Aurora FM - New Win(32/64) VSTi FM synthesizer - Introductory pricing

[jbraner]

FWIW Aurora FM works fine on Reaper x64 here - on Windows 10 x64

[Jkist]

Just tried the demo. Doesn't work in Reaper x64 on my Windows system. Error message while scanning: "Plugin Aurora FM.dll executed invalid operation while scanning".

Back to Oxe FM for now

XO was doing this to me for awhile. I realized that it had something to do with where I was installing it. It didn't like being installed on any other drive than my main one. Couldn't install it on the external HDD, or even the internal SSD that wasnt my main drive. So installing it on your main drive might be worth a try? Unless its already installed there...

That issue was resolved 2.5 years ago.

LMAO for some reason I didn't realize I clicked on one of the early pages, I thought I was on the recent posts. Well I am so glad the issue was resolved haha, apologies for bringing it up again. Carry on

[halcyon68]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but whats the copy protection scheme on this one?

[RyFi]

It's currently a hardware-tied license file, with licenses for a couple of computers and unlimited renewals whenever you need them (ie. changed hardware). I'll be supporting my synth for decades to come, so you have nothing to worry about! Plus, it's highly likely that I'll remove the licensing entirely long before then...

Like I've repeated the whole time: I don't want to hinder legit paying customers in any way! I'm just doing what I can to prevent against thieves ripping off my years of incredibly hard work.

[uselessmind]

It's currently a hardware-tied license file, with licenses for a couple of computers and unlimited renewals whenever you need them (ie. changed hardware). I'll be supporting my synth for decades to come, so you have nothing to worry about! Plus, it's highly likely that I'll remove the licensing entirely long before then...

Like I've repeated the whole time: I don't want to hinder legit paying customers in any way! I'm just doing what I can to prevent against thieves ripping off my years of incredibly hard work.

So did anything change regarding copy protection ? I would like to purchase a license just to support development but not cp like this.

[RyFi]

It's currently a hardware-tied license file, with licenses for a couple of computers and unlimited renewals whenever you need them (ie. changed hardware). I'll be supporting my synth for decades to come, so you have nothing to worry about! Plus, it's highly likely that I'll remove the licensing entirely long before then...

Like I've repeated the whole time: I don't want to hinder legit paying customers in any way! I'm just doing what I can to prevent against thieves ripping off my years of incredibly hard work.

So did anything change regarding copy protection ? I would like to purchase a license just to support development but not cp like this.

Hey. Thanks for your interest. Here's the best response I can make right at this moment:

If you really do want to support me, that's awesome of you, I would sincerely appreciate that! I value every single one of my customers and the idea of screwing them over with a synth they paid for but can't use is totally abhorrent and unconscionable to me!

I don't have copy protection to screw over paying customers, I have it to minimize my chances of shitty people screwing ME over. I've spent literally thousands of hours making and improving my synthesizer, and am financially in the hole an obscene amount of money that I'm not even going to say.

I abhor software piracy and know how rampant and accepted it is in the audio / music world. It's so easy for someone to steal software and think nothing of it, without giving any thought to how nasty and horrible what they're doing is. They could be stealing from someone who has poured their existence into something they've created to help make the world just a little bit more enjoyable, screwing over someone who's had everything screwed out of them just a little bit more, even ruining someone's life irreparably.

I'm basically in that situation. I'm the person who has the most at stake here, not the customers. I've been immediately giving replacement licenses to my customers for the last 3 years. Again, I absolutely don't want to harm anyone who has done me the amazing service of compensating me for my work!

When my synth was $17, there were people who wouldn't buy it because of the protection. But they expect me to make my hard work easier to steal when I literally have tens of thousands of dollars invested in it? That's just totally unfair to me. I get your concerns, but I'm doing everything I can to assure you that you needn't have any!

So I really really need people to understand where I'm coming from.

At some point I am going to either change the copy protection to a non-machine-hashed license file or remove it completely. That has always been the only conceivable end game. I just need to make sure I'm ready to make that decision and only do it when I'm confident it's the best move for my well-being. I think about it every day. As soon as I do that, it becomes trivial to steal, and people will steal my software as soon as it's easy for them. That's just how it goes. And it totally sucks!

So if you were to buy a license now, I guarantee you'll be able to use my synth for the rest of your life, and I still get to have a synth that's not trivial for the average person to steal for at least a little while longer. And at some point soon, when I'm ready, I'll either go to a non-machine-tied license file or just remove the licensing completely, knowing that my only recourse is hoping that there are still honest people left in the world who aren't happy to steal.

Can you maybe understand my position a little more, or do you still think I'm being unreasonable?

Ryan

[gentleclockdivider]

Hmm , setting a carrier to 0 hertz automatically disables the operator/output
It would be great if this gets fixed , iow use carriers as pure sine shapers

[RyFi]

I might be able to change that. Let me look into it.

[gentleclockdivider]

Either way , more people should be aware of this synth .
It's a great work of achievement

[crickey13]

Some time ago, I tried to get my Aurora FM Product ID from the Settings dialog, but the button was all grayed out and I couldn't. I'll try my luck with the new version.

[Cancel Culture Club]

Audio Nebula has announced the release of a major evolution of Aurora FM with v1.0, featuring the following improvements:

New:

4-part multi-timbral, with per-part channel, key range, voice count, level (moddable), and mute.
1x-4x oversampling (per-part).
65 different operator waveforms (13 base waveforms x 5 variants, plus polarity) (up from previous 8 total waveforms), and waveform depth (moddable).
42 algorithms (up from 32), now sorted logically by ascending number of carriers.
New modulation destinations (Operator 1-6 Waveform Depth, Part Level, Reverb Send Amount), modulation sources (Note On/Off/Both Random, Key Exp, Vel On/Off/Both), and 3 modulation polarities.
Totally new bank/patch/part management integrating patch banks (new), patches, parts, and Yamaha SysEx, with concurrent state for all in-flight edits, and drag and drop bank/patch management. Now you can easily arrange your patches into subdirectories or bank files, for better organization or convenient sharing.
Improved:

Massive performance improvements, with new AVX and AVX2+FMA operating modes, in addition to the original SSE2-only support, and other meticulous performance improvements throughout.
Increase to 40 voices, up from 30.
9 envelope slopes, up from 3.
Increase to 4 unison voices, up from 3.
Changes to the mod matrix to support the new mod destinations. There are 11 mod routing slots for any destination, and you can stack multiple sources to the same destination.
Reverb effect has been slightly improved and is now patch-based and independently fed by the Parts (per-part reverb send level, pre/post fader, moddable).
Ping-pong mode added to delay.
More flexible portamento, with option of Rate (time per octave), fixed Time, or tempo-Sync time.
Improved appearances and a new "Winter Ions" theme with a different, "frostier" color palette.
Greatly improved the ability to select an envelope point if several points are overlapping or close together.
More functional and consistent use of modifier keys for controls.
Improved randomization.
Slightly improved Yamaha sysex translation.
Better resiliency to corrupted / invalid sysex and patches.
Plus, some bug fixes, sonic improvements, and important accessibility additions for the visually impaired.

Price: $32 CDN and a free update for existing customers.

There's a lot going on with the GUI, and the colors are very hard to read. I'm not one to complain about GUI's, but an alternative version with muted colors that are easier on the eyes, might bring in more interest. As of right now, the GUI is really hard to get past, but the features and functions look great at a very low price. Again, I don't think a GUI should determine an instruments sound, but it does give off an initial feeling and response.

Not trying to be a downer, just trying to help improve what could be a promising addition to the audio world. I think a lot of plugins and instruments from the past never make it because of the GUI alone, people get turned off and never give it a chance. I hope that doesn't happen here.

[RyFi]

There's an alternate theme that may be more to your liking.

[RyFi]

I apologize if an issue thwarted your attempt to get onboard. I was unaware of any such issue. Please try again and let me know if you're having problems.

Some time ago, I tried to get my Aurora FM Product ID from the Settings dialog, but the button was all grayed out and I couldn't. I'll try my luck with the new version.

[Cancel Culture Club]

There's an alternate theme that may be more to your liking.

I believe a collaborative redesign might be something to consider in the future then, because a great GUI goes a lot further then just the code underneath the hood. Sadly, we live in a world where first impressions make a big difference. Maybe something to consider in the future...

[crickey13]

I apologize if an issue thwarted your attempt to get onboard. I was unaware of any such issue. Please try again and let me know if you're having problems.

Never mind, everything seems to work fine for me, must've missed something. However, the new version completely crashes Cakewalk the instant you attempt to instantiate AuroraFM in the DAW, so be sure to check that out. It works fine in Renoise though.

I believe a collaborative redesign might be something to consider in the future then, because a great GUI goes a lot further then just the code underneath the hood. Sadly, we live in a world where first impressions make a big difference. Maybe something to consider in the future...

I agree with the sentiment. I sort of like the GUI, but then again, I have a soft spot for old-school looking plugins. Some people may be dismissive of the plugin only because of the interface, saying that if it looks like freeware then it probably sounds like freeware, which is definitely not true in this case. A "pro-looking" GUI would boost your sales IMHO. Software is not only about the functionality, but also about the way it feels and how spiffy it looks, something to bear in mind.