Disappointing expensive Moho 12 Update

[Welsh Jester]

I have to admit i am also disappointed by the price increase, well at least i guess it's possible we may get a sale earlier. I still think those on newer versions should get a bigger discount, well maybe next time.

[KeeCoyote]

The problem for me is cost to.When you have to decide between rent and updating, rent wins. Will have to wait till there is special on Moho 12

[Telemacus]

I'm disappointed that nothing has been done to improve the character wizard. It hasn't changed since version 8 or even earlier.
It still takes a few hours to create an original nice looking character with Moho. I think other 2d animation programs are much better at that...

[neeters_guy]

I'm disappointed that nothing has been done to improve the character wizard. It hasn't changed since version 8 or even earlier.
It still takes a few hours to create an original nice looking character with Moho. I think other 2d animation programs are much better at that...

The Character Wizard has never been very popular since its release (although I've seen some vids that used the characters from it). I suspect that this isn't high on the most requested feature. Maybe with enough demand...

I'd be curious to know which other 2D animation programs makes original nice looking characters in less than a few hours.

[neeters_guy]

When I can afford it, I *will* upgrade!

This.

[ruscular3d]

I think its just bad business practice to advertise for the early adopter sale and then change their mind and offer stuff for newbies like the free training and not for someone who been using their product for years and know what they are doing. Even then when people post asking what the sale price will be go ignore them and then pull this stunt at the end. The program designer deserve all the credits for the improvement, but the sales department also deserve all the backlash of going back on their words. At least Victor acknowledge the mistake and own up to it. Fixing the mistake works out well for the new customer, but nothing in a way for the loyal base. If they expect professional to be buying their product then I would suggest that most professional would own up to the false advertising of the early adopter sale. Whether its a sale or an apology from the owners. It's a big enough error that should go to the top!

I am suggesting the best way I know to move forward from here!

[synthsin75]

If they expect professional to be buying their product then I would suggest that most professional would own up to the false advertising of the early adopter sale.

Professionals working in the industry are just happy to get so much for so little, compared to everything else they use.

[mattchee]

If they expect professional to be buying their product then I would suggest that most professional would own up to the false advertising of the early adopter sale.

Professionals working in the industry are just happy to get so much for so little, compared to everything else they use.

Truth. If you need the product to do professional work, then you pay what you gotta pay, and compared to the other options out there, the price point on this is still good.

[herbert123]

When I can afford it, I *will* upgrade!

This.

Yep, agreed. While I cannot afford the update right now, the moment I have a paying project lined up in which I can somehow make use of it (even a small animated web logo ), I will upgrade as well.

[aongus]

If they expect professional to be buying their product then I would suggest that most professional would own up to the false advertising of the early adopter sale.

Professionals working in the industry are just happy to get so much for so little, compared to everything else they use.

Agreed, here are some figures.

Toon Boom charge $375 for their entry level program, $975 for a more advanced version and $1975 for the premium edition.

TV Paint will set you back around $566 for a standard edition and around $1417 for the professional edition.

With Adobe Animate (Flash), you must commit to a subscription for the rest of your professional life. This ranges from $228 a year (if you pre-pay your 12-month subscription up front) to $348 if you pay in monthly instalments. When you take into account the requirement that you have to pay again, year after year, to access your files, Adobe’s price escalates.

[SimplSam]

For me -- I would have blindly & happily upgraded to 12 at the old price. Even though I don't think I created a single piece of animation after my upgrade to 11 last year.

There are of course lots of exciting new features stated for 12, but with the current pro pricing - I would have to evaluate the Trial first -- or wait for the sale of the century!

But seeing as there is no Trial yet -- I am kinda stuck twiddling my thumbs .

[synthsin75]

For me -- I would have blindly & happily upgraded to 12 at the old price. Even though I don't think I created a single piece of animation after my upgrade to 11 last year.

Most people couldn't justify an upgrade, at any cost, for a software they didn't even use. I'm not sure why you'd even consider it. Wait until the need justifies the purchase.

[SimplSam]

Most people couldn't justify an upgrade, at any cost, for a software they didn't even use. I'm not sure why you'd even consider it. Wait until the need justifies the purchase.

They say that a fool and his money are soon parted!

Seriously.. I am quite excited by some of the new features in 12, and believe that it could rekindle a little love affair - and find my moho mojo. As you might guess - I don't use it for any commercial reasons - just for fun. And.. I really liked & used 10, but somehow lost my mojo after upgrading to 11.

[JaMike]

I am ashamed to say, like others, I will be waiting for a sale before I take the plunge. The thing is that Smith Micro sales are often so good that it makes sense to wait for them. I remember one that was 65% off ASP! And with the massive price hike, that discount becomes serious money!

Another thing I am considering, since Moho is so good, is to upgrade every other version. Or wait for a sale each version and buy a brand new copy (and sell the old one).

I really hope Smith Micro isn't doing a Toon Boom and starting to see customers purely in terms of how much money they can squeeze from them.

But once I see some more user reports from people who aren't beta testers, I may change my mind and forego a few meals to afford the non-sale price.

[mattchee]

With Adobe Animate (Flash), you must commit to a subscription for the rest of your professional life. This ranges from $228 a year (if you pre-pay your 12-month subscription up front) to $348 if you pay in monthly instalments. When you take into account the requirement that you have to pay again, year after year, to access your files, Adobe’s price escalates.

True. If you just want to use Flash, then it's probably not worth it. But if you're already using CC for other things (in my case, as a graphic designer), once you need three or more pieces of software, then it becomes more cost efficient to just subscribe to all. Therefore, in my case when I need software for something... I already have the adobe versions available to me. Also, again, in particular if you use more than one, and use it a lot, the subscription cost is not so bad, considering before you had to shell out $700 every time you upgrade, or $1500-$3000 just to get started with the software. Considering that in my line of work, I pretty much need to have the most up to date software because of file sharing, etc., the amount of money spent is a wash, and it's easier to pay $50 a month, than come up with $700 suddenly every year and a half. Also the updates seem to be more frequent, so that's a plus. Also, less pressure on Adobe to add useless bloat features just to convince people to upgrade. But I'm getting off topic.

Anyhow, I've been looking at Animate, but I've never really been fond of using Flash. And (like a lot of Adobe software, anymore) it's designed as a catch all for whatever people may need, and more focused on "new media" html 5, gaming, etc... so using it is a turn off. Similar to After Effects (which is what got me into 2d and eventually lead me to Moho), the "catch all" concept makes doing things that should be simple more complicated than they need to be. So even though using Animate is easy and kind of "free" for me, I think I'd rather just be using Moho.

But bottom line, using a subs service JUST for Animate is not really worth it. I actually was sold on a trial version of Toon Boom's software (toon boom studio) and leaned a ton of it really fast, and then when I was ready to buy, that was the day (literally) that they switched to subscription levels for Harmony only and discontinued their other software offerings. That's how I ended up here (with a much better community, to boot). I just could not justify the payments.