Maschine roadmap

135

Comments

  • D-One
    D-One Moderator Posts: 2,811 mod
    edited March 2023

    Indeed. For this topic you don't really need a quote or proof, it was def said one way or another multiple times, I asked who said it out of curiosity in case it was recent and just to check wording to see if it qualifies as a "lie" or not, not to question you on if the statement was made or not, it knows it was. Maybe I worded that initial question the wrong way, sorry.

    IMO they publish it there (or anywhere else) because it's constantly asked, if I worked as a Tech Support and had to answer 100000 tickets asking for this kind of question I would def get in touch with the Web Team to put a statement there. If they can't confirm when it's coming but it's indeed a possibility then those vague statements like 'it's under consideration' are really all you can get, what would be better? 'Dont count on anything atm, we don't when it's gonna happen' ? Hard to imagine any big company being so brutally honest, altho that would be great it's not a very realistic expectation imo.

    I understand how that can be viewed as marketing and deceiving but at the same time also understand why things are communicated the way they are.

    Perhaps due to the fact I have a bit of access to some behind-the-scenes stuff and see some NI folks pushing hard for more communication, fixes for things, etc I sympathize with those lower-ranked employees. People like tech sup or someone like Nico who said what he said in this thread to try to be helpful and is now being seen as 'liar' and part of the problem when his intention was the opposite, he doesn't make more money if more M+ are sold; it's a bit of a messed up situation, he's been laid off since and whoever really holds power over these issues keeps climbing the corporate ladder, being promoted every few years getting more and more power no matter how much users get angry with the state of things... Quite a sad reality tbh 🤷‍♂️

  • Mutis
    Mutis Member Posts: 472 Pro
    edited March 2023

    M+ was cancelled the day before hit “run production” button for a reason (itallics pointing the statement by old ex-employees during the lay off; bold for my opinion)

    Old board was managing merging/sale and know about how late to the party and risky will be that movement. Also laying off and cancelling investment in hardware make up sales numbers as usual.

    New middle board had M+ developer inside. So cancellation was cancelled and promises were done.

    Apple Sillicon hit the market and NI wasn’t enough aware (but damage control and optimism was put in place to keep the titanic musicians playing)

    Then more beaurecracy and more delays. Time wasted and resources reorganized without internal communication. Some external statements were made at forum but action was lazy or things never released… so users felt lied one more time.

    Forum moved forward, lots of users refuse joining it. Old forum got deleted, users complaint.

    After all there’s some hope for things being worked but some news statements point resources are limited… so not clear roadmaps, some self-lies (people doesn’t want to admit they were fooled never) and stagnation.

    M+ should had been ARM based (it was considered by the developers) but NI was too much x86 dependent for that. Also Apple seems merging OSs (also noticed/stated by Konstantine time ago…) so keeping x86 migration from desktop could be the right choice for those who were late for the iPad-universal route (Traktor Pro/Maschine model vs Traktor Dj/Djay Pro/Zenbeats model) but then M+ was at No man’s land… resources moved. New strategy planned. NI is a software company… Hardware will be developed with third party partners…

    So M+ release affected the whole Maschine development and roadmaps. I don’t expect an M+mk2 or Maschine 3 software soon. NI needs to end AS transition, decide how to manage x86 transition into ARM meanwhile Windows put the right tools in place and/or implement SoundStacks as viable foundation to deploy their code without the usual platform dependency (but even SoundStacks coders make fun about Apple so that path will bring some deception in the future too)

    Expect time to see new developments or bugs/future issues if done fast. Don’t expect communication, people buy on impulse (black friday discounts) or tradition (upgrades discounts) because buying on trust isn’t an option for NI since long ago.

    The only hope remaining is SoundWide doing to NI what inMusic did for Numark but another option is what they did to Rane.

    To get some benefeits, some resources should be re-moved.

    People needs to start thinking NI future as a whole (divisions) and as part of big picture (SoundWide).

  • jkq2010
    jkq2010 Member Posts: 27 Helper

    I'm amazed they got away with song and performance mode fiasco, the whole point of people getting jam and then they just abandoned it. Maschine is the biggest waste of potential, it literally could be the all in one production studio if they just added simple tweaks like tempo automation and time signature per scene. Amazing than an MPC from 30 years ago can do that but Maschine can't. Back to Ableton it is then.

  • Flexi
    Flexi Member Posts: 366 Pro

    No disrespect mean't here D-One, but you are coming across as an apologist in this thread, I know you will do another long post to prove that you aren't, but it is what it is, NI have lied in the past, fact, not believing them means you are not disappointed at any point, another fact, and the majority of paying users could care less who gets fired and who gets promoted at NI, they generally care about their own use of the products they pay for, another fact.

    Here is a hint for anybody who even cares (Which I am sure another long post can disprove) NO COMMERCIAL DEVELOPER is your friend or is doing you a favour, they do not deserve your unreserved respect, respect is earned in every facet of life, that does not mean disrespect either, before anybody decides to get all TOS over here.

  • D-One
    D-One Moderator Posts: 2,811 mod
    edited March 2023

    Noted. Sorry it came across that way.

    Nope, no long post reply and also no need to prove anything... I'll just be silent in this sort of topic from now on, like the company is.

  • LostInFoundation
    LostInFoundation Member Posts: 4,194 Expert
    edited March 2023

    Do you know what I find sad?

    That we are still here discussing (and disputing 😔) between ourselves KNOWING nobody from the company will care about it…

    And that as soon as we show our concerns/feelings in a more detailed way, even the only person that “officially” chimed in to tell us something will disappear and stop answering to ANYTHING.

    Btw: D-One for many years has been a very good resource/helper for this forum and this community, being he of the same opinion as some of us or not. Don’t fall in the mechanisms so much beloved by the “powerful” to make the people argue between themselves to control them easily.

    “Divide et impera” is a strategy that was already used by the ancient Roman empire loooong ago…

  • LostInFoundation
    LostInFoundation Member Posts: 4,194 Expert
    edited March 2023

    And…for the ones who don’t know: a “semi-official” statement about Maschine has been done in another thread: Maschine IS NOT a priority at all, and all other divisions seems to have more focus right now (sorry to give you this bad news).

    And the person who made it…suddenly disappeared (maybe scolded by the people we still think will listen to us? Who knows…)

    So…the rule “take it for what it is and don’t expect anything more” is nowadays even more actual…

    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/10032/very-serious-question-about-ni-transparency/p2

  • Wouter De Muynck
    Wouter De Muynck Member Posts: 217 Pro

    Sad to see the same discussion is going on here in regards to Maschine. I created a simular post a month ago (https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/10802/the-future-of-guitar-rig/p1) to ask for an update on the future of Guitar Rig now OS compatibility, VST3, .... are covered, but also here NI's interaction is close to nothing... "Just wanted to reassure you that we'll share your feedback with the Guitar Rig team. 🙏", which is the default type of feedback. Someone from NI with stars and stripes should have the balls to provide feedback, no matter if it's good or bad news, but they prefer the path of non-communication over and over again (nothing the admins can manage, they are just the men/women in the middle taking care of ******-handling). In Dutch they would define us a "kutklant", a customer can spend their money, but don't ask difficult questions or complain too much, because in that case we hope you lose your patience and shift to the competition. That's my impression on how NI is working these days. Being an NI user for 20+ years, this is a sad strategy.... The only product for which a roadmap is clear is Traktor, I assume that's where the money is coming from. Same for Reaktor for which you can test the beta version and for Valves there was a Q&A session. Expanding this approach to other solutions would make sense....

  • Flexi
    Flexi Member Posts: 366 Pro

    My post was not having a pop at @D-One at all, he is the consummate font of all Maschine knowledge, no doubt about that, but in this thread he was in a hole that NI have dug.

  • Flexi
    Flexi Member Posts: 366 Pro
    edited March 2023

    I warned about the overlords not green lighting go ahead on Maschine development in other threads a few times after the latest round of company take overs, a bunch of users reported me (edit..actually should say flagged really) at the time for doing so, funny how things turn out, right haha.

    Maschine was not a priority with the company that invented it, this is not that company, now, after I stated clearly that green light was not forthcoming, I also stated that when sales of current M+ stock were done, they would not manufacture anymore of them, lets see how that pans out, then we can circle back to my other "predictions"

  • Mutis
    Mutis Member Posts: 472 Pro
    edited March 2023

    I had even discussions about that with Peter Kirn but “awareness (to M1 transition and side effects) was in place” was the damage-control usual answer.

    Sad.

    BTW Traktor isn’t where money comes from. It was in the edge, resources were pivoted into Tdj2 aka non professional target to get once again ditched (with the most requested features “Retina support, browser…” implemented but the professional needs planned as “subscription” or payforenable like Serato)

    NI had doubled teams with different roadmaps approaches and these were kept to be used as market studies in the meantime but it was also stated hardware will be done with third party instead inHouse focusing into software. M+ makes an exception but as plugin host. The issue was don’t truly understand what it will represent the Apple Silicon transition and here we are 3 years later…

    It’s all failing? Not per-se, not entirely… but some dots are being placed in the CEO graph and decissions based on expectation vs reality should (or had been) taken.

    The real issue is the x86 hard dependency and how the whole computing field is shifting drove by iPad/iPhone (where the actual mac chips born…). NI gone from pushing forward with Tdj2 to be in the last wagon and jump step by step as other x86 dependent manufacturers (like Serato) but these almost had a revamp version in the last 10 years. Traktor got dark skin and parallel waveforms.

    M+ was the attempt to avoid that x86 into ARM transition (like Akai is doing after Reinnasence fail) but Akai moved iMPC from iPad into embed and that’s why it’s better optimized and more updated. They had built a foundation that could keep growing meanwhile NI needs to rethink if next M+ will be ARM based or definetly ditched and keep focusing on software as brand.

    Also NI isn’t the same NI since SoundWide merging so all these “roadmaps” were envisioned into a Delta point (probably behind us now) where things probably should be re-envisioned and the bifurcations will take (or took) all these variables (revenue flow, supported platforms, x86vsARM strategies…) and transform into future release (or not) products.

    The point is: Does NI fit your actual needs? Is Future something capital for your investments?

    Silence is not only the best answer when you don’t want to disclose future… it’s the only possible option when you don’t know that future or don’t trust in what management board tells you it’s going to be.

  • olafmol
    olafmol Member Posts: 133 Pro

    My analysis: NI has new overlords, and are now restructuring their organisation to optimise for profitability. They obviously make most money with selling soundpacks, but need a platform to run these soundpacks.

    Hardware seems to be (mostly?) abandoned, as it's probably not cost-effective/profitable enough (anymore).

    Kontakt is the biggie for NI, as is Komplete. Traktor is basically EOL, other brands have taken over that market. Maschine is barely alive, as it is a VST host, it can be used as a platform to run the NI soundpacks, but there probably have been market analyses that the Maschine platform doesn't generate enough profitability compared to third-party VST hosts.

    So yeah, my gut feeling is that hardware will either be abandoned, or will be used as some kind of "loss leader" to get people buying into the Kontakt and Komplete and soundpacks.

  • Olihop
    Olihop Member Posts: 152 Advisor

    I don't think the hardware will be abandoned, the interest of the nks format which is now widespread is mainly based on the interaction with the hardware and it is a good selling point for those who want to invest in a master keyboard.

  • Flexi
    Flexi Member Posts: 366 Pro
    edited March 2023

    NKS being popular has little to no bearing on any decision that Soundwide make, that will be purely based on percentage returns, NKS being popular does not automatically mean Soundwide getting a big enough return on investment, they are an investment firm, not musicians, not your friend.

    As I keep stating in all these threads, be very very happy that we have seen maintenance updates at least to keep the platform working with MacOS etc, and just keep hoping that those maintenance releases keep coming.

  • Flexi
    Flexi Member Posts: 366 Pro

    M+ discontinued opens up a nice niche cottage industry for Reaktor developers to sell to M+ users by the way ;)

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