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I am not a graphical designer like most of you, but the founder and managing director of a rather big international industry, operating in IT and electronics.

I remained fascinated by the Affinity Forum atmosphere, from so many enthusiasts believing in a nice dream of an alternative to big brands, and from the help that many of you gave me promptly when I needed (we have a graphic team internally, but I create personally most of the many documents of my company).

So I decided to force a switch in my company from Ado to Affinity (few licenses, not a big deal for anybody), and was in some way proud of it, giving my microscopic help to a growing and "different" software house.

V2 changed deeply my attitude: trusting Serif, I jumped on it immediately, but I had to understand that there were very few improvements, albeit sold as extraordinary, a dramatic drop in stability, few euros to pay, and no way back.

It is a little sad: David didn't bring down Goliath, but has learnt something from him... 

Perhaps the reality is that software development is really expensive, and the Serif formula could not be sustained in long periods, without some tricks like the bigs. I can understand that even too well, and don't blame; many companies are forced to do that growing.

Certainly Serif hat dissipated a great deal of trust and empathy.

More than 30 Macs, from 1984 Mac 512K Plus to 2020 iMac 27" i9

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If you are with Affinity a bit longer, you know to stay away from x.y.0 releases if you use the Apps for work / making a living - except you are a YouTube creator of tutorials and profit from shaken customers looking for advise.

Last time when introducing 1.9.2 (if my memory serves me right) which added OpenCL support for Windows, and broke so many things before being almost usable again about 1.9.4.

I fully share your pain - the only way to continue with Affinity Apps is to fully accept that they lack 100s of functions from competing apps (including GPL / freeware), have 1000s of bugs, including crashes, file corruption, not getting fixed in years. It’s a bit like a classic car or personal project which is rough, but never the less you love it despite all quirks.

Affinity mainly survives as still providing a good price for a wide range of functions with mainly great performance - until it breaks and you may need to start over because of corrupted files.

Mac mini M1 A2348 | Windows 10 - AMD Ryzen 9 5900x - 32 GB RAM - Nvidia GTX 1080

LG34WK950U-W, calibrated to DCI-P3 with LG Calibration Studio / Spider 5

iPad Air Gen 5 (2022) A2589

Special interest into procedural texture filter, edit alpha channel, RGB/16 and RGB/32 color formats, stacking, finding root causes for misbehaving files, finding creative solutions for unsolvable tasks, finding bugs in Apps.

 

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46 minutes ago, Gianni Becattini said:

I am not a graphical designer like most of you, but the founder and managing director of a rather big international industry, operating in IT and electronics.

I remained fascinated by the Affinity Forum atmosphere, from so many enthusiasts believing in a nice dream of an alternative to big brands, and from the help that many of you gave me promptly when I needed (we have a graphic team internally, but I create personally most of the many documents of my company).

So I decided to force a switch in my company from Ado to Affinity (few licenses, not a big deal for anybody), and was in some way proud of it, giving my microscopic help to a growing and "different" software house.

V2 changed deeply my attitude: trusting Serif, I jumped on it immediately, but I had to understand that there were very few improvements, albeit sold as extraordinary, a dramatic drop in stability, few euros to pay, and no way back.

It is a little sad: David didn't bring down Goliath, but has learnt something from him... 

Perhaps the reality is that software development is really expensive, and the Serif formula could not be sustained in long periods, without some tricks like the bigs. I can understand that even too well, and don't blame; many companies are forced to do that growing.

Certainly Serif hat dissipated a great deal of trust and empathy.

For people who followed development, I think it's more they are building a newer platform more than just attempting to build replacement programs for Adobe. So V2 is a reset to get away from the development woes experienced during V1 that did not go as planned (pulling of the road map, features left unfinished, bugs that can't be resolved, etc). You weren't here it seems through the V1 development period so didn't see the growing pains. For example, Windows came later. Publisher was built in the middle of all that. Publisher for iPad is literally brand new to V2, so it is just now they are completing out the suite across 3 devices (Win, Mac, iPad OS). Anyway, if you saw this post, it explains their intentions best as its own their words rather than trying to go off our thoughts as we can only speculate anyway..

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3 minutes ago, debraspicher said:

For people who followed development, I think it's more they are building a newer platform more than just attempting to build replacement programs for Adobe. So V2 is a reset to get away from the development woes experienced during V1 that did not go as planned (pulling of the road map, features left unfinished, bugs that can't be resolved, etc). You weren't here it seems through the V1 development period so didn't see the growing pains. For example, Windows came later. Publisher was built in the middle of all that. Publisher for iPad is literally brand new to V2, so it is just now they are completing out the suite across 3 devices (Win, Mac, iPad OS). Anyway, if you saw this post, it explains their intentions best as its own their words rather than trying to go off our thoughts as it's mostly speculative anyway...

There's too many bugs that hang over from version 1 to version 2 for this to have been a significant rewrite of the core code... those kinds of hang overs shouldn't be there, really couldn't be there, if it was truly a significant rewrite of their "platform".

Perhaps a more modest summary might be that they're using a new UI system that's more holistically capable across all desktop platforms, hence the loss of Separated Mode on a Mac, and the new UI.

 

 

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53 minutes ago, Gianni Becattini said:

believing in a nice dream

No religion involved.
Fully awake.
Since several years, Affinity helps me to make a living as a self-employed graphic designer.
It's really that simple.™ :) 

40 minutes ago, NotMyFault said:

when introducing 1.9.2 (if my memory serves me right)

Oh yeah, I also remember that there was quite a disaster with one of those updates…

Hit shappens.
I have patiently waited using the previous versions until it's been fixed.

40 minutes ago, NotMyFault said:

stay away from x.y.0 releases if you use the Apps for work / making a living

Amen. (Speaking of religions…)
That is 100% true with every. Single. App. Or. Operating. System. 

MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2

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52 minutes ago, Gianni Becattini said:

Perhaps the reality is that software development is really expensive, and the Serif formula could not be sustained in long periods, without some tricks like the bigs. I can understand that even too well, and don't blame; many companies are forced to do that growing.

They've definitely used some tricks. And made a LOT of money, claiming to have just recently sold 3x what they'd expected with this new release.

Despite your experiences, they're probably considering this launch to have been a stunning success, and learnt next to nothing from the negatives, because 3x extra sales...

Software is a crazy business. The only industry with less accountability is modern medicine and big Pharma's overreach into governmental decision making on a global scale... also facilitated by software and computers...

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8 minutes ago, deeds said:

There's too many bugs that hang over from version 1 to version 2 for this to have been a significant rewrite of the core code... those kinds of hang overs shouldn't be there, really couldn't be there, if it was truly a significant rewrite of their "platform".

Perhaps a more modest summary might be that they're using a new UI system that's more holistically capable across all desktop platforms, hence the loss of Separated Mode on a Mac, and the new UI.

That is your representation, not mine. If it was planned over and slowly rewritten during V1, it would explain why we saw such slow developments. Those problems would still be present if it were part of the newer solution that was moved into the V2 package. That created a lot of problems. Particularly, when they introduced Publisher after promising features and fixes for Photo/Designer year after year that never appeared. It made people excited for Publisher very happy and got them more sales, but it did limit the potential of the other two programs because now they were supporting 3 (which I think is fine...). Then the inevitable lull when there was a change-over.

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1 hour ago, Gianni Becattini said:

So I decided to force a switch in my company from Ado to Affinity (few licenses, not a big deal for anybody), and was in some way proud of it, giving my microscopic help to a growing and "different" software house.

Very sorry you've had this experience.

I've had similar with a different company in a different field, and been steeled by it.

There's a massive gap between those companies and leaders that care about their users first versus those that care about... well... whatever it is that they care about that isn't their users first. Unfortunately there isn't software in the creative 2D space that's currently run by folks that love and respect their customers/users first and foremost. Adobe drove them out, decades ago.

Obviously Adobe was never that company that cared about users first, but did reach near monopoly status in the creative software field as a result of their focus on "marketing" over all other matters. This provided the avenue for a company like Serif to pretend to be not Adobe, whilst aping their products in "lite" versions.

That goodwill and belief in their good faith is probably over. But, again, I don't think Serif minds. The money, for them, was probably worth it.

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1 minute ago, debraspicher said:

Expectations vary person-to-person of the software they are using, which is fair.

Sure it’s just unhealthy to get such deep emotional connect to a Programm, imo. 

Mac mini M1 / Ryzen 5600H & RTX3050 mobile / iPad Pro 1st - all with latest non beta release of Affinity

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2 minutes ago, Tia Lapis said:

Why all this gloom? You are talking about a new version of a software package that you don’t like as much as the prior version. Not WW3…

It's the overall stability that seems to be getting to the OP, not a dislike of features. 

It's the regressions. Things that worked in V1 but are now broken or bugged in V2. It's the new bugs. It's the stability. 

It feels like there was insufficient QA done on the V2 release. 

1 hour ago, deeds said:

And made a LOT of money

That's assuredly true. Serif is a highly profitable company. They're not lacking resources to put into development and testing and could afford to spend way more if they needed to. 

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1 hour ago, rvst said:

It's the overall stability that seems to be getting to the OP, not a dislike of features. 

It's the regressions. Things that worked in V1 but are now broken or bugged in V2. It's the new bugs. It's the stability. 

It feels like there was insufficient QA done on the V2 release.

Yes all true. But like the Japanese say "It can't be changed" - So why worry so much about it?

Mac mini M1 / Ryzen 5600H & RTX3050 mobile / iPad Pro 1st - all with latest non beta release of Affinity

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7 hours ago, Gianni Becattini said:

I am not a graphical designer like most of you, but the founder and managing director of a rather big international industry, operating in IT and electronics.

I remained fascinated by the Affinity Forum atmosphere, from so many enthusiasts believing in a nice dream of an alternative to big brands, and from the help that many of you gave me promptly when I needed (we have a graphic team internally, but I create personally most of the many documents of my company).

So I decided to force a switch in my company from Ado to Affinity (few licenses, not a big deal for anybody), and was in some way proud of it, giving my microscopic help to a growing and "different" software house.

V2 changed deeply my attitude: trusting Serif, I jumped on it immediately, but I had to understand that there were very few improvements, albeit sold as extraordinary, a dramatic drop in stability, few euros to pay, and no way back.

It is a little sad: David didn't bring down Goliath, but has learnt something from him... 

Perhaps the reality is that software development is really expensive, and the Serif formula could not be sustained in long periods, without some tricks like the bigs. I can understand that even too well, and don't blame; many companies are forced to do that growing.

Certainly Serif hat dissipated a great deal of trust and empathy.

Hi Adobe 👋, welcome to the forums. How is your infiltration campaign going? I love Serif.

 The end.

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7 hours ago, Gianni Becattini said:

I am not a graphical designer like most of you, but the founder and managing director of a rather big international industry, operating in IT and electronics.

I remained fascinated by the Affinity Forum atmosphere, from so many enthusiasts believing in a nice dream of an alternative to big brands, and from the help that many of you gave me promptly when I needed (we have a graphic team internally, but I create personally most of the many documents of my company).

So I decided to force a switch in my company from Ado to Affinity (few licenses, not a big deal for anybody), and was in some way proud of it, giving my microscopic help to a growing and "different" software house.

V2 changed deeply my attitude: trusting Serif, I jumped on it immediately, but I had to understand that there were very few improvements, albeit sold as extraordinary, a dramatic drop in stability, few euros to pay, and no way back.

It is a little sad: David didn't bring down Goliath, but has learnt something from him... 

Perhaps the reality is that software development is really expensive, and the Serif formula could not be sustained in long periods, without some tricks like the bigs. I can understand that even too well, and don't blame; many companies are forced to do that growing.

Certainly Serif hat dissipated a great deal of trust and empathy.

👆📖

 1) You have completely wrecked the layers panel, Serif.

2) I recommend Reddit groups instead of this forum. Not the same few bot-like users replying to everything, a wider representation of users, fewer fanboys, more qualified users. In short, better!

3) I was here to report bugs and submit improvement requests for professional work professionally in a large setup and to bring a lot of knowledge from the world, i.e. professional product development, web- and software development, usability, user experience design and accessibility. I actually know what I am talking about!

BUT! We are phasing out Designer and Affinity in 2022 Q1 - and replacing it with feature complete and algorithmically competent alternatives.
Publisher is unsuitable for serious use, and was never adopted.

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3 hours ago, Tia Lapis said:

Yes wise people :)

Misappropriating Japanese sayings to buttress an insult towards another person is utterly obtuse to Japanese culture. It's not remotely connected. Also to reference that same culture with any sort of proximity to World War references is so incredibly offensive it doesn't even require an explanation.

As for the the proverb, it is in reference to the behavior of a person who goes against the grain and is not working well with the group, ie following basic social norms (polite-ness, basic respect, reciprocity, working together, etc). In the least it requires correcting and guidance. None of this could be applied to foreigners. Our culture is too different. We are not group-oriented. A Western lens might suggest it could mean to label people who 'don't fit in' as pariahs, but that's predictably an ignorant take and is more akin to "call out" culture.

Thankfully, this is a customer service board and none of this is even relevant.


Re: the "unhealthy" jab... The OP's post is well-written and paints clear their reasoning behind supporting the product. It takes guts to move any business to brand new software that is less than predictable. They're basically saying they feel the move bit them in the *ss because of all the issues it's causing them at their place of work. How is that not fair?

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11 hours ago, NewInBoston said:

Hi Adobe 👋, welcome to the forums. How is your infiltration campaign going? I love Serif.

 The end.

No my Friend, you are judging bad. I had big discussions with Adobe, for silly problem of mine, and the last thing that I wish is to defend them.

Not always who express sincerely its feelings is the enemy. It happens also the opposite.

More than 30 Macs, from 1984 Mac 512K Plus to 2020 iMac 27" i9

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