Havok,
I could not have written it better. There is a lot of truth in what you wrote. There should be a monthly subscription available for everyone and when I remember correctly, that is exactly what Tom or Ashley wrote here on the forum, I think early April.
I do not have anything against your poll, on the contrary. However, I ask myself, will Scirra take the outcome into consideration?.
I agree with you that the present situation fragments a very strong community between a willing and no subscription camp. It should not be that way because it is counter-productive for Scirra. I agree that when it keeps it this way, there will be people feeling left behind and moving to other game development tools. People leaving because feeling left behind or being "trashed" must be avoided at all cost. On this moment I am sure Scirra's competition is laughing because users are leaving.
If I did own Scirra, I tell you honestly, I would be worried and concerned very much. Despite I am pro subscription, I also want to warn Scirra to look into the present situation very carefully. They put themselves in a very vulnerable position from the first moment they announced C3. And honestly, I have no idea how I should have done that if I was in their shoes. I urge them to listen to every noise in their very nice community, especially to the people who are seriously (without bashing) against the subscription model. You and me are in a very worrying minority in your poll. From a business point of view, the results of your poll should be taken into very serious consideration. I want to be honest with you, I never expected the results for our categorie in your poll so low. If that represent the reality, it doesn't look good.
However, there can be light on the horizon. When they release the new subscription model, they can be forced to review their subscription model to adapt it to the reality. Like we already found out with political polls, they can be misleading. We will shortly after the release find out how the new subscription model works out.
I believe strongly in Construct 3 future and from my point of view, see many exciting ways C3 will develop. That is why I installed Google Chrome (which I completely dislike because of privacy reasons) and run C3 in it on the desktop. However, since installing, Google Chrome clashes regularly with MalwareBytes which I trust to protect my laptop. I fear the day will come Malwarebytes blocks Construct 3 when it calls too much "home". I think that is also something Scirra should take in serious consideration. To give an example, Skype Phone connections are regularly blocked because it try to collect personal information and sent it out. Even collecting how much a user opens a website and which website are visited, can trigger blockings by software like MalwareBytes.
So, yes, I am afraid that Scirra is taking enormious risks. However that can work two ways. As long as they learn from the outcome, they and we will be fine. Sometimes a hard lesson is necessary to be succesfull in business.
LIke you I will make my new game in Construct 3, once I can have the full version available. What we have now in the beta, does not cover my needs. If our small daughter of 8 continues to show her interest in game development, I will buy even a licence for her too.
I do believe the future is shining bright for Scirra and Construct after the present "wild" ride!
wizaerd,
That is your viewpoint, which is also as much valid as eveybody else's. I also would gladly pay if Construct 3 cost a few hundreds of dollars. But a misconception by computer software is that they "own" their software they buy. Mostly a licence only give you the "right" to use the software which is installed on your computer. However, I got your point and that from others: what if Scirra goes out of business which is very unlikely but can happen? Those concerns are very much valid, but sometimes we have to take risks to achieve a great goal.
Only the future will tell but about one thing I am sure, Scirra will adapt to make their own "baby" the best! They did it in the past and they will do it in the future. Like myself, they are very flexible and can see already far in the future.
Despite the noise now, they will win, our favourite game development tool Construct will also win and we as their users, will also win!
Believe me, these are very exciting times, both for Scirra and us. We are all on the edge of exploring a new galaxy!!!
Wow... "we boldly go where nobody else has gone before" (from the famous Enterprise captain James T. Kirk).!!! Beam me up, Scotty!
Thank you both for sharing your thoughts.
Chris