Mudbox pricing - $299 US

[zaxxon]

Per Fred Galpern's review in VFX Magazine the base price of Mudbox is $299 US and the pro version is $649 US:

..... >> VFXWorld / Feature Articles << .....

This pricing level will certainly attract a lot of users. Let the fun begin!

[Thomas]

Their is a comparaison chart somewhere to see the differences between normal and pro version?

[zaxxon]

Hello Thomas. The Mudbox site was evidently 'hacked' a month or so ago and hasn't been restored fully, so nothing online that I am aware of. I have used an early beta build (not mine), and have a hard time visualizing what the distinctions would be between 'basic' and 'pro'. I would think however that the 'professional' user would require larger poly counts and superior pipeline integration, my thoughts at least. I still use and like Hexagon, and have pretty much backed off of the Silo beta testing, as Silo still doesn't deliver displacement maps (as is the case with the still 'broken' Hex). ZBrush is still powerful but 'bizarre', and the rancor seems to be building amongst it's user base over the delays in the 2.5 release:

CGTalk - Zbrush 2.5 2007

So if Mudbox were available today, I would buy it.

[transient]

I was under the impression that the lower priced version was non-commercial.

Maybe there are other differences, but that's what I've heard.

[zaxxon]

The pricing and version descriptions are up. The $299 version looks to be more than enough to meet my needs. Still not for sale, but stand back, the rush to purchase this one will be fierce.

http://www.mudbox3d.com

[zaxxon]

when you go to the Mudbox site there is an incredible image by Fausto DiMartini of Blizzard of a cosmonaught. Here is the WIP thread from CGTalk:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthre...=437297&page=1

Not much better than this in the 3D world these days!

[jbshorty]

zaxxon, glad to see you around here again. it's been a while... I understand Mudbox has targeted itself to be the top-end sculpt package out there. But the price seems a bit high to me. $650 plus 55% annually for "gold-star" support? Plus additional $228 for a floating seat? Get real Skymatter... That means over $1000 per seat for a studio liscense. A bit extreme if you ask me. The funny thing is that pro studios are going to jump on this because they'll beat ZB release by 6-8 months minimum... But to the hobbyist $300 is still a bit high just for detail sculpting. And to a small studio or struggling freelancer, this is completely out of reach... Compare what you get for the annual $380 "Gold Star" service :


Free General Support Resources include access to:

• The private Skymatter Mudbox Forums community
• A dynamic FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list
• Documentation including artist videos demonstrating features and workflows.

Gold Support Annual Subscription provides:

• All of the Free General Support Resources
• Immediate access to all Mudbox updates and upgrades (including full version upgrades) released during the term of the subscription
• A direct line to the Skymatter support team through access to the Mudbox email ticket based support system, with three tickets provided per license (A ticket is a query which can not be broken down into subqueries).

Does this mean that people without the "pro" version do not get free updates? Or do they just wait around while the pros get to use it first? And if you're paying $380 per year for gold star support, shouldn't you be allowed to ask more than 3 questions? Sounds like a shaky deal to me . I wouldn't jump too soon on this...

[zeekadork]

MudBox looks very exceptional, however, I think ZBrush is more affordable and offers more value and versatility per dollar for most artists. In ZBrush you can sculpt, texture and paint for less money than the MudBox pro version.

Zeek

[zaxxon]

Hey JB

Truth is, I've had access to a beta copty for a while, and It truly is a magnificent tool. The control, the interface,the smoothness is very slick.
For $300 bucks, for my purposes, this is a deal. I think the studios are getting a fair value at whatever level they purchase at, this tool is very productive. I've really tried to get comfortable with ZBrush because of what it can create, but the workflow just didn't work for me. Silo still doen't fully function and it still seems unanswered as to whether the 'displacement' ability will arrive with the promised normal map addition. Mudbox is to me intuitive and extremely powerful. Certainly this is good as I can continue to use Hex, even in it's 'broken' state, and take the models to Mudbox to finish, hey man $2.99 + $299....not bad.

[jbshorty]

since i haven't demo'd MudBox i can't really say if it's worth the price tag or not. But if they deliver a product that actually works as promised, it will be one hell of an achievement. All of ther competitors seem to be dropping the ball these days... About the price, if you're not a student, instructor, or NPO employee, then you may not qualify for the $299 price. They don't mention it being a "hobbyist" price. The chart is very specific on this. They may ask for your proof of status to qualify...

[Piem]

299 is only the student or hobbyist price.

-if your are freelance the price is 649$

-if you own a company (even a little one, as I do) the price is 649$

-no commercial image allowed

-only 5 layers per object

-no network tasks

otherwise, the application seems to be a Z killer.

[transient]

This isn't a hobbyist tool, it was designed for serious artists.

A thousand dollars is nothing for a professional artist, so the price is pretty much in line with what you'd expect for a tool of this caliber. 3D software is cheap these days.

[Piem]

Yes of course, but, if I may, an hobbysit can be serious, and they often going further than some pros in the knowledge of a soft... Really I think it can be.

I know A LOT of them who have purchased a valid copy of Xsi, or Ligtwave, and of course, Zbrush. We are still talking about true 3D applications.
If the patended artists were alone, the sales would be weak.
Otherwise 649$ seems to be THE GOOD PRICE, indeed. I won't go into arguments about this.

[zaxxon]

The $299 price is probably as JBShorty says (darn), seems strange though, the "academic price" for the pro version is 55% of $649, or
about $360? So why would any student get the $299 version, when they could have the unlimited ps layers and 32 bit HDRI mapping for another
$60? Oh well, I'm with Piem, $649 is still a price point that is good value, and I'll purchase it as readily.

As to the hobbyist angle; learning software for possible employment and then working with a studio to earn a living, is one thing, but the traditional
artist (you know the one artist, one easel person?), can be as skilled and creative as any studio member, but still have a personal creative need for the best tools. Pixar, ILM, Weta, all are wonderful factories, and we all enjoy when those individual talented artists step out to create personal work. Some of us have made livings as professional artists, but have chosen other 'day-jobs' at this point in our lives. This enables those folks to purchase the tools of their choice to continue their creative goals, even if the price seems a little high (Full Houdini, and Maya unlimited notwithstanding).

[zaxxon]

while browsing the modo forums I found this post from "sonk"
http://forums.luxology.com/discussio...d=13200&page=1
quoting Dave Cardwell of Skymatter:

"Yes the version that will be released next week has full n-sided support for faces with up to at least 16 sides. It will also have object manipulators. And yes there will be a way to upgrade from basic to Pro. A basic version was created for users that would like to do work at home or school. The Pro version has more features and most importantly the ability to have a floating license key on a networked environment and the Gold Support option which includes all software bug fixes and new dot release upgrades for an entire year. We did not want to force students to have to pay the cost for that.

What many casual artist don't realize is that to make a clay model for use in a film can cost more that 100K USD when you include multiple clay/practical artists, casting creating a hard model, sending it out for 3d scan then having a digital artist trace the scan in and expensive 3d tool and extract then displacement maps (which takes a lot of time and other thousand dollar software). The use of Mudbox instead of or in conjunction with clay can save you 10s of thousands of dollars and months of time. Some even expect $5 dollar tools when that is not the reality of the business environment the tools are used in. Use of Mudbox on a single project will pay of itself more than 10 times over. So we feel as production artist the price is very reasonable."

Seems the $299 is available to "non-profits" and perhaps that means the "work at home" in Cardwell's quote. Also, is this NZD or Euro or US $'s?
Here's a link to a workflow example using Mudbox with Maya:

http://67.15.36.49/team/Tutorials/ch...chesney_01.asp

[jbshorty]

Originally Posted by zaxxon

The $299 price is probably as JBShorty says (darn), seems strange though, the "academic price" for the pro version is 55% of $649, or about $360? So why would any student get the $299 version, when they could have the unlimited ps layers and 32 bit HDRI mapping for another $60?

I think you misunderstood the price structure. There is no option to get a pro-liscense for $360. The pro liscense is $649 PLUS 55% annually for tech support (Total $1005 for the first year)... It would make sense (as Piem says) that a hobbyist should be able to purchase the non-pro liscense. but i think someone must pose this question to Skymatter directly. I see nothing on their website which indicates this clearly...

[zaxxon]

Hello JB, could be that be I've got it wrong, certainly wouldn't be out of character. However, under the "academic" description it says the following:

"To make sure students have access to the same professional tools used at many of the top gaming and visual effects studios, we are offering academic discounts of over 55% to academic and educational institutions for Mudbox Professional."

So, to me that means $649 X's 55%. Doesn't apply to me at any rate.

[jbshorty]

Originally Posted by zaxxon

"To make sure students have access to the same professional tools used at many of the top gaming and visual effects studios, we are offering academic discounts of over 55% to academic and educational institutions for Mudbox Professional."

So, to me that means $649 X's 55%. Doesn't apply to me at any rate.

AHHHH.... I didn't see that post anywhere on the website. That's a nice discount for students. But it excludes me, too. Someday i'm gonna just go back to school for the software discounts. Maybe when i hit my midlife crisis...

[Nate Owens]

Do the Mud people have any intention of offering a "try-it" version to download?
It looks like a good tool, but justifying the purchase would require a closer look.
ZBrush, Silo, Modo all have the try-it before you buy it... why not Mudbox?

[jbshorty]

i think it's not actually for sale yet. probably a few weeks after release, there should be a demo version available?