Just to be clear, I don´t want to portray Adsk as evil, I am bitching
about the
extra hurdles involved in finding the service packs to a specific release´s
version and making sure all files neccessary are downloaded and named
properly.
In my personal case, I can pretty savely assume Softimage 2010, 2012,
2014 version jumps,
so that´s not so bad actually. It´s a bit more difficult for 3rd party
renderer versions and
the 32bit>64bit jump for plugins like the sRGB nodes from Harry Bardak
in some legacy
projects. Anything 64bit I am also positive will most likely be fine,
like Sven suggests
(one also learns a bit about project structuring, my old stuff has more
final_v003.var2 files than now...)
In terms of general backup strategy, I also got bitten once, losing a
drive when swapping
machines and then having to rebuild that data from iterative backups on
other drives.
Not nice, tedious actually. I can recommend "Beyond Compare", that
worked great for me
in putting together a working version of a project and even completely
restructuring my
files into project specific folder structures, weeding out duplicates
and reducing the chance
of missing files by collecting things into one master folder branched
into apps, files, etc.
I do have to check if my dongle is still working, thought. A virtual
machine is a very good tip.
There´s a change I have a full backup of a working system drive
available. I used "Drive Snapshot"
in the past but haven´t touched those backup files in years. To be
honest, there´s not too much
stuff I would be proud in showing off, maybe some snippets from my
thesis would be worth
being polished and put on display, after more than 10 years... but I
doubt it...
For the last couple of years, I will mostly have *.obj and *.fbx files
plus *.psd map files
as well as *.ztl and *.mud files, that stuff is pretty save to open with
newer versions atm.
Thanks for your thoughts,
it´s a bit spooky to realize 10 years ago now also looks like 10 years
ago...
Cheers,
tim
Am 23.12.2014 um 10:36 schrieb Rob Wuijster:
Just to add some thoughts on this...
I started building virtual pc's for this 'occasion' some years ago,
just to be on the safe side.
I still have a Win95/98/NT/2000/XP virtual disk lying around with some
'critial' software installed, just to be able to open up that one
program from years ago.
Or to run some other stuff that's impossible in the newer version of
Windows now.
At some point I had to convert my virtual pc 'disks' to a new virtual
pc program, but that was less hassle than doing all Matt described. ;-)
I think we're all in the same situation at the moment. I also have a
boat load of assets, created over the years going back to Softimage 3.0.
All neatly packaged in a separate project as scenes or models. All
shaded and textured, ready to go. The more 'beefy' assets are now
models linked to a Arnold .ass file for quick handling and rendering.
At some point we sadly have to leave Softimage behind, so what to do
with all these assets? Depending on what's next, there's probably a
slow conversion to this new 3D application. Or conversion to .obj or
.fbx for longer, more app agnostic storage.
For me, having the virtuals pc's/software lying around is the easiest
solution at the moment. How this all will play out in the next years
is another story ;-)
cheers, and happy holidays to all!
Rob
\/-------------\/----------------\/
On 23-12-2014 4:05, Matt Lind wrote:
For the record, it wasn't a case of forgetting to update files. I
had already done the Softimage|3D --> XSI conversion many years ago,
but I lost all that data when I experienced a hard drive failure last
year. Now I have to do it all over again.
The main problems I experienced was finding all the pieces to put
humpty dumpty together again, as well as making them functional.
Many of the installers, licenses, and so on that I had archived were
also lost in the failure. The pieces I salvaged would not always
function on modern operating systems - such as FlexLM. Fortunately I
found just enough pieces make it all work again, but not after a lot
of cutting wrists and trial and error.
The advice I can give to anybody wanting to preserve their data is
make an archive of the entire ecosystem, document everything, and
make a redundant copy. That includes operating system, hardware,
drivers for your graphics card, plugins, and so on. If you have any
special knowledge of some quirk or secret handshake that is needed to
install or work around a known issue - write it down and include it
in the archive. Getting Softimage|3D up and running required such
knowledge to know certain plugins needed a patch or required a
specific version of Windows. Took me a couple days to recall that
from my memory and go find those pieces to smooth out some problems I
experienced.
Matt
Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 17:36:47 +0100
From: "Sven Constable" <sixsi_l...@imagefront.de>
Subject: RE: How do you guys make sure XSI files and Softimage 7.5+
files will open in 2016?
I keep all installer files and of course the licenses itself on
backup. The licenses are yours and they will not stop working. I once
renewed a network license with ADSK to move it to a new server
without problems. However, when I moved to SOFT2015, I tried to
request a new license for an old 2011 version just out of curiosity
and it didn't work via the website (serial was not recognized). But I
think that?s one of the flaws with the ADSK websites. I wasn't able
to get a lic file for the 2015 either even the serial was recognised.
COntacted support and they sent me the lic file.
Even the perception of ADSK is evil, eating your children alive,
they're not criminals :) I would not expect problems in renewing
licenses in the future.
In the rare case, ADSK will go bankrupt in a couple of years, and you
would have to move the license to a new server, you can still use the
old license file. You would have to keep the name of the server of
course. The MAC ID for the network card is changeable so an old
lic-file will keep working.
I don't know how this apply to standalone licenses however since
they're more tightened to specific hardware of the workstation.
Generally it might be a good idea to move old projects to newer
versions every couple of years. But most of the times we forget about
it and face problems like Matt Lind did with his old Soft3D databases
:) I would also try to keep everything local stored on backups and
not relying an vendors to give you access to old versions. That
applies not to ADSK alone but to the general trend software vendors
trying to establish with clouds, subscription and other methods.
Usually I don't mind open old projects with newer versions. So I
don't bind projects to versions. Last year I opened an old scene from
around XSI v4 with Soft2011 and started working on it.
If you are unsure about available service packs from the past, just
ask the hive.
Sven
-----Original Message-----
From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Tim
Leydecker
Sent: Sunday, December 21, 2014 1:45 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: How do you guys make sure XSI files and Softimage 7.5+ files
will open in 2016?
Hi guys,
how do you guys prepare for the time after Softimage 2015 and how do
you guys cope with files dating back to legacy versions of Softimage
XSI, like from old XSI Foundation files, Softimage XSI version pre
7.5 and so on?
Aside from the fact that I am still not sure if I have to take any
specific action with Autodesk to make sure I?ll have a Softimage 2015
license to run after the Autodesk 2016 Suite will be released or the
licensing model changes somewhere in February 2015, I do feel
additional pressure to make sure my last 10 years worth of
Softimage/XSI files will not end up as a cryptic data dump equal 42.
Do you guys also try to keep at least the old licenses&installers on
backup?
How do you cope with the servicepacks and updates usually not
directly available via the subscription center?s account
data&download link but only the intial releases listed there?
Personally, I get lost keeping track of wether or not I actually have
all neccessary servicepack, etc. for each release cycle or if this or
that pack is a full install or a patch.
I?d wish for Autodesk at least centralizing all downloads instead of
scattering things all over downloads, subscription center home,
account info and maybe even the area...
Maya Bonus Tools probably means you get a Bonus Dolphin Sticker on
your user account when you successfully managed to also nfind and
download it in the correct version ...
Cheers,
tim
------------------------------
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End of Softimage Digest, Vol 73, Issue 134
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