To be fair I don't know of any software that offers free support. Generally, support is offered for a period of time after you purchase any piece of software.
When we purchased ArchiCAD we got 1 years worth of support in with the purchase. You don't usually get support when you buy MS word. The difference is that its a far simpler bit of kit, & you figure it out by asking your work or class mates if you have a problem.
I've not really used the student version much as I've got a proper license, but I think it functions in the same way as the normal version, bar the different file format, & the limitations on importing/exporting files.
Therefore, do what other people do, & get your support from here. If the Graphisoft support are as knowledgable as the Autodesk guys, you'll be quicker asking on the forums anyway!
If you want a well written fully functioning piece of kit, you have to Pay for it, as there is no way that open source developers spread all around the world have the same management process to deliver a product as a bunch of well paid guys, sat together in an office, being properly managed to develop software as complex as this.
Look at Open Office. Its pretty good, but its not quite good enough.
Dyllbot, when your designing stuff & earning money, you'll be able to buy the software & it'll be just another cost, like wages, rent, supplies, etc.
Cracked software apart from being illegal is a pain in the ass as it usually doesn't work 100%. Although this might not be a problem for a student, when downtime is costing you money, you've soon paid the cost of a license, if you have staff sat round for a few days whilst your IT guy tries to fix some dodgy software!!!!
