Since there still seems some chance for improvement of the current situation I have yet another suggestion although I am sure that we can't turn the wheel back.
It was stated that quite some schools use Softimage for teaching 3D for obvious reasons. There shouldn't be a reason why they are stopping this instantly. With no other software you can gain so much basic understanding of 3D in a short amount of time so hazzlefree like with Si. Learning 3D can be such a daunting experience. Boy, if I had made my final film with Softimage instead of Maya... No student needs the newest version of a 3D software. Even we professionals very rarely use its full potential. And when you have learned the basics you can easily transfer them to other packages. At the same time it is clear Autodesk can't offer a viable alternative to Si at this point in time. To be honest I don't think there will be an alternative on the horizon without a major rewrite of Maya and we all know how long this can take (How long took Moondust?) Imho, a good compromise for all would be if Autodesk stopped active development besides of bug fixing and opening up the SDK for third party development and let Si remain in its product portfolio. To be honest I find it an absolute ridiculous idea to stop selling a product within 2 weeks time. A product which doesn't cost any more money and has still the potential to earn some shouldn't be put from the market. What if in the future a company decides it needs Softimage for a certain task? Related to this with FabricEngine some promising developments are coming which mean that the host application doesn't necessary needs to be active developed and can nonetheless live on for quite some time by third party development. I see FabricEngine in a form of "geriatric care" for retired Softimage. That would also give everybody more breath for transitioning to possibly upcoming alternatives. So don't put it this abruptly from the market. It simply doesn't make any sense. Second thought to this. As a solo entrepreneur never having seen a large studio from the inside I have only a notion of how complex large studio piplines for film or games can be. But I find two years for transitioning especially for large studios a ridicioulus short amount of time. Most likely you are cought in production right now, in preproduction for the next show and planning a sequal for a Softimage produced film afterwards. And then you should rebuild your whole pipeline right in the middle within 24 months? Especially in the sensitive state the VFX industry is right in the moment? (I've just watched "Life after Pi", quite depressing) So 5 to 10 years would be a much more reasonable amount of time for transitioning especially for the large studios. This would also help that 3rd party development doesn't cease so rapidly. Just my 2 cents. Cheers, Stephan. MP> Hi everyone, MP> I have an update to the Softimage Transition Plan to share with you: MP> When we created the initial Softimage transition plan our desire MP> was to provide our customers with MP> an easy, no-cost path to transition to either 3ds Max or Maya. MP> We have been monitoring all of your MP> feedback on the forums, including many direct conversations with our customers, and have made MP> adjustments to the transition offering to address your concerns. MP> As we had previously announced, a MP> program is available to all Softimage customers on Subscription providing you with the option of MP> migrating to 3ds Max or Maya via a bundle that will include a MP> Softimage license until April 2016. MP> Based on your feedback we will be adding the ability to continue to access Softimage indefinitely MP> with your Subscription entitlement even after we stop support on MP> Softimage in April 2016. We have MP> heard you and we want to make sure you can continue to be able to MP> access your Softimage projects even MP> after the retirement of Softimage. Our intention was not to MP> create more burden on you with this MP> difficult change. MP> As many of you have also asked about this, we would also like to MP> clarify what will happen if you do MP> not want to transition: your licenses will not stop working. Any licenses you have purchased are MP> yours. They are perpetual licenses and will continue working MP> whether you are on Subscription or not. MP> You will continue to be able to contact support if you need to move a license to a new machine. MP> maurice MP> Maurice Patel MP> Autodesk : Tél: 514 954-7134
