shahedC Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 I had purchased AM twice in the past, and the last time was Animation Master 2000, v8.5 I had taken up animation as a hobby, and completed all the examples in the book. Fast-forward to 2009: I would like to get back into animation and character modeling, and was looking at the following free products: * Blender: best free product, but difficult to use * Alice: fun, but more for kids * POV-Ray: nice, but not as intuitive as AM * 3D Studio Max: too expensive... * Maya: ... likewise But I still love AM, am would consider getting an upgrade: * the Hash website has an unversioned product (posted 2007?) for $299 * SafeHarbor (sharbor.com) has v15 for $219 (reduced from $299) * Wikipedia claims that v15 (2008) is the latest version * ... wait a second, sharbor.com no longer has this listing, and it only appears in Google's cached search results A few questions: 1. Is it worth it for a beginner to upgrade to v15, or should I just stick to v8.5 for now? 2. If I buy the latest version, which is the best place to buy it from? 3. If I buy it from hash.com, will I get a discount? ~shahedc . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeSlice Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 v15 is much different than v8.5. Both the interface and the features are different. If you plan on continuing with AM, you should definitely upgrade. You can carry some of the basics of modeling, rigging and animating over from v8.5 to a current version, but you will still need to relearn a lot of things. The least expensive place to buy AM is at a trade show. If you know of a school or comics trade show in your area, you can email support@hash.com to see if they will be attending. I don't know of any place other than the Hash website that sells the current version of AM, so I can't comment on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuchur Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 I would say you should buy A:M v15.0. Till now there is no v16, but v15 is different now than it was at the start of 2008. Bugfixing, a few new things like Baking Particles etc. were implemented too and so on. I started with v8.0, got after that v10 and since than every update. A:M v15 is a bit different, but Splines & Patches are still quite the same (of course with a few new features, but the basics didnt change too much). Today you can buy A:M in two different versions: For 79 Dollars as Websubscription (will work for one year on one computer) or as CD-version for 299 Dollars as you know it. Even so the Item was inserted 2007 you will nevertheless get the v15 (A:M 2008 / 2009). As it was in v8 you will have to update your version via the updates. They are nowadays available in the "Latest Info"-Area. See you *Fuchur* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted April 23, 2009 Admin Share Posted April 23, 2009 and the last time was Animation Master 2000, v8.5 v8.5 was a wonderful program. But there really is no comparison. v15 is easily 10 times better. Should you get v15? Oh yeah. 1. Is it worth it for a beginner to upgrade to v15, or should I just stick to v8.5 for now? 2. If I buy the latest version, which is the best place to buy it from? 3. If I buy it from hash.com, will I get a discount? As Fuchur noted, the direct purchase of the websubscription can be had from Hash Inc for $79. That'd let you know. Then if you find you cannot live without v15 after one year resubscribe or opt for the CD install. Fuchur said: a few new features 'a few new features'? (Good thing I wasn't drinking coffee or it'd be spraying out my nose). Now that(!) is quite the understatement. Do yourself favor. Move into v15. Then to get even more return on your investment, hang out with us here in the forum where we all have a great time learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 V15 is MILES beyond version 8 but one thing should be pointed-out... it is still the same program to work with. You will not be 'RElearning' the app from scratch... everything is still, basically the same... there's just a lot more there, if you dig. DEFINITELY rely on this forum to get you going as you go. I don't know how anyone could possibly use and learn A:M without this community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted April 23, 2009 Hash Fellow Share Posted April 23, 2009 The essentials of A:M have been pretty constant since V5. The interface for dealing with the timeline and keyframes has changed somewhat, but for the better. The only reason I can think of for staying with V8 is if you are on Windows 95. No idea if current A:M would run on such an old OS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouseman Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 I think there was nothing called a "Relationship" in V8. Now poses and pose sliders and maybe a few other concepts from V8 are all a type of relationship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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