Quote - > Quote - I have to have 3DS Max installed to open a .max file, no matter how you try to slice it, even if I want to convert the damned thing to .3ds, .fbx, or whatever for use in another app. Does that make Autodesk a back of evil bastards out to screw me over?

Would you pay for a .max file if you didn't have 3dsMax? :-)

 

There's some holes you got there that need plugged. If I may...

• Genesis base figure is free, and there will very likely be freebie clothing for it.

• Archibase is full to the rafters with free .max content.

As for the answer to your question? It depends.

If I had a high-budget project that needed that file to open (say a contracted bit was delivered in only that format), then hell yes I would, and eat the cost of 3DS Max to boot.  

If I was just farting around on a hobbyist project, then the answer would depend on whether it fit into the workflow, which is easy enough to test with a usable (and likely DAZ-provided) freebie item first. If it didn't work, then I'd wait until something came along that did, or change solutions (and/or workflow) until I found something that did.

You see, not everyone is viewing this from the merchie angle.

Let me show you what it looks like from the other side of the transaction:  Some of us just want results, and don't particularly care how we get them. This means that whoever among you can cough up those results up, gets the money. The rest of you can complain all you want, because quite frankly, we (the consumerate) simply do not care.