Digital Art Zone

I cant for the life of me get Daz staff to support my efforts to go pro!

The replys I get (support ticket system and emails) keep pointing me to the BETA version of Carrara 8.5 (which is due to end in a few days and there is NO guarentee that they will give out another Beta serial!)...All I want to do is give Daz my money and upgrade from standard to pro, is that too much to ask???

Here is a copy of my last request.. Did I not make myself CLEAR?
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  Request #*******
Upgrading Carrara 8 standard to pro
Orion_uk
May 29 13:29

Hi,

I see that Carrara 8 pro is $549.95, and my current paid version of Carrara 8 (8.1.1.12 -32bit) is $149.95.

Having paid for Carrara 8 standard (8.1.1.12 32bit), How much would it cost to upgrade to C8.1.1.12 64bit PRO? (Surely not $549.95!, thats a full version price not an upgrade price right?) lol.

Is there a release date for Carrara 8.5 Pro 64bit (as i know this is still in Beta stage) or would it be better to upgrade from standard to pro AFTER the Beta becomes a stable release (to save having to pay out for another upgrade to get 8.5 pro advantages)?

I do not see an option to upgrade from standard to pro in the store! You can only buy standard OR buy pro, not upgrade to pro from standard!

Thank you, warmest regards.

————————————————————————————————
Britney
DAZ 3D

  The 8.5 is currently available to Carrara 8 owners. You simply need to reset your downloads for Carrara 8. You can do so by clicking the ‘reset’ link next to your order number.
  You will need the current serial number for 8.5 listed here for you,

  http://www.daz3d.com/forums/viewthread/67/

June 05, 2012 14:03

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Sorry Britney, This is not the information I require!

  Your reply is for the 8.5 BETA…This Beta version is changing constantly (a side effect of Beta testing stages) I am looking for a (STABLE) upgrade from Carrara 8 (8.1.1.12 -32bit) to Carrara 8 PRO 1.1.12 -64bit.

  I am desperately trying to GIVE Daz3D my money here But can not for the life of me get a straight reply that contains the correct information either here or in the forum!

  It really IS quite simple!

  UNTIL the release date of a stable 8.5, There should be a version of Carrara 8 PRO 1.1.12 -64bit available in the store, there is NOT!

  The only store options are as follows:

  Carrara 8 upgrade (to upgrade from C6-7 to 8) at $89.95

  Carrara 8 pro (full product, NOT upgrade from standard to pro) at $549.95

  Where is the UPGRADE from Carrara 8 (standard) to PRO (64bit) option?

  The 8.5 version is advertised online but clicking on the advertisement takes you to the store where it is currently NOT available (due to still being in a beta phase)...

  I am using the 8.5 Beta BUT this beta testing session is due to end in a few days and there is NO guarantee that another Beta testers serial code will be released! Should Daz decide not to release another Beta serial then I am stuck using my standard version with out PRO features, This is why I wish to buy the PRO version that should be a current stable version as there is no definite release date for the current 8.5.

  Besides, I don’t want to pay the price of a full version pro program when I should simply be able to pay the upgrade difference between standard and pro! Right?

  Thank you!

June 16, 2012 10:37
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So, ANYONE know how I can go pro until the 8.5 beta becomes a stable release?
(with out having to worry that my beta serial will run out and if I will or wont get another one issued!)
As I would love to go 64bit and keep pro features perminantly (wether I upgrade to 8.5 or not, I still want to use / have perminant access to a pro version )?

HI Orion UK

I feel for you. ..but the store is a mess right now and they’re tying to fix it and have been swamped with support tickets for orders not working and just about anything else that can go wrong in a store.

Carrara 8.5 shouldn’t really be in the store right now, (in my opinion) since it’s not finished.
rest assured that there will either be another beta release, or another serial number, to extent the beta, when the current serial times-out.

Anyone buying that right now would (I presume) get C8.1, with a coupon to get C8,5 when it’s ready.
It’s badly thought out, since there are no upgrade options available for Pro.

When the Beta testing is done,. and it’s good to go,.. then “normally” there’s an offer in the store, which announces the new version and offers upgrades for existing users.
Hold on to your money until that offer, and the 8,5 version is actually released for sale.

Hope it helps

Many thanks for your reply 3Dage

While I do sympathise with the Daz team and think that they ARE GREAT, these issues have gone on for FAR too long now! I know that they are working HARD to resolve things as quickly as possible. I also know from personal experience that they DO in general try their best to resolve issues My last issue with the store was resolved pretty darn fast and with a great level of professionalism and care to a highly satisfactory conclusion. Sadly some of my tickets and emails regarding this upgrade problem either get closed when I have not got a fitting reply or the reply points me to a completely incorrect solution!

I got so fed up with waiting for a reply from my first attempt to get this issue resolved that I ended up spending what I had saved (at that time) on the Iclone5pro and 3Dexchange pro bundle deal instead, money Daz could have had if they had responded correctly!

I love this community, the products and hope that Daz get things sorted real soon!

rest assured that there will either be another beta release, or another serial number, to extent the beta, when the current serial times-out.

I do hope so as I am most grateful to Daz for the chance to use the Beta version, most grateful indeed

Hold on to your money until that offer, and the 8,5 version is actually released for sale.

This time, I will

Thanks again 3Dage, a pleasure as always

well the beta version works with 3dx5pipeline beta FBX export whereas the “stable” version does not.
so it is better in that regard!
(hint, save those exported iClone FBX’s to use after the beta test, they could come in handy if you do not qualify for rigging stuff with the facial bones etc)
as well it working with Genesis.
I only use 8.1.1.12 for stuff like the Dazcollada exported dynamic cloth from DS3 today I did.
(but I saved and reopened the .car file in 8.5 to add hair etc.)
I usually only use it when rendering in 8.5 at the same time actually as I have it in the 32bit version and 8.5beta as 64bit so it uses less of my RAM.
The last 8.5 beta pretty stable for me.
you can put in the new serial and NOT install the next one until you see what bugs others find, that is what I did!

No Problem Orion UK, glad to help a bit…

Britney’s reply is a great example of what’s wrong here,. “She does a really great job” and is telling you the right information.

The problem is that the “BETA” is the ONLY version of Carrara 8.5 that’s currently available, ..and as you know, it’s only currently available for carrara users, through the Beta program,.. It’s NOT available for sale as a finished product, (because it’s still being developed in the Beta testing)  and it really shouldn’t be available in the store in the form that it is.
They can’t sell you it, or upgrade you to it, because it doesn’t exist as a product yet.

That’s the fault of over eager marketeers, ...trying to sell you something in advance of it’s release.

If they want to do that,.. they should make it “clear” that it’s not ready yet, but if you want to,. then you can pay NOW, and Wait to get it when it’s ready for release, and they should also have the appropriate Upgrade options for existing C6 / C7 / C8 users to upgrade to either Standard or Pro versions.

Hopefully the store situations will be resolved quickly, but I’d stress again that there won’t be an Upgrade for 8.5 available, until it’s out of beta development.

Many users here would like to know (officially, from Daz3D) exactly what the fee will be, for 8.1 users to upgrade to 8.5.

Regarding Orion_uk’s difficulty in getting the requested information:

I’ve seen this problem occur over and over since the invention of email. It seems to be an issue of reading comprehension and attention span. I’ve found that if I ask more than one question via an email, only one of the questions will be answered.

In your original email to DAZ customer service, you asked two questions, one concerning the upgrade from Carrara 8.1 to 8.1 Pro, and another concerning the 8.5 beta. If you had not mentioned the 8.5 beta, you might have received the info that you really needed.

Since there is no way to increase the email recipient’s attention to detail, you need to be clever when crafting your email by not allowing the recipient to veer off point.

This seems to be a universal problem, I encounter it everywhere and always find it frustrating. But limiting an email to a single direct question usually produces a better result.

and they should also have the appropriate Upgrade options for existing C6 / C7 / C8 users to upgrade to either Standard or Pro versions.

I agree 3Dage and thats all I am looking for, an upgrade from 8.1.12 standard to pro.. Can’t be that hard! I am sure other people are using 8.1.12 pro (64bit) versions until 8.5 is released officially !  There must be a spare copy under someone’s desk over at Daz

Both you and Wendy bring up some great points, I guess I will just have to be patient and hope the beta serials keep comming until the release date of 8.5!

It’s just strange that there has been no direct reply from Daz saying “sorry, there is NO pro option for people who wish to upgrade from 8.1.12 standard until 8.5 is officially released”, that would have been more acceptable/understandable than pointing me to a beta where the serial could run out with no guarantee of a new one!

Wendy makes a v-good point regarding the 3dx5pro pipeline and FBX/Genesis (thank you Wendy) and that I would still need to upgrade to 8.5 to gain these benefits even if Daz did sell me a copy of 8.1.12 pro (64 bit) so I guess one upgrade path is better than two
As you say Wendy, 8.5 has provided to be v-stable for me also (apart from renderings stopping half way through some times!) and I would prefer 8.5 to the previous pro version anyway

I closed my ticket and thanked Britney for her time and for giving me the best reply that she could

de3an - 16 June 2012 01:48 PM

Regarding Orion_uk’s difficulty in getting the requested information:

I’ve seen this problem occur over and over since the invention of email. It seems to be an issue of reading comprehension and attention span. I’ve found that if I ask more than one question via an email, only one of the questions will be answered.

In your original email to DAZ customer service, you asked two questions, one concerning the upgrade from Carrara 8.1 to 8.1 Pro, and another concerning the 8.5 beta. If you had not mentioned the 8.5 beta, you might have received the info that you really needed.

Since there is no way to increase the email recipient’s attention to detail, you need to be clever when crafting your email by not allowing the recipient to veer off point.

This seems to be a universal problem, I encounter it everywhere and always find it frustrating. But limiting an email to a single direct question usually produces a better result.

Thanks de3an, that’s real good advice and insight in to something I did not put too much brain power towards! :p

I will try to remember those points when posting/mailing in future

Britney answered me that I should either phone in the order for the upgrade or just respond again and let her do the order for me, if I dared.  The upgrade.price was 150ish.
She said that there will be no upgrade option in the store (there was in the old).

Britney is probably working 16 hour shifts to cope with the 10x increase in support tickets. Do a new ticket, ask as short as possible.

The upgrade.price was 150ish.

Thanks for the info HDD3D

Was that in USD or GBP?

HI HDD3D

She said that there will be no upgrade option in the store

then I guess that none of the Carrara users will be upgrading to C8.5

There are obviously some issues with the new store and the way products can be priced and offered for sale which need to be addressed.
I think this is one of them.

If you’re going to sell software, then logically you need a way for existing customers to upgrade to newer versions, as well as a “Side-grade” option for users of other software.

I’d hold off until there’s something official from Daz3D.

I think in the past they kinda did it on trust.
I upgraded from C7pro to C8pro without proof as far as I know, I had C7pro on a disc from a magazine and they never asked fir proof although there is certainly plenty out there in videos of me using it, forum screenshots etc plus plugins I bought.
I do not have C7 on my desktop, just installed the upgrade (it is still on my laptop)
however if it is in your account history as is the case for you, one would think an upgrade offer would be availabe through it.
other software companies do that, I get regular messages to upgrade my existing stuff and they know which build I have!
Smithmicro and Reallusion come to mind.

one would think an upgrade offer would be availabe through it.

I live in hope Wendy x.

Orion_Uk - 16 June 2012 03:24 PM

The upgrade.price was 150ish.

Thanks for the info HDD3D

Was that in USD or GBP?

About 150 us dollars.

3DAGE - 16 June 2012 04:53 PM

HI HDD3D

She said that there will be no upgrade option in the store

then I guess that none of the Carrara users will be upgrading to C8.5

There are obviously some issues with the new store and the way products can be priced and offered for sale which need to be addressed.
I think this is one of them.

If you’re going to sell software, then logically you need a way for existing customers to upgrade to newer versions, as well as a “Side-grade” option for users of other software.

I’d hold off until there’s something official from Daz3D.

Maybe it is a combo of 8.5 coming out soon and the new store issues, that they temporarily stopped the upgrade path.
The old store had 8.0 pro for 550$, but also a upgrade price of 300$ from bryce 7 pro, with the 30% off for new customers, it was very cheap considering b7pro was free for 4 months…

During march madness everything was half off the last few days, could have got c8pro for about 100ish, kicking myself for not pulling the trigger.

I upgraded from Carrara 8 to Carrara 8 Pro for $149.  Britney was extremely helpful.  I think the beta issue a bit of a distraction.  Once 8.5 is released you will presumably need a Pro licence key.  I would strike whilst the iron is hot.  If they let you upgrade for this price you have made a substantial saving on the notional list price.