KK3: Let's talk about Preset Edit and View improvements

I've been off for a while, not actively visiting the NI forums for a very long time. But as it seems, I didn't miss anything, as simply nothing has changed or progressed since one year, at least when it comes to the aspect of the higly requested "backwards compatibility" for the KK3 application and its plugin version.

Obviously NI is still following the same old policy which is hostile to existing users and their prioritized requests. Still no realization by NI on the damage which has been created so far, as long-time customers have been left behind since introducing KK3 in conjunction with the latest NI MK3 keyboard. No single evidence in the meantime that the needs of the bigger part of the NI community have been addressed, e.g. by letting important KK functionality return which was already implemented in KK2 but was dropped for incomprehensible reasons. @Matthew_NI promised about more than one year ago that our customer requests will be heard and at least some features will be brought back "very soon". None of that has happened yet.

Now we can be almost sure that NI will never bring back any of those appreciated features we once knew, not even the most important ones which have been demanded so many times already, like the "sample drag and drop" feature or any other KK2 goodies like "property editing". Instead, NI exclusively stays focussed on functionality which is exclusively serving the newer MK3 keyboard user community. As there is not even a progress visible for KK3, it seems like NI's goal is also to drop that application very soon and to implement its limited functionality in their forthcoming Kontakt versions. After all, KK was always claimed to be a "free" application only (which is now not even part of the "Komplete Start" package anymore). Why should NI support and maintain such an application when Kontakt has anyway become a 1:1 clone already? Maybe the goal behind that move is to force all NI users who want to maintain a "KK experience" (if any) in the future to upgrade to the latest Kontakt version, in best case on a yearly basis. But still there won't be any guarantee that those old "cross-device" respectively "cross-application" based functionalities will ever return then at all.

NI simply forgot about all those users which ars still appreciating the functional value of the KK2 application and all the benefints it has offered, even in conjunction with the older MK2 keyboard (which is btw. not EOL yet). Even if you look at the latest KK 3.3.4 version just tested, immediately so many bugs are still present there, for example in conjunction with the MK2 keyboard control and workflow (keyword: mutual control/screen/status update in either direction).

My patience is slowly running out, that's why I'll have to make a decision very soon. If I don't see any behavior change until EO March '25, my decision will be very clear. I will stop supporting NI by not purchasing any updates or even new products anymore. I guess many existing NI customers think exactly like I do. We don't want to get fooled, and we are tired of fighting for functionality which has been already there for a while but was incorrectly deemed "not important enough" by NI. They simply haven't done their homework properly and they are obviosuly not willing to learn from the past.

As there hasn't been any new information on this topic for a couple of months now, I'd like to push this thread again.

@Chris_NI and @Matthew_NI, whoever from you is actively driving the improvement of the Komplete Kontrol 3.X product now, may I kindly ask you again to tell us if there are still any attempts from NI to implement the highly requested KK 2.96 features which have been abandoned as per the KK 3.00 introduction and have never found their way back? For reference, Kymeia summarized those features perfectly in his list (above in this thread):

These requests from the community have been clearly articulated and repeated so many times already, even in several different sections of this forum. Even though cautious approval was already indicated from NI's side to take action, no further information about related details or milestones have been published in the meantime, which is really not a good sign. Looking at the current featureset of KK 3.4.1, so far non of those mentioned lost features above have ever returned until today.

Therefore, may I please ask you again to make an official statement about the current situation, especially the decision if some development activity around this topic can still be expected or not. To be honest, currently it seems like NI's priority is to satisfy new (and non-NI) customers only, instead of shifting the focus back to their own loyal target group. There are many long-time NI customers out there who also want to be treated fairly with the same kind of respect. I guess, that very NI community - on which you could rely on for a very long time and buying your hardware as well - deserves to get clear answers to the mentioned KK topic (which is one and a half years old now). No NI customer should be left out in the cold. Thank you.

Yeah, I fully agree. My "reminder" from December 2024 (see above) was initially started as a separate thread, only with the goal to review the current KK3.3.4 features and its general lack of still not supporting any of the highly requested KK2.9.6 features which were abandoned from one day to the other and which NI's promised to bring back long ago. For whatever reason, I even received a vote down from somebody before my posting was taken down and was magically moved over to this thread. But also this won't stop me from demanding accountability from NI. I guess the community has deserved to get clarity about what's actually going on. After all, we're not talking about peanuts here, or any "power user features nobody wants". It's mainly essential stuff which has been erased between two consecutive KK update releases without any obvious reason.