I have been using Corel Draw since version 3 (not X3, but version 3) and one of the reasons I use Corel Draw is that it's not Adobe. It's easier, less snobby and far less expensive. However with this new trend towards subscription pricing I may be forced to drop Corel Draw. Subscription pricing is bad for the consumer on so many levels. When I pay for software, I expect to be able to own it and use it whenever I want for as long as I want. But now Corel wants to charge me extra for that convenience? No F*ing way!Since I qualify for the upgrade pricing, I can get X6 for $180, AND keep and use it indefinitely. If I use it for 3 years, that's $60 a year. But if I go for the subscription pricing I would have to pay nearly $200 and have access to it for only one year. Where is the value in that? Also, on occasion I have skipped versions because of bugs that were introduced and not addressed in a timely manor in the new version or Corel introduced features that were of no benefit to me. I can care less about "Website design software" or "Complex script support". When moving form version 9 to version 11, I had to convince Corel to give me 10 instead since 11 broke some of the features I used in 9. Yeah, I paid Corel for an older version. And version 6 offers me nothing of value over version 5. I tried the demo and found it was even close to being worth the $180 upgrade price. Trace is still pathetic (slow, and inaccurate), very few bugs were fixed in Draw and Photo-paint is virtually identical to the old version. And how about adding/fixing little things like:
Corel claims "Early access to new features and updates". Yeah so that the subscription holders could be the beta testers and find the bugs for them. No thank you. Despite all this I still love my CorelDraw but if they continue to move closer to the Adobe model I will be moving further away from Corel Draw.
Hi,
aerorelix said:However with this new trend towards subscription pricing I may be forced to drop Corel Draw. Subscription pricing is bad for the consumer on so many levels.
No this is a great thing. It expands the program content and provides extra features as well as a path to the next version. Unlike Adobe's CC, not even close. You can still use the program without extra cost if you do not want extra goodies.
I will not use the Adobe CC but I really like this new Corel feature.
Hi Bob,
What new features do you get with a subscription that you do not get with the purchased software? The bulk of what I see on Corel's website is just more stock content and simple tools like QR codes (which I can build for free on many websites). I do see some new tools for Photo-Paint but I have long ago abandoned it for less expensive and more powerful tools such as Zoner Photo Studio (similar to Lightroom or AftershotPro) which already has the "Planar Mask" type tool, special effects and HDR processing (which Photo Paint does not include). Thanks, David
This is the Corel policy. Not worth to invest money in CorelBug x6 with or without premium membership, it's full of bugs.
aerorelix said:What new features do you get with a subscription that you do not get with the purchased software?
In Draw:
Insert QR codeValidate barcodealignment guide set up +ppdynamic guide set up +ppguideline set upcamera bitmap effectsfont playgroundinsert charactercolor stylespremium clip artpremium stock imagestons of fontsDynamic alignment guieds dockerguidelines dockercolor styles dockerbokeh blur (pp)camera/colorize/septa toning/time machine (pp)
Paying towards next version
Might have missed a few. Well worth it to me. Not a user subscription just "extra" stuff.
I found that to be the case as well. I was going to upgrade but quickly changed my mind after downloading and installing the trial. it was far less stable than X5, actually ran slower on my 64 bit quad core PC than X5 and promised features like full Photoshop plugin support were not working. The small gains were not worth the expense. And web tools are passe. Hardly anyone develops sites from scratch anymore. Most sites are templated CMS platforms. (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc.) Now if Draw could export templates for them, that would be cool. But this is exactly why I often skip versions giving Corel a chance to fix bugs in new "features". The downside of waiting is that if a bug is not fixed by two versions, then it's never going to be fixed. Case in point, the ability to smooth corner nodes on meshes. Starting with v. X5 you can right-click on them and chose "Smoothing" but it doesn't work in X5 (SP3, HotFix4) or any version of X6. Or how Draw saves the backup file first when saving a file and then saves the original. Therefore, if the file gets corrupted during the save process both the backup AND original files are toast. (Corel acknowledged this one in X5 but still did nothing about it for X6).
bob said: What new features do you get with a subscription that you do not get with the purchased software? In Draw: Insert QR codeValidate barcodealignment guide set up +ppdynamic guide set up +ppguideline set upcamera bitmap effectsfont playgroundinsert charactercolor stylespremium clip artpremium stock imagestons of fontsDynamic alignment guieds dockerguidelines dockercolor styles dockerbokeh blur (pp)camera/colorize/septa toning/time machine (pp) Paying towards next version Might have missed a few. Well worth it to me. Not a user subscription just "extra" stuff. [/quote] If what you have here comes with subscription only and not with the full purchasable CD then they are alienating their long time and LOYAL customers anyway. I have always purchased the full boxed version of Corel Draw because I felt it gave me my money's worth and I was very happy with it that way. I can't stand subscription based software. It is nothing but a money grab disguised as a 'helpful tool' for consumers. As a company that has to use this software (and prefers to) a subscription based system will be strongly looked down upon. It adds to the budget and therefore the decision to keep using this software. We don't use any AdobeCC software for this very reason. Corel you've managed to stand on your own for a long time with many loyal customers. Don't jump on the Adobe CC bandwagon like you've been out partying with friends and thought it was a great idea because its not. Offer us a full version with all the tools and a lesser version with the option to add each tool as a stand alone?
What new features do you get with a subscription that you do not get with the purchased software?
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If what you have here comes with subscription only and not with the full purchasable CD then they are alienating their long time and LOYAL customers anyway. I have always purchased the full boxed version of Corel Draw because I felt it gave me my money's worth and I was very happy with it that way. I can't stand subscription based software. It is nothing but a money grab disguised as a 'helpful tool' for consumers.
As a company that has to use this software (and prefers to) a subscription based system will be strongly looked down upon. It adds to the budget and therefore the decision to keep using this software. We don't use any AdobeCC software for this very reason.
Corel you've managed to stand on your own for a long time with many loyal customers. Don't jump on the Adobe CC bandwagon like you've been out partying with friends and thought it was a great idea because its not. Offer us a full version with all the tools and a lesser version with the option to add each tool as a stand alone?
Keachybean said:If what you have here comes with subscription only and not with the full purchasable CD then they are alienating their long time and LOYAL customers anyway.
No they aren't. I have exactly what I paid for with x6. Same as with x5 x4 x3 12 11... I got the box and I get bug fixes. People who pay for a 'premium' membership or a subscription get something different. That's not alienation.
Why would I be entitled to something I've never paid for? These are enhancements, not fixes.