to us a close-to-the-original free copy of Maya for home/non-commercial use. More people than ever will be able to see what Maya is all about and perhaps become interested in a career in 3D. Second, they keep it far enough away from their full version to keep their customers happy. If you were a paying customer who just bought Maya for >$6,000 and suddenly it was free, wouldn't you be a bit upset? Third, they kill any legit reason for Maya to hit the warez circuit. The usual excuse is "If it wasn't so expensive we wouldn't have to pirate it!" and now it no longer works. If you're that serious about 3D you either have an employer who uses Maya or you will get it yourself. If you're just a home hobbyist now you've got your version too.

Yes, it's cripled, and no, there's no Linux version (WTF are you thinking A|W?). But before now it was either the full version or nothing. Just because they didn't release it under the GPL (yeah, right), or they left out some features doesn't give anyone here much right to bitch-n-moan.

Re:Wow

[codexus]

You say you're interested in production quality 3D and want to try the tool of the pros. Fine, as a demo this Maya will let you do that.

But then in some time, after learning the soft you'll probably want to put some of the images on your website, or simply show them to your friends. But what you'll have to show is an image covered by a big text. That's not going to impress anyone. And you won't be able to export any of your creations, should you decide to use another program.

After spending many hours learning this program you'll be at dead end. If you don't buy the full version you won't get any result from your work. So unless you're ready to spend $6000, wouldn't it be better to start learning to use a tool that you can afford to buy? Maya isn't magic, you can make pictures just as good with less expensive tools.

As for stopping piracy, I don't think for one second that a pirate will choose to use this "demo" instead of downloading a full version.

Now, I think it's great they are releasing a demo so that people can try the soft and see if its really worth the money, but calling it a free Maya is misleading.

Just like so many things in life...

[PrimeWaveZ]

Just like so many things in life, you get what you pay for. When you shell out $6k for Maya, you get a pretty bitchen application. I don't think anyone would dispute this. Sure, there are some bugs and shortcomings, but there are plenty of good reasons to spend that kind of money if it is really worth it to you.

When you don't have to shell out any money for something, it is only because of the good graces of those allowing whatever it is to be free. The folks at A|W have no obligation whatsoever to provide any of this to anyone for free. They are doing it because they want to, and they really don't have to answer to anyone for it. Anyone who reads the documentation for this program knows what is different between the free version of Maya and the commercial version.

Frankly, I think A|W put a lot of work into this freebie app that they didn't need to. People who know their stuff would probably go ahead and buy the program for whatever they need it for.

As for someone's comment that since it is free, it should include source code or be a fully functional app but for noncommercial use, you are really a moron. One thing that the open source and free software communities have a negative effect on is hard work making a profit. I have no problems with dedicating time to open source and free software development, but every person and every company has a right to charge for their hard work. Why would they include source to a $6k program and disclose a lot of proprietary intellectual property? That doesn't make sense at all...

Lastly, nobody is making anyone use this software. There is nothing that says "If you want to do 3D, you have to use this demo version of Maya." If you don't like it, go elsewhere. The beauty of having a free will is not being constrained by having only one choice. It seems, though, that many are constrained by having too many choices.

A Better Learning Alternative...

[aluminumcube]

http://www.dvgarage.com For US$200, you get a full copy of Electric Image 2.9 (no time limits, no dumb file formats, no BS) Modeler and Animator. While that's worth the price of admission for most people, DV Garage's coolest trick are the few hours of video walkthroughs, tutorials, training and other goodies. DVG will soon be offering Electric Image Universe 3 with full OS X compatability. While Electric Image isn't exactly Maya (though EI does have plenty of big time movie credits to it's name), the DV Garage package's training is nothing short of excellent. Maya's 'Learning' edition comes with NO training.