VPS Avenger new license system is a complete mystery

[ATN69]

I am having a complete brain meltdown here because of this new license system for Avenger. For me it just makes Avenger useless. When they implemented this Codemeter crap I never heard of it before. I never found any clear instructions how to use it and I only got by updating it on pure luck.

Now when I try to load up Avenger it says no license file or license file is missing It did work before. I didn't update or do anything. I have no idea how to solve it and Vengeance Sound doesn't even present a clear path to their support.

Is there any friendly soul who can tell me where I can get educated or find support?

If not, I will kick this useless software out of my SSD.

P.S Sorry for the rant. I don't easily get upset with things like this but this one is really stretching it D.S

[zvenx]

From what I have read, that issue has to do with a compatibility with Avenger and CM 7.. You apparently need to go back to CM 6.8 or maybe it is 6.9. I couldn't seem to find it on codemeter's website however.
rsp

[ATN69]

I just checked and I have 6.90 installed. I did not update the CM or Avenger. I did not receive any Windows updates in a while either. I did however found a log file inside the CM with error messages. CM also crashed once I tried to restart it so in the end I had to reboot the computer. Very stable and reliable stuff right here!

Last rows of the log said:
2020-04-09 10:48:25: The list of available CmContainers has been updated!
2020-04-09 10:48:47: Access from local(IPV4) to SubSystem (Handle 20)
2020-04-09 10:48:47: Handle 20 released
2020-04-09 10:49:35: AccessControl: Primary/backup Domain controller search failed with error The list of servers for this workgroup is not currently available!
2020-04-09 10:49:43: FC:PC=6000977:10000 : Expiration Time is expired.
2020-04-09 10:49:43: Entry (6000977:10000:1) not found - Event WB0035 (EXPIRATION TIME OVERRUN), Request IP-Address local(IPV4) with NoUserLimit
2020-04-09 10:49:43: API Error 35 (EXPIRATION TIME OVERRUN) occurred!

[ATN69]

After some digging I found something else that I don't understand. Does my licenses for Avenger expire? How to deal with this when there is no support to be found?

Expire..jpg

[zvenx]

Yes it does. Every 90 days and you have to renew them, by either using the Vman App which you can get from your your vps webportal or removing (rehosting) the license from the computer and reactivating it.
I kid you not.
rsp

[MissOptimyst]

Every 3 months you have to manually refresh your license. Have you had Avenger 1.5 that long and not refreshed yet? I am wondering if that may be your issue.

If you have VMan installed you can activate in one click. If not, I would either download it or manage the license in your account on the website.

[ATN69]

I solved my problems and learned a whole lot of new things. Today I learned that VPS Avenger license needs to be reactivated every 90 days. I wonder who came up with such a clever and user friendly solution

Finally I found on Reddit how to deal with this. I thought I might simply remove this thread but then I thought maybe someone else might need this information below. Here is goes,

You need to rehost via your Avenger account every 90-days. Using a browser, log into your Avenger account,

1. Click on manage activations
2. Click on Re-Host Licenses
3. Click on Deactivate Selected Licenses
4. Click on Activate Licenses
5. Click on I want my licenses on one computer
6. Click on Activate Selected Licenses
7. Click on OK

...done

[ATN69]

Every 3 months you have to manually refresh your license. Have you had Avenger 1.5 that long and not refreshed yet? I am wondering if that may be your issue.

If you have VMan installed you can activate in one click. If not, I would either download it or manage the license in your account on the website.

Yes, you are right. I don't use Avenger very often and only today I learned it has to be re-activated after 90 days. It is a PITA.

[MissOptimyst]

Unfortunately I agree there isn’t much documentation about this. I found out only because of this forum as well.

[ATN69]

Yes it does. Every 90 days and you have to renew them, by either using the Vman App which you can get from your your vps webportal or removing (rehosting) the license from the computer and reactivating it.
I kid you not.
rsp

Thanks! I will check out that Vman App. First time I ever heard about that to. Many "firsts" today when it comes to Avenger. I guess Avenger is trying to live up to it's name

[clipnotic]

I'm buying VSTs since 15 years and never had so many problems with one of them, like with Avenger. Installation, import expansions ... everything makes trouble and I had to ask the support. But what me mostly pissing of, is how they deal with it and how some of their fanboys act, that users with problems are feeling stupid.

On the one hand they're present and helpful in some forums and on Facebook. That's cool, but in that situation that's their job, too!

On the other hand, they tell you "the last synth you will ever need" and "it needs only one click with Vman". I had problems with the import of current expansions, which didn't work because of a bug in Vman! That the problem is a bug, their support told me after I contacted them! No information about that on their website or on Facebook?

As I bought an expansion again and tried to import it, like the support told me before, it didn't work again. Because this time I got no answer from their support, I posted my problems angry on Facebook and some cool users there helped me to fix that, really thanks to them! This time it allegedly was a problem with the Win10 ProgramData folder. Sorry, I have hundreds of VSTs and other software installed in that folder and I'm using the full administrator Win10 account, too!

If hundreds of other VSTs are running fine in a DAW and on Win10, but one doesn't, it's a problem with that one VST and not with a full running system! And that partially arrogant handling with "the worst copyprotection system you will ever hate" brokes the camel's back!

A really costumer friendly company would stop that mess and not force such a crap!

EDIT:
And of course currently we have worldwide Corona arrangements and many things just working provisional. So, it's no problem, if it takes time to get help or answers! But that mess has been running for months!

[clipnotic]

And it's an great idea, to post solutions in this thread! I only do this too, because users have to help eachother, but it's a shame for Vengeance and "the last synth you will ever need", that users have to do this!

I'm working with Win10 and a current i7 CPU.

1. Problems with expansion activation in Vman:

I got this error on March 27th as I tried to activate that expansions:

- Acid Breaks
- Trance Two
- Atmospherica
- Techno 1
- Effects: Trance

"Error: Internal server error, please contact our support team"

Solution was:

If you'll get this error in Vman, you'll have to activate your expansions in your Vengeance online account, because "there is a bug" in Vman!

By the way, I couldn't contact the support team directly on the Vengeance website, because I got that message after I included my "download code" there:

"Error Invalide Code"

I only could write them, because I saved their email adress in my email account after a problem with the installation of Avenger!


2. Problem with importing the expansion "Handsup Lives!"

I got this errors on April 2nd:

"Error within importing settings: /ProgramDataVengeance/VPS Avenger/settings/Arpeggiator/XP HandsUp Lives/ ... (rest is not visible)

after OK

"Error while importing settings"

Solution was:

I downloaded the expansion again and replaced that file manually with the file there (thanks to Facebook user!):

C:\ProgramData\Vengeance\VPS Avenger\expansions

But this only works, if the activation process in Codemeter worked before!

You can check this, if you look in your account at:

https://register.vps-avenger.com

There you click on "manage activations".

There you should see each expansion listed three times. There should be one activation entry next to the CmContainer number. Now check, if the expansion has the "activated" status!

But please note!

All that needs only one click!!!

[tatanka]

Its really great if you want to become an expert with solving licensing problems (and: you got a new chance EVRY 3 month, how great is that !), as long as you dont plan to use Avenger as VST for making music, but who cares about that.....

[overhishead]

presumably, anyone who can buy this and all the expansions can afford to hire a studio technician who can do the updates for them, so just let them figure it out. Just to put it in perspective, a Steely Dan album took a hundred people to make, and a million dollars in 1980 money. Avenger plus all the expansions plus a studio assistant is nowhere near as costly.

[ATN69]

I am all for a good pirate copy protection but a good protection should strike the correct balance between hard to crack and user friendliness. Once a protection become too complicated it will also push the plugin towards the limit where it can be considered to be useless.

I admit I don't always read user guides or information but in this case with Avenger and CM it would not be too much to ask to get a step by step description on how to deal with this. 90 days is often enough to make it annoying but at the same time too seldom to make it routine. For sure I will forget how I did it 3 months later. Now I saved the step by step description provided by a guy on Reddit. It should however been readily available from Vengeance to begin with.

I can only hope more companies doesn't go down the same road and if they do, at least I hope they are nice enough and smart enough to provide clear and easy to follow information right away. It's only thanks to other users and Google that I managed to get this sorted, and not thanks to Vengeance.