Has the License Policy changed?

[Pte Jack]

According to the Store page, it looks like the license has changed and only provides support for up to version change.

You will get free updates on Steam up to the end of 2021

This is different from previous years where the support was 1 year and will affect my decision to buy here on Steam.

For example, I bought in June/July 2020. I get support on Steam up to Version Change (2020 to 2021), however I am not allowed to download 2021 from Steam until I renew my subscription (which would be now.)
HOWEVER I also get support via my linked Steam account to Substance3D.com, which gives me the ability to download the new stand-alone version (2021) from Substance3D.com and support for that up to the end of my 1 year subscription (June/July 2021).

HAS THIS CHANGED???

Am I only getting 6 months support and losing the support after version change???

[cairnsm]

From what I remember, this has always been the case. Buying on Steam gives you updates until the end of the year, but linking your Substance account gives you 12 months of updates from the date of purchase. Unfortunately, you can no longer link your Substance account as of February, IIRC.

[Pte Jack]

Originally posted by cairnsm:

Unfortunately, you can no longer link your Substance account as of February, IIRC.

So, if you can't link your account anymore, how do you get the updates after the new version release if you buy half way through the year? (Speaking on behalf of new users who haven't linked their accounts)

And if I buy now (as I have for since SP1), will my Substance3d account still update giving me support for 2021 and upgrade to 2022 when it releases for the full year (as it has in the past)?

Or is this an ADOBE punishment (and money grab) for buying their products on Steam?

Jerc (Dev), are you still allowed to post here and clear this up?

[Atgc13]

Why ♥♥♥♥ do I have to agree with the new policy. I bought this software and I should be able to use it

[Pte Jack]

Originally posted by Atgc13:

Why >8 SNIPPED from quote 8< do I have to agree with the new policy. I bought this software and I should be able to use it

You'll be able to use 2021 forever, it won't expire on Steam. You can delete it from your system and as long as Steam is a service, you can re-download and use it. But if you don't renew your license. it will never update after Dec 31st 2021 when the new version releases (unless there is a final update after the new version releases). I still have access for subscriptions back to SP1 here that I can reinstall whenever I want or have to (because the backward compatibility of SP is absolutely horrible (afaic)). This is not the question here.

The question is...

"Am I paying full (or sale) price for a 1 year subscription on Steam and losing 6 to 7 months of support and upgrades because I'm buying in June/July and "apparently" Steam accounts can no longer be linked to Substance3D.com anymore?"
(which is where you turned to to downloaded the new version if you bought and had remaining subscription time after the new version releases.)

The license for "us that buy on Steam" has to be clarified and information on how this new subscription works in regard to account linking and support with Adobe/Substance3D.

If I'm paying for a 1 year subscription on Steam, then I expect 1 year support/upgrades (as there have been in the past) for the products I buy here.

If this is going away on Steam, then (imho) Adobe should remove the products from Steam completely or start exponentially lowering the price of the software as the year progresses for the months of support we're losing on the new versions.

Those of us that have linked our accounts can grab the stand-alones from our Substance accounts, install and work from them if everything is removed from Steam.

But for new users, does Substance3D automatically recognize the 1 year subscription we buy here when a Substance account is created and for those of us that have linked accounts, will Substance automatically add the new subscription to our accounts and provide that same 1 year support as we've seen in the past?

Sorry Community, this is turning into a rant before the devs clarify what is actually going on, but it really ticks me off seeing totally useful programs like this being bought up by the BIG Boys and then the product being priced way outside being affordable for amateurs or hobbyists (just look at the monthly sub price for Substance on the Adobe site also I could not find a yearly subscription price there to compare with the Steam price) or is bought out and then completely dropped (FUSE was good example of this) or being taken advantage of through licensing issues because I prefer to buy on Steam.

It would not surprise me that this is the last year we'll see SP (or SD) available on Steam.

[cairnsm]

Originally posted by Pte Jack:

Or is this an ADOBE punishment (and money grab) for buying their products on Steam?

Bingo.

[Simon]

Well, it seems like I will have to buy it on the start of 2022 then, if I decide to keep using Substance.

[Jerc]

This has been the case for several years already, nothing new here. The Steam API doesn't support a model where you would get 12 months of updates depending on your purchase date, there has to be a start and an end date for the app itself no matter the purchase date.

[Pte Jack]

Thanks Jerc, I appreciate the response, but all is not as status-quo as you're leading us to believe and you might want to check with Head Office and find out what is really going on.

I am well aware of the problems and restrictions of the Steam API and how new releases can't be tied into lapping year subscriptions on Steam. This not my first trip to the rodeo with this and the problems have been known and accepted since the release of SP2.

However, Allegorthmic (and Adobe last year) provided the ability to link our Steam account to Substance to compensate for this and we had the ability to download the new stand alone versions of our purchases if subscriptions lapped into the new year (giving us that full year support). We picked up the balance of that support using the download from Substance3d.

See here, this is my Substance3D license page.
https://i.imgur.com/mqMPoih.png

As you can see, I have been maintaining licenses (through Steam) since 2016 and I renewed my subscription of SP and SD on July 1st last year on STEAM.
On Substance3D, my License and Support reflects this and ends 1 July this year (and why I need this clarified if I am to continue using Steam as my means of delivery.)
So, my SP and SD versions are currently 2020 on Steam because I have not renewed, but I use 2021 via the build downloads from Substance3D in stand-alone mode.

That is Not the problem, as I said, it has been this way since SP2 was released and Allegorithmic went to Subscription services.

This is the situation being asked about and that needs clarification is this conundrum.

Looking at Substance3d now, there is no longer a link page to link our Steam accounts as there was in the past to get this added support.
The way the Store page for 2021 version purchases reads now is that Support end with the release of the new version. (Which is new and not worded that way in the past.)

In the past we paid for a Full year Perpetual License that provided updates, upgrades (that happened during the license) and support. Not only did we get that, we loved it. (Although it has been a pain having to download and switch work flows after the new year release in order to use the new version.)

But, apparently now we can no longer link Steam accounts to Substance accounts, so how do we get this FULL year Support that we are paying for when the "year" laps into a new year and is after release of the new version?

Is the process still automatic (as it was in the past through linked accounts) or has that process been severed and the new license I buy here not show up on my Substance Account because I bought on Steam?

For people buying on Steam the first time, how does the process know that they are registered users through Steam if they haven't set up a Substance Account yet? If we can no longer link Steam accounts to validate purchases, where is the tie back to Steam to validate the purchases that will set up the new license and expiry date on Substance3D?

Has the One Year Support and Updates/Upgrades been changed to "Licenses start on day of purchase and end on date of new release" as stated on the Store page (and you kind of hint at that in your statement above) and support is no longer a full year?

Sorry, but If this is the case, why the heck are Substance products even being offered on Steam or where are the prorated purchase prices for those of us that buy late in the year to compensate for losses in support and updates/upgrades?

AND as you can see from my linked Substance account image, THAT WAS NOT THE CASE IN THE PAST. We paid for a full year and we got a Full Year Perpetual License (with Hiccups for those of use that buy late in the year).

Please advise, SOONEST... My license is expiring and I need to know if the Steam delivery system is dead to Adobe (in that they won't support Steam Users the way both Allegorithmic and they did in the past).

If support does not remain the same as it was in the past and linking Steam to Substance is no longer possible it will make the downloaded 2021 versions of SP and SD my forever tools.

[Jerc]

You are right, we used to offer that linking capability and it was removed as part of the transition from our legacy licensing backend from Allegorithmic to the Adobe licensing backend.
We will of course keep supporting existing licenses but we are not creating new licenses anymore (each link from Steam would create a new perpetual license).

[Pte Jack]

Sorry, Jerc, I'm not angry with you as you are merely the messenger here (and we still don't shoot messengers) but this is confusing, I'm old man hitting my late 60's and I can't just wrap my head around this statement. It seems to contradict itself...

Originally posted by Jerc:

We will of course keep supporting existing licenses but we are not creating new licenses anymore (each link from Steam would create a new perpetual license).

Does this mean...
1.
a) Yes, you have support to 1 July to finish your license and if you buy now to extend your subscription, the new license will be added to your substance account giving you access to July 1 2022 because your Steam account WAS linked before the capability was taken away...
Yeah, Lucky you. We're supporting your Product Loyalty.

b) However, this does not apply to New Users who did not have their accounts linked because the ability to link Steam accounts has been dropped as it falls outside the Adobe Licensing process. Substance products bought now on Steam will expire on new release NO MATTER WHEN they buy them.
New users, Too bad, So Sad. You missed the boat.
with Love,
Adobe

OR

2.
No, if you buy here on Steam now, your new Steam "one year" subscriptions will expire on new release at the end of 2021 no matter when you buy them, without support into the new year.
We are no longer honoring Steam subscriptions they way we used to because they fall outside the Adobe licensing process.
The policy for you now falls inline as the same for New Users here on Steam.
The perpetual license means, as long as you have a Steam account, the version bought will always be available to you here on Steam.
Too bad, So Sad. Your loyalty to the product means nothing to us, we only want your money.
with Love...
Adobe

OR

3.
Jack, you're being a dumb arse here. Everything is status-quo and copacetic. We are treating everything the same as it was in the past. Chill out dude, Don't worry, Be happy. We got you, man.
with Love,
The Really Cool gang behind the Substance Program

I'm pretty sure #3 is out the window, even though the Substance team members are really Cool (and probably wishing they were still in the driver's seat.)

[Jerc]

It's the same for all users. No matter if you had a license previously or not, linking still would create a new license for us, and we don't have support for that anymore. So yeah, 2.

[Pte Jack]

Thanks for clearing that up Jerc.

All I can say is #%$*....

It was great while it lasted. But If 2 is the answer, then there is no benefit to buy here any longer (unless you purchase on Jan 1st to get that year's support or if the Black Friday event turns into something like a pre-order event for the next year's version where you get the benefit of the previous and next year's versions.)

Personally, I'm merely a hobbyist, I receive no benefit or revenue from the stuff I do. Being retired, I can't afford $25.99/mth (CDN) for a Substance 3D Texturing subscription and as for a Substance 3D Collection subscription... That's totally out to lunch for me, my pension income is tight enough as it is without software subscriptions taking chunks out of it every month and I'll bet that there are a lot of people that buy here on Steam that are a heck of a lot worse off than I am.

The "Old Way" was why I started mid year buying in the first place. I would get the current version during the summer sale because the sale prices were affordable, roll into the next year and download the stand-alone to see if the upgrades were of benefit, then renew if I found them so.

Hopefully, you're salaried, because if your income is based on commissions for sales here, I think you might be looking at a Substan(ce)tial loss from sales on Steam. (LOL)

BTW, you might want to lock this discussion up now, because I'm sure there will be follow up from the community... (LOL again)

[Simon]

Originally posted by Pte Jack:

Thanks for clearing that up Jerc.

All I can say is #%$*....

It was great while it lasted. But If 2 is the answer, then there is no benefit to buy here any longer (unless you purchase on Jan 1st to get that year's support or if the Black Friday event turns into something like a pre-order event for the next year's version where you get the benefit of the previous and next year's versions.)

Personally, I'm merely a hobbyist, I receive no benefit or revenue from the stuff I do. Being retired, I can't afford $25.99/mth (CDN) for a Substance 3D Texturing subscription and as for a Substance 3D Collection subscription... That's totally out to lunch for me, my pension income is tight enough as it is without software subscriptions taking chunks out of it every month and I'll bet that there are a lot of people that buy here on Steam that are a heck of a lot worse off than I am.

The "Old Way" was why I started mid year buying in the first place. I would get the current version during the summer sale because the sale prices were affordable, roll into the next year and download the stand-alone to see if the upgrades were of benefit, then renew if I found them so.

Hopefully, you're salaried, because if your income is based on commissions for sales here, I think you might be looking at a Substan(ce)tial loss from sales on Steam. (LOL)

BTW, you might want to lock this discussion up now, because I'm sure there will be follow up from the community... (LOL again)

Quixel Mixer is a decent free alternative to Substance Painter

[Pte Jack]

I think Quixel Mixer (and AmorPaint) have a long long way to go to compete against Painter.

[Lagmaster]

Originally posted by Pte Jack:

I think Quixel Mixer (and AmorPaint) have a long long way to go to compete again Painter.

Yeah, my attempts at using both software left something to be desired. As utterly ♥♥♥♥♥ as Adobe's acquisition of Allegorithmic is and given the state they've left the software in, Substance still has its toolset albeit substantially bastardised.