Questions about products and pricing Tweet

[UnifiedBrain]

I was pointed to this forum by Carrara users. Octane has a great reputation from several people I trust.

However, I am not real clear on the terminology you folks use to explain pricing and packages.

I wanted to post this in the Carrara forum, but apparently I am not allowed until I purchase the product. Hope it is OK to post my questions here.

I am interested in a standalone product, which does not require a user to be online. I am not interested in subscriptions, thanks.

Does this mean that I need to get the "Enterprise Box License", which I assume includes the Carrara plugin? Also, do I need to get the "dongle"? In the old days, a dongle was a mechanical device which gave you access to a product. What is this dongle?

If I select the 12 month plan, what is my final price? I am in the US. There appears to be a $100 discount currently, but I am not sure if that reflects US dollars.

Appreciate some help, thanks.

[bepeg4d]

Hi,
and welcome!

Have you tried the demo version?
https://render.otoy.com/plugindownloads ... 6_DEMO.exe

How many and which Nvidia GPUs do you have?

You can also try with OctaneBench 4.00c, to have an idea of the speed of your setup:
https://render.otoy.com/downloads/a/787 ... 0c_win.zip
Here is the link to the results of the currently supported GPUs for a comparison:
https://render.otoy.com/octanebench/res ... ingleGPU=1

If you need to work offline, you need to purchase an Enterprise license, box/perpetual, or annual subscription.

The Box/perpetual license comes with a 12 month annual extension.
At the end of the extension, you will stay with the latest Standalone and Carrara plugin available in that moment, and you need to purchase another annual extension to be able to use future versions.

With subscription, at the end of the annual period, you need to purchase another license, you cannot work with latest Standalone and Carrara plugin without it.

Note that all upgrade paths are offering you the possibility to use any kind of Octane DCC plugins (including C4D), and also the ORC/RNDR subscription (render credits need to be purchased separately).

About USB Dongle, it is necessary for working offline, and it has the following limitations compared with a full (purchased) license:

• No access to the LiveDB from within OctaneRender.
• Dongles need to be updated using the Dongle Installer Utility every 4 months.
• Once a license has been installed to the dongle, it cannot be converted back into a normal license.
• Cost includes standard shipping

The USB Offline Dongle cam be used with Enterprise BOX, or Annual Enterprise Subscription, or Annual Slave node licenses.

ciao Beppe

[UnifiedBrain]

Thanks for the response, bepeg4d!

No, I have not tried the demo. Basically, I am already sold on the product. Knowing which version to buy, and the actual price are the main questions.

I did do the Octanebench, thanks for providing the link. My 8 gig 1070 is not a top of the line card, but the test results were in line with the average score for a 1070, and it is currently good enough.

I'm just wondering if there are many hobbyist artists out there like me, who don't do 3D for a living, but who still want PBR capability. For people like me, Octane is a huge extravagance. That is why I need to pin down the exact version and price.

<<<If you need to work offline, you need to purchase an Enterprise license, box/perpetual, or annual subscription.>>>

If I read this one way, it sounds like you are talking about 3 separate products. But it is only one product, right? I assume that the Enterprise Box License is what I need. That is listed at 699 euro. Does that price include a discount?

The dongle is the real head-scratcher. It appears that you have to ship me a USB drive, at an extra cost. And, I have to update the dongle software every 4 months, or it will stop working. What happens after the one-year period runs out?

Sorry for all the questions, but I have asked Octane users similar questions, and they don't know the answers. They bought Octane before all of this complexity occurred.

Thanks in advance for any responses!

[bepeg4d]

Hi,

1. yes, the box Enterprise price already includes a discount.
2. The USB Dongle is independent from the Annual Extension.
Box licenses are perpetual, so when the annual extension will expire, you will continue to use Standalone + Carrara plugin 2020 + USB Dongle.
After some months (usually 4), we will send you an email with a link for updating the dongle, nothing too complicated.

Please, let me know if you have further questions.

ciao Beppe

[UnifiedBrain]

Thank you Beppe, that was very clear!

It is more expensive than I hoped, but quality is not always easily affordable.

I guess that the next step is to try out the demo. If the quality easily beats my normal realistic workarounds in Carrara (the most underappreciated 3D software on the planet), I will swallow hard and take the plunge.

Again, thanks.

UB

[Soolicc]

Hello，
I would like to ask about the Offline USB Dongles , which I purchased Octanerender Enterprise License. Do I need to buy one Offline USB Dongles for each computer or just one Offline USB Dongles for multiple computers?

[bepeg4d]

Hi,
you need an USB Dongle for each machine that needs to be offline.

ciao Beppe