Jump to content
3DCoat Forums

cookepuss

Member
  • Posts

    92
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by cookepuss

  1. Just drop the new 3DCoat.license file into the x:\Users\YOURNAME\Documents\3DCoat directory. Be sure to rename the old one or archive it. If 3DCoat is already looking for the file in that location, it'll pick up the new license right away. Otherwise, it'll ask you for the license file, at which moment you can point the app to it.
  2. Okay, guys, you rabid lot you. I would greatly like to thank all of you for advocating on my behalf. I was more than ready to take my lumps like a big boy, but you guys... You're certainly the never surrender type. Thanks. Having said that, I've since spoken to Stanislov at Pilgway. He made me a generous offer to make me whole, offering me up the full refund for the new license as well as gifting me the original upgrade for my weeks/months long inconvenience. Once that refund is processed, I will consider this matter more fully resolved. Finished and in the history books. I would like to publicly thank Stanislov for his kind, courteous, generous, AND prompt response. It greatly renews my faith in Pilgway. As I told him directly, I hold nobody at fault here. It's just one of those things that happens. Let there be no bad blood between any of us from here on out. Thank you and Cheers.
  3. BTW, I am sorry to hear of that person's illness. I suffered from extreme COVID (and related pneumonia) just a few years ago. I was ill for 2+ months and nearly died. No joke. (That was my second major bout too.) Even recovered, I still suffer from some liver damage as a result. My mother also got COVID during that time period (her 2nd bout too). She got COVID related pneumonia with a side of induced dementia on the side. Not great. She's been bed ridden in a nursing home since. I sincerely hope that your team member has recovered and is doing better. I know what it's like to be super ill and intensely unresponsive. It stinks. Sorry once again.
  4. Hey there, Stanislav. I responded to you directly via e-mail. It's super long, but I wanted you to follow the full chain of events without having to read through this even longer thread. At this PC and in this current location, a webcam is not available to me and video chat isn't an option. Plus, we're both in vastly different time zones. E-Mail works out a little better. I outlined the situation, the expensive lengths to which I had to go just for 12 more months of paid support/maintenance, and at what account (new VS old) I'll be using instead. I only need one license as I'm only one person. Once you read my full e-mail in all of it's gory detail, you'll better understand how to move forward to the satisfaction of all parties involved. Thanks.
  5. I would definitely have informed people if that had happened or even if a good old "blah blah blah" response had entered my inbox. Sadly, I've heard nothing. It's just... Yeah. It's a terrible way to build customer trust. I can chalk some of it to mitigating circumstances, but the rest is just poor form. I haven't gotten a single response in the least. Not in spam. trash, inbox, or my dreams. This thread is the most of I heard on this topic in weeks. No brotherly love where cash is involved, I suppose.
  6. Try going to your member profile page: https://pilgway.com/member/profile The upgrade button SHOULD appear there, but under 2 basic conditions. Your maintenance period is already over. A new downloadable version was made available after your last day of maintenance. In theory, the button should appear then. That grayed out button and "already in the cart" message seems to appear after you upgraded from v4, at least that's how it was for me. Again, try the link I just posted above and login with your credentials. You should be fine as long as you meet the criteria I listed. IF it doesn't and you still have problems, try e-mailing them at sales@pilgway for some help. That seems to have helped 99% of people in your situation. Just a word of caution - and this is NOT to scare you or libel Pilgway in any way - you might want to read a few of the various, similar threads here on the forums such as mine (https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/28538-solved-looking-for-another-12-months-of-updates-how-long-does-it-usually-take-for-the-upgrade-option-to-appear/) If nothing else, it gives you a few ideas of how to handle the situation and how NOT to handle it too. Again, mine is NOT reflective of the average experience and I've found that a lot of very good people tried to help me. I hold no ill will toward any one person or Pilgway, fwiw. ONE LAST NOTE: Be patient. Pilgway is in Ukraine and you may have a large time difference to contend with. In my case, there's a 7 hour difference with them being ahead. They also don't seem to work/reply on the weekend either. Just try to remain calm, patient, understanding, and at all times polite. It may take you a few back and forth exchanges to sort things out, but most people report positive experiences and results. You should be fine, should you have to contact them directly.
  7. I appreciate your willingness to advocate on my part. I really do. I too would certainly have preferred to spend $54 (USD) instead of $453. However, when the problem doesn't get properly resolved after 3-4 weeks of constant attempts, yet is marked [SOLVED] within mere days nevertheless, I share your outrage - and then some. I read your post the moment it appeared and before being edited for apparent "language" and "babble" reasons. I simply choose to wait and not enter some Raging Gigachad mode; Best to let calm prevail despite the fact that I felt as if I had been secretly testing some new Frustration Module? Having said that... Look. I don't expect this post or even yours to effect instantaneous, any change or response. To quote Maya Angelou, "When people show you who they are, believe them." That's my feeling here. Actions speak volumes. A company that is quick to take money and slow to support tells you all that you need to know. I spent nearly a month trying to resolve the upgrade issue and then me subsequently trying to pay them 45€ for the upgrade erroneously (?) added to my account without my knowledge. However, it probably only took 15 minutes for them to take my $453.01 and then send me a brand new license. I understand that one system is automated while the other is not. However, the optics of it are... ugly. Once again, I am in full agreement with you. In my final assessment, I feel that stamping [SOLVED] on this topic in a way that matters remains highly unlikely. If anything, like one of those Chinese finger traps, the constant pulling back and forth will probably prolong "the agony" more than necessary. Struggling in quicksand only makes you sink faster, to mix my metaphors here. Personally, at least on some level, I expect Pilgway's internal logic to be something along the lines of... "Mistake or not, he already got the upgraded license added to his account. What's he complaining about? He didn't even have to pay us our 45€. He should just take the win and move on." "Nobody put a gun to his head and forced him to buy a brand new 379€ license. He's a big boy. That was his decision." Were that the rationale behind the scenes or not, I honestly have no idea. Regardless, I'm not sure that I'd agree on either point. Whether the license upgrade was added intentionally or by mistake, it was still my (original) intention to do the honest thing and pay the 45€ owed to them. Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. Nobody held a gun to my head and forced me to spend 379€; 334€ more than necessary had this issue been addressed adequately. That is accurate. Still, HAD this issue been addressed properly and in a decently expedient fashion, days instead of weeks (or never), my hand would not have felt forced to self-resolve. "What would a reasonable person do in this situation?" That was my mindset. I know that it might seem as if I'm not being appropriately insistent or outraged enough; I'm plenty of both. In a perfect world, if for no other reason than to maintain a strong relationship, maybe this story should end in a different and more positive manner. This isn't a perfect world and I don't anticipate that happening. Past is prologue. Ultimately, long past the risk of sounding redundant, I just want the record to show that: I did go through the process and the relevant channels, as requested and dictated by common sense. Lengthy posts here aside, I did remain reasonably patient. Not once did I expect instantaneous responses or resolutions. Having noticed the (erroneously?) added upgrade license on my account, I did make several requests regarding how I could pay them the 45€ owed. I never intended on keeping or using a 45€ upgrade license that I didn't pay for. The license on this account is frozen at v2023.25 as far as I'm concerned. I no longer intend on pursuing an upgrade to the license on this account OR paying for the one erroneously (?) added without my consent or knowledge. I tried repeatedly. The moment has passed. I will happily continue to use the brand new (fully paid for) license though Me spending that 379€ ($453.01) was a last resort. I'd still be waiting if I hadn't. Who wants their maintenance period to end? Not once had I raged, threatened, or taken to social media like some crazed lunatic. I really could have and, after weeks of treading water, it might not have been totally unreasonable Still, one does not engender good will that way though. Despite brevity not being my forte, I did try to remain rational, patient, and professional at every turn. Had I been another person or even 20 years younger... Once again, I appreciate your shared outrage and attempt at intervention on my behalf. I'm just trying to be realistic here. My message to Pilgway: "Do better. If not for me, for the next guy or the one after." As Porky Pig would say, "That's all folks."
  8. No sense in reporting anything. As far as I'm concerned, it's done. I've got a second license now. It is what it is. No sense in crying over spilt milk. I just think, in the future, this could all be handled more smoothly. No accidental licenses. Better upgrade system. More responsive to emails. ETC. I just wanted to keep people here updated since I hadn't posted anything in a bit.
  9. Well. It's been nearly 4 weeks now. For those of you who are wondering if/how this situation actually got resolved, here's a quick recap of events and the various problems, solutions along the way. (SPOILER: I got no help and ultimately had to go with my "doomsday option" and spend extra money.) ORIGINAL PROBLEM: The date was July 21st and my maintenance had run out the day before, July 20th. As you might guess, I wanted to upgrade and get my fresh license. Unfortunately, there was no upgrade button on my account. I posted here and e-mailed Pilgway numerous times. Pilgway's original solution was for me to just rent for another year. I had a permanent license and rental was not what I was trying to do. More e-mails. More posts. More waiting. Eventually, Pilgway got back to me and told me that I had to wait for a new downloadable version to be made available before the upgrade button would appear on my account. Fine. Seems pretty solved, right? I just had to wait some more. I was okay with that. PROBLEM PART II After noticing how people with similar license dates had gotten their upgrade button already, I checked my account to see if it had appeared on mine too. Nope. No upgrade button yet. Wait. Hold on a second. There's a fresh updated license file on my account?!? Sounds solved, but I didn't pay my 45€ though. The license just... appeared. I'm no thief. I was NOT going to use a license file that I didn't pay for. So, naturally, I posted here and sent even MORE e-mails to Pilgway. My intention (at the time) was to find a way to pay them the 45€ that I was to originally pay for the upgraded license. No such thing as a free ride, right? Wait. Wait. ... Wait some more. ... I e-mailed Pilgway again. Nothing. Total silence. Meanwhile, more betas and fixes are coming out. MY SOLUTION I didn't want to, but I had to shell out another 379€ for a fresh license, on a different account as to not create further problems/entanglements on the original. With NO help coming my way, this was the only way for me to get my 12 months and actually pay Pilgway. So.... fresh license on a fresh account. That was my solution, like it or not. Regarding my old license.... As far as I'm concerned, I'm keeping it frozen at v2023.25 and I'll probably just give it to my niece in that state. Maybe. Haven't decided yet. That "accidental fix" of a license that was put on my account, but didn't pay for doesn't exist in my mind. FINAL THOUGHTS To reiterate... I will NOT use the new/fresh license that was erroneously put on my account without me having paid the upgrade fee for it. That would be wrong, which is why I was trying to pay Pilgway in the first place. I'm done trying to explore that avenue, resolution though. Leave it frozen to v2023.25, the "problem" on that account unresolved in a way that is beneficial to both parties, and keep the party bus moving. Done. Too honest of me? Maybe. Again, I know that Andrew & Co work hard for their money. I had no intention of taking food from their mouths. So, as far as I'm concerned, this problem is solved. Pilgway got paid, about 7x more than I had intended, but it's done. ~fini~ My old license, from my perspective, is frozen at v2023.25 and my niece will probably inherit it in that state. No upgrading that particular account/license beyond that. Let her learn digital sculpting on my dime. Now, I've got my 12 months - on a fresh license AND on a new account. It "only" set me back by 379€. TBH, I've paid more for less so I'm not THAT annoyed. I'm just extra grumpy that I had to resolve the problem myself when it would've cost me 45€ instead. I don't expect to receive support 5 minutes after I click "send" on my e-mail, but waiting 3-4 weeks, jumping through hoops, and STILL getting no definitive help from Pilgway... Frustrating at the least. GOING FORWARD... If I end up having this same problem in August 2024, I'm just going to explore 3rd party alternatives. Simple as that I love 3DCoat and have been a user for 14 years (since 2009), but I don't think I can put myself through another month's worth of e-mails, posts, and broken "solutions". Certainly not another 379€ for what should have been a 45€ upgrade. Again, to my satisfaction, this problem is solved. No further intervention required. I just won't go through this drama again next year if I get a whiff that it'll happen. Not at all. I'll cross/burn that bridge August 2024.
  10. Thanks. Managed to send out an e-mail to Pilgway. Just awaiting a response now. I know that most people would see that "free" license in their account and just keep quiet about it. Personally? I wouldn't feel right since I hadn't paid the required 45€.Too honest? Maybe. Just trying to play it straight. Not sure if it was a goof on Pilgway's part or just their attempt to shut me up. Either way, I'm sitting on my hands and waiting to hear from Pilgway before I even think about touching that license or v2023.26. I really want to get that money thing squared first. Better than letting the shoe drop at a later date. Like my dad is fond of saying, "Don't piss off the people who serve your food." lol
  11. FTR, the only reason why I posted this latest twist in my licensing/upgrade drama here is because, for some unknown reason, my e-mails directly to Pilgway have been bouncing back. Not sure if it's my e-mail provider or a Pilgway issue. However, that's the only reason for posting to this thread... again. (REALLY sorry for over-posting and being annoying. Just frustrated. Y'know? Like that the issue was remedied, intentional or by accident. Feel terrible for not being able to pay the 45€ I'm supposed to. Fretting how not paying might boomerang back on my next year. Reason why I have not & will not touch the updated license until there's some final say, resolution. I'll p*** off til then. lol)
  12. (An edited version of what I posted in another thread here.) In the spirit of honesty and transparency... I just checked my account too. "Free Upgrades til 24.07.2024". It would seem that my upgrade problem was "fixed" by them just adding a year to my license. That would certainly solve things. HOWEVER, I haven't even paid yet. My mama didn't raise me to lie or steal. For Andrew & Co's sake, I'm being honest here I don't know if this was just sales/licensing's judgement call and way of fixing things. I just want to be truthful - even if it's to my detriment. TBH, it's probably been like that for a week and I would have never noticed unless I checked my account again today, after lazyghoul's recent post MY QUESTION... What would Pilgway have me do now? As there was no upgrade button and I did/could not actually pay, I wasn't responsible for adding that revised license to my account, yet there it is. This is through no fault of my own. If this is purely a mistake on Pilgway's part, I'm happy to pay that 45€ if they ask me to. At the same time, if Pilgway tells me not to pay the 45€ for some reason, whether this was an intentional "fix" or they're opting to "eat" their mistake, I don't want to end up paying more this time next year. What would Pilgway have me do now? I'm just trying to be honest here. I intend on using 3DCoat for many years to come. I'd rather not burn bridges. I'm not going to use that new license until/unless Pilgway tells me that I can or asks me to cough up the cash. For me, until I know better, I'm version frozen at v2023.25.
  13. *sigh* In the spirit of honesty and transparency, I sigh this time for a TOTALLY different reason. I just checked my account too. "Free Upgrades til 24.07.2024". It would seem that my upgrade problem was "fixed" by them just adding a year to my license. That would certainly solve things. HOWEVER, I haven't even paid yet. My mama didn't raise me to lie or steal. For Andrew & Co's sake, I'm being honest here I don't know if this is the same thing with lazyghoul or Hirazi Blue. I don't know if this was just sales/licensing's judgement call and way of fixing things. I just want to be truthful - even if it's to my detriment. TBH, it's probably been like that for a week and I would have never noticed unless I checked my account again today, after lazyghoul's post
  14. I'm not irked or anything, especially about me not being able to pay early. That's not a big deal. Trust me. I just think that this "glitch" needs to be worked out once and for all. With an upgrade system that's bulletproof and data-cenric, there should be no problem. However, here we are still talking about the same bug after "x" number of years. That's a problem. The algorithm for determining eligiblity is simple enough. Any one of us can describe it with as few as 2 requirements; In fact, Pilgway did it here already. Neither Hirazi Blue nor myself meet the criteria for upgrade... yet. His eligibility period was 1 day after mine - July 21st versus July 20th. The last new available version was on July 19th. Either BOTH of us should have been able to upgrade or NEITHER one of us should. The system should either disqualify us both or neither one of us at all, but not one over the other. Glitch in the Matrix or not, that's still weird. That's my point. Systems like this follow rules. They (technically) will only do what you tell/allow them to do. I know. I've been coding for four decades. The data is the data, which means that there's a problem in how it's being parsed, interpreted at some level. It might not even be Pilgway's fault if there's also 3rd party code in the mix. No blame game here. None. The funny thing is that these things usually come down to one line or a silly typo that the compiler wouldn't object to because it doesn't break it's rules or internal logic. Gotta love machines, right? Again, I'm not annoyed or frustrated about me being not being able to pay early. I'm more than happy to wait my turn. It's, like I said... interesting. That's all. Weird glitch that needs to be ironed out. ... ... ... For future generations. LOL (Sorry to use you as an example, Hirazi Blue. It's just convenient since our situations were almost the same - enough for the system to have theoretically treated us identically.)
  15. Interesting. Very... interesting. Your maintenance period literally ended a day after mine, but the upgrade option has STILL not popped up on my account yet. I only mention this because, reportedly, the reason given was that there was no new version released since my cutoff date. In that case, the upgrade option still shouldn't have been made available for you either. The last new version (v2023.25) came out on July 19th - during BOTH of our coverage periods. Hmmmm... I trust in what stas3dc told me. I just find it curious that it would allow one ineligible user to upgrade, but not the other. Yeah This system is still well and truly borked.
  16. It would be hilarious if that were the case, but I don't think so. That misspelling has been in the license file for years now. It's probably something else.
  17. I honestly cannot tell you if there's a discount for 1-Year Rentals or not. I'm a permanent license holder. I mean, I wouldn't be shocked if there were, but I don't see Pilgway as having any obligation to discount the rentals for returning user. Kinda defeats the purpose of that business model and disadvantages them, I think. You certainly don't see the likes of Adobe or Autodesk giving customers a discount just for renewing their annual rental one year over the next. Again, I don't disbelieve you. I just assumed that Pilgway would follow the same proven line of thinking as other companies in their position Yeah. That permanent license is probably the way to go anyway. Cheaper in the long term and only "hassle" is in navigating the upgrade process once your 12 months are up; It's not so complex once you understand "the rules" - A few threads here these days reiterating them. Personally, given the way that MAXON and Adobe have treated ZBrush and Substance users (and the products) in recent years, you'd do well to stay in Pilgway's camp for as long as possible. Andrew & Co do top notch work and keep 3DCoat competitive and affordable, which is doubly impressive as he's based in Ukraine. Kudos to them.
  18. 45€ applies to permanent license; 80€ if you skip more than a year. However, yours is a case of straight forward rental. Because of that, it's likely going to be another 169.85€. 1-Year Rental is not the same as Rent-to-own. A 1-Year Rental is similar in concept to a 1 year subscription, which Pilgway doesn't offer, but with manual renewal instead of automatic. 1-Year Rental is pretty much designed for those who need 3DCoat for a limited period of time, usually for when they're working on a project. It's not a smart move, financially, if you keep paying that 169.85€ every year. Eventually, it's going to cost way more than just paying the 379€ for a permanent license and then 45€ every year after to upgrade. IMO, buying a permanent license is cheaper than rental and even rent-to-own. 3 years of rental comes out close to 1 379€ permanent license and 3 more years of 45€ upgrades. More expensive long term. Don't even get me started on how much more monthly rental comes out to down the line. Yowza! Rental should buy your last option, I think. It's the least cost effective if you plan on staying with 3DC for the long haul. Rent-to-Own is more manageable at 41.60€ for 11 months, but - by the end - that still comes out to almost 79€ more than buying a permanent license outright. A permanent license will cost you more now in the short term, but less down the line.
  19. Thank you very much for the response. Certainly more helpful than Sales' head scratching suggestion to just pay for a 1-Year Rental. I guess that I can sorta understand the practical and business logic behind the secondary condition, but it does create awkward situations such as this where users might want to prioritize a fluid continuity of license dates. Many people would just rather get that expense out of the way the moment their time is up, as opposed to playing a secondary waiting game of sorts. Feels unnecessarily complicated in some ways. Kind of a side effect to not having (more or less) everybody on the same page upgrading to and from the same version at the same time, as was the case going from v3 to v4 or v4 to v2021. Okay. So now it's Waiting Game #2 and the money burns a hole in my pocket til then. Yeah. Working pretty hard here to give my money to y'all. Thanks again.
  20. Oh, I feel ya'. I've been with 3DCoat since 2009 and V3. I'd much rather not abandon it though. The alternatives have their own problems. I left ZBrush after MAXON took over; I had been a C4D user for many years and lost faith in them after quality went down, but prices went up. I don't trust that they won't treat ZBrush the same way. Similarly, I was a Photoshop user since 1992. However, the competition reached a certain point of maturity where I could get 99% of the core functionality for a fraction of t he price. That's why I moved over to Affinity. Not all of the tools that I want, but all of the tools that I need. On top of that Adobe's general treatment of their apps kinda drove me away. The mere fact that the Substance apps aren't built to deal with 4K monitors is in itself troublesome, despite the fact that more users are running at that res these days. So, for me, 3DCoat is a nice compromise and fusion of power found in several other programs like ZBrush and Substance. Not every feature that I want, but every one that I need. Abandoning 3DCoat would me going back to MAXON and Adobe. I'd much rather not. 3DCoat is affordable, perpetual, & multi-faceted. It's the Blender of the sculpting/paining apps, imo. A nice blend of features that all work just the way I like.
  21. One last thing.... I wanted to thank everybody here for being so patient and willing to hear me babble. I know that I can rant on occasion. My posting here was less about me griping like a madman and more about transparency. The more people who can address this problem openly, the more likely it is that others won't have to deal with it next year. That's the goal, to fix the upgrade problem. And again, I fully acknowledge that the upgrade cost is substantially cheaper than that of a full license. I'm not keen on spending more than I need to either. I just know that, if all else fails and nobody is able to remedy the situation, there is that "nuclear option" on the table. Again, thank you for all of your patience and understanding. I will update you all if and when the situation resolves itself - whenever that is.
  22. Yeah. Thanks. Finger crossed. Joe in Sales' response to me was to basically just pay for a 1-Year Rental. Not an option for those who want to stay on the upgrade path AND maintain a permanent/perpetual license. I e-mailed sales again this morning. Waiting on a response.
  23. You're 100% right. I would not willingly pay that cost again. I know full well what the cost for an upgrade should be, which is MUCH lower than that of a full license. Again, I've been using 3DCoat for 14 years. I know the drill. However, if Pilgway is ultimately unable or unwilling to remedy the situation then I'd have to resort to a more drastic option. And let's face it. It'd still be cheaper than the cost of Adobe CC or Maya. I've certainly paid more for less. I would just rather not pull the trigger on a pricey self-remedy. I'm in full agreement with you there.
  24. No kidding. My update period ended on July 20th. When the option didn't appear on my account on the 21st, I emailed Pilgway Sales directly. Given that it was close to the weekend, I didn't hear anything til this morning, the 24th. The response that I got from Sales essentially directed me to the 1-Year Rental option, which was NOT what I was looking for since this is a perpetual/permanent license that needs upgrading. I promptly e-mailed them again, saying that they're pointing me in the wrong direction and that I just need that upgrade option to work on my Accounts page. I've yet to hear from them. My (pricey) solution of last resort, if nobody can or will resolve the issue, is just to buy a fresh license. That's an expensive fix. It will accomplish the same thing as the upgrade, but cost me 8x what the actual upgrade would. Like most 3DCoat users, one of the benefits to me of those 12 months isn't just new features, but bug fixes. If I don't upgrade (or buy a fresh license) then I'm stuck with whatever eccentricities still exist in v2023.25. The 1-year Rental option suggested by Sales is a non-starter. Subscription is subscription no matter what you call it; You own nothing and access goes away once the 12 months are up. Not even going to entertain that rental option.
×
×
  • Create New...