Amigo Sampler - 8-Bit Amiga Style Sampler Plugin

[audiojunkie]

Did the go the challenge/response route?

I really hope not. Current version - 1.0.2 is without copy protection, but in the email I've got from them after the re-purchase there is a serial number included and it's also mentioned that it "can be used 3 time(s)". So maybe they are planing to add C/R activation in the next version
Let's hope it will be just a simple serial and not C/R

If what you say is true, that is indeed challenge response authorization. What a disappointment! A simple serial number doesn't keep track of how many times it's used. A simple serial number doesn't tie itself to a particular computer. These are a new breed of challenge/response that masquerades as serial number authorization. I've been seeing a lot of these lately. You've got to be really careful these days to avoid challenge response.

[gentleclockdivider]

Just a heads up (if you didn't get an email from them) that the new PotenzaDSP website is live, including a newsletter signup and a user account system. You have to re-purchase any plugins (they sent me a coupon to make them free) to get the plugins into your account.

Why the new account system and the need to repurchase? Did the go the challenge/response route?

Re-purchase , you have to be kidding me
Doesn't matter if a plugin is cheap as chips or not

[Aloysius]

Probably the easiest way for the developer to get everything up and running. I don't mind helping out if that's the case.

[mothra]

Re-purchase , you have to be kidding me
Doesn't matter if a plugin is cheap as chips or not

Nobody had to 'repurchase'. They gave you a coupon code to make either of their two products free at checkout. It was the easiest way to move people over to their new system..


@audiojunkie - it is what it is and power to the dev for it. Perhaps next time someone comes out with a copy protection free plugin that costs less than $20, people wont run and upload it to torrent sites the minute its released..

[PTV]

@audiojunkie - it is what it is and power to the dev for it. Perhaps next time someone comes out with a copy protection free plugin that costs less than $20, people wont run and upload it to torrent sites the minute its released..

Well, one of the reasons I bought it is the lack of copy protection and especially C/R. I don't mind about a key file or a serial number that will still work after I'll replace my PC or after the company will go out of business. If I knew that that's what gonna happen I just wouldn't buy it, and yes I know it's cheap and all. But it's not that they upgraded Amigo to V2 or something, it's only v1.0.2 and changing the copy protection now is not too honest, IMO.

BTW there are many great developers who only use a simple serial or a key file, without C/R: Valhalla, TAL, HY-Plugins, Audio Damage, Audiothing, Hornet, just to name a few.

[Caine123]

yeah this move is really a spit in the face. i think they smelled the cash now.

[mothra]

Well, one of the reasons I bought it is the lack of copy protection and especially C/R. I don't mind about a key file or a serial number that will still work after I'll replace my PC or after the company will go out of business. If I knew that that's what gonna happen I just wouldn't buy it, and yes I know it's cheap and all. But it's not that they upgraded Amigo to V2 or something, it's only v1.0.2 and changing the copy protection now is not too honest, IMO.

BTW there are many great developers who only use a simple serial or a key file, without C/R: Valhalla, TAL, HY-Plugins, Audio Damage, Audiothing, Hornet, just to name a few.

And at this point, no one knows what the hell Potenza has in store. No one has had to use the serial number we were given, and from the looks of it, its just a serial number. No one has any clue aside from the developer what that is going to be used for and its not even implemented yet. The 'challenge/response' is complete speculation and a guess on a users part at this time, nowhere has anyone actually affiliated with the plugin or developer said anything about any C/R or even having to enter in a serial number yet. You're playing chicken little running around yelling the sky is falling at the moment.

Doesn't matter what any of us think anyways, its the developers choice to protect his IP the way he sees fit. If you don't like it, hit the road, and thank whoever handed out the plugin all over pirate audio sites in the first place.

[PTV]

And at this point, no one knows what the hell Potenza has in store. No one has had to use the serial number we were given, and from the looks of it, its just a serial number. No one has any clue aside from the developer what that is going to be used for and its not even implemented yet. The 'challenge/response' is complete speculation and a guess on a users part at this time, nowhere has anyone actually affiliated with the plugin or developer said anything about any C/R or even having to enter in a serial number yet. You're playing chicken little running around yelling the sky is falling at the moment.

I agree that it's only a speculation now, and I really hope it won't happen. it's just a serial number that isn't needed in the current version, I agree, but it does come with a statement saying that it "can be used 3 time(s)" - that's what raised the questions. I hope that all it means is "you are allowed to use it in up to 3 computers simultaneity and we trust you on that" and that it doesn't mean C/R from now on. Anyway, I only expressed my feelings as a customer, of course the developer can use whatever copy protection he wants and there's nothing I can do about it except from saying my opinion.

[MrJubbly]

Anyone know why I no longer get notifications about KVR topics I'm subscribed to?

The option is ticked in my Notification Settings.

[audiojunkie]

Re-purchase , you have to be kidding me
Doesn't matter if a plugin is cheap as chips or not

Nobody had to 'repurchase'. They gave you a coupon code to make either of their two products free at checkout. It was the easiest way to move people over to their new system..


@audiojunkie - it is what it is and power to the dev for it. Perhaps next time someone comes out with a copy protection free plugin that costs less than $20, people wont run and upload it to torrent sites the minute its released..

I wouldn't know. I don't use wares, nor do I even know how to look for them. I use Linux and open source software, and I buy software that requires no more than a Serial number that doesn't call home at all, and doesn't tie itself to anything. It's too bad that the dishonest ruin it for everyone--including the developer, since sales are definitely lost through the type of copy protection used.

[audiojunkie]

@audiojunkie - it is what it is and power to the dev for it. Perhaps next time someone comes out with a copy protection free plugin that costs less than $20, people wont run and upload it to torrent sites the minute its released..

Well, one of the reasons I bought it is the lack of copy protection and especially C/R. I don't mind about a key file or a serial number that will still work after I'll replace my PC or after the company will go out of business. If I knew that that's what gonna happen I just wouldn't buy it, and yes I know it's cheap and all. But it's not that they upgraded Amigo to V2 or something, it's only v1.0.2 and changing the copy protection now is not too honest, IMO.

BTW there are many great developers who only use a simple serial or a key file, without C/R: Valhalla, TAL, HY-Plugins, Audio Damage, Audiothing, Hornet, just to name a few.

Well said. It really is the honest that are punished by C/R copy protection--we are the ones who have to jump through the C/R hoops or risk loss of usage by changing our hardware or the having the company go out of business. The thieves using cracked copies don't have any of that risk. That's one of the main reasons I dislike C/R so much. It really does punish the honest paying customer.

[audiojunkie]

Just a heads up (if you didn't get an email from them) that the new PotenzaDSP website is live, including a newsletter signup and a user account system. You have to re-purchase any plugins (they sent me a coupon to make them free) to get the plugins into your account.

Why the new account system and the need to repurchase? Did the go the challenge/response route?

Re-purchase , you have to be kidding me
Doesn't matter if a plugin is cheap as chips or not

If one is careful in reading my comment above, one would realize that it wasn't the cost, at all, that I had the problem with--the new account and the need to repurchase made me suspect that they had gone the challenge/response route. I had no complaint about the cost.

[audiojunkie]

Well, one of the reasons I bought it is the lack of copy protection and especially C/R. I don't mind about a key file or a serial number that will still work after I'll replace my PC or after the company will go out of business. If I knew that that's what gonna happen I just wouldn't buy it, and yes I know it's cheap and all. But it's not that they upgraded Amigo to V2 or something, it's only v1.0.2 and changing the copy protection now is not too honest, IMO.

BTW there are many great developers who only use a simple serial or a key file, without C/R: Valhalla, TAL, HY-Plugins, Audio Damage, Audiothing, Hornet, just to name a few.

And at this point, no one knows what the hell Potenza has in store. No one has had to use the serial number we were given, and from the looks of it, its just a serial number. No one has any clue aside from the developer what that is going to be used for and its not even implemented yet. The 'challenge/response' is complete speculation and a guess on a users part at this time, nowhere has anyone actually affiliated with the plugin or developer said anything about any C/R or even having to enter in a serial number yet. You're playing chicken little running around yelling the sky is falling at the moment.

Doesn't matter what any of us think anyways, its the developers choice to protect his IP the way he sees fit. If you don't like it, hit the road, and thank whoever handed out the plugin all over pirate audio sites in the first place.

Wait, I thought it had been confirmed in a post above that the move was indeed challenge response. If this is not the case, it is misinformation, not "chicken little running around yelling the sky is falling at the moment". Also, based on your comments in your second paragraph, it appears that you happen to be convinced that things went challenge response yourself--at the very least, you believe that the plugin was spread all over the internet. You seem to know a lot more about "pirate audio sites" than I do.

[audiojunkie]

And at this point, no one knows what the hell Potenza has in store. No one has had to use the serial number we were given, and from the looks of it, its just a serial number. No one has any clue aside from the developer what that is going to be used for and its not even implemented yet. The 'challenge/response' is complete speculation and a guess on a users part at this time, nowhere has anyone actually affiliated with the plugin or developer said anything about any C/R or even having to enter in a serial number yet. You're playing chicken little running around yelling the sky is falling at the moment.

I agree that it's only a speculation now, and I really hope it won't happen. it's just a serial number that isn't needed in the current version, I agree, but it does come with a statement saying that it "can be used 3 time(s)" - that's what raised the questions. I hope that all it means is "you are allowed to use it in up to 3 computers simultaneity and we trust you on that" and that it doesn't mean C/R from now on. Anyway, I only expressed my feelings as a customer, of course the developer can use whatever copy protection he wants and there's nothing I can do about it except from saying my opinion.

If something is tracking how many times the software is being used, that is the software calling home--no one can believably argue otherwise. That is the very essence of challenge/response. I guess we need to get clarification on the exact meaning of what they mean by "can be used 3 times". At any rate, I don't feel comfortable with what I'm seeing (at any price). I simply avoid any of that stuff. I find the plugin (minus the GUI) intriguing. I haven't purchased it (and may not purchase it--depending on whether it turns out that C/R is going to be used or not). But as a "potential" customer, I'm definitely interested in what turns out to be the case--even if I already have Tal-Sampler, Decent Sampler, Sfizz, Linux Sampler, and Bliss Sampler, and will soon have ShortCircuit-XT, and maybe Redux. I love samplers, and Amigo Sampler seems to have some unique features.

[stekkermane]

hey stekker here from amigo chiming in,

to clarify some concerns, yes the next big update will use a licence key to combat the vast amount of piracy because sadly even tough we want to make it cheap and available for anyone on any budget a simple search gives tons of websites spreading it illegally.

the 3 times refers to 3 machine ID's so you can reinstall and reuse on the same machine as many times as u want even when u completely reinstall your OS it will not count towards a new activation. ( and even if you happen to max out those 3 and just send us a nice email that maybe u just got a new computer we will be more than glad to grant u another activation or two )

3 to us seems like a fair number of machines and realistic to have maybe a laptop, desktop and potentially a future computer, studio computer, work computer and so on.

as far as Challenge and response goes, i don't think many here seem to understand that a licence key with zero C/R would not do anything at all to stop piracy, a 1000 people could just use the exact same key over and over if there is no form of C/R in place so this makes no sense in terms of being a developer.

the C/R we will be implementing will be only needed when doing the first activation, once activated Amigo will generate a local file and will never need to be connected ever again and is not continually pinging any server or anything like that.

on the concerns in terms of " what if we go bankrupt or quit in 10 years, i still want to use my plugin and be able to activate it " and all these speculations, if that ever does happen we 100% will release amigo for free + licence free as indeed that is a frustrating thing but we are fully aware of such concerns. even me personally i have used many retro plugins which are not usable anymore because of their C/R servers being long gone and offline.

hope that clarifies a bit,
cheers stekker