I don't have a library of softimage assets worth keeping, but if I did I would certainly make sure I have a copy of Softimage in a Windows 7 VM like you mention, which I would archive and keep a backup copy off-site . Never update that copy of Windows, never work with it except to get assets out. I worry that Softimage may not function at all in a few years, as some components it relies on might be broken in a Windows update where Microsoft favours security over compatibility. I have Softimage 2010 at home and it is already broken; every workflow that prompts for a file browser just hangs, and I can't fix it user-side, I've tried everything already short of re-installing the OS, which I won't do.
The file format is binary and practically encrypted, so only the app can load those files. Worse, there is a design flaw whereby the app can crash if a required plugin is not installed or has a problem while loading a scene, then there is no way to load the scene. Safe keeping the installers is no security, they may not run at all in the future, being tangled in microsoft "MSI" installer tech and other things. Older 32-bit Softmage installers already don't run because they have a 16-bit component which won't run on 64-bit Windows. Now the trick is finding a VM product that you can trust will continue to work for 10 years. I'm not sure if I trust Virtual PC to still be around in the future. On Tue, Dec 23, 2014 at 4:36 AM, Rob Wuijster <r...@casema.nl> wrote: > 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
