17 separate development environments. I can’t think of 17 operating systems that Adobe runs on. I can only think of two. Windows and MAC. As far as I know there is no Android or Linux versions of Photoshop or Lightroom.
And even if there were 17, I don’t hear other plugin companies developing their own image editor.
Sorry not convinced of your logic.
I’m not here to convince you of my logic, only inform you of the situation. I suppose I cannot force you to understand the development plan as it was prior to Studio, but in any case, there are very solid reasons that we’ve gone this direction.
Sorry I’ve worked in IT for 30 years plus. Started with DOS 3.3 and Novel Netware 3.11. I just can not think of 17 operating systems that Adobe products run on.
I’m not referring to OSes. I’m referring to the build/development/deployment environment for our QT-based applications. Several products had codebases that were 5+ years old. Pretty much all of them were using different versions of things like the MSVCR files, and other libraries. The task of updating one product took up to 3 months. It was unsustainable, and we either needed to adapt or die. While I don’t necessarily expect anyone to believe me, I am telling the truth. We all want to keep working for this awesome company, so change was accepted as a part of that endeavor. We know we’ll lose some customers, but we’re betting that we’ll gain a lot more, by becoming the most responsive developer on the block. If you don’t like something about Studio, you can always provide thoughtful feedback on how to improve it. Better yet, you could become a beta tester, since your career lends you a distinct level of insight a “typical” user wouldn’t have. We need folks like you to pick apart our work. We always enjoy constructive criticism. We don’t get our feelings hurt easily here, because we understand the need to refine our efforts.
Count up the number of plugins, then add one for photoFXLab
I must say I am totally with Kenmo here. I understand what you are saying and I am sympathetic to the quandary but it still leaves me, and others I would guess, feeling very disappointed. I love Topaz plug ins - there is nothing in the market now that equals them but I have always been an ‘each image has its own personality and must be treated uniquely’. Probably if I did photography as a living I would feel differently, speed and ‘one stop shops’ are then necessary. I very rarely add pre-sets to any image and I have tried with Studio to get it to work my way - but it doesn’t. I need layers, the interaction of layers, the possibility of smart objects, using channels to get special effects, drawing paths etc. and yes I could still do all that within Photoshop and just visit Studio BUT Studio will still not open a second time from within Photoshop.
I actually feel that in some ways this quandary has been self inflicted. The advent of Restyle, Glow, Impression and Texture effects has added four tremendous software giants which are simply amazing. However they must be the hairs that broke the camels back. Their ‘upkeep’ must be very time consuming so my thoughts are - that PhotoFX is really now not required which leaves 16 software packages, DeJpeg will soon be defunct with the advent of Heif, Star Effects, Lens Effects, InFocus and Detail are now very much ensconced in Studio. The software which made up the backbone of Topaz I would like to see maintained as individual plug-ins - i.e .Adjust, Simplify, B&W, DeNoise (which I may add is still the best denoise software available), Clarity - in other words from the 17 that Joe spoke about my own opinion is that I would be very happy if this last 5 were maintained as individual plug-ins and personally I would not mind paying for the upgrades to these 5 . I really do not want to lose you but I fear I shall as Studio is just not where I am.
I have to agree with the comments being made. I bought the very excellent suite (some more than others) as Ps plugins. That was why I bought them.
I am not a programmer or software person, but, I really cannot see why the plugins cannot be updated in a format that is accessible by both Ps & Studio. Yes, I can see the use for Studio as it opens your plugins up to non Ps users therefore widening your customer base. What I cannot see is the reason to write everything into using Studio.
At this moment Topaz has a disaster on it’s hands with a program they appear unable to fix & is useless to Ps users.
So, for me I shall refuse all updates from here on that require Studio & continue to use the plugins as I bought them, at a pretty high cost I might add, as plugins for Ps.
One more thing, I have just timed Studio opening in Ps, a very ‘rapid’ 35 seconds to complete it’s set up. I then opened a plugin direct into Ps, 10 seconds!!!
Gosh, a real advance in workflow time!!!
A strange way to ask for help with sarcasm, but my suggestion would be to post your PC details to see what is the issue with your configuration. In my case it is always less than 10 seconds and you can see my configuration posted in the details when you click on my icon.
If you don’t know what it is, i.e. what GPU etc and if you are on Windows you can run DxDiag from the search box and save the output to a text file and attache it here and someone will be able to help.
Studio has a way to go before all the kinks are smoothed out but I don’t see a reason for complaint at this time. It’s free. If you own the full set of plug-ins or some, they are still accessible as they had been and there’s no need to purchase any of the Adjustments if it is felt that there is no improvement over what is already owned. It’s easy enough to download a trial copy of a Studio adjustment to see if it’s an improvement over what is already owned. Unless I’m missing something, Motion Blurs are available in the Lens Effects plug-in…however the new Studio Motion Blurs gives a control on how they are applied that I don’t find in the plug-in. If someone can correct me on this, please do.
The techs are doing a good job of getting bug fix upgrades out on a pretty timely basis. Different people have different needs and trying to fit them in takes time. What’s important to one person, is not to another. When all the favorite features of the plug-ins are incorporated and running smoothly in Studio, I expect to see some interesting new developments coming out.
We’ve found a way to reduce startup time by half, and will continue working on that process. Speed is a priority for us, and we’ll make improvements every place we can find it appropriate to do so.
We also understand we won’t make everyone happy. It’s the cost of making a decision to move forward in a certain way, and we accept that our customers will likely change, come and go, but hopefully stay. We have many loyal users that like the changes, and several that do not. Unfortunately, not every path is the preferred path, for even 100% of us here at Topaz. We all must compromise if things are to continue. We’re committed to remaining one of the few companies left that only charge you once for our products. However, that’s extremely difficult to do, and we’re going to put forward our best effort no matter what. It won’t please everyone, and plenty of folks will criticize without the intent of being helpful. That’s fine. We’re going to improve, no matter what happens, and will take the feedback in stride.
We are investigating and working on the problem that is the subject of this thread, as well. We’re working on recreating the problem reliably, and ensuring our fix works for everyone.
Not complaining - just saying I am disappointed as for me Studio is unusable at the present time. And from all I have read this will not change for those of us who are not into presets or one stop shops, that we need the plug-ins to work within Photoshop and whilst this may be a few or a lot, we did buy the plug-ins initially to use with Photoshop (or another photographic programme). I have also not just been totally negative but suggested, perhaps, a way of making more folk happy. Not all of the plug ins are now necessary therefore it seems to me that the needs to upgrade 17 plug-ins is unnecessary. Just trying to think outside the box!
I can launch studio or other plugins one trim from PS since the last update of both ps to 2018 and topaz studio update 10232017. After that I cannot go back into studio. It just does nothing. That is from a regular or smart layer. If I exit Photoshop completely and go back in I can again use studio once without having to exit PS 2018. Rather annoying.
I am not seeing this behavior in the Lightroom classic.
There is already a thread about this here Topaz Studio will not launch a 2nd time from within Photoshop - #69 by AngieD - Product Bugs - Topaz Discussion Forum
with some replies.
Ok… I’ve been successful until tonight. Tried twice now and both times Studio would not launch with the layer’s transparency locked.
PS: Regarding Studio vs Plugins. Any smart software company who believes it is better to give customers what the company wants instead of what the customers want will not fare well in the market place.
I would strongly urge Topaz to heed the desires of the people who have been loyal and abandon their fancy of building a photo editor better than Adobe Photoshop or Corel Paint Shop Pro.
I don’t see where Topaz is building a photo editor to compete with PS or PSP.
But it may also be a worthwhile experience to head over to the Studio Facebook page and see the response to Studio.
You are welcome to continue using the PS plugins as they are, they will probably be useable for as long as the hosts & OS support them.
Again not paying to what the customers are wanting, asking or requesting. Continue ignoring our pleas. We were loyal to Topaz Labs and now you turn a deaf ear. WOW…
Studio tonight is hit or miss. NEVER had issues with your plugins like this. Yet you insist it’s Studio or the highway…
I wouldn’t make the assumption of equating what I want with what customers as a whole want. Joe has patiently explained, more than once, the rationale behind their decision - I’m sorry it doesn’t suit your needs, but complaining isn’t going to change anything. And the fact that you are not getting what you want doesn’t justify the accusations of “turn a deaf ear” or “ignoring our pleas”. Between here and the Topaz Studio Facebook page the response to Studio has been overwhelmingly favourable. Deal with it.
It’s close to a week and issues with Studio have not been resolved. And Topaz is trying to “sell” us on Studio… Yeah, right… Again, I’ve NEVER had this issue with Topaz plugins. They were as stable as a small block Chevy V8.
NEVER said anything negative about Topaz before. Yet I’m being told to be quiet and accept Studio? Sorry but I think NOT.
Topaz created this mess. NOT me or the loyal customers.
