> I completely agree with this Marc. There is so much negative sentiment
> in this thread that I'd be surprised if AD is still listening. Some of
> the folks there are probably pretty proud to work for them and have a
> genuine interest in Soft, so this thread is painful reading. I don't
> agree with the marketing of soft at all, but I do still 'evangelize'
> the product, and will continue to do so until there is something which
> for us as a studio works better (we jumped from Maya to Soft about 5
> years ago and haven't looked back since).

> If AD were to sink this beautiful ship then so be it. Until that point
> for the good of my sanity, my crew and my studio, I will continue to
> push the usage of Softimage, and ignore a small graphic that is very
> hard to find (I'm on the marketing lists for Max, Maya and Soft, and
> pretty much every other bit of AD spam plus my reseller) and never
> personally received or saw it.

> There is little point in begrudging the AD employees that are doing
> what they can do with what resources they have to keep soft out there
> - these are the guys that are 'on our side'. Stating that the software
> is EOL is also massively counter-productive, it's a
> lovely juicy soundbite to throw around the office. Shit sticks, even
> if it's unfounded.

> The proof of commitment (or not) will be seen in the next release.

> Cheers,

> Jules

> On Wed, Sep 12, 2012 at 9:36 PM, Marc Brinkley
> <Marc.Brink...@microsoft.com <mailto:Marc.Brink...@microsoft.com>> wrote:

>     So um, i just thinking that if I were ADSK and was listening to
>     this conversation

>     My existing customers of the software believe the software is EOL

>     My existing customers of the software are telling other customers
>     not to bother instead of evangelizing the software.

>     My customers decide not to believe me when i say we are continuing
>     to develop the software even when several members of team directly
>     say it.

>     If I were in their shoes, what do you suppose I would be thinking.
>     Seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy to me.

>     Not directed to anyone specifically. But if we dont believe they
>     why should they.

>     All things will end eventually, sure, and I am tried of fighting
>     an up hill battle, sure. But until I get a letter specifically
>     stating EOL and here are my side grade (or ahem, down grade)
>     options to other software, I will keep on using it.

>     :D

>     Sent from my car while driving
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     From: Rob Chapman
>     Sent: 9/12/2012 1:13 PM

>     To: softim...@listproc.autodesk.com
>     <mailto:softim...@listproc.autodesk.com>
>     Subject: Re: In case you missed it..

>     So Maurice,

>     A brave effort with your rhetoric but sadly the results you
>     achieved are letting you down.  It is exactly what we did not
>     expect or *were used to* before you are your crew took it upon
>     yourselves to remarket Softimage within the given framework of M&E
>     apps at AD.  Do you think what you have done has improved things
>     for the existing Softimage user base? can you account for how
>     Softimage has less penetration now in the market as a fully
>     featured Application to base an entire pipeline off** and has much
>     less 'perceived' value than before you began your current campaign?

>     bravo! didnt you do well!?  I believe you have failed quite
>     miserably at your job and should most definitely be more
>     respectful than 'be happy with possible increased sales and deal
>     with it' to those whose value as professionals within this
>     industry are greatly diminished than they were 4 years ago.  Are
>     you at all surprised that those you have sacrificed to the greater
>     good that is Maya don't want any further business with Autodesk?

>      **where I work the studio has many hundreds of commercials,3
>     short movies with countless awards and one was bafta nominated
>     this year - all made with this measly particle plugin and not a
>     single Maya or Max in sight.

>     On 12 September 2012 20:41, Maurice Patel
>     <maurice.pa...@autodesk.com <mailto:maurice.pa...@autodesk.com>>
>     wrote:

>         Well, we have said that we are committed to developing and
>         marketing Softimage. It might not be exactly in the way you
>         expect but that commitment has been explicitly stated by
>         myself and others. The discussion has been about our tactics
>         and why we do things the way we do.

>         Maurice Patel
>         Autodesk : T�l: 514 954-7134 <tel:514%20954-7134>

>         From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com
>         <mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>
>         [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com
>         <mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>] On Behalf Of
>         Daniel H
>         Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2012 2:59 PM
>         To: softim...@listproc.autodesk.com
>         <mailto:softim...@listproc.autodesk.com>
>         Subject: Re: In case you missed it..

>         Re: "We are very well aware and I and my team work hard to do
>         the most we can with the resources we have." - Maurice Patel

>         Seriously Maurice... you have any-time access to "freely"
>         speak directly to the main vein of the SI community. Does it
>         cost AD anything to make a simple text statement of confidence
>         on a list, blog, or forum? Is Autodesk really committed to the
>         future and continuing development of Softimage? Is Softimage
>         just being used as acquired tech to be robbed from? It's ok if
>         it's the later, although we won't transition over to Maya,
>         we'll just counter by transitioning to Houdini.

>         Do you really want my continued business Maurice? Does
>         Autodesk really want to keep my business? Should we just get
>         it over with and start giving our hard-earned money to SideFX?
>         3D software isn't cheap ya know. What would you like us to do?
>         Where's a free statement or two of "confidence" to keep us
>         investing in Softimage?

>         Daniel
>         VFXM

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