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Affinity Designer Customer Beta (1.9.0.2)


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1 hour ago, MattP said:

special discount for 1.x version owners,

C'mon guys ... Affinity Designer is $50 and you have been getting large, free functionality updates since 2014(!!!).
I don't think it would be fair to even ask for ANY special pricing or discount after getting THAT much for a small one-time price.

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2 hours ago, Jens Krebs said:
4 hours ago, MattP said:

special discount for 1.x version owners,

C'mon guys ... Affinity Designer is $50 and you have been getting large, free functionality updates since 2014(!!!).
I don't think it would be fair to even ask for ANY special pricing or discount after getting THAT much for a small one-time price.

For the record, I was the one who mentioned a special discount, not @MattP & I was not suggesting that there should be. I think the prices have always been fair. In fact, I would not object to a higher price for version 2 if I thought a greatly expanded feature set justified it.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
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1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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@R C-R I wouldn't mind it if ver 2.0 had a higher price tag as well. We also know Affinity needs to make money, so I can see Affinity Introducing a pricing model like the UI app Sketch. For example you still buy the app for $50 but you only get free updates for 12 or 24 months. After that time you continue using the current version you have forever and when you feel like upgrading again you pay a discounted amount of like $30. 

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@dsnaps12

Pricing should not be complicated nor encourage the user base to be scattered or fragmented across multiple versions of the software. The price and frequency of paid licenses should strike the right balance between covering operating costs for development, marketing and support, and making the purchase decision a no-brainer. 

The pricing strategy must cover cost + modest profit, but remain attractive enough to grow the user base, where everyone can afford to stay up-to-date — no user base fragmentation.

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8 hours ago, Jens Krebs said:

C'mon guys ... Affinity Designer is $50 and you have been getting large, free functionality updates since 2014(!!!).
I don't think it would be fair to even ask for ANY special pricing or discount after getting THAT much for a small one-time price.

I personally would not have any issues with paying the full price for 2.0 depending on the features that it will launch with. That said, it is in everyone's best interest that customers upgrade, and discounts for older customers are a way to do that. It helps create customer loyalty for those early adopters and it gives incentive to move over just not miss out.

I am sure that Serif already have their business model figured out. Really have no complaints regarding their pricing model, so they just can keep doing what they are already doing. 

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Serif has often placed milestone releases on sale for a short time upon release (such as the release of Publisher when it first came out) and existing customers are typically notified of those sales.

A 2.0 release might follow that pattern, and customers who jump on it would get the "discount" of the sale pricing?

Just hypothesizing, but it would seem to fit the pattern they have established so far.

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1 hour ago, fde101 said:

Serif has often placed milestone releases on sale for a short time upon release (such as the release of Publisher when it first came out) and existing customers are typically notified of those sales.

They have offered sale prices a number of times for different reasons. In addition to their own notifications to their existing customers, it has been newsworthy enough that several other sites that keep tabs on hardware & software prices have mentioned these sales.

My guess is they will do this for the 2.0 releases as well, because it is a very effective way to enlarge their user base beyond the existing one.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
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1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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On 9/23/2020 at 9:18 AM, MattP said:

Yes, I was talking to Ash about Mesh Fills, not geometry distortion/warping... They're obviously very similar concepts, but a mesh fill has less consequences for the document structure and rendering so is easier to slide in without any architecture changes...

I really don't know why anyone would want mesh fills. They exist in Illustrator, I avoid them like the plague. They're impossible to manage, a pain to create, they're simply awful. If you're considering adding this so people can have multiple flowing colours in one shape, then consider... err... taking inspiration from Illustrator free form gradients. They'll serve most people's needs, and are so, but so, much easier to manage. Of course if we're going into personal requests, then my top vote will always be global colours on the iPad and a 'full rewrite' of the swatches panel on the desktop.

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I like the new select menu. It's a huge improvement and will save me a bunch of time converting the colors in PDF files to real black rather than the RGB blacks output by MS word. That will work with other things too!

I'm not sure about the contour tool that the stroke (or appearance) couldn't do before, other than the bake feature. The stroke width can accommodate by creating an outline and then sending it to the back. Another current option in 1.8.4 is outline in the FX panel. Both ways are recognized in our RIP. What advantage am I missing in the contour tool?

Great job to all of you at Serif!

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I'm finding the contour tool somewhat puzzling as well.  It does have the "Fill" options on the context toolbar which give it at least some small utility (though I'm not quite sure what the difference between the first and last options are yet), but I'm otherwise hoping they aren't quite finished with that tool yet as it seems there is a lot of potential for it that is currently left untapped.

For example, in the Appearance panel, it would be nice to be able to target a stroke to the outline of the contour or to the original shape (or both), and a fill to the area between the original shape and the contour, etc...

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Wait, what? So you are already dreaming about mesh gradients when all you got this time is a contour tool that could certainly need a line of code more and more options - this meager first take is more like a POC. And I think it is. A little bone thrown into 1.9 prematurely.

Serif should probably fix the divide boolean after 5+ years and 30+ in the business first. Then introduce vector brushes made of... actual vector. Real vector brushes. Not bitmap brushes on a vector path. Expand stroke is still not mature either.

I need to see complex math work - and work properly - in Designer before I dare to dream about other types of features.

And let Serif charge for version 2.0 whatever it takes to make a proper update. 6 years of free updates must count for a discount. You got free minor updates and no major updates so far. Congratulations.

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On 9/30/2020 at 7:31 AM, LCamachoDesign said:

I really don't know why anyone would want mesh fills. They exist in Illustrator, I avoid them like the plague. They're impossible to manage, a pain to create, they're simply awful. If you're considering adding this so people can have multiple flowing colours in one shape, then consider... err... taking inspiration from Illustrator free form gradients. They'll serve most people's needs, and are so, but so, much easier to manage. Of course if we're going into personal requests, then my top vote will always be global colours on the iPad and a 'full rewrite' of the swatches panel on the desktop.

Gotta say I tend to agree with your comments on the mesh fill tool/feature. I used to use them a ton in illustrator back in the day for soft gradient transitions where I needed something more than a linear or radial gradient. They did offer a solution at that time but were a pain to work with and make adjustments on and they got complex and unwieldy really fast if you're using it for realism, all of those intersecting bezier lines- ughh!. I haven't touched them for years now.

I find in Designer when I need that kind of effect now, I pop into pixel persona and with the right brush depending on what you need you're all set. This workflow allows for way more options with the 100's of brushes available and much more control for making changes and adjustments. To be honest, I probably wouldn't even use a mesh tool if it was added to Designer, (depends of course on how it's implemented) for me that would be a big step backwards in my workflow.

No, I'd much rather the Affinity team spent some quality time developing tools in in other areas - like some hot damn vector based distortion tools for objects and text. ;-) 

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I appreciate all the things Affinity is adding in to Designer/Photo/Publisher - I love that it's not just like other vector apps - things are well thought out, efficient and streamlined.
Loving the new 1.9 features so far.
I have no issue with a mesh fill tool/feature, but I agree with the others, it's a lower priority to me than other vital features that would allow me to switch fully to Affinity full time.

Everyone has their own biased list of "most important"  features - but there seems to be a strong consensus that we need vector-based distortion tools for objects and text, pure 100% vector brushes, cleaner boolean operations - (each time I add several expanded overlapped strokes together it leaves a mess of unattached nodes, sometimes the pieces i am adding together disappear entirely)
Maybe less important to others but certainly vital to me - a vector eraser tool, smooth tool and blob brush equivalent (vector work can be more "artistic" this way) and a more professional print setup

Down the line adding a 3D effect or the mesh fill tool/feature once the most universally needed tools are added that allow us to let go of Adobe and Corel and other fully.

Just my thoughts

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5 hours ago, Boldlinedesign said:

I appreciate all the things Affinity is adding in to Designer/Photo/Publisher - I love that it's not just like other vector apps - things are well thought out, efficient and streamlined.
Loving the new 1.9 features so far.
I have no issue with a mesh fill tool/feature, but I agree with the others, it's a lower priority to me than other vital features that would allow me to switch fully to Affinity full time.

Everyone has their own biased list of "most important"  features - but there seems to be a strong consensus that we need vector-based distortion tools for objects and text, pure 100% vector brushes, cleaner boolean operations - (each time I add several expanded overlapped strokes together it leaves a mess of unattached nodes, sometimes the pieces i am adding together disappear entirely)
Maybe less important to others but certainly vital to me - a vector eraser tool, smooth tool and blob brush equivalent (vector work can be more "artistic" this way) and a more professional print setup

Down the line adding a 3D effect or the mesh fill tool/feature once the most universally needed tools are added that allow us to let go of Adobe and Corel and other fully.

Just my thoughts

Amen brother!

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13 hours ago, Boldlinedesign said:

I appreciate all the things Affinity is adding in to Designer/Photo/Publisher - I love that it's not just like other vector apps - things are well thought out, efficient and streamlined.
Loving the new 1.9 features so far.
I have no issue with a mesh fill tool/feature, but I agree with the others, it's a lower priority to me than other vital features that would allow me to switch fully to Affinity full time.

Everyone has their own biased list of "most important"  features - but there seems to be a strong consensus that we need vector-based distortion tools for objects and text, pure 100% vector brushes, cleaner boolean operations - (each time I add several expanded overlapped strokes together it leaves a mess of unattached nodes, sometimes the pieces i am adding together disappear entirely)
Maybe less important to others but certainly vital to me - a vector eraser tool, smooth tool and blob brush equivalent (vector work can be more "artistic" this way) and a more professional print setup

Down the line adding a 3D effect or the mesh fill tool/feature once the most universally needed tools are added that allow us to let go of Adobe and Corel and other fully.

Just my thoughts

Boldlinedesign --- you nailed it as far as I'm concerned - all the above would give us the bare basics to complete work solely using Affinity - vector-based distortion tools would also be my most needed "NEED" - Mesh fill would be a nice addition for version 2 or 3 as there are really easy workarounds to achieve the same result now - simplify path tool would also be handy

1602058118_Screenshot2020-10-05at09_00_24.png.e136467499c835645484b7237878cc0d.png

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20 hours ago, Boldlinedesign said:

Everyone has their own biased list of "most important"  features - but there seems to be a strong consensus that we need vector-based distortion tools for objects and text, pure 100% vector brushes, cleaner boolean operations - (each time I add several expanded overlapped strokes together it leaves a mess of unattached nodes, sometimes the pieces i am adding together disappear entirely)

Cleaner boolean operations is a must of course. But the others, I'm not so sure, to me they'd be 'nice to have' but not critical.

I personally think there's two areas that need the most attention right now:

  1. Swatches panel: Colouring artwork is the basic of the basics. This panel needs to work reliably all the time, and right now there's a few bugs that need cleaning up. Another very important area is the missing features, stuff like selecting multiple swatches to delete/move at once, select all unused swatches, merge swatches, and a better UI to edit them. Colouring is basics, it needs to be solid.
  2. Vector patterns: right now the Fill tool supports patterns, but only bitmap ones. The entirety of the textile industry lives off vector patterns, by continuing to ignore it you're leaving a whole industry out of the loop. Other industries rely on these too, like stationary and to a lesser extent, branding. Right now the quick and dirty solution would be to rename the fill tool 'Bitmap' option to 'File', and allow it to open and use AFDESIGN, EPS and PDF files as patterns, without rasterization obviously. This doesn't solve creating them, but it does solve applying. Obviously the best option would be a full integrated solution like in Illustrator, but you know the saying, excellent is the enemy of good.
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mesh fill : In AI, it works only with basic shapes. We don't need it in AD.

vector patterns : very important for me. I'm very frustrated with bitmap images. It's a pity when you export in PDF : all lines are clean and bitmap patterns are in low resolution if you are not aware about that.

blend tool and deformation tool : a priority too

Adding a spiral tool would be great.

 

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58 minutes ago, Boldlinedesign said:

@LCamachoDesign Those are valid points about patterns. I don't do a ton of work with patterns myself, so it wasn't on my "urgent need" list - but it's certainly important

Yeah, and another thing. My 'File' suggestion (which I've amended to include EPS files) would work wonders for stock patterns. If you hop onto GraphicRiver, ColourBox, Creative Market, etc... all the patterns you can buy there are already stand alone tiles that can be repeated just by placing them next to each other. By being able to open and use these files with the Fill tool the vector pattern issue would be... reduced. Like I said, excellent is the enemy of good, and with the very slow release schedules of Affinity, any quick patch that can be slipped into minor releases is a welcome reprieve. 

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1 hour ago, lenogre said:

vector patterns : very important for me.

And me +1 - Guess the general consensus regarding Mesh fill/gradient is there's far more important "missing basics" whereas Mesh fill/gradient is a nice "feature" that may come in handy once in a while, especially if there would be a way to generate vector gradients on output  

Daz1.png

Mac Pro Cheese-grater (Early 2009) 2.93 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon 48 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 ECC Ram, Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 580 8GB GDDR5, Ugee 19" Graphics Tablet Monitor Triple boot via OCLP 1.2.1 - Mac OS Monterey 12.7.1, Sonoma 14.1.1 and Mojave 10.14.6

Affinity Publisher, Designer and Photo 1.10.5 - 2.2.1

www.bingercreative.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

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The problem is this:

It is five years already (an eternity in software design) and the programs are still riddled with bugs.
Some features that are being mentioned were talked about years ago.

You can't live off potential forever.
They have to take a big step forward at some point and fix the bugs that are there for starters.

 

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