Content Paradise is shutting down

[Satira Capriccio]

I didn't think I'd purchased much through the Content Paradise store, but it looks like I did. Apparently, I purchased quite a bit of Travelers Naturals in 2007 through CP and not RDNA.

I've yet to be notified that CP is shutting down. Even though I've got plenty of marketing emails from Smith Micro for regarding sales at CP.

 

[Miss B]

I haven't been notified by CP about the closing of the store either, but then I have all email notifications unchecked, so that may be why I haven't gotten a notice from them.

I just checked my History, and I think, except for 3 pieces of software (P7, P9, and a non-3D app), the most I've spent on anything was some for $1.99, which all seem to be 2D textures. The rest were all freebies.

 

[Hornet3d]

I haven't been notified by CP about the closing of the store either, but then I have all email notifications unchecked, so that may be why I haven't gotten a notice from them.

I just checked my History, and I think, except for 3 pieces of software (P7, P9, and a non-3D app), the most I've spent on anything was some for $1.99, which all seem to be 2D textures. The rest were all freebies.

I normally get emails from CP if there is something in my wish list that is going to be in sale but I haven't had any notification either.

 

[Hornet3d]

Well if Daz shot themselves in the foot I hate to think what SM has done, and I am a real Poser fan. I did every upgrade from poser 5 to Poser 2014Pro and Poser Game Dev but then I discovered the deactivation feature that they had slipped in with very little information, so little that it was only discovered months later when copies refused to launch. Why is that relevant here well, the result for me was I did not upgrade when Poser 11 was launched and delayed my purchase for a couple of years until it was on sale at an insane price, I cannot remember the exact amount but it was about a quarter I would have paid at launch. The point is it was not the feature that upset me that much but the way it was done. Likewise I can understand that shutting CP makes sense if they are not going to support it but the way it closes the marketplace could be important.

Being a real Poser fan and someone which is far too long in the tooth to learn DS, if I am unable to keep using Poser for any reason I would just leave the hobby. More important though, if I was coming to the hobby for the first time I really don't think I would give Poser much consideration and it really bugs me to say that.

Don't get me wrong, I love using Poser 11 and I have never regretted buying it, particularly at the price I paid, but it was a delayed purchase because of what I regarded as the underhand way they introduced it.

 

[Miss B]

I normally get emails from CP if there is something in my wish list that is going to be in sale but I haven't had any notification either.

I don't recall ever having anything in my Wishlist in the CP store. I only went when I read somewhere about something I "might" want.

 

[Deleted member 325]

@Hornet3d I agree about the way they introduced the Deactivation/reactivation License manager, and more than that because of limited internet where I live and the fact I like to keep my GFX machines off the net it has caused me no end of trouble. There are serious bugs in their offline activation that tech supports solution to is "Just connect the machine to the internet" -_- As a result I will not purchase Poser 11, or any future version of Poser with the license manager, with my own money. This means my continued support for Poser is on borrowed time functionally. That is not to say I would turn down a copy of Poser 11 Pro if someone gifted it to me, or set up a gofundme or kickstarter - but I will not spend my money on it.
It especially burns me because I have purchased every ordinal update to Poser since SM took it over from Poser 7 Pro through Poser 2014 GD. I even purchased multiple seats of Poser 7 when I was trying to set up a small animation studio so my assistants could work while I did. I have watch the price for the "Pro" edition (which is far from Professional Level Animation Software) ballooon from an extra $50 add-on (total cost of Poser 4 with Pro pack was $90) to $500 stand alone (almost as much as Z-brush) - when Poser lacks the tools and features to compete in the level with Z-brush, Cinema 4D, or Lightwave. In essence, what I am saying is, I agree with several of ken1171's posts - SM has made a number of bad decisions over the years, and has a real lack of identity for Poser and it's User Base. Part of their ludicrous pricing and development scheme was made clear in one of my recent interactions with tech support when it was thrown in my face that "none of our government contractors who use the software have reported this issue" - so they are catering to a less than competent core business base who will throw ridiculous money at anything if it catches there eye (I worked with enough government contractors in my days in video editing and they often didn't know how to use the most basic tools properly - that is not to say all of them are less than competent - just all the ones I ever worked with). It really explains some of the odd features getting added in while core broken features dating back to P7 are written off as "Program Limits".

>>End Rant//.

 

[Hornet3d]

@Hornet3d I agree about the way they introduced the Deactivation/reactivation License manager, and more than that because of limited internet where I live and the fact I like to keep my GFX machines off the net it has caused me no end of trouble. There are serious bugs in their offline activation that tech supports solution to is "Just connect the machine to the internet" -_- As a result I will not purchase Poser 11, or any future version of Poser with the license manager, with my own money. This means my continued support for Poser is on borrowed time functionally. That is not to say I would turn down a copy of Poser 11 Pro if someone gifted it to me, or set up a gofundme or kickstarter - but I will not spend my money on it.
It especially burns me because I have purchased every ordinal update to Poser since SM took it over from Poser 7 Pro through Poser 2014 GD. I even purchased multiple seats of Poser 7 when I was trying to set up a small animation studio so my assistants could work while I did. I have watch the price for the "Pro" edition (which is far from Professional Level Animation Software) ballooon from an extra $50 add-on (total cost of Poser 4 with Pro pack was $90) to $500 stand alone (almost as much as Z-brush) - when Poser lacks the tools and features to compete in the level with Z-brush, Cinema 4D, or Lightwave. In essence, what I am saying is, I agree with several of ken1171's posts - SM has made a number of bad decisions over the years, and has a real lack of identity for Poser and it's User Base. Part of their ludicrous pricing and development scheme was made clear in one of my recent interactions with tech support when it was thrown in my face that "none of our government contractors who use the software have reported this issue" - so they are catering to a less than competent core business base who will throw ridiculous money at anything if it catches there eye (I worked with enough government contractors in my days in video editing and they often didn't know how to use the most basic tools properly - that is not to say all of them are less than competent - just all the ones I ever worked with). It really explains some of the odd features getting added in while core broken features dating back to P7 are written off as "Program Limits".

>>End Rant//.

I don't see that as a rant, just a statement on your position in relation to Poser 11 and SM, what is more I know that you are not alone. With the situation being what it is, SM can ill afford to annoy and upset it's loyal users particularly when it seems unsure of who it is aiming Poser at. What makes it even more upsetting is that Ken is right Poser 11 is the best version there is but there are many that did not upgrade due to reasons other than the quality of the program itself. How they close CP could be another factor that will influence potential Poser buyers and not informing people who have accounts and who have been buying from CP in the recent months does not seem to be a good sign,

 

[Ken1171]

At least there is a new Poser development team that may do things differently from now on. On one hand I used to prefer the old team for their experience, because they knew the code and how to fix it. Conversely, I couldn't help noticing their resistance to change, which explains why we still have Poser 5 issues in Poser 11. At this point I am all in for change, so I welcome the new dev team. There is no one left from the old team, so whatever the new one will do, it will be different.

However, SMS is still making the big decisions, so no matter who is working on Poser, they are not in control. At least SMS did the right thing by terminating CP, so they can concentrate on making Poser better. What remains to be seen is if SMS will allow Poser to change, or if they will keep prioritizing adding new things instead of fixing the broken parts. It would be cool if SMS would give the dev team the liberty to change what needs to be changed, but this new team lacks the experience to make thes kind of decision. I just have no idea where Poser 12 will go, but many have agreed it will be a decisive release for SMS and the Poser community.

 

[Hornet3d]

At least there is a new Poser development team that may do things differently from now on. On one hand I used to prefer the old team for their experience, because they knew the code and how to fix it. Conversely, I couldn't help noticing their resistance to change, which explains why we still have Poser 5 issues in Poser 11. At this point I am all in for change, so I welcome the new dev team. There is no one left from the old team, so whatever the new one will do, it will be different.

However, SMS is still making the big decisions, so no matter who is working on Poser, they are not in control. At least SMS did the right thing by terminating CP, so they can concentrate on making Poser better. What remains to be seen is if SMS will allow Poser to change, or if they will keep prioritizing adding new things instead of fixing the broken parts. It would be cool if SMS would give the dev team the liberty to change what needs to be changed, but this new team lacks the experience to make thes kind of decision. I just have no idea where Poser 12 will go, but many have agreed it will be a decisive release for SMS and the Poser community.

It is good that there is still a development team and while there is one the possibility that there will be a Poser 12 at least has some legs. A new team could be a plus in regards to what happens to Poser but whatever it delivers it will still need content that looks to be a growing issue. I hate being negative about software that I love so much but the large marketplaces left, with a few exceptions, either appear to very much against supporting Poser are reluctant to do so. Hivewire appears to be an exception but with other software being opened up to using the Hivewire family even here the future for Poser may not be all roses.

 

[Ken1171]

Why do you think Rendo has something against Poser products?

 

[Hornet3d]

Why do you think Rendo has something against Poser products?

I was/is just a personal impression I have from a few years ago, it was not that they were personally against Poser but during the split Poser seemed to always seemed to be the poor cousin. When they revamped Prime giving away free content each month Poser users who were Prime members lost out, at least as first, as they were for the Genesis figure. Even DS users stated in the forums that it was unfair and the practice did change slightly but then the whole Prime change was handled badly. There appeared to be a bias against Posers users in the forums as well, even in the Poser forum itself. Despite the fact that I have all the contact settings
un-selected in my account I still get some rogue emails which are always for DS related sales but in fairness even Poser related ones would suffer the same fate, a quick trip to the spam box. Then again I should not be getting them at all and it may be such sales are entirely fair but for some obscure reason I only get the DS ones.

Trying to be fair I will add that it is very personal view that may not be based in fact and even if there was some factual basis it was at a time when vendors were abandoning Poser at quite a rate so they may just have been reflecting the market. It is also based upon my experiences of a few years ago as I do not visit Renderosity at all theses day but that is due more to fairness, ethical and moral objections than any feelings relating to software. As as result, if there ever was any bias it may well not longer exist. Doing my best to ignore my bias I am still worried what Poser content that is moved from CP may just be lost in pure size of the Rendersity store.

There is of course another possibility and that could well be that I was having a bad day and my 'grumpy old man' syndrome was working overtime so I will let other forum readers/posters make up their own mind.

 

[Darryl]

I was/is just a personal impression I have from a few years ago, it was not that they were personally against Poser but during the split Poser seemed to always seemed to be the poor cousin. When they revamped Prime giving away free content each month Poser users who were Prime members lost out, at least as first, as they were for the Genesis figure. Even DS users stated in the forums that it was unfair and the practice did change slightly but then the whole Prime change was handled badly. There appeared to be a bias against Posers users in the forums as well, even in the Poser forum itself. Despite the fact that I have all the contact settings un-selected in my account I still get some rogue emails which are always for DS related sales but in fairness even Poser related ones would suffer the same fate, a quick trip to the spam box. Then again I should not be getting them at all and it may be such sales are entirely fair but for some obscure reason I only get the DS ones.

I think Rendo does have a bias. . . toward making profits. Daz figures have always been the most popular. New figures create excitement and a hole in user's runtimes that needs to be filled by purchasing. Genesis was a totally new platform and attracting new users to Studio. M4 and V4 were aging figures and long-time users had already loaded up their runtimes with content. Many users were pointing this out as a reason not to switch to any new figure, Poser or not. The emphasis on Genesis, iRay, and Studio products was logical and predictable.

 

[Rowan54]

Except that not all of us need to have the latest bling, or the latest new & shiny just because it is new & shiny. And some don't have unlimited budgets to keep buying the same little outfits for 20 dozen new & shiny bling figures. Personally, I like V4 & M4 just fine. I also like Dawn & Dusk because they're stable and STAYING instead of being replaced every six months with a slight "upgrade" to something shinier.

And what's wrong with making a profit? And you think Daz isn't into making a profit as well?

 

[Darryl]

Except that not all of us need to have the latest bling, or the latest new & shiny just because it is new & shiny. And some don't have unlimited budgets to keep buying the same little outfits for 20 dozen new & shiny bling figures. Personally, I like V4 & M4 just fine. I also like Dawn & Dusk because they're stable and STAYING instead of being replaced every six months with a slight "upgrade" to something shinier.

And what's wrong with making a profit? And you think Daz isn't into making a profit as well?

Nothing wrong with making a profit. I forgot to add a smiley or "lol" after that statement ;-). Point being that Rendo promoted Genesis because it made economic sense and longtime users don't buy as much, not because Rendo has it in for Poser.

 

[Hornet3d]

Nothing wrong with making a profit. I forgot to add a smiley or "lol" after that statement ;-). Point being that Rendo promoted Genesis because it made economic sense and longtime users don't buy as much, not because Rendo has it in for Poser.

I accept your point of view could well be an accurate description of what is happening at Renderosity and they may not have it for Poser but the end result from the customers point of view is the same. My point was that Poser content coming from CP might play second fiddle and me lost in the massive amount of content at Renderosity. Your point on making a profit is valid but it does suggest that the point may in fact be correct whatever the reason behind it.

Just to try and keep this a civil debate I am not trying to knock Renderosity just trying to look at the closure of CP from a Poser users point of view. I think it is a shame but I have what I want from CP, I have all my purchases from any marketplace backed up to disk, local NAS and cloud drive as the trend shows any marketplace is capable of closing. All of this means it has little impact on me and I am laid back enough not to want a flame war (not that I ever do), it is what it is I am just interested to see how CP closes and the longer term impact on SMS and Poser.

 

[Darryl]

I accept your point of view could well be an accurate description of what is happening at Renderosity and they may not have it for Poser but the end result from the customers point of view is the same. My point was that Poser content coming from CP might play second fiddle and me lost in the massive amount of content at Renderosity. Your point on making a profit is valid but it does suggest that the point may in fact be correct whatever the reason behind it.

Just to try and keep this a civil debate I am not trying to knock Renderosity just trying to look at the closure of CP from a Poser users point of view. I think it is a shame but I have what I want from CP, I have all my purchases from any marketplace backed up to disk, local NAS and cloud drive as the trend shows any marketplace is capable of closing. All of this means it has little impact on me and I am laid back enough not to want a flame war (not that I ever do), it is what it is I am just interested to see how CP closes and the longer term impact on SMS and Poser.

Very cool. Flame wars do no good. I'm a Poser user but not a fan of CP. Nothing against it either though. Unfortunately, it's another example of bad news coming from SMS with no good news to match. Poser may not die but it could become dead to me. I'd be extremely disappointed if that were the case.

 

[Ken1171]

@Hornet3d Oh I see, so it's about the DS sales priority then. I ask because I don't buy much at Rendo, so I have no clue about their sales. I kind of agree with @Darryl and it makes sense for Rendo to favor the more popular figures because they just follow the money. I actually don't know if DS content sells more or not, I just know that DAZ figures have always been mainstream at Rendo.

@Rowan54 I used to be a fan of the original Genesis, until they released Genesis 2 as soon as 6 months later. Talk about bad timing! Many people got mad because of all the money we've spent on figure-specific contents - that was too soon, and I believe nobody disagrees on that. And it didn't end there - they kept doing it over again, not giving people enough time to settle with the figure. Some people felt betrayed, because converted outfits are never as good as the original. Not to mention vendors started to sell conversions as new products, and this has become common practice for years, to the detriment of the community. Some claim DAZ sales haven't been the same ever since, and even that they haven't been selling much at all - but I don't really know. I just know people are not stupid, and they know when something is not right.

 

[Hornet3d]

Very cool. Flame wars do no good. I'm a Poser user but not a fan of CP. Nothing against it either though. Unfortunately, it's another example of bad news coming from SMS with no good news to match. Poser may not die but it could become dead to me. I'd be extremely disappointed if that were the case.

I wouldn't anyway, but I can't argue with any of that.

 

[tparo]

...
[USER=932]@Rowan54 I used to be a fan of the original Genesis, until they released Genesis 2 as soon as 6 months later. ...[/USER]

I think you will find it was a lot longer than 6 months according to my order history it was a couple of years, I'm not sure if that's totally, accurate but it was much more than 6 months.

 

[phdubrov]

IIRC Genesis release cycle was 2 years: G1-2011, G2 - 2013, G3-2015, G8-2017.