Let's say that Smith Micro made a third version of Anime Studio, let's call it Anime Studio Pro Ultra or something.
If this version had the features that a lot of people have been wanting like;
-Editable velocity curves for keyframes
-Frame by frame animation features
-Proper importing and exporting of vector files
-Importing .anme files as references (so that for example characters already animated in several scenes could be updated/changed easily)
How much would you be willing to pay for that version? For me personally, I'd say maybe twice the current price, $499.
Obviously the best scenario would be if these features were implemented in the Pro version at the current price but I'm just curious to see what other people think. What would it be worth to you?
What would you pay for Anime Studio Hypothetical Edition?
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ponysmasher
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There is 'Debut' and 'Pro'. None of those features you mentioned are beyond the expectation of a 'pro' app. Throwing money at the problem is not going to solve it. This was discussed many years ago when the program was Moho. Users expressed their opinions that they would pay more for the 'pro' features they wanted. What happened was Moho was given a new name and splash screen and the price was doubled. A stripped down version was made available, maybe to have the 'pro' version appear more professional. like a fat person standing next to an even fatter person to appear slimmer.
If the programming 'team' consist of one person, how would more money their way accelerate development? You would have to go under the assumption that Lost Marble is holding back these [some long-time requested] features because he is not being paid enough. I don't think this is the case.
If a 'higher' version was to be added, then, to be fair to users of the 'pro' version, it needs to go to a place not competing with the pro version. Something like an enterprise edition, focusing on collaboration tools [especially over networks], robust asset management [not this library nonsense, which does nothing more than a folder on your hard drive], and crap like that which individuals don't care much for, but are vital to large teams and studios who like to outsource.
You have a situation here, where AS users saw CrazyTalk's pre-built approach, and started bad mouthing AS [because, oh, you have to make your own characters and animate them?! How uncivilised!], claiming they have it since version dot, yet are unable to produce their 'wonderful stories'. The CTA people even used such quote from these users to promote their product. So you can see why SM|LM would panic and rush out this, let's face it, character wizard edition of AS.
The problem is not monetary. The problem is that development of AS is ass-backwards. They should be concentrating on the pro editions and letting features trickle down to debut. Instead they'll add something like the character wizard for newcomers who don't want to go through a boring manual just to get up and running [which I guess is somewhat understandable], but they add putting in your own actions for the pro version. Oh yes, that will make it Professional. That was sarcasm.
If the programming 'team' consist of one person, how would more money their way accelerate development? You would have to go under the assumption that Lost Marble is holding back these [some long-time requested] features because he is not being paid enough. I don't think this is the case.
If a 'higher' version was to be added, then, to be fair to users of the 'pro' version, it needs to go to a place not competing with the pro version. Something like an enterprise edition, focusing on collaboration tools [especially over networks], robust asset management [not this library nonsense, which does nothing more than a folder on your hard drive], and crap like that which individuals don't care much for, but are vital to large teams and studios who like to outsource.
You have a situation here, where AS users saw CrazyTalk's pre-built approach, and started bad mouthing AS [because, oh, you have to make your own characters and animate them?! How uncivilised!], claiming they have it since version dot, yet are unable to produce their 'wonderful stories'. The CTA people even used such quote from these users to promote their product. So you can see why SM|LM would panic and rush out this, let's face it, character wizard edition of AS.
The problem is not monetary. The problem is that development of AS is ass-backwards. They should be concentrating on the pro editions and letting features trickle down to debut. Instead they'll add something like the character wizard for newcomers who don't want to go through a boring manual just to get up and running [which I guess is somewhat understandable], but they add putting in your own actions for the pro version. Oh yes, that will make it Professional. That was sarcasm.
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ponysmasher
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I know, I'm still hoping for them to show up eventually.crsP wrote:There is 'Debut' and 'Pro'. None of those features you mentioned are beyond the expectation of a 'pro' app.
crsP wrote:If the programming 'team' consist of one person, how would more money their way accelerate development?
Money to hire a second person?
Is that the case though? Only Mike working on it?
No I think the simple fact is that features like "character wizard" sound sexy and is easier to market than "editable velocity curves".crsP wrote:You would have to go under the assumption that Lost Marble is holding back these [some long-time requested] features because he is not being paid enough. I don't think this is the case.
crsP wrote:If a 'higher' version was to be added, then, to be fair to users of the 'pro' version, it needs to go to a place not competing with the pro version. Something like an enterprise edition, focusing on collaboration tools [especially over networks], robust asset management [not this library nonsense, which does nothing more than a folder on your hard drive], and crap like that which individuals don't care much for, but are vital to large teams and studios who like to outsource.
That would be nice.
crsP wrote:The problem is that development of AS is ass-backwards. They should be concentrating on the pro editions and letting features trickle down to debut.
Agree!
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rocky53204
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I agree with crsP. The features you mentioned all belong in the Pro version and I would only recommend a third version for putting in the collaborative features required by large studio projects.
AS is in a tough position, though. It has to contend with Crazy Talk Animator from one direction and ToonBoom Animate from the other (especially when they drop the price to $299 at Easter), and is in danger of being squeezed out altogether.
I think that is why they are going back to their user base and trying to address some of the long standing issues, which IMO, is what they should have been doing all along. I think with any product, whether it be software, game, movie, or whatever, the goal should always be to make it the best it can possibly be and trust that good sales will come as a result, instead of using flashy features to attract a certain target market.
AS is in a tough position, though. It has to contend with Crazy Talk Animator from one direction and ToonBoom Animate from the other (especially when they drop the price to $299 at Easter), and is in danger of being squeezed out altogether.
I think that is why they are going back to their user base and trying to address some of the long standing issues, which IMO, is what they should have been doing all along. I think with any product, whether it be software, game, movie, or whatever, the goal should always be to make it the best it can possibly be and trust that good sales will come as a result, instead of using flashy features to attract a certain target market.