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Maybe time to upgrade!

M

mtflyer

Member
1 Year "free" maintenance costs $95 ?

As several other posts have noted, I really don't see the issue being whether the new features are worth $95. I already paid for the Expert version. For the first year I understood that ALL major and minor upgrades were free. Then, I could always stay up to date as long as I paid the yearly maintenance fee. Paying an extra $95, whether for major or minor upgrade is simply false representation - perhaps even unlawful. I suppose they could have made a new level above Expert - say "Expert++" and given Expert users the option of upgrading to the ++ version for $95. But, if those users chose not to "upgrade", they would actually lose the NASTRAN motion and have none.

There are other things that chip away at my initial admiration of Alibre: New features are added introducing new bugs while old bugs are never fixed. Bugs? Unable to break out of equation error dialog boxes, sheet metal drawings don't update when the metal thickness changes, deleting all "unused" sheet metal parameters destroys the drawing, deleting sheet metal operations does not delete the associated equations and parameters, only the most simple bosses can be calculated, obvious sketch constraints cannot be applied... Then there are the several steps required to achieve the same result as a single step in other packages.

Each $95, each bug, each minute of additional drawing time - all chip away at Alibre's supposed "bang for the buck" advantage and customer satisfaction.
 
J

jwknecht

Alibre Super User


So, those that already have Expert are being asked to pay $95? That does not make sense. I would be upset about that too. If I upgrade to Expert, I would expect that all future upgrades will include any added Expert add-on's, functionality, etc. assuming that my maint is up to date.

I would like to hear from Alibre on this one, to clear up the reasons.
 
I

indesign

Alibre Super User


The trouble is they increased the price for those of us who upgrade too. The price is included in the cost of upgrading.
 
F

fitzbond

Senior Member


We know that Greg does read the forum I'm sure he will address the already expert owner folks and the additional $95 cost.
 
swertel

swertel

Alibre Super User


Not to mention the difficulty in finding the bugs. You have one, but I don't experience it. How is Alibre supposed to track it?

Second, each new feature is going to include bugs. That's just the name of the game. Usually, it creates a bug in a feature that seems to be completely unrelated. That's why good customer feedback is required by software companies - so they can find and fix these sporads.

Thirds, work-as-designed is different than work-as-expected. Software users can find unique ways of applying software functionality not conceived of by the developer. Because the user doesn't get the feature to work-as-expected, he considers it a bug.

Finally, all software has this problem. I don't want to paint a rosey picture about Alibre, but sadly, this is just par for the course.
 
C

cclark440

Alibre Super User


So if collision detection isn't supported, I assume that you could not animate a lifter following a cam lobe.
Is this correct?
 
swertel

swertel

Alibre Super User


That is true. Alibre would have to develop a "CAM" mate for the assembly environment. This would be the first step in mimicking that motion.
 
swertel

swertel

Alibre Super User


Interestingly enough, in the User's Manual for flexible assemblies, they use that as the example. Of course, they are static pictures and don't actually show the motion, only that flex-assy's give you the option of constraining the same assembly into different orientations.

Too bad. Makes me wonder how much work: CAM mates, GEAR mates, THREAD mates, and the like really are to program that they aren't standard in all CAD packages.
 
swertel

swertel

Alibre Super User


Yes, the background is there, but Alibre still needs to develop the front end to be able to use it. Therein lies my question.

Has anyone found whether or not Alibre is licensing AEM for the motion in Expert? Or has Alibre developed their own proprietary engine?
 
I

indesign

Alibre Super User


What they have is at an extra cost. The future owners of Expert are paying more for the feature as well but it is built into the ncreased cost ($200 more).
 
swertel

swertel

Alibre Super User


Well, I made the call on Firday and upgraded to Expert. The motion package will be available for download upon official release. For now, I just get to enjoy all the other benfits of Expert. Not too bad considering that if I pay my maintenance on time, maintenance will cost me the same amount as Pro. Not too bad of a deal. Just remember, the upgrade does not count towards maintenance, so you'll still have to pay that when it comes due. In my case November.

On a similar note. I know there has been a lot of noise about the fee for the motion modual. Granted, marketing seems to have left a very confusing situation, but this is no different than other markets. As a matter of fact, I was comparing to other mid-range products and I realized that Alibre was the only package that advertises their less than "expert" offerings. The rest push for the top-of-line package and you need to be aware of lesser packages, or specifically ask, to be offered only "pro" or "basic" versions. I also know that several groups have purchases add-ons from other CAD vendors, at significant cost, only to have that add-on added into the next release of the 'expert' license, of which they already own. How upset would you be if you paid $1000 for an add-on only for it to be free next year to everyone, at no additional cost or maintenance?

I guess when your revolutionizing the CAD industry, some lines are going to be crossed. We'll just have to grow and adapt with the market.

--Scott
 
F

fitzbond

Senior Member


Right behind you Scott I plan on upgrading this week just waiting for my american express card to clear this month.
 
S

scarr

Senior Member
Re: Upgrading

It's a good deal no matter how you look at it - the premium package for the same price as maintenance - plus Alibre Motion and the rest of the upgrades/improvements at the end of August - it really is like Xmas in July - just the improvements in the Photo Render app would have made it worth the money. It just keeps getting better and better.
 
S

siggy

Senior Member


What enhancements to PhotoRender are you referring to? Are you talking about the Industrial Pack or is there an upgrade ot two in the app itself?
 
S

scarr

Senior Member


Hi Siggy,
The lighting packages, materails, surface textures, - I just opened the application last evening, late last evening, and was blown away by the additional rendering libraries - it will take me a little while to explore all of them, but even a cusory comparison of what you get with Expert vs what you get with Pro will show you how much better the Expert version is. Since I do a lot of communication with clients based on 3D renderings, this will be a great improvement in that process. Now I have to un-wrap and play with all the other neat tools that came with the upgrade.
 
S

siggy

Senior Member


OK - I think what you are seeing is the difference between PhotoRender and PhotoRender Industrial. You're right, Industrial is way beyond the basic PhotoRender application.

Robert
 
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