When will the next beta version be released?

[Oval]

21 hours ago, Boldlinedesign said:

Releasing version 2 of affinity would open that large portion of existing users

Many of them will not pay for something again that was announced for their paid old version.

[nomi02118]

Publisher for iPad coming this summer is the best news I have had in a LONG time. 

[Boldlinedesign]

On 4/16/2022 at 9:56 AM, Oval said:

Many of them will not pay for something again that was announced for their paid old version.

I'm not trying to defend affinity here because all of those features listed on the original roadmap should have been part of affinity's version one by now. That said, it seems they took some unexpected detours by revising their code and focusing more on ways to connect the three programs together in a better way.

It's been years since I last saw that infamous roadmap on the forum and I can't remember if they ever promised for sure those features would be in version one or off that was their goal. 

Just looking at the way things have gone so far and the years upon years with only minor features improvements, even if the next release was massive, how many more years until another massive collection of features is ready to justify a paid upgrade to version 2.0?

[PaulEC]

5 minutes ago, Boldlinedesign said:

all of those features listed on the original roadmap should have been part of affinity's version one by now

That is one reason why Serif stopped having a public roadmap.

Roadmaps by their very nature must be subject to change and revision. There are often unexpected problems (coding problems, changes made by third party's, conflicts between one feature and another etc etc,) and things beyond the developers control, that affect the ability to deliver everything on a roadmap within any particular time frame. (Little things like pandemics, wars and international financial problems!)

The problem is that some people insist that everything that was ever mentioned on a roadmap is an unbreakable promise, written on stone, and consider they have been let down if a company is forced, over time, to change their roadmap.

[Boldlinedesign]

Affinity has been extra slow adding what many consider basic features. The roadmap came out many years ago and since then, only small fraction of things were added to their programs. Designer in particular seems to have gotten the  most neglect. Designer was released eight years ago and we're still waiting for standard  features. 

Blaming the pandemic and global financial jiitters and war for their glacial pace is ridiculous. Everyone else has to keep working and producing no matter the constant distractions of world events. Affinity shouldn't get a special pass on this.

 

[PaulEC]

1 hour ago, Boldlinedesign said:

Everyone else has to keep working and producing no matter the constant distractions of world events.

Of course, as far as possible, but the point is that lots of business's are affected by outside factors, over which they have no control. (There are many businesses that have gone down thanks to not being able to trade for a couple of years! They couldn't just "keep working and producing" with no customers.)

I'm sorry, but it is totally unrealistic and simplistic to think that any and every plan, made at some point in the past, will never have to be revised or rethought come what may.

 

 

 

[Ecifircas]

Considering their low price compared to Adobe, I would not object to pay again for a version 2.0, even it its features where initially planned to be included in 1.x.

[Arte]

19 hours ago, Ecifircas said:

Considering their low price compared to Adobe, I would not object to pay again for a version 2.0, even it its features where initially planned to be included in 1.x.

Ditto here, we got a few years of updates (sometimes big updates) without having to pay additional money, there are few commercial companies who do this at this price level.

[PaulEC]

Serif have actually added many new features and improvements in V1 for free. I have no idea how many of these were, or were not, in the original public roadmap (which is now irrelevant as it no longer exists), but I don't really care.

I can't really see what it matters if something was "originally planned for V1". It ain't there now! If it's in V2 and you want it, buy V2. If you don't want it, don't buy V2. Simples! 

[dsnaps12]

It hasn't been a year yet since 1.10.5 so there will probably be something soon. Heck I am still discovering things in the current release and whenever the next update arrives I would hope there are updates to the core features like more path and node editing options etc.

[dsnaps12]

I guess a beta for ver 2.0 will be next.  
this was posted on Twitter today. 

[Oval]

18 hours ago, dsnaps12 said:

a beta for ver 2.0 will be next

Well, it was not asked for a 1.X version.

[DesignerUSA]

From there it seems that there is already a beta test for version 2.0

https://aecmag.com/technology/serif-affinity-for-aec-firms/#:~:text=Version 2 of the suite,a slew of new capabilities.

 

Quote

Version 2 of the suite is due out in 2022 and promises to bring a slew of new capabilities. One customer who is beta testing V2 told me it will also make the switch from Adobe ‘even easier’, acknowledging some ‘growing pains’ in the initial transition.

 

[000]

Very exciting -- do you think we'll hear something around WWDC in early June? Would be a nice occasion to show Publisher on iPad ...

[Oval]

13 hours ago, Jens Krebs said:

we'll hear something around WWDC in early June?

We will hear very much. (the launch of APu was announced for 2015 and years later we still had no suite …)

[clem]

On 5/10/2022 at 10:41 PM, DesignerUSA said:

From there it seems that there is already a beta test for version 2.0

https://aecmag.com/technology/serif-affinity-for-aec-firms/#:~:text=Version 2 of the suite,a slew of new capabilities.

 

 

From what I read version 2.0 seems to be a great advance! Support of DXF will be very useful ! 

[GRAFKOM]

Ostatnio prace nad programami Affinity znacznie zwolniły, a nawet ostatnie aktualizacje były poprawkami. Mówi się, że Serif nie ma informatyków, którzy mogliby dalej rozwijać programy Affinity.
Dwa lub trzy lata temu prawdopodobnie pracowali inni specjaliści IT, ponieważ wtedy można było zobaczyć postęp z kolejnymi aktualizacjami i dodano nowe funkcje (w ramach wersji 1.0)
Teraz wszystko się zatrzymało. W tych 3 programach jest mnóstwo błędów i niedociągnięć.
A teraz są dwie opcje: albo będzie awaryjna wersja 2.0 ze naprawionymi błędami i nowymi funkcjami (bez wersji beta?) Albo jest to koniec Serif, który wycofuje się z rynku.

[Patrick Connor]

18 hours ago, GRAFKOM said:

Ostatnio prace nad programami Affinity znacznie zwolniły, a nawet ostatnie aktualizacje były poprawkami. Mówi się, że Serif nie ma informatyków, którzy mogliby dalej rozwijać programy Affinity.
Dwa lub trzy lata temu prawdopodobnie pracowali inni specjaliści IT, ponieważ wtedy można było zobaczyć postęp z kolejnymi aktualizacjami i dodano nowe funkcje (w ramach wersji 1.0)
Teraz wszystko się zatrzymało. W tych 3 programach jest mnóstwo błędów i niedociągnięć.
A teraz są dwie opcje: albo będzie awaryjna wersja 2.0 ze naprawionymi błędami i nowymi funkcjami (bez wersji beta?) Albo jest to koniec Serif, który wycofuje się z rynku.

Quote

Recently, work on Affinity programs has slowed down significantly, and even recent updates have been fixes.

There are fewer public fixes currently, but that is typical in that we make a major release 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10 and after each do a series of releases that are mainly bug fixes with fewer fixes in each till the next major release

Obecnie jest mniej publicznych poprawek, ale jest to typowe, ponieważ tworzymy główne wydanie 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, a po każdym wykonujemy serię wydań, które są głównie poprawkami błędów z mniejszą liczbą poprawek w każdym aż do następnego wydania głównego

Quote

It is said that Serif has no IT specialists to further develop Affinity programs.

Two or three years ago, other IT specialists were probably working, because then you could see the progress with the next updates and new features were added (as part of version 1.0)

I have not seen that and it is not true. All the developers who worked on 1.7, 1.8 1.9 etc are still employed by Serif. We have an amazing retention rate, and have recently taken on a number of new staff. 

Nie widziałem tego i to nieprawda. Wszyscy programiści, którzy pracowali nad 1.7, 1.8, 1.9 itd., nadal są zatrudnieni przez Serif. Mamy niesamowity wskaźnik retencji, a ostatnio zatrudniliśmy wielu nowych pracowników.

Quote

Now everything has stopped. There are tons of bugs and shortcomings in these 3 programs.
And now there are two options: either there will be a fallback version 2.0 with fixed bugs and new features (no beta?) Or it is the end of Serif which is withdrawing from the market.

Work continues apace, to fix bugs and add new features, both of which take time. Have faith, Onwards!

Prace trwają szybko, aby naprawić błędy i dodać nowe funkcje, które wymagają czasu. Miej wiarę, naprzód!

[Aongus Collins]

I can't understand the negativity in some of the posts on this thread.

The Affinity suite is very much under active development, with six updates in 2021 alone, and a patch in March this year. The focus seems to be on refining the details for a professional workflow rather than on feature parity with other platforms. Serif has made it clear elsewhere that a major upgrade is in the works for 2022, and it will be a paid upgrade.

Affinity's value is outstanding, for software which (for me) delivers fully professional results in both newspaper and magazine illustration and greeting cards. 

For comparison, the Creative Cloud multi-app plan that most professionals use costs $600 or €737 annually -- more than 4 times the once-off cost of licensing all 3 Affinity apps. 

Even plugins for Adobe Illustrator are now adopting the subscription model. Phantasm now costs $140 a year plus tax (23% where I live). Again more than all three Affinity apps combined. Another plugin, EXDF-Pro (for importing DXF files) is $99 a year plus tax.

So I'll be happy to support a paid once-off upgrade given the alternative!

No inside information, but I wouldn't be surprised if Serif made some announcement next month to coincide with the Apple developer conference.

[Sam Neil]

I can only echo Aongus's words. Affinity suite has been a god sent for me for my book projects and it delivers outstanding results and value for money. I don't what I would do without the trio. (Although I use Publisher & Designer the most). Good on you Serif. Keep it up!!! 

[DragonWhimsy]

On 5/13/2022 at 4:10 AM, Aongus Collins said:

I can't understand the negativity in some of the posts on this thread.

The Affinity suite is very much under active development, with six updates in 2021 alone, and a patch in March this year. The focus seems to be on refining the details for a professional workflow rather than on feature parity with other platforms. Serif has made it clear elsewhere that a major upgrade is in the works for 2022, and it will be a paid upgrade.

Affinity's value is outstanding, for software which (for me) delivers fully professional results in both newspaper and magazine illustration and greeting cards. 

For comparison, the Creative Cloud multi-app plan that most professionals use costs $600 or €737 annually -- more than 4 times the once-off cost of licensing all 3 Affinity apps. 

Even plugins for Adobe Illustrator are now adopting the subscription model. Phantasm now costs $140 a year plus tax (23% where I live). Again more than all three Affinity apps combined. Another plugin, EXDF-Pro (for importing DXF files) is $99 a year plus tax.

So I'll be happy to support a paid once-off upgrade given the alternative!

No inside information, but I wouldn't be surprised if Serif made some announcement next month to coincide with the Apple developer conference.

I agree that the Affinity programs are a huge value for the money and anyone who says they haven't gotten their monies worth is just being hyperbolic. I do think the negativity is somewhat understandable though. I don't at all think that it has been made clear by Serif that a major upgrade is in the works for 2022. Where would I get that info? A random and still very vague and cryptic Twitter post? A blog I've never heard of before meant for publishers? I had no idea that 2.0 was happening until I read it on a post in this thread. To be made clear by Serif it would have to be on a sticky post in these forums if they only want the hardcore users to know, or on the Affinity Spotlight blog if they wanted it to be more commonly known. The last patch with new features was 1.9 and that was more than a year ago with no public beta available for the next one. The betas themselves often take a couple of months. So if you don't know that the next patch is a really big 2.0 patch, it seems like we're waiting a little long for a more standard 1.11 patch. 

I think part of the cause of this is that it has seemed that Affinity Designer and Photo have seemed to had their development slowed since they began working on Affinity Publisher. It does feel a bit like Serif is stretched to their limit and it's been unclear if they can develop 3 apps +3 Ipad versions of those apps at more than a glacial pace. 

I think there wouldn't be any negativity here if it had been made clear by Serif that 2.0 was coming this year. The problem is that wasn't made clear. And of course it's up to Serif when the best time to start marketing that is. But I think a quick "Hey this is happening" earlier would reassure the most dedicated users. I'd bet most users are aware that the 2.0 patch is a big deal and should take longer than the usual patches and are perfectly fine with that. 

What it really comes down to is that people don't really need this or that specific feature. They want reassurance that the Affinity Suite has a bright future and they are right to stick with it. Honestly when I found out yesterday that 2.0 is coming this year I felt a lot of reassurance. 

In any case I think you're probably right about the announcement next month and I'm guessing there will be a lot more positivity then. 

 

[Matthew Dickerson]

Can we get a teaser? Let's see what you guys have been working on.. 

[Patrick Connor]

@MDI

Welcome to the Serif Affinity forums  

I would love to, but it's beyond my pay grade. Perhaps someone else at Serif will do though

[GRAFKOM]

W samym Serifie wydaje się, że nie wiedzą nic o powinowactwie 2.0.😁

[GyroGearloose]

I also think a little more communication and information about future development would build more confidence.

People who work on larger projects simply want to know how their tools are progressing.

I would be happy to get more information about version 2.0 🙂