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to renew or not to renew (that is the question)


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well its that time again....should i renew my vss....at 

 £ 550.80

Unfortunately i have never used my V17 release as artlantis render did not provide an export plug in from v17 to artlantis 5...(shameful)  but today i have ordered the artlantis upgrade v6.5....which is compatible to v17

problem solved.....but will there be enough features in the next Vectorworks for me to pay my subscription fees for another 12 months .......i have posted this question before so no yawns please! LOL.....i don't use any of the phone line help so it seems to me that i need some at least an appetizer of maybe some of the new features for v18 to maybe sway me towards i feel a hefty payment.....not as i am saying it's not worth it...if you use

it frequently.....so Vectorworks....a taster of what to come please   many thanks 

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

The forum is available even to those who do not own Vectorworks and I intend to keep it that way. Someday there may be additional forum features linked to Service Select accounts, but I would never approve of removing existing resources from the hands of anyone just because they didn't subscribe.

No word on 2018 features yet, and to be perfectly honest you shouldn't expect a dramatic departure from previous years where we shared a bit a few months in advance of release, but I hope to slowly increase how much is shared and how early. It won't happen all at once though.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

I can't get super specific in pricing discussions here, but I'll break it down as far as I can without going into hard numbers, since those vary from country to country based on local distributor pricing, the exchange rate against the US dollar, and other economic variables:

 

The main drive I see for users subscribing when they don't use the Service Select portal or phone support is the pricing system. If for instance you were already going to upgrade every year, the cheapest way to do that is to subscribe even if you don't use anything else that comes with a subscription. There is still a significant benefit in staying subscribed if you only upgrade every other version, but I believe for users that upgrade only once every three versions then the margin gets a little narrower and they should carefully do the math on upgrade pricing every 3 years as opposed to maintaining a subscription for that same period. If you upgrade only every 4-5 years then I believe there is no price benefit at all to Service Select, but those users are extremely rare, most upgrade at least every 3 years.

 

Now, keep in mind, the logic above is going off of current pricing sheet I have in my office for the United States and doesn't reflect any discounts or promotions that sales is running, which they do very frequently., distributors have control over their own pricing structures and nothing I say here should be taken as a price quote for the US or otherwise.

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My VSS is up for renewal too. The pricing has been pretty consistent over the years and I know my distributor is fighting a losing battle with the exchange rate between the Canadian and US dollars. I expect Phil may be seeing the same sort of exchange issue given that the pound tanked after the Brexit vote. I find VW an important tool so I will keep my subscription current.

 

I agree that the timing of my renewal isn't great in relationship to the VW development cycle specifically when it comes to information about the new version. This is entirely on NV since they initially delayed implementing VSS in Canada. I believe most of the American subscriptions are on a September cycle for renewal. My C4D schedule is much better, where I have full information about the new version (usually July) before my renewal in late August.

 

Kevin

 

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
6 minutes ago, Kevin McAllister said:

 

I agree that the timing of my renewal isn't great in relationship to the VW development cycle specifically when it comes to information about the new version. This is entirely on NV since they initially delayed implementing VSS in Canada. I believe most of the American subscriptions are on a September cycle for renewal. My C4D schedule is much better, where I have full information about the new version (usually July) before my renewal in late August.

 

 

I'd actually been meaning to take a look at this. Currently the contract renewal date is simply pegged to the date at which the user last purchased or upgraded their contract. It happens to fall most commonly I think in mid September and late December, but I'm pretty sure this is just because of the hype surrounding release driving more upgrades and new users as well as the major discounts offered near the end of the fiscal year.

However, it seems to me that letting users select their own date (not constantly let them change it to abuse the system of course, but allow them to alter every few renewals or so) to fit not only their own work schedules but also sync up with development cycles if they follow them closely or use the feature lists to decide if they're going to upgrade that year or not as many users do. I do know that many different purchasing models and pricing systems are being looked into as future options but I am not sure if the date itself is being considered. I'll give those folks running those projects a poke and see.

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18 minutes ago, JimW said:

 

I'd actually been meaning to take a look at this. Currently the contract renewal date is simply pegged to the date at which the user last purchased or upgraded their contract. It happens to fall most commonly I think in mid September and late December, but I'm pretty sure this is just because of the hype surrounding release driving more upgrades and new users as well as the major discounts offered near the end of the fiscal year.

However, it seems to me that letting users select their own date (not constantly let them change it to abuse the system of course, but allow them to alter every few renewals or so) to fit not only their own work schedules but also sync up with development cycles if they follow them closely or use the feature lists to decide if they're going to upgrade that year or not as many users do. I do know that many different purchasing models and pricing systems are being looked into as future options but I am not sure if the date itself is being considered. I'll give those folks running those projects a poke and see.

 

Contrary to my original comments, there are some good things about when my renewal date falls. When I make the renewal the decision is entirely based on how I feel about VW as a tool, not about what the next development cycle will bring. Honestly when I compare the cost to how much I use VW, its not that bad. It also means when the September release comes around it feels like Christmas since it feels like its "free" :-)

 

KM

 

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that's a good point kevin...i guess £46.00 a month is not a bad price....just wish i could spread this across 12 months like my adobe subscription.....just softens the blow a bit.....i know when the time comes around for the new release i will kick myself if there's something in the new release that would have benefited me.....my main operation is 3d modelling and plans in that order, i find the software the best out there for my particular needs....thanks

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
2 hours ago, Phil hunt said:

.i guess £46.00 a month is not a bad price....just wish i could spread this across 12 months like my adobe subscription.....just softens the blow a bit


This is something I personally believe we should offer as a purchasing option.

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The only people I wouldn't recommend upgrading regularly are those who only work in 2D. And if you are doing anything more complicated that line drawings (Process flow diagrams [PFDs], Pipe and Instrument Diagram [P&IDs], electrical plans, flow charts) I would probably recommend that you upgrade regularly.

 

If you are doing primarily 3D, they you should certainly plan on upgrading.  All of the newer 3D stuff is still in the process of being improved. I know NOTHING (hat tip to Sgt. Schultz, was Hogan's Heros ever shown in the UK?), but I would be tremendously disappointed and shocked if there are not more substantial improvements in the next version to Subdivision objects, Curtain Walls, Rendering.

 

My $0.02.

 

 

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59 minutes ago, Pat Stanford said:

 I would be tremendously disappointed and shocked if there are not more substantial improvements in the next version to Subdivision objects, Curtain Walls, Rendering.

 

My $0.02.

 

 

 

Just curious...  What makes you think that curtain walls would make the targeted improvement list.  I personally would be thrilled, but I would bet that something "more exciting" would be a priority.   

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I still struggle wth the subdivision tool I would like this to as easy as the FORM Z software it has pull handles in all directions and is very easy to manipulate.....I did post a screen grab some time ago it's a great feature ....that's one area I think could be developed which would certainly make my life a bit easier when modelling ergonomic shapes.....not complaining....just an observation 

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6 hours ago, MRD Mark Ridgewell said:

CAVEAT: I would pay MORE to develop the product tools and user interface, NOT to fund a help desk for when tools either don't work (as I'd expect them to) or I can't easily work out how to use them

 

 

Hmmm, I would definitely pay a little more if it went to growing @JimW's team. Its how the first part of what you asked for will happen -

 

6 hours ago, MRD Mark Ridgewell said:

I might regret saying this, but I would accept paying more per month if Vectorworks were made more intuitive and user friendly, and demonstrably increased my productivity.

 

 

Kevin

 

Edited by Kevin McAllister
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7 hours ago, cberg said:

 

Just curious...  What makes you think that curtain walls would make the targeted improvement list.  I personally would be thrilled, but I would bet that something "more exciting" would be a priority.   

Firstly that so many people are complaining about it. It makes me think that there is room for improvement. Second, it is a relatively new tool, it was only introduced in 2016. Usually it takes more than 1 round of changes to get something that complicated working as well as possible.

 

Same thinking about Subdivision. Close but not there yet.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well to the general topic, even given that my long time subscription price was increased by 17% and I no longer pay for  the Renderworks package which all now get for "free" (as annoying as that is) it is worth subscribing.

Just the addition of the Resource Manager (even as complex as it has to be), the interior elevation tool, and the flat roof tool made it worth it.

 

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  • 1 month later...

so i have a week to make my mind up to renew....i really do want to but as a 3d modeler do we think.....as a group there will be significant changes in this area.....so as you can hear i am 50/50 to renew or not but as its a fair chunk of cash.....one minute it's yes and the next maybe......I guess the group will be guessing to......i wish I was a fly on the wall at vectorworks....

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Phil,

 

Have you ever tried to go back 2 or 3 versions of VW and actually do any work? I have in several cases, and the incremental upgrades that improve the workflow tend to be astounding. If you are doing professional work, I strongly encourage you to figure out how to budget for the upgrades. And budget some time to learn what is new. If you just import your old workspace, you won't get many of the benefits of the new version.

 

As I stated above, I expect to see major improvements in 2018. Subdivision modeling, Curtain walls, Renderworks improvements. Plus lots of little stuff to make life easier and better. The people I know at VW are all very engaged and working diligently to make the product better.

 

I once new a carpenter who had worn the claws on his claw hammer down about 90%. So far that he could not use it to pull most nails. So every time he needed to pull nails he had to stop and get a different tool. But it was his favorite hammer and nothing else would ever be as good. Probably true, but it made him pretty inefficient. Don't be that carpenter with your tools.

 

My $0.02

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1 hour ago, Phil hunt said:

i really do want to but as a 3d modeler do we think.

 

13 minutes ago, Pat Stanford said:

As I stated above, I expect to see major improvements in 2018. Subdivision modeling,

 

If you include texturing in 3D modelling (which I certainly do) then unless there is UV mapping of some kind then 'more-or-less' the Sub-D tool is dead in the water as is evidenced by the general lack of posts on it (check out the SubD board)

 

Edited by barkest
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