Pardon me if I come across as a little frustrated here, but I am very confused and more than a little upset.
I spent most of 2020 on the beta version of Scrivener, hopping from update to update as they expired. Sometime in November, though, I got hit by life, writer’s block, and the pandemic, and I haven’t touched my work since. I went to open it today and was met, predictably, with a notice that “Release Candidate 11 expired after Wednesday, December 2, 2020.” Cool. Followed the link to the site and downloaded and installed the latest update.
…And it’s telling me I might be eligible for a coupon?
Uh… what?
Are you telling me Scrivener for Windows strung me along for (checks) six years, telling me “that feature isn’t in the Windows version yet, only on Mac!” every time I hit a speed bump, and now that there’s actually an update that gives me those features, I have to pay extra for it?
Please tell me I have misunderstood something.
EDIT: I found a legacy version, but I cannot open the files that I edited in the beta in it. At no point during the beta do I remember reading that the update, once finished, would cost more money.
L&L quite clearly stated that anyone purchasing V1.9 after mid Nov 2017 would get a free upgrade to V3. Anyone who purchased earlier than that would get a discounted upgrade.
It’s a bit rich for anyone to expect a free major version upgrade after ‘(checks) six years’ of use of the old version. You had (checks) FREE point upgrades of V1 during much of that period. When you purchased V1 (checks) six years ago, there was no mention of a future V3 (hell, there wasn’t a Mac V3 then with the features you claim to have been waiting for, so you could not claim to have purchased with any expectation of that.)
When Mac users went from V2 to V3, they paid for the upgrade. The same applies to Win V3 upgrade.
So yes, you ‘misunderstood something’, namely the expectation of a free MAJOR version upgrade after (checks) six years!
FWIW - you can download the trial version of V3 and have 30 days of ACTUAL USE (Open it once a week and it’s 30 WEEKS of trial) to export your work in V1.9 format if you prefer to use the (checks) six year old version.
Plenty of software continues to have updates over many years without asking people to pay for it? It’s not weird to be surprised by it. And I never used the Mac version. I don’t own a Mac. How should I be expected to know how that went?
I’m not dismayed at a new version costing money, I’m dismayed that, after beta testing what I thought was an update that I would be able to use, I am instead told that it is actually a new version that I will have to pay for, which was not in any place in the beta thread, as far as I remember.
Thank you, at least, for telling me that there’s a way to export my files, despite the rudeness with which you decided to do it.
Like, Jesus Christ, dude. I at least apologized for my frustration. You’re just being an asshole on purpose. Hope you’re proud of your sick burns or whatever. You really put me in my place. Guess I’m going back to yWriter. (FWIW? I can’t afford an update right now. Even $25 isn’t in my budget with mounting medical bills during a pandemic. That doesn’t mean I don’t think the program is worth money – in better circumstances, I’d be really happy to have it – it just means I’m upset at being tricked into having to pay for it.)
I have never seen software that gives free major upgrades apart from a couple with ‘lifetime’ licenses, and that is clearly stated when you buy.
You were not tricked into anything. During the 3+ years there was ample discussion of the fact there would be a paid upgrade for those who purchased before Nov 2017. V3 was never promoted as an ‘update’ it was always discussed as a major version UPGRADE.
Yes, I did liberally take the piss, primarily because I remain mystified how anyone could seriously have the expectation you claim.
You’ve had six entire years of using Scrivener for free in the guise of beta/RC versions, not having even shelled out at any point for Scrivener 1, it seems, and now you’re annoyed that L&L have the sheer audacity to try to sell the product which they’ve slaved on for years?
How DARE they?!
On a serious note, would you do your job without getting paid? So why would you expect L&L to?
Supermarkets don’t explicitly tell you that you have to pay for your shopping before you leave. So I’m assuming you just walk out with it?
It’s common sense. It shouldn’t need saying - especially considering that Scrivener 1 was clearly on sale (i.e. not free) for all the time you’ve been leeching Scrivener 3.
Yes, I’m being arsey over this, and I make no apologies. I’ve worked in the video games industry for decades and I get sick of Joe Public expecting everything to be given away for free - things which have taken months if not years to create, then kicking off with abuse, threats and allegations of “fraud” if they don’t get everything handed to them gratis.
The “coupon” you dismiss so angrily will give you a 100% discount (i.e. a free upgrade) if you purchased Scrivener 1 after November 2017. That policy has been clearly stated on the site for nearly six years.
I think it has been clearly stated from the very beginning that the software being beta tested would ultimately become “Scrivener for Windows 3,” a new version of the product formerly known as Scrivener for Windows 1.9.
