VPS Avenger new license system is a complete mystery

[exmatproton]

aarrggh....just f*cking iLok this synth..this is getting ridiculous

edit: frustration rant

[mholloway]

it is a ridiculous license system,
every few weeks or so gives me a code meter notifications, c
ode meter refresh never works, always have to reinstall it to get it working again.

today got a notification "you license needs to be refreshed", clicked "refresh",
and then got an error "deactivate: Error: empty licenses"
the message has been stuck like this for almost 20 minutes.

don't want to close the window because there's also a message "DO NOT LCOSE THIS WINDOW"

their license system is total disaster

This is just the overall user experience for this product + codemeter at this point.

I can't count the number of times I tried to load Avenger in Ableton and was told there was no license, despite being, of course, a license owner for years. Which means: go open codemeter and f-- with it for a while and reboot and hope + pray it all works again. Sometimes, yes. Other times, no, and Rinse + Repeat.

Short Version / Conclusion: I just stopped using Avenger. As good a synth as it may be, it's not worth this headache occurring on such a regular basis. The company / superfans get all defensive and try to deflect responsibility back onto users like us, but c'mon, nobody that bought a license should be repeatedly dealing with the headaches described above. Once, ok. Regularly? Pleeeeease. It's just insulting.

[Caine123]

i know ilok also got a lot of hate/criticism. but so far it loads without problems for years in my experience, im still no fan of it either. but with codemeter VPS just got a negative way and just let its customers (a part) just ignored. still sad it doesnt change or optionally gives you a different security system like ilok or elicenser... problem is that there are enough people who support it otherwise THEY WOULD HAVE TO CHANGE THEIR SYSTEM.

[zvenx]

Sometime last year or was it even before, they were supposedly working a transparent (to the end user) version of their reauthorisation.....so far. nada.
but yeah.. not going happen but I prefer ilok 10,000,000 more times than this.
rsp

[ThomasHelzle]

I work with tons of software of all kinds for 3 decades now and this is so far the most idiotic "protection" I've ever encountered.
If you want to make music on a computer, it can be hard enough between updates of software, drivers and OS etc. to keep focus.
If a developer throws additional sticks between your feet instead of helping, he just hasn't gotten the message what music is about. And he never thought about the fact, that he is not alone. Imagine a world in which every plugin you own has some such mechanism where in some regular interval it shuts down. The probability that you start your DAW and can actually make music is deteriorating against zero.

Uninstalled.
Moving on to greener pastures...

[OzoneJunkie]

Yeah, I can't imagine anyone who does music professionally who may have important deadlines or work with artists in the studio, that would allow mission-critical projects to be dependent on such tools that are prone to these issues.

[exmatproton]

Yeah, I can't imagine anyone who does music professionally who may have important deadlines or work with artists in the studio, that would allow mission-critical projects to be dependent on such tools that are prone to these issues.

Yep...exactly this. Choose to change the synth in my project because of this and replace it with a different one and uninstall this one........such a shame

[Bartone]

I was planning to get Avenger in one point.
…but then I found out about the problems people were having with the re-activation license system.

First I thought well maybe there are problems only for couple people who don’t know how it works… But then I saw more people having problems.

And some said they were asking help in the Avengers official Face Book pages, but their messages were removed (again I first thought ok maybe only person had this happen but no, more commented same and even the Avengers’s team “accidentally” confirmed they were doing this).

So all this started to sound like damn that synth’s licensing system really has some serious problems!

And my decision was not based on one comment, or two… but many comments. Sure some were angry but mostly people were trying just to get help/asking help how to get their EXPENSIVE synth back to work.

[LeVzi]

There's a sh!tload of people daily having license issues with Avenger. Also so many people have sold it for this exact reason. Normally those with issues get help off other members in the Avenger group on Facebook but this has to go down as the worse copy protection system shift of all. I hope Steinberg are watching .

[Caine123]

I was planning to get Avenger in one point.
…but then I found out about the problems people were having with the re-activation license system.

First I thought well maybe there are problems only for couple people who don’t know how it works… But then I saw more people having problems.

And some said they were asking help in the Avengers official Face Book pages, but their messages were removed (again I first thought ok maybe only person had this happen but no, more commented same and even the Avengers’s team “accidentally” confirmed they were doing this).

So all this started to sound like damn that synth’s licensing system really has some serious problems!

And my decision was not based on one comment, or two… but many comments. Sure some were angry but mostly people were trying just to get help/asking help how to get their EXPENSIVE synth back to work.

Wow if it is true it shows how they think about customers.... if the opinion doesnt fit just censor it! Nice. This gives you total respect. How can you show it to them? Not buying, but if the mass is still supporting it is the way then. Always the same on every level.

[rasmusklump]

There's a sh!tload of people daily having license issues with Avenger. Also so many people have sold it for this exact reason. Normally those with issues get help off other members in the Avenger group on Facebook but this has to go down as the worse copy protection system shift of all. I hope Steinberg are watching .

Didn't you praise this system just one page back?

[LeVzi]

There's a sh!tload of people daily having license issues with Avenger. Also so many people have sold it for this exact reason. Normally those with issues get help off other members in the Avenger group on Facebook but this has to go down as the worse copy protection system shift of all. I hope Steinberg are watching .

Didn't you praise this system just one page back?

No, I said I'll take anything over a dongle.

[Teksonik]

The switch to Codemeter was the largest extension of the middle finger by a developer to customers I've ever seen.

I originally purchased Avenger because it didn't have an intrusive copy protection scheme that requires a program to run as a service and sits in your system tray.

To me Codemeter is nothing more than malware since it does nothing for me. All it does is possibly protect their intellectual property even though the intellectual property I create with their plugin can not be protected in a similar manner.

I've still got the old non-codemeter version installed on my studio system but even then I had to beg them for a backup copy of that version. I rarely use it anymore since I don't want projects to be locked to an abandoned version.

In the past they did monitor threads about Avenger so if they still are then listen to what people are saying.

You have no right to pollute customer's systems with crapware just because you can't figure out a way to defeat pirates. Something the vast majority of developers have figured out.

It's a shame because Avenger is a really great synth but the people behind the product are some of the worst in the business....in my opinion of course. They'll get not one penny more from me.

[Biome_Digital]

I take it avenger is able to be sold? Is there a licence fee or any hoops to jump through?

[SirkusPi]

Avenger is a good synth, and it's a shame how they've ruined it as a practical matter. I stopped using it the day they switched it to CodeMeter.

And lest we forget the most outrageous part: By the time VPS released Avenger, they were not some naive new developer. For their previous products, they had used eLicenser. The clearly were aware of the piracy threat, and so used eLicenser to protect themselves.

But then they affirmatively chose, as a marketing matter, to stop using eLicenser and to specifically market Avenger as only using a simple keyfile system, in order, I assume, to increase their market share to people who didn't like dongles. They affirmatively chose to take the gamble that increased sales would offset any increased piracy.

Yet when push came to shove and piracy increased--as VPS obviously knew could happen when they made the intentional choice to leave eLicenser behind to increase market share--they chose to impose CodeMeter on people, like me, who had specifically purchased in reliance on a simple keyfile system. Nor did they offer a refund (even pro rated for the time we'd already had the synth), even though I never would have purchased had they been honest from the start that they could possibly impose CodeMeter in the future if piracy increased.

I do absolutely believe VPS was hurting from piracy. I don't care. Again, VPS chose to seek increased market share by abandoning the eLicenser system and telling customers that Avenger was only protected by a keyfile. They chose to gamble. They lost, which everyone knows can happen when you gamble. Why should I (and other customers) be saddled with CodeMeter as a result?

I will never purchase from VPS again. I don't think they are legally liable (not that I know); I understand the concept that you buy a synth for what it is now, not for how it will develop, and nothing stops me from continuing to use the (buggy) pre-CodeMeter version. But morally, I think VPS' actions are reprehensible (and enraging).