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bbuxton  
#1 Posted : Tuesday, December 30, 2025 5:57:04 AM(UTC)
bbuxton

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Joined: 2/28/2007(UTC)
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Before SharkCad pro 14 I only missed one product upgrade, the notorious version 11 having used the software since Concepts Unlimited was in prerelease with a discount For Electric Image users.
I haven't enjoyed a stable income for about 12 years but did not skip 11 because it was too expensive, I skipped it because it was a dreadful release with the removal of significant features (SubD2Nurbs) and ridden with bugs.

So the rant is because I cannot move my SharkCad license to a replacement PC, PunchCad are almost unique in requiring an active maintenance for this and this is a betrayal of the promise made When Tim asked users to return their ConceptsUnlimited 2 dongles in favour of node locked licensing. Autodessys reset my activation within hours of my email this black Friday, they don't insist on active maintenance or that I upgrade to v10 for such a trivial task.

So I am a bit annoyed with PunchCad, mostly because they seem to harbour a resentment toward customers that no longer upgrade every release, without addressing the reason users may skip a version or two.
If PunchCad delivered a more polished product the number of users that skip versions would drop dramatically - just saying.

v14 never did get its finished Luxcore renderer, just a partially complete feature that could manage a few very poor-quality demos but unusable for commercial work. It is slow, unstable and cannot even properly facilitate editing materials. So please understand user caution before committing to any new version upgrades.

I think it is clear that resentment toward existing customers because they do not upgrade or renew maintenance regularly is a poor business strategy. Taking a bit more time to finesse each release and not removing core features might be a good starting point.

I really love this software but having just invested the cost of upgrading to v16 in a new Rhino 3D license and having a hard time moving on. Rhino 3D does not have the SharkCad minimalist UI aesthetic with hundreds of tools needlessly duplicated but its customer care is on another level entirely.
Sometimes you have to kiss the ugly frog (I mean Rhinoceros).

V12 licensed just fine with Aeropack and PowerPack Pro. This is arguably a better release than 14 save for a couple of features for aligning parts.

Edited by user Tuesday, December 30, 2025 6:08:33 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Junior member since Concepts Unlimited V1 pre-release
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damhave on 12/30/2025(UTC)
murrayagain  
#2 Posted : Wednesday, December 31, 2025 6:12:50 PM(UTC)
murrayagain

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Mmm, agree about the licensing thing. I've been with Punch since 2007, Shark Pro since V7, enjoyed everything up to V10, skipped V11, stopped at V14. Encore is now part of IMSI, which has had its current ownership since TurboCAD 2017 or so, same BS about ratcheting back licensing flexibility in their premium line, been with TC since forever so I've sucked it up and gone with 2020 and 2022 versions of TC since then, for a MeshMixer/Rhino-like SubD tool, specifically mesh thickening. Have also embraced Rhino and Plasticity, which licenses for four devices for its premium license. Maybe it's "New tool! Wow!" factor that's missing along with licensing contraction, Rhino has added SubD tools V7, then V8 quad shrink-wrap on objects AND point clouds, conversion to SubD from there and SubD2Nurbs from there (not yet like Punch/NPower SubD2Nurbs but heading in that general direction, and quad shrink wrap/retopo is something that PowerPack never got. Blender has a couple of tools that do it now...). Rhino also lets users test new things with time-limited images, as Tim used to back when.
Business is business, but I agree with bbuxton, IMO the bang-for-buck appeal of recent versions of Shark and PC TC Platinum has been diminished by restrictive licensing practices compared to their precedents, increasing the relative appeal of their competition. We're not the often-cited frog in the pot of water, we can feel it getting hotter....

Edited by user Wednesday, December 31, 2025 6:49:28 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified
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thanks 1 user thanked murrayagain for this useful post.
bbuxton on 12/31/2025(UTC)
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