Who would I speak with at Eovia....

[3rdimension]

to see what kind of other discounts there are out there for hex 2? I recently bought carrara 5 pro before hex 2 came out. I also made a full purchase of other add on packs from eovia in the past at full price, before they started giving varying % off when you buy certain software.

Does anyone else think it is only fare that those that have purchased software from them recently should be able to get some sort of discount on hex 1.2 in order to get a free upgrade for hex 2? I don't see any companion prices for hex 1 or 1.2 anymore. If anyone else sees something, could you let me know. I would appreciate it.

[BilloX]

Hi John!

Thank you for your interest into Eovia products
Regarding your sales request, could you please contact Bob at info (at) eovia.com?
He will be happy to reply to your request.

Thanks!
- Laurent / Eovia

[3rdimension]

yeah I just email sales@eovia.com about my recent questions. Thankyou.

[Naes3d]

I upgraded Carrara 5 Pro right before they started a really good discount promotion and they sent me an email allowing me 20% off anything for being an early adopter. I have faith that Eovia not only wants to get their product out there, but also are respectful of those who adopt early.

I'v sure you situation will be resolved amicably.

[3rdimension]

yes Thankyou for your input Naes3d, I will comment on that to sales because I have spoken with no one but Bob Stockwell over at Eovia and he has told me that my only option is to just buy hex 1 for 199.00 then the free upgrade.

Please tell me who you spoke with, because I was an early adopter of the carrara 5 pro upgrade as well. Thankyou very much and I would appreciate it if I could use your name or if you could help me with that 20% off as well, especially since Carrara 5 pro had so many bugs in it for 2 months and really wasn't very useful to me since it crashed on me every 3-5 minutes in the modeling room but is fixed now.

[shaunmckinnon]

I noticed when I bought Vectorstyle 1, that no one mentioned at the time of the release of Vectorystyle 2 how important it was to upgrade and take advantage of that discount at that time. When Carrara 5 was released, it enforced that you HAD to have Vectorstyle 2 in order to use it in Carrara 5, because V1 would not work. At the release of Carrara 5, however, they removed the discount of the Vectorstyle 2, and it had to be purchased at the full cost, (no upgrade discount).
I sent an email to Mr.Stockwell and was informed that I would have to purchase the new version at the listed price. I explained the situation, and how I did not consider this fair business practice when it looks like Eovia took advantage of the situation , (carrara 5 = everyone forced to switch to V2 at full price). Mr. Stockwell informed me I could take advantage of the current New Year discount that was being offered, but that was my only option for the upgrade had been made available at the time of the V2 release.
There is not a single company that does not offer a full price and upgrade price on product.

Basically what I'm saying, is I don't think it matters who you talk to, Eovia is going to MAKE you follow their guideline for purchase. It's the money that talks, not you.

[shaunmckinnon]

I forgot to mention, that at that point I had purchased Eovia's Carrara 4, Transposer 1 and 2, Vectorstyle 1, Architools, Carrara 5, and Hexagon 1. Not to mention a slew of plugins from thirdparty providers. This did not make a difference even though I was showing my dedication to Eovia. I did not want the product for free, I just wanted the product at the originally offered upgrade price.

[3rdimension]

sorry to hear that. that really is too bad that happened to you. I know it would be wise to take full advantage of the price of hexagon it's at now. yeah anyhow, some people get ripped while others get a nice break, go figure.

[shaunmckinnon]

that is true, but it's better business practice to help your customer have the best experience possible. i work for Sprint together with Nextel, and I hear poor stories everyday. But i make their experience better by making sure what was offered is extended to the caller as well.

[Naes3d]

Actually. Shaun, there are plenty of companies that don't offer upgrade prices on their software. XSI Foundation and Apple Quicktime spring to mind.

I remember the Vectorstyle switch but didn't think much of it since I didn't own VS 1. Eovia did make sure that there was a way for those who owned version 1 to get version 2 for less than full price. A discount is a discount afterall...

I guess your level of satisfaction will be determined by what you are expecting.

[shaunmckinnon]

all I'm saying is for people who are legitimate and purchase their software rightfully and honestly, it does make an argument to go to the darkside. i wouldn't, because i use my software for my web design company, but i'm starting to see why people constantly pirate. it gets really bloody expensive after awhile.

[Naes3d]

I feel your pain, Shaun. But honestly, this is nothing. Try dealing with Caligari. That is where I am coming from. Trust me, this is nothing.

[shaunmckinnon]

Who is Caligari?

[3rdimension]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to start this thread with others replying with a few bitter strings attached. I do know where you are coming from though shaun. America is a pretty well off country when it comes to work, but still the taxes, living cost and everything else is outrageouse, making it difficult to get by sometimes. I decided 2 years ago that if I wanted to get the latest software that would help me in my venture toward working for pixar or dreamworks one day, I would have to give up all my other hobbies and go out to do things less frequently.

Sometimes we just need to make some sacrifices in order to get what we want most in life. Stealing is not honest or healthy. It really is sad that so many people pirate software, and the whole reason why prices keep going up on the software is because of too much theft. Maybe if the different software companies could find ways of beating the hackers to their own game, then the prices would drop for those honest enough to buy it.

Just remember, if you steal, and have a soul, the bad karma will play on you till you repent if you beleive in karma and God and all that. even if you don't beleive in that stuff, more than likely most people do have inner feelings and doing things they know they shouldn't be doing will eat at them after a while, and hopefully will come to their senses about being more honest and fare.

[Naes3d]

Originally Posted by shaunmckinnon

Who is Caligari?

If this bothers you, then it is probably for the best that you don't know.

Trust me, piracy is really an unnecessary option. Carrara is competitively priced, but there are free options like Blender. Like 3rdimension said, turning to piracy drives prices up. Rurning to free options will drive them down.

Not that I would suggest leaving Carrara or Eovia. Great software, competitively priced.

[shaunmckinnon]

I was not saying I would pirate. Been down that road before, and do not condone it in anyway. all my software now is completely 100% legitimate. I'd still like to hear about this Caligari thing.

[LoneGunman]

Just to throw something in about piracy (I know I'm going off topic a bit here):

What really ticks me off sometimes, is when people make posts about using something they do not legally own, if someone has illegal copy of something, I really do not care, that is certanly their problem, but they really should not talk about it in public (such a shame) !

Photoshop CS2 is wonderful example of this (it costs $650). Regardless of price, for some reason, some people use it just for "minor color corrections"

I guess it makes them feel better about themself (cuz they sound more "proffesional" and "serious" about what they do)

I do not even want to mention "proud" 15 years old "owners" of 3D studio Max over on DeviantArt

Oh, yes, back on topic, kind of, "Calgari": bunch of spammers, seriously, I had to close one of my e-mail accounts, cuz they were sending me "offers" almost every day (nobody should give them their e-mail address IMHO, yahoo one maybe, if you want to try their software)

[Naes3d]

Caligari is the maker of truespace 3d software. Imagine if Eovia had asked for $99 to upgrade from 5.05 to 5.1. Each point release was sometimes priced the same as other packages full integer upgrades. If I wanted to upgrade my copy of trueSpace 5 to the current truespace 7, it would cost me just under $1000 to get less than the functionality available in Carrara 5.

People who say Carrara has UI issues haven't been inside truespace. People who have been using the software for decades have to relearn the interface. Not to mention you need a tutorial to learn how to shut the program down.

Granted, the software does have features you won't find in any other program, but everything you can do in Carrara now is superior to, and more complete than, truespaces implementation of the same feature (with the exception of mirror modelling).

Oh yeah, one of the most requested and anticipated features for truespace (animation) was put off until after they could release a feature that nobody foresaw using (and still can't fully use 2-3 months after the software was released), to be released as an additional for pay upgrade. You were; however, given 2 weeks to decide to take advantage of an offer that would have given you the upgrade free, but only if you took a blind leap of faith that the upgrade would deliver what you actually were expecting. No information pertaining to what features will be included will be released until well after the 30 day return policy is expired.

Unless you happen to be a member of proteam ($895 anually) that gives you access to the beta. Proteam membership gives you access to video tutorials and objects that have been unchanged almost since the club was formed. Bottom line, if you paid for more than one year membership, you didn't get your monies worth.

And since the truespace forums are hosted on the Caligari website itself, you have to temper everything you say with praise for the ego of the developers and owner. For example I was banned from the forums there for pointing out that it costs almost $1000 to upgrade truespace to a level where it competes with Carrara and that I wasn't seeing the value versus it's competitors.

I could go on, but the internet only has so much space...

[3rdimension]

I sorta know the feeling about mentioning the use of other software that isn't the popular or norm for most people in a certain forum. I haven't been banned for that particular topic, but I was asking if anyone has ever used the plugin that allows you to bring poser models into maya. No one could answer that question over at Daz 3D forums because majority users there use strictly poser, bryce, daz studio, lightwave, shade, or carrara.

I guess to mention the name Maya was like forbidden and taboo over at Daz3d since a majority of them are beginners over there and or they just haven't had the money or time to take a maya class or purchase a student copy of it or just didn't have the patience to want to learn it in depth. It really sucked that a few people jumped down my throat for even mentioning the name Maya. I guess we got to pick and choose where we want to mention certain products.

I personally am glad that I decided to take some Maya courses in College since that is what a majority of the industry uses for animation and gaming. It is good to know other programs as well. I started out on Carrara and Poser, so it has been good practice for me and a good warm up.

[odeathoflife]

I used Max with a web company that I worked with, and when I left them I was stuck without a modeller, after many trials I chose trueSpace 5.2 to use cause it had the same flow as max to me. Then hex came out and I really only use trueSpace now to render particle animations and backgrounds (like 2 times LOL) other then that I have collecting dust. The last offer I got from Caligari about upgrading from 5.2 to 7 was for 399 I almost took them up on it but then hex 2 is oh so very close

I still may get another program for rendering but I have poser 5 and 6, vue and bryce, ts and shade7 so it's not like I need one LOL.