Torque 3D 1.2 - Pricing Revealed
by Derek Bronson · 10/07/2011 (1:27 pm) · 308 comments
Welcome back to another Torque 3D 1.2 Friday. Last week I discussed some of the additional documentation that is going on for Torque 3D 1.2, you can read about it here. This week I am revealing the pricing regarding the update to 1.2 as most of you have been pretty curious in your blog responses. We tried our best to deliver what we believe to be a “no brainer” price to upgrade to Torque 3D 1.2 and I truly feel that the prices we have come up with compared to the value being delivered lives up to that no “brainer statement”. So without further ado:
| New Customer | $179 |
| Torque 3D Binary Owner | $69 |
| Torque 3D Pro Owner | $49 |
| Torque 3D Binary Studio Owner | $40 per seat |
| Torque 3D Pro Studio Owner | $20 per seat |
As with our other products, starting on the 17th these prices reflect a Full Source Professional Studio License. If you want more information on the move to Studio Licenses I would recommend reading over Eric’s blog that he posted a couple of weeks ago.
Buy Torque 3D 1.1 Now Before 1.2 Ships
If you haven't already purchased Torque 3D then now is the best time to pick it up or to purchase extra seats for your studio. Purchasing a license now saves you $31 over waiting for 1.2 to arrive. The base price for Torque 3D changes on October 17th so clock is ticking.
If you were about to purchase an upgrade to Pro or to convert your license to Studio but were worried about 1.2 being around the corner, don’t be! There is no penalty for upgrading/converting now, in fact it is an easy way to split up the cost of the upgrade to 1.2 depending on what type of license you have.
Also, all people that purchase Torque 3D 1.1 after the price increase on October 17th, will receive Torque 3D 1.2 for free.
Next week I’ll be going over some of the art packs that we will be releasing alongside Torque 3D 1.2 so I’ll make up for my lack of images there :) For now though its back to seeing what QA has dug up so we can get this release out to the world as soon as possible. I try to do my best to add things to the Q&A if any such questions appear in the blog responses.
Quick Q&A
Q: Will the tutorial be free or is it part of 1.2?
A: The tutorial will be available for free on the website but will require Torque 3D 1.2 to get the most out of it
Q: Can we still purchase Torque 3D 1.1 seats or upgrade our existing accounts to Studio after 1.2?
A: Yes, Studio Seats and Studio Conversions will be available for 1.1 users after 1.2 launches. Studio Conversions will remain at $29 but new seats will be at the new price of $179 after October 17th.
Torque 3D 1.2 Development Blogs:
- Introduction
- Chinatown
- Turrets, Proximity Mines and Teleporters oh my!
- Disembodied Arms
- Disembodied Arms, Part Deux
- Tutorial Revealed
- Additional Documentation
- Torque 3D 1.2 Pricing
- Alien Character Pack - Coming Soon!
#62
If it's not possible, in my opinion it's more due to hard contraints of compagny management and not due to "just get more of $ on your head".
I hope you will continue to have faith in GG.
10/08/2011 (1:53 am)
Mr Taylor, i believe understand what you say and for anybody who invested 1000$, i think GG could do a free release and keep for the persons as me which had buy T3D for 99$ the really nice price.If it's not possible, in my opinion it's more due to hard contraints of compagny management and not due to "just get more of $ on your head".
I hope you will continue to have faith in GG.
#63
The days of old GG are long gone, especially after their buyout to a new company that started with a big fat minus on investment and a large salary base to boot. Investment? Yes ... going concern... yes if they don't start to recoup what they paid for GG and covering the salaries/expenses, it may as well have been laid to rest, but NO... Erik Graham took the opportunity to bring back what we love about GG, and lead by Eric who came from the tech background to run the company as CEO - knowing your product is key. (the best man for the job). Things are stepping up with GG, which you may be aware of - great things ahead I can feel it (not sounding like Yoda) but there is a good feeling about the place now, lots of positives, not negatives. This is why I'm investing my time, money and resources into supporting GG with upgrades and creating 3rd party packs (not just for my benefit, but others).
Time will tell, so let GG prove you wrong, they have turned a big corner and are clearly showing this. Any further investment into your engine of choice, can only make the company/product better. If there are 1 or 2 releases a year, this cost would probably amount to an upgrade fee for any software that has development ongoing, even if the features are not what you are looking for, you can always wait until the next release, but they have to make their money/return on investment somewhere.
10/08/2011 (2:15 am)
I'm sure you could see past paying the $1000 like many of us out there, your investment in the company was swallowed up by the last buy out. If you bought it at that price, I hope you made use of the tech then and it brought back a return (game, pack or learning curve). The days of old GG are long gone, especially after their buyout to a new company that started with a big fat minus on investment and a large salary base to boot. Investment? Yes ... going concern... yes if they don't start to recoup what they paid for GG and covering the salaries/expenses, it may as well have been laid to rest, but NO... Erik Graham took the opportunity to bring back what we love about GG, and lead by Eric who came from the tech background to run the company as CEO - knowing your product is key. (the best man for the job). Things are stepping up with GG, which you may be aware of - great things ahead I can feel it (not sounding like Yoda) but there is a good feeling about the place now, lots of positives, not negatives. This is why I'm investing my time, money and resources into supporting GG with upgrades and creating 3rd party packs (not just for my benefit, but others).
Time will tell, so let GG prove you wrong, they have turned a big corner and are clearly showing this. Any further investment into your engine of choice, can only make the company/product better. If there are 1 or 2 releases a year, this cost would probably amount to an upgrade fee for any software that has development ongoing, even if the features are not what you are looking for, you can always wait until the next release, but they have to make their money/return on investment somewhere.
#64
Someone ring up Barry Driller ...
10/08/2011 (3:06 am)
Quote:
... I buy T3d is USD1000 ...
... who purchased T3D when it was beta for $495 ...
... anybody who invested 1000$ ...
Someone ring up Barry Driller ...
#65
Back then they clearly mentioned a yearly pay for updates
We're in 2011 now - 2 years later - and for the 1st time they ask for $20.
What are you complaining about?
10/08/2011 (3:31 am)
I bought the engine back when it was beta 1 (pre-order at $505 with $495 off the $1000 since i owned TGEA). That was back in 2009Back then they clearly mentioned a yearly pay for updates
We're in 2011 now - 2 years later - and for the 1st time they ask for $20.
What are you complaining about?
#66
I thought I was getting a bargain then, still think it was a bargain.
Now at the new pricing is a Huge bargain.
I recently updated to a Studio Licence, don't realy need it but as was mentioned it splits up paying for 1.2 all at once.
After reading all your posts I still think T3D is a bargain and am happy to pay $20 to upgrade to 1.2
Keep the bug splats coming :-D
10/08/2011 (3:57 am)
I bought TGE upgraded to TGEA upgraded to T3D paid about $800-$1000I thought I was getting a bargain then, still think it was a bargain.
Now at the new pricing is a Huge bargain.
I recently updated to a Studio Licence, don't realy need it but as was mentioned it splits up paying for 1.2 all at once.
After reading all your posts I still think T3D is a bargain and am happy to pay $20 to upgrade to 1.2
Keep the bug splats coming :-D
#67
10/08/2011 (3:59 am)
I pay double if we get a LIKE button! :) I could use one just about now. 
#68
But, i don't have a proplem to pay a other 49$ for GG. Thus guys needs also to be payed for the hard work.
just my 2 cents
10/08/2011 (6:10 am)
It would be nice if GG offer the 1.2 for free for people where bought the engine for $1000. And yep, it was a slap in the face to see the price drop to 99$, and in some case it looks like a next slap in the face to pay again 49$ if you bought the engine for 1000$.But, i don't have a proplem to pay a other 49$ for GG. Thus guys needs also to be payed for the hard work.
just my 2 cents
#69
10/08/2011 (6:45 am)
Spent well over $2000 counting TGE/TGEA/T3D/TGB/TourqueX. Very disappointed. I know you've been hard at work and the new content looks great but T3D is riddled with problems that have needed fixing from the start. Bring in new customers by reducing the price to a ridiculously low amount and make up the losses by charging long time customers more? I know its only $49 but its just the principle ... The fact you have significantly raised the price of T3D only really backs this up. I have very little choice at this point so spend my $49 well ;) 
#70
I bought your engines to make 'my' game, I don't need your 150k art assets, odd features created and documented for your demo game -I need a stable and bug free core engine.
Why are there so few games out there?
Simple, the engine is simply too darn hard for idea-indies to work with, and the documentation was created by the Indies themselves and as such a strategic and best practices soup of hacks. It's been marketed as a game engine, when in fact it's a game framework where you have to be at a coding level where an engine actually is obsolete.
We don't need to be enemies, I really do look forward to your best practices documentation, but I still think that you're doing it wrong -fix the core engine and make fluff packs...
Can we get a whitepaper displaying 1.1 and 1.2 features, and a full bug-fix list which shows what's fixed in 1.2?
10/08/2011 (6:47 am)
It's not about the 20$, It's a principleI bought your engines to make 'my' game, I don't need your 150k art assets, odd features created and documented for your demo game -I need a stable and bug free core engine.
Why are there so few games out there?
Simple, the engine is simply too darn hard for idea-indies to work with, and the documentation was created by the Indies themselves and as such a strategic and best practices soup of hacks. It's been marketed as a game engine, when in fact it's a game framework where you have to be at a coding level where an engine actually is obsolete.
We don't need to be enemies, I really do look forward to your best practices documentation, but I still think that you're doing it wrong -fix the core engine and make fluff packs...
Can we get a whitepaper displaying 1.1 and 1.2 features, and a full bug-fix list which shows what's fixed in 1.2?
#71
thanks
10/08/2011 (6:53 am)
How much will the upgrade cost me? Is there someone I can email to find out for sure? It's not clear to me because my profile shows that I'm assigned a t3d pro studio license but I don't see t3d in my products list.thanks
#72
The tutorial (pushing 450 pages at the moment) will be available for free to everyone. It is slanted toward 1.2, but most of it can be applied as is to 1.1. It refers to assets and datablock templates provided with 1.2 but you can substitute other assets. Admittedly, the tutorial works less as a "tutorial" for 1.1 users because you need to be more familiar with the scripting system specifically for the weapons section, but most of the information presented still applies.
There is a ton of good information there for people to use, for free. When there are questions from people (as I am sure there will be) about how to apply sections to 1.1, I will be around to answer them.
I promise.
Additionally, we are in the middle of revamping our documentation processes. When my boss finalizes our new methodology part of my job will be to start bringing the online documentation up to his new standards. This won't happen overnight - there is a lot of work to do - but that is already in the plan as well. As a customer of many years I too have spent many hours wishing those documents were better and now I have a chance to make it so. Be patient, I'm one man and I have a pile of work to do, but I'm on it.
10/08/2011 (7:18 am)
Hang on.The tutorial (pushing 450 pages at the moment) will be available for free to everyone. It is slanted toward 1.2, but most of it can be applied as is to 1.1. It refers to assets and datablock templates provided with 1.2 but you can substitute other assets. Admittedly, the tutorial works less as a "tutorial" for 1.1 users because you need to be more familiar with the scripting system specifically for the weapons section, but most of the information presented still applies.
There is a ton of good information there for people to use, for free. When there are questions from people (as I am sure there will be) about how to apply sections to 1.1, I will be around to answer them.
I promise.
Additionally, we are in the middle of revamping our documentation processes. When my boss finalizes our new methodology part of my job will be to start bringing the online documentation up to his new standards. This won't happen overnight - there is a lot of work to do - but that is already in the plan as well. As a customer of many years I too have spent many hours wishing those documents were better and now I have a chance to make it so. Be patient, I'm one man and I have a pile of work to do, but I'm on it.
#73
My Account -> My Studio
Add yourself in your studio admin then assign yourself a T3D seat
This video explains it even though with technical difficulties
10/08/2011 (7:24 am)
@kcpdad - have you gone to your account and assign that licence to you yet?My Account -> My Studio
Add yourself in your studio admin then assign yourself a T3D seat
This video explains it even though with technical difficulties
#74
Are you talking about the z-fighting issue like this?:
Because those are relatively easy to fix. That usually involves
changing the near clip value to a larger value.
Here is a good page to learn more about why those happen:
(Old but still very valid)
http://www.sjbaker.org/steve/omniv/love_your_z_buffer.html
(!@Thomas)
I would also like to say that given that a combo meal at McDonald's is about $7 I'd say it's dirt cheap. Especially given the amount of work and resources put behind it. If you have an issue that needs fixing, bring it up and I'm sure they (or the community) would be happy to help you.
I for one will get the upgrade, because I want to look at the tutorial level and learn from it (not use it) which (in my belief) is the whole point of the level. Btw, as a tutorial alone, that is worth the price of admission.
10/08/2011 (7:57 am)
@Thomas 10/07/2011 (3:39 pm):Are you talking about the z-fighting issue like this?:
Because those are relatively easy to fix. That usually involves
changing the near clip value to a larger value.
Here is a good page to learn more about why those happen:
(Old but still very valid)
http://www.sjbaker.org/steve/omniv/love_your_z_buffer.html
(!@Thomas)
I would also like to say that given that a combo meal at McDonald's is about $7 I'd say it's dirt cheap. Especially given the amount of work and resources put behind it. If you have an issue that needs fixing, bring it up and I'm sure they (or the community) would be happy to help you.
I for one will get the upgrade, because I want to look at the tutorial level and learn from it (not use it) which (in my belief) is the whole point of the level. Btw, as a tutorial alone, that is worth the price of admission.
#75
10/08/2011 (8:32 am)
I also paid near $1000.00 back in the day for T3D however I underdstand the money went to another company that is gone now. Principle or not I do not think that the new owners should feel obligated at all to "repay" or "discount" me in any way. I love the progres that is being made and I am more than will to pay for the upgrade. GG if you want more of my money come up with more character packs(high quality)! 
#76
I dont like it to apply fixes myself, because with each new version i have to do the same procedure. This is the task of GG.
And, look at post #56. This way, GG would never have problems with the customers. By the way, i would be happy to pay 49$. But only for new features and NOT for bugfixes.
10/08/2011 (9:54 am)
@Michael: I am talking about that...I dont like it to apply fixes myself, because with each new version i have to do the same procedure. This is the task of GG.
And, look at post #56. This way, GG would never have problems with the customers. By the way, i would be happy to pay 49$. But only for new features and NOT for bugfixes.
#77
10/08/2011 (10:46 am)
I guess that is true that those of us who purchased T3D before the rebirth of GG did give our money to a different company. And i think it is true that GG is not obligated to "make up the difference" between what we paid and the current $99 price. I have no problem paying for the 1.2 upgrade. But you can't blame a guy for asking ;) One big thing i would like to see is good documentation for PhysX. I honestly have no idea if things still have to be done in MAX ( which i don't have ) or there is another solution yet. I did buy the GameMechanics Kit mainly for the simple physics included with it. 
#78
from TGEA back in 2009 just as alot of others did, paying the higher price for the engine. I do have to keep in mind though, I paid that out to Barry Diller's "Torque Powered" and NOT to the present "Garage Games".
We need to remember that Garage Games might not even exist today if not for the present owner. I remember the fiasco that unfolded when it was announced that Instant Action was closing it's doors and "Torque Powered" was being liquidated. It caused quite a stir within the community when we found out there might not be a future for the Torque products we had purchased....if you think about it, you'll remember it to. I also remember Eric and the GG crew's commitment to this community and it's products even when their future was uncertain. If I'm not mistaken, didn't they push out a release AFTER it was announced they may no longer have a job? Someone correct me on that if I'm wrong. In the end, the GG crew didn't let US down and we ALL won out when "Torque Powered" found a buyer and "Garage Games" was reborn.
Seriously, what GG is asking for is more than fair. Regardless of what you've paid for the engine already, if we don't support GG and the crew today, they might not be here to support us tomorrow. They can not work for free, they do this for a living!
Rock on GG!
10/08/2011 (11:10 am)
I've tried looking at both sides of the coin, and while I can understand why some people are upset about paying for a 1.2 upgrade, I can also understand where the need is for charging for it. I upgraded from TGEA back in 2009 just as alot of others did, paying the higher price for the engine. I do have to keep in mind though, I paid that out to Barry Diller's "Torque Powered" and NOT to the present "Garage Games".
We need to remember that Garage Games might not even exist today if not for the present owner. I remember the fiasco that unfolded when it was announced that Instant Action was closing it's doors and "Torque Powered" was being liquidated. It caused quite a stir within the community when we found out there might not be a future for the Torque products we had purchased....if you think about it, you'll remember it to. I also remember Eric and the GG crew's commitment to this community and it's products even when their future was uncertain. If I'm not mistaken, didn't they push out a release AFTER it was announced they may no longer have a job? Someone correct me on that if I'm wrong. In the end, the GG crew didn't let US down and we ALL won out when "Torque Powered" found a buyer and "Garage Games" was reborn.
Seriously, what GG is asking for is more than fair. Regardless of what you've paid for the engine already, if we don't support GG and the crew today, they might not be here to support us tomorrow. They can not work for free, they do this for a living!
Rock on GG!
#79
That issue was because of out of date video drivers, not an issue in the engine itself.
10/08/2011 (11:33 am)
@ThomasThat issue was because of out of date video drivers, not an issue in the engine itself.
#80
10/08/2011 (11:40 am)
@Scott: I have the newest drivers from nVidia. 
Torque Owner Michael Taylor
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