Any rumblings of a date for Moho 13 yet?

[Greenlaw]

You're talking about Smart Bone 'Dials' right? Yeah.

I hope someday the developers will take a more visual 'construction kit' approach to building a character UI that allows us to use actual dials, buttons, joysticks and sliders.

(Wes' new Layer Shortcuts script addresses part of that for me.)

[InfoCentral]

You're talking about Smart Bone 'Dials' right?

Yeah they call them "dials" but I believe "levers" to be a more accurate representation.

[chucky]

I can't say much at all but I can share some progress on some scenes for the release.

Hey, Chucky, it seems to me that since your post in October you have only shared progress in one scene, not some scenes. How about another peek, then?

Marc

Oh hey! Yes, I totally should!
I'll check exactly else what I can leak first.

[Mac-Daddy]

I'm currently trying the trial version of 12. I like what I see so far, but not sure about getting it if a never version is on the horizon.

[MickSee]

Almost a year ago a user asked a similar question. What we know now is yes they're is potentially a new version on the horizon, but we have no idea when it could be released. It could be tomorrow or next year, I'd say at this point that's the biggest hurdle with Moho consistency with major releases. Don't ge me wrong with updates they're pretty good, but with major releases everyone is pretty much hoping we get a new version with some innovative ways to help us create better content.

[synthsin75]

In all likelihood, it will be sometime this year...if the length of past beta cycles are any indication. SM is probably just as eager to start making money off the current development investment as everyone is to see the new version.

[drumlug13]

What's your gut feeling on the new price point Wes?

[synthsin75]

No real idea, but considering they slashed the US development team and restaffed from what I assume are cheaper labor markets, I'd hope the price stays about the same. The same price should still be increasing their profit margin.

[Greenlaw]

I'm currently trying the trial version of 12. I like what I see so far, but not sure about getting it if a never version is on the horizon.

A quick reality check for everybody holding off buying or even using Moho 12.5 because there might or might not be a new release coming...someday...

If you need an animation program today, and you like the trial version (which does everything the full version does for 30 days,) Moho 12.5 is available now and, I can honestly say the current version works great and I recommend it. I've used Moho 12.x to create animation for several TV productions and I enjoy using it. Even if I knew when the next release is coming out, I would not immediately stop using Moho 12.5 to wait for the new release. IMO, the current version is a solid release, it's reasonably priced, and a great value. And if you learn and use Moho 12.5 now, you will be better prepared learn the new features of the next Moho when it's released. IMO, there is nothing to be lost by learning and using Moho 12.5 today.

But if you don't need Moho 12.5 now or the current version doesn't meet your needs, then you may as well wait for something better to come along. Whether you buy Moho 12.5 today or never will not make the next version of Moho come out any sooner.

Re: the NEXT version of Moho, here's what we know from official comments made so far: The next release of Moho does exist. The developers have already announced that it's currently in beta, which means the software is being tested by a select group of users and studios. This does not necessarily mean the software is near completion or ready for public release...it means it's still in development. Over the years, I've participated on many beta teams and I can tell you that testing and development can be very long process. The fact that a release date has not been publicly announced means the software is probably not "on the horizon" yet. This doesn't mean they're running behind schedule or that everything is going precisely as planned, it's simply means the software is being worked on.

I'm not saying I know anything but that's generally how these things go.

If your concern is that is that you don't wish to buy the software because you're afraid a new version might come out a couple of months from now, SM usually offers the new version to existing users for reasonable upgrade fee. If you happen to purchase the current version really close to the release date, they usually offer a free upgrade...but if the release date was that close, SM would have made the announcement already.

Short version: if you want to animate with Moho now, you may as well get it now. If you're not sure, you may as well wait. Just sayin'.

[synthsin75]

I assume the fretting over whether to buy 12.5 or wait for 13 is mostly from hobbyists. If that's the case, it doesn't hurt to wait, as you don't have paid work on the line and you can do a fair bit of learning in 30 days with the current trial version.

But professional animators should be most concerned with what can best help them get work out the door right now. If you're getting paid, you should be making enough to upgrade if you find you need any new features. And there's plenty of professional animators still using v8 or 9, and I assume that's because few of the new features have been crucial to their particular workflow.

[ruscular3d]

I render most of my 3D rendering into sequence images, and often use Moho 12 as my movie compositor, rather than the 2D animation program. But the 2D animation program is really solid with version 12.5

[byron]

I read the transcript of Smith Micro's recent quarterly conference call the other day. Not one mention of Moho! I find that somewhat odd, since they mentioned releasing the next version (13?) at the end of 2018 in the last conference call.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/424862 ... transcript

[Greenlaw]

Regardless, the next Moho is in active development. It will be released when it's ready, not before. For now, that's all anybody that might actually know anything can say about it.

Moving on now...

[InfoCentral]

I read the transcript of Smith Micro's recent quarterly conference call the other day. Not one mention of Moho! I find that somewhat odd, since they mentioned releasing the next version (13?) at the end of 2018 in the last conference call.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/424862 ... transcript

While they didn't mention Moho directly they did address the graphics segment.

Our graphics segment reported quarterly revenue of $482,000, compared to $1.1 million last year.

...the graphics segment reporting annual revenue of $1.8 million compared to $4.6 million last year.

The decrease in the Graphics revenue was in-line with our expectations, attributed mostly to the CLIP STUDIO distribution agreement termination and lower unit sales of legacy products.

They didn't elaborate on these statements so I'm not sure what they are referring too; wireless or graphics segments.

During 2018, we continue to streamline our operations and rationalize our product line-up. We made difficult decisions to discontinue efforts on marginal product families and to do so in a manner that would not damage important customer relationships, which are key to our continued growth in 2019 and beyond.

All the work during the past few years to rationalize our expense profile and build out an exciting product line-up around the customer of freshness of strong returns. This is an exciting time for our Company.

[Designspaceman]

Hey Moho-People,
I read the posts concerning the future of Moho. Although I'm happy with the information that 13 ist currently in Beta, I have my own experiences with companies and their products. On severeal occasions I saw management cutting out complete product segments because of the "not enough profit" argument. This does not mean that there is no profit, but it does not meet expectations of analysts at the stock markets.
This need not to occur to Moho but it could happen any time.
But: Moho 12.5 is still very good. And If 13 has something new for animators to improve their work, I am sure it will be a success for SM.
So let's wait
Steven