KVR Audio

Greenstorm33 · Post by **Greenstorm33** » Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:37 pm

Does anybody know if Cakewalk software purchased on Steam still depends on Cakewalk servers for activation? Or is activation handled entirely by Steam? I bought Z3ta+2 in this year's Steam summer sale but I'm hesitant to continue using it if I could lose the ability to activate it in the near future.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:50 pm

Good question. I have Magix' Vegas Movie Studio Steam Edition, and it says "Registered to STEAM USER", so, it's very likely that the same applies to Cakewalk's software (after all, Steam has its own DRM etc.). Needs confirmation though.

Romantique Tp · Post by **Romantique Tp** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 7:43 am

All Cakewalk software on Steam depends on Cakewalk's servers for activation as far as I know.

Mystic · Post by **Mystic** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 9:40 pm

Cakewalk will be continuing activations on their own servers. That won't be going down any time soon. They are working on an offline activation process for people who are concerned and they are aware of the Steam users as well.

sjm · Post by **sjm** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 10:24 pm

They require the servers. How long those will stay up is anyone's guess. Given Gibson is close to bankruptcy, I wouldn't be massively optimistic about the long term future. I'm hoping someone somewhere provides us with a long term solution. I posted a question on steam, but no reply as of early this morning.

That said, there's nothing stopping you using it on your current machine right now. Just be aware that you might not be able to migrate to another computer later down the line. So bounce to audio to be safe when the song is done.

Greenstorm33 · Post by **Greenstorm33** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 11:06 pm

Mystic wrote:Cakewalk will be continuing activations on their own servers. That won't be going down any time soon. They are working on an offline activation process for people who are concerned and they are aware of the Steam users as well.

I know they said they'd keep the servers up, but given the state of the company I'm preparing for the worst. Did they actually say they're working on offline versions of their stuff? I hadn't heard that, but it would definitely be nice to have.

sjm wrote:That said, there's nothing stopping you using it on your current machine right now. Just be aware that you might not be able to migrate to another computer later down the line. So bounce to audio to be safe when the song is done.

Yeah, I guess using it while I can and freezing is the way to go. I quite like the synth, so I'll be sad if/when it stops working.

Teksonik · Post by **Teksonik** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 11:20 pm

Wait, you had to have Steam and the Cakewalk "Command Center" installed to run Z3TA+2 ??

No wonder they went out of business.

When did Steam come into the picture ? My Sonar X3 and Z3ta+2 were Pre-Steam I guess.

VariKusBrainZ · Post by **VariKusBrainZ** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 11:40 pm

Wow, quick google reveals a few of the old school big names have serious debt and little profit.
We may see quite a few others besides Gibson go under in the next few years

Greenstorm33 · Post by **Greenstorm33** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 1:00 am

Teksonik wrote:Wait, you had to have Steam and the Cakewalk "Command Center" installed to run Z3TA+2 ??

No wonder they went out of business.

When did Steam come into the picture ? My Sonar X3 and Z3ta+2 were Pre-Steam I guess.

Nope, no Command Center required, which is why I thought maybe the authorization didn't involve their servers. I don't know exactly when they started selling stuff on there, but z3ta+2 was only $30 during most of the big Steam sales. The only downside is that, for some reason, the Steam versions of their software were Windows only (despite both Steam and their synths running on OS X).

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 1:04 am

Greenstorm33 wrote:
Teksonik wrote:Wait, you had to have Steam and the Cakewalk "Command Center" installed to run Z3TA+2 ??

No wonder they went out of business.

When did Steam come into the picture ? My Sonar X3 and Z3ta+2 were Pre-Steam I guess.
Nope, no Command Center required. Steam was just an alternative way of buying and authorizing their software. I don't know exactly when they started selling stuff on Steam, but z3ta+2 was only $30 during most of the big Steam sales. The only downside is that, for some reason, the Steam versions of their software were Windows only (despite both Steam and their software running on OS X).

I'm confused now. Above, people stated that you need to activate the Steam Cakewalk software via Cakewalk's server. Didn't the Cakewalk Command Center do exactly that?

Teksonik · Post by **Teksonik** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 1:16 am

Greenstorm33 wrote: Nope, no Command Center required, which is why I thought maybe the authorization didn't involve their servers. I don't know exactly when they started selling stuff on there, but z3ta+2 was only $30 during most of the big Steam sales. The only downside is that, for some reason, the Steam versions of their software were Windows only (despite both Steam and their synths running on OS X).

So if you bought Z3ta+2 from Steam then no Command Center is required but Steam needs to be installed ? If you bought it direct from CW then the Command Center is needed but no Steam ?

Does anyone else get the feeling that business decisions at CW were made using a Magic 8 Ball ?

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 1:21 am

If you bought it on Steam, you definitely need to run Steam to use it. The question is, does it need further activation, or is the Steam DRM the only "protection". The way it is described above, obviously, the Cakewalk stuff needs to be run from Steam + it needs activation. I wonder in which form though, as i thought the activation of their software is done through the Cakewalk Command Center.

Greenstorm33 · Post by **Greenstorm33** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 1:27 am

chk071 wrote:
Greenstorm33 wrote:
Teksonik wrote:Wait, you had to have Steam and the Cakewalk "Command Center" installed to run Z3TA+2 ??

No wonder they went out of business.

When did Steam come into the picture ? My Sonar X3 and Z3ta+2 were Pre-Steam I guess.
Nope, no Command Center required. Steam was just an alternative way of buying and authorizing their software. I don't know exactly when they started selling stuff on Steam, but z3ta+2 was only $30 during most of the big Steam sales. The only downside is that, for some reason, the Steam versions of their software were Windows only (despite both Steam and their software running on OS X).
I'm confused now. Above, people stated that you need to activate the Steam Cakewalk software via Cakewalk's server. Didn't the Cakewalk Command Center do exactly that?

Maybe Steam interacts with a server controlled by Cakewalk to do the authorization? I just double-checked and I definitely do not have Command Center installed.

Teksonik wrote:
Greenstorm33 wrote: Nope, no Command Center required, which is why I thought maybe the authorization didn't involve their servers. I don't know exactly when they started selling stuff on there, but z3ta+2 was only $30 during most of the big Steam sales. The only downside is that, for some reason, the Steam versions of their software were Windows only (despite both Steam and their synths running on OS X).
So if you bought Z3ta+2 from Steam then no Command Center is required but Steam needs to be installed ? If you bought it direct from CW then the Command Center is needed but no Steam ?

Does anyone else get the feeling that business decisions at CW were made using a Magic 8 Ball ?

Probably lol. I already used Steam so it wasn't a big deal for me. Now that I think about it I actually prefer it to having yet another authorization program on my computer

Teksonik · Post by **Teksonik** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 1:44 am

Greenstorm33 wrote: I already used Steam so it wasn't a big deal for me. Now that I think about it I actually prefer it to having yet another authorization program on my computer

I use Steam for games on another computer but I would not install it on my studio computer. I would prefer the Command Center or it's predecessor (can't remember the name right now) which is what I still have.

Or to be precise I'd prefer none of the above.

Which is why I now use Reaper and FL Studio. No extra "License Manager" or Command Center or Steam or....

Mystic · Post by **Mystic** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 5:11 am

Greenstorm33 wrote:I know they said they'd keep the servers up, but given the state of the company I'm preparing for the worst. Did they actually say they're working on offline versions of their stuff? I hadn't heard that, but it would definitely be nice to have.

Yes, they have addressed this multiple times on their forums.

Status of Cakewalk's Software on Steam