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I wanted to make a quick blog post to share a few photos of a recent addition to my LODE bookshelf – an unused copy of Maya Version 1 for SGI!
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I was very happy a few months ago when this heavy box arrived at the studio from Woodland Hills in the USA.
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It was extremely exciting trying to get this safely out of the box and see what early adopters of Maya would have received in return for their $40,000~ software investment. The entire packaging was very impressive!
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The manual was broken up into a series of books known collectively as the ‘Maya Library.’ Each book in the Maya Library focused on a certain aspect of the software, Dynamics, Modelling, Rendering, etc.
When Maya 1.5 came out, it had new and updated versions of certain books. Unfortunately this set is missing at least 1 of the books…I know there is meant to be a book dedicated to MEL (Maya’s scripting language). Was there any other books?
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I really wish Software was still available in such a complete physical package these days. Just look at what you received when you bought a Maya 1.0 licence!
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I still remember when I bought my licence for Maya 2011. There was a knock at the studio door – I opened it to find a tiny little box on the ground and the postman already driving off and around the corner! What did i get for parting with my hard earned cash? A crappy little DVD case worth about $1!
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The software companies say that reduced packaging helps save the environment and it obviously helps them save heaps of money in printing, binding, packaging and postage, but I think it would be great if you could still order all these great printed manuals, awesome box and goodies as an optional extra, or received all this once only with your initial licence purchase and then all further upgrades could come in just their crappy dvds!
Maya 1 came with printed documentation – an entire bound book for every aspect of the software! Maya’s online help has always been great, but I still do love reading books and it’s great to be able to sit down and really read everything the developers wanted you to know about one particular module of the software.
[divider_line_padding]The actual Software CDs were still shrink wrapped and completely unopened! I initially wanted to keep it unopened incase it would be worth something in the future…but honestly…it seems very few people see value in holding onto a piece of 14 year old software that will no longer run without the correct hardware.
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I just couldn’t help slipping the plastic open to have a look inside!
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There’s a small booklet with a written introduction by Penny Wilson, CEO of Alias.
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There’s also a CD with scene files, assets and a collection of videos featuring video interviews and work produced by studios with beta versions of the software. Really looking forward to checking these out!
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These CDs do not run on a Windows Machine. I’m on the lookout for an SGI O2 to get this software up and running!
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As well as the main CD Case and ‘Maya Library’ documentation, there was the usual release notes, system requirements, terms and conditions and installation info.
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Qualification & System requirements for Maya version 1 and included software.
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Here’s some photos of the Maya Version 1 release notes, including known limitations with the software:
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And below, a couple of photos some of the Maya Library manuals. Part of the ‘Animation’ volume:
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And a photo of the Dynamics volume:
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The Rendering volume:
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Though i’m now working primarily with 3DS max, Maya was my first proper introduction to the world of 3D, I spent many sleepless nights getting to grips with the basics of the 3D pipeline and I absolutely love Maya for allowing me to bring my dreams to life!
[divider_line_padding]Perhaps some people think this was a bit silly to get, and the truth is these really are priceless in the sense that nearly everyone would throw this old gear out, let alone pay money for it, but I really am fascinated by old versions of this software and this box will share a spot on the wall with pride!
I now work for Alf Kuhlmann at Reel Pictures. Alf is a 3DS Max veteran who has used the software since 3DS dos R2. The box for every upgrade since then is sitting on the shelf in the studio. He’s also got a boxed copy of ‘Illuminaire: Paint & Composition’ by Denim Software…version 1.0 of the software that later became Discreet Combustion.
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So, to anyone out there reading this post….do you still have the older boxed versions of the software you own or do you now download everything & throw the boxes in the trash? Do you have any interesting boxed versions of old software?
I’ve made this blog post and shared these photos in response to a recent thread that was started on the CG discussion forum, CG-TALK – Maya 1.0 Video from 1998.
If you have any early Maya related gear or media, add it to the discussion there!
