myclay

This thread is the only reason I log into this site now…. because I’m a sadist apparently…. and wouldn’t you know? They spent time and presumably money updating the forum since my last login, but apparently NONE on the subject of the longest running thread (of any import) on said forum. Oh, the bitter irony.
Someone once said that Serif were just controlled opposition for Adobe… I dismissed the “conspiracy theory” at the time, but time itself makes a convincing argument.
Canva will eat both of them, and I won’t shed one tear.

Vectorstyler is a terrific vector editing application and is not SaaS

I've been in the graphics business since the early 90s and have seen a few of these takeovers. Experience teaches us not to trust the acquiring company, because these companies are primarily interested in the customer base of the acquired company and the money of its users, not in making the products better.
And the announcements about the pricing model are just as similar as the statements made by the CEOs of the acquired companies. "A great future in a great partnership with the new partner. Great things are already shining on the horizon." And so on, and so on. All heard umpteen times before. And the real development has been seen umpteen times.
And the contributions to the discussion are the same every time, including the call to have a little faith in the companies. It's all been done before.

The sad part is they actually don't. As both an Affinity AND Adobe user, I much prefer the user interface and consistency between Affinity apps, but that's about as far as things go. Personally, I've had many freezes, crashes and slowdowns in Affinity. There's a slather of missing functions in Affinity apps that have been in competitor (including free) software for years, file compatibility issues with commercial software etc. I honestly can't recall my last crash or instability issue with Adobe software. So, with that argument in mind, subscription or not, if the Affinity software doesn't receive a decent injection of functionally and stability under Canva, I'll gladly stop paying for it. Many of us are here simply because of Affinity's visions, and that one day the software might be close to perfect. I have no loyalty to Canva, and personally don't like them as a company.

awful, terrible news
sigh, guess i have to keep looking ...

This is great news for everyone who believes in subscription services, BUT, someone missed the fact that those people are not Affinity users.
Let's be very clear, the userbase will drop Affinity when subscriptions arrive. 
FYI marketing folks, you can't upsell against users core beliefs.
A bad day for Affinity users  
 

I wish I waited and didn't buy the Version 2 when it launched. Another purchase that I've regretted.
I've always sing praises for Affinity Suite to all my colleagues and have completely built my workflow for the Suite for the past 5-6 years. Even though I have two decades worth of experience with Adobe, I have completely switched because of my complete trust with Serif. I've used the apps for my professional and personal work and was happy. 
With this acquisition, Affinity as a brand will be gone in a few years. As Canva, I don't think I'd want to sell a "pro" app under a different name for their subscription service for Enterprise.
It's been a good run Affinity. If I can refund my purchase of V2, I would.
Another lesson not to associate my work with a tool. Removing all mention of Affinity and hashtags on all my work.

As with other Affinity users, I'm not at all convinced this is a good move. The wording in the FAQ saying there are no planned changes to the current price model 'at this time' is very concerning. That wording has been chosen by Serif as they cannot guarantee that this will not change.
If there is any inkling of a change to a subscription model, Affinity will lose me. I have used Affinity and recommended it to other people on the primary basis it was a professional package from a smaller, more independent company, not restricted by subscription pricing. As a designer, I have never looked at Canva as being on the same level as Serif professionally. Canva is a tool for non-professionals so the combining of the two companies to me feels like a dumbing-down of Affinity.
Unfortunately, my initial impression of this sale is that Serif have sold themselves out for a mess of pottage...

Don't delude yourself, the majority of your user base are here because Adobe embraced the morally bankrupt Software as a Service model and they looked for a perpetual license alternative, and for no other reason. You touted perpetual licenses front and centre, and as someone who works for a multi-national software and services company I know that if you betray your customer base's trust they do not forgive and they do not forget lightly.
I dropped Adobe like a stone the moment they went Software as a Service, the model of "rent your software, pay for eternity, spend thousands, and the moment you stop paying you have NOTHING". I will never RENT my software, software ISN'T a service, it's an end product.
I dropped Abode and never looked back, I dropped Cinema 4D like a stone when they went to a subscription model (after saying they would offer both perpetual and subscription models together... which lasted all of 2 years) and never looked back.
Rest assured I, and quite likely a very large percentage of your user base, will drop you like a stone and move on should Affinity go to a subscription model, because your perpetual licensing is the only thing that attracted us to your software over Abode.

The fact that you sold yourselves (didn't even go into partnership) after only two months of starting a conversation rings alarm bells, you are now a subsidiary, you are no longer the master of your own destiny, you are a servant, only able to doff your cap and say "yes sir" at Canva's command.
Excuse the cynicism, but we have lived this software story FAR too many times before, and it has never ended well. I hope this will be the exception to the rule. Actions speak louder than words. We shall wait to see what SaaS company Canva's actions turn out to be.

Perhaps a written declaration, a "verbal contract" if you will, between yourselves and your customers that your software will NEVER drop its perpetual license model, and that its pricing will never be inflated to such unreasonable levels to try and force people on to a future parallel subscription service?

Everything said here today means nothing; it's what happens in the future that matters. I'm taking it easy but starting to move my eggs to another basket.
There aren't many eggs - as far as the program trio is concerned, it has never looked like a good long-term investment due to the company's operations and the products' algorithms.
But today, the seeds have been sown for quite significant uncertainty for the customers, regardless of what is said and how it is wrapped in business nonsense, so please take your precautions out there as adults, and let any fanboys sit and recite their self-comforting monologues - in shock. They were wrong.

I'm pretty sure that Macromedia and Freehand also saw a bright future on the horizon...
 
So yeah, a subscription based V3 is just around the corner.

It's time to make a copy of the available installers, in the next ones maybe they will put "fixes" that will "encourage" a permanent relationship through the wallet.
 
ps. capitalism is the biggest blight.

Sounds like “hello subscription, goodbye freedom”. 

I have been trained when ever I read "An exciting announcement" that bad news is coming as someone that depends on that thing. The truth is, we have seen this story time and time again and know it very rarely winds up being a good thing.

I want to believe you. But also I want you to know that at this instant moment, you are haemorrhaging your trust and credibility at the creative community on Mastodon. I can see nothing but despair and deception on my timeline.

Honestly Ash this is not first time I am seeing this, and none of what you say now, really kept. All of the software that I use, and that were purchased like this, end up as only subscription model, and their development pace was cut half. Same talk. Same promises and wishes, and outcome is always the same. It would be huge surprise for me that different happens to Affinity.

Add me to the list who will drop Affinity like a hot potato if Canva turn it into a subscription model. I don't care how good the software is. The transition from Adobe to Affinity apps wasn't without pain but I did it on principle. I will do the same again.

Hi, Ash.
That's yet to be seen.
 
The only surprises that I like are for birthday parties.
 
And that's because we've seen this story time and time again.
 
I'm truly thankful for all you've done since the first Beta of Affinity Designer up until yesterday, but I'm afraid we'll come back to this conversation down the road and talk about the new surprises we'll see.
Bes regards!

First red flag I saw was 'To our amazing Affinity community,'
The second was 'I am thrilled to announce that ... ".
Which usually means 'We have been made an offer we can't refuse.'
A quick google brings "Canva has made its largest acquisition to date, likely spending more than $1 billion to buy professional design software company Serif to compete directly with Adobe as its prepares a long run at going public."
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
I'd certainly be thrilled to announce that (jingle jingle).
From the FAQ's ' Canva’s business model is subscription, are there any plans to change how Affinity is sold?'
Answer: 'There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time, ... ', which likely means, after 'this time', uhmmm (whispers) 'yes.'
Affinity marks Canva’s latest Europe-based acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened their first European HQ in 2023, based in London.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240325965656/en/Canva-Acquires-Design-Platform-Affinity-to-Bring-Professional-Design-Tools-to-Every-Organization
Oh well, good bye and thanks for all the fish, it was great while it lasted.

We were sold version 2 on the understanding that all point releases would be free. If 2.5 turns out to be a paid upgrade, huge swathes of users will abandon ship.

Considering how many “funds” Canva has “raised” in the past few years and how many venture capital campanies are involved, I have a VERY bad feeling about this.
The forced marketing speech (“joining the family”, yeah, sure) in the announcement doesn’t halp.
I guess that it’s probably a good way for all Serif employees to get a nice retirement in 3 to 5 years, but it’s a buckshot in the face for me as a happy user and supporter of an independent company that makes professional software I use every day.

Canva is a subscription model, as Serif inform us themselves. So much for the 'No Subscriptions' tagline. We'll be 'allowed' to keep our current version, then from the next 0.1 revision we'll be offered a discount. 

The writing is on the wall. Serif have sold out.

A few days ago I bought V2 universal and now I wish I didn't. If you will get subscription I think your software will die. It is okay to pay for a new major Version. But if you force to pay with a subscription, you will loose your fans and customers.

Yeah, I’ve not a good feeling about it. 
 
That reads to me as, from v3 it’ll be different. 
 
I really really hope we don’t get any Canva crap to deal with and subscription stays away. I’m not that loyal. 
 
 

We’ve all been around the block and saw what happened to PaintShopPro when Corel acquired it (and how it turned into a bloated horrible mess). I feel sad that the Affinity apps will head in the same direction. Really is a sad day.