What kind of future does Nest have?

[sandbags]

Hi.

I'm a bit on the fence about Nest. I find it interesting but I have to wonder if it is going to get additional modules & capabilities over time or whether "this is it"?

Exploring the "What's New" for a few other Sugar Bytes plugins suggest that most get a few fixes but little in the way of new possibilities after release.

That is, perhaps, to be expected for an instrument or effect that is more or less a complete idea at launch but a modular environment is, by definition, far more open-ended. But this isn't Max or Reaktor where I can explore new territory myself, I'm dependent on SugarBytes adding new possibilities.

But the updates over the 5 months since Nest was released are predominantly a couple of extra clocks & scale presets. It's not suggestive of any wider vision of what Nest might become.

Should we consider Nest to be a complete idea and its present functionality as a (potentially useful) constraint? Or is there a roadmap outlining how it will evolve?

Thanks.

Matt

[Sugar Bytes]

Hi Matt,

Nest was built with a fixed structure, so new/different modules are only realistic, if they fit the existing architecture,
as we did in some of the existing modules which can be switched for different tasks. However, we often get inspired
by customer feedback, so we address feature requests as far as we deem possible. So do not hesitate to let us know what should be improved. Best Rico

[SLiC]

I am waiting for the ipad version of nest...any news?

[imrae]

I was waiting for VST3 hosting, I don’t think that’s there yet?

[sandbags]

Hi Matt,

Nest was built with a fixed structure, so new/different modules are only realistic, if they fit the existing architecture,
as we did in some of the existing modules which can be switched for different tasks. However, we often get inspired
by customer feedback, so we address feature requests as far as we deem possible. So do not hesitate to let us know what should be improved. Best Rico

Thank you, Rico, for your reply.

I don't think I am suggesting changes to the architecture — it depends whether the addition of new modules or the ability to have more instances of a module are architectural or not I suppose.

My demo ran out a while ago so I can no longer talk first hand but I do remember being frustrated with what appeared to be arbitrary limitations. IIRC a simple one was constants and wanting more of them. I couldn't see why I couldn't just add as many constant modules as I wanted.

One can either look at those as per design (Nest will always be like this) and therefore constraints that may chafe but be considered useful. Or they are accidents of design and could be changed in future. But, without a roadmap to understand how you intend Nest to evolve, it's very hard to know what one is buying into.

For me, it's not quite enough to say "we get inspired by customer feedback" since, as I mentioned, it seems rare that past products get significant updates in functionality.

Thanks.

Matt

[SLiC]

My personal thoughts were that things like VCV rack exist with almost unlimited flexibility for about the same cost (or free) and it can host VST 3 plugs and fx (with the VCV Host plugin ) and now run as a VST...Nest has to be 'different' to compete or it is just a limited subset of modules that cant interconnect with anything outside of NEST. To me it only really made sense as an iPAD app (ideally AUV3) when the limited nature makes more sense as they are somewhat more manageable on a small screen.

[MitchK1989]

there's something to be said for intentional creative limitations imo. Nest is a fun little generative sequencing thing that gives me different results than I get from VCV or midi grid, especially since it relies on bitwise operations with the multiplexing etc that rely on specifically handling midi note numbers between 0 and 127 in a way that the grid etc does not (which like VCV uses more of an analog "cv" model)

[sandbags]

I saw Nest is on sale and was tempted and thought I'd stop by and see how it developed in the last 8 months. I think it's a bit of a shame that the product appears unchanged other than some fixes and modifications to the internal sound engine. To me, this signals there's no vision for it and like most SB products it is, and always will be, what it is.

Perhaps it's unreasonable, but I feel this kind of product needs a future, a path of evolution, to justify the investment in buying & learning it. Creative limitations can inspire, or they may be arbitrary decisions that make no sense at all.

I really want to like Nest and if it was $49 I'd probably just impulse-buy it.

[sandbags]

I thought I would demo it again and see what I thought now, but it seems the demo doesn't reset for new versions.

[Dirtgrain]

It feels like Nest came out within the last year. Am I wrong? But if it doesn't do what you want, it's good that you recognize it and declare it, albeit vaguely.

[sandbags]

It feels like Nest came out within the last year. Am I wrong? But if it doesn't do what you want, it's good that you recognize it and declare it, albeit vaguely.

If I am a bit vague, it's been a long time since my demo expired.

M.