Hello everyone!

Does anybody out there by any chance know the lowdown on Autodesk's subscription service? Or, does anyone out there have a subscription? How do you like it and is it in fact worth the cost? I first heard about it several weeks ago, and after reading through their entire website and doing a few Google searches, I'm even more confused now.

When I first came across it, I got the impression that instead of going out and forking over $3500 for a stand-alone license of 3DS Max, I could instead pay something like $500 per year for an annual subscription. Autodesk paints this subscription thing up to save tons of money in the long run. It will also allow subscribers access to the latest and greatest updates and some other goodies.

However, after trying to read more into it and to get past all the hype, I'm wondering now if in fact this subscription service is "in addition" to the mega-cost of a stand-alone license. Unfortunately, I have no clue. I've seen both the outright license AND the subscription for sale side-by-side at a couple of websites, which only further adds to the confusion.

I have my fingers crossed that this is an option like "Software as a Service" or something, since that kind of offering would open several doors for me. Anyway, thanks in advance for any responses. Happy modeling!

unless things have changed in the last 3 years or so, an autodesk 'subscription' is where you pay in advance for any new versions of their software pending release. There are some tech-support benefits, but the bottom line is without the subscription, their next version-level release will leave you 'behind.'

Also, and again looking back 3 years or so, it is the re-sellers that provide the subscription/tech-support not autodesk itself.

OK, after combing through the Necronomicon- er... I mean, the Terms of Service/EULA at Autodesk's website, I found that in order to sign up for the subscription service, I need the very latest and up to date version of whatever software title I'm trying to subscribe to.

Unfortunately now this doesn't look like such a great deal. It looks like marketing hype, and a way to make a $3500 piece of software cost $4000, with perpetual annual "rent" payments. Since most point updates and patches are free to registered users to begin with- unless they've gotten greedy- this seems like an unnecessary expenditure. Oh well, someday this stuff will be more affordable!

Thanks for your input, Andrew. I wasn't aware of this service 3 years ago, but it looks like you can purchase it directly from Autodesk. Its more expensive than going through a reseller, but I'm sure they get some people to buy direct...