The New Era of reWASD is coming.

[thejoe]

Big changes are on the way, and we are excited to present them to you!
Learn about what’s coming next in the future of the reWASD. How will it affect you, and what’s exciting about it?

Here's a quick glance:
1. Personal account and checkout page on rewasd.com.
2. Multiple PCs with the same reWASD account.
3. A subscription model that allows for all of the features.
4. Reworked Trial Periods but not just for the new users.
5. Even more safety for your private data.
6. Less limits/more updates/better upgrades!

We made a big article to clarify most of questions so follow the link below to discover more details. But if you are still wondering how it should work and what you should do - our support team is here to help. But you already knew it, right?

https://rewasd.com/blog/post/meet-new-era

GLHF, stay tuned for more updates!

[Mobeeuz]

Link is broken

[stealth12]

Link is broken

https://www.rewasd.com/blog/post/meet-new-era

[vortex1M]

[CriticalComposer]

I've been mostly positive and supportive of all of the ways that reWASD has changed over my last half decade of using it. I don't think I can do that today. I have some questions and criticisms about this blog post that I hope will be read with an understanding that I simply want this program to be the best that it can be; though I doubt my singular thoughts will change the trajectory of where reWASD is heading.

Monetization

The unification of the program and simplification of purchase decisions is a smart move. Very rarely was reWASD worthwhile without any of the add-ons, which made the "it's only $7 USD" feel like bait and switch when a prospective buyer found out that macros, combos, and activators pumped that price up. Speaking of the price however, a subscription is not the way to go. I know that revenue is important to the continued support of a product. People need to get paid for their work and offices have bills like electricity and rent. Making software isn't free. I get it. I also know that old users will be grandfathered in to a lifetime sub so technically I won't be affected by the subscription model. I have a lot of concerns with this though.

To me this sounds like "we need more revenue from reWASD but we don't want to upset the current users so we'll only squeeze new users." I'm not putting this at the feet of the devs. I'm not sure who made the decision but monetization is usually not handled by the awesome people who come up with new features and code them into the program. But that is what this sounds like to me. From that perspective, I'm not one to pull the ladder up after I've used it. I'm glad that I won't have to pay the sub (for now) but that doesn't mean that I'm happy that others do. I've told everyone that I know that if they're interested in reWASD to pick it up now. I won't be recommending the software anymore once the subscription goes into play.

There's also the elephant in the room: bans and competing software. As of right now it's banned from many of the most popular online shooters and its main competing software, that isn't banned, is not only free but also made by Valve and is installed on pretty much every gaming PC. Not to mention that Steam Input received a massive promotion in the last couple of years with the release of the Steam Deck. So the big question that reWASD needs to answer is "what makes reWASD worth $30 USD/year (for now)?" and honestly I can't really come up with a compelling argument. It handles macros better than Steam but that's also what got it into hot water with the FPS crowd. The Triple Tap Activator is unique but how often do people use that? My best argument is that it isn't tied to Steam, it's storefront agnostic, so it's easy to get working with GOG or Epic or EA. But it's obvious that that isn't important to too many people given just how big Steam's userbase is compared to any other storefront. Then again, maybe that niche group is enough to keep the lights on for the reWASD devs. It's certainly what initially drew me to reWASD.

Safety For Private Data?

This is topic number four from the list in OP. I'm curious what this refers to and how it's being resolved. What kind of private data is reWASD storing? How does a subscription model and/or the log-in authentication (vs key entry) make the data more "safe?" Is "safe" a stand-in for "secure?" In the blog you mention that

These updates will tailor reWASD to your needs, enhance its security, and streamline your experience with the app.

but what does that even mean? How does logging in with a username enhance security? How does it streamline the "app experience?" I'll be totally honest here, the most secure version of this application would be an offline one that never phones home and activates with an authentication key. You can't get more secure than offline, local only. But I do understand why that isn't allowed even if I don't agree with the decision behind it. Regardless, I'm told that the new authentication system benefits users in many ways but you haven't explained how or why. Simply stating that things will be more safe and secure makes me feel worse about the change since these statements feel vapid and meaningless, almost as if they were tacked on speech in order to add any positive spin to the subscription change, even if they were ultimately empty words. Speaking of meaningless words,

We know how you like having any feature there and ready, so now you will be able to get everything reWASD has to offer in one subscription!

What a stupid, empty sentence. As of right now someone can have everything that reWASD has to offer in just one payment. In fact, it's the same price as the proposed yearly sub. Your marketing team is trying their best to make this change sound so good for the end user but we gain absolutely nothing out of this. I would much rather have seen a blog post that said "reWASD is struggling financially. We either end support and close the office down or we switch to a subscription service." I value transparency and authenticity. But this "hey buddy, look.... this is actually better for you" approach is a huge turn-off for me.

For now...

You may have noticed I used that phrase a bit in this comment. That's because the point of this is to ease people into the new subscription model. This is a tried and true method that we have seen a TON of in the last decade. Start out with good grandfathered deals and low rates (it's only $2.50 USD per month after all, not even the price of a cup of coffee) but eventually those will all go away. The blog post already mentioned that those lifetime subscriptions for old users won't cover new features (even though the checkout page currently says that all future minor and major upgrades will be free) and there won't be a one-time payment for those like there have been in the past. So reWASD's goal here is to eventually add enough new things to entice old users to jump to a subscription. And once they see a large enough user base they'll jack the price of the sub up. Remember when Disney+ came out at "only $5/mo" and only 1 year later they bumped the prices up and added the ad-free tier; now their price is thrice as much as the initial $5/mo. Now I don't think reWASD will be as egregious with their price hikes, but hikes are coming because that's the point of the subscription model. To bring this back around, while the old users will get to keep their lifetime sub that's obviously not the end goal. It's a gesture of good will because nothing else about this blog post is positive. The end goal is still to put all of us on a sub.

Conclusion

Despite all of that, I'm still holding judgement until the update drops. It is possible that reWASD has something up their sleeve to alleviate some of my concerns. But they still have a long, uphill battle to go. After all, this time last season reWASD was in hot water with both their users and game developers and after months of radio silence they come out with this announcement. I can only hope that reWASD is going to somehow use this to build back trust with game devs. I have absolutely no idea of how that'll work but it's the only result that I think could make this look good from any direction. However it honestly doesn't affect me much in the end. I'm just trying to look out for the current and future users. reWASD still has too many problems for me to use it as a daily driver so a sub is just going to push me away even more. I switched to JoyShockMapper (JSM) a year or so ago and haven't looked back. reWASD is still the best out of the box remapper but it's quickly getting overshadowed by competing software. Steam Input is more powerful with more options and JSM continues to have the best gyro implementation -- which makes sense since it was made by the dude who was hired by Epic to add the well received gyro aiming settings to Fortnite. On top of being overshadowed, the FPS debacle earlier this year had the larger gaming sphere associating its name with cheating and that absolutely hurt its chances for growth. As far as I'm concerned, this subscription shift is the nail in the coffin. I only use reWASD for the Radial Menu but as soon as I can find another program that does that (that isn't tied to Steam) then I'll be dropping reWASD entirely. I wish the team the best and I hope the software does amazing things but the future looks grim from where I'm standing.

P.S.

What would a post from me be without a request or a suggestion 😅.

I would highly recommend exploring the idea of rolling updates. It's a stop-gap between one time purchase and the subscription model. The core idea is that people aren't buying access to a program but instead updates to a program. Basically have the users pay $30 USD for a year of updates. At the end of the year they can either buy another year of updates or continue to use the software at the last version they had before the subscription ran out. Many programs have handled things this way such as Reaper, Affinity Photo, Bitwig, and Guitar Pro. (I'm now seeing this is popular in music software 😄). This allows you to see the consistent revenue stream from those who want the cutting edge updates while still allowing those who are content with what they have to continue using their older version without extra cost.

[tij]

I also think subscription model is bad:
1. You loose everything if subscription ends
2. You loose everything if reWASD company cease to exist

I also think better model is you buy/upgrade major versions (more expensive if you buy new ... cheaper to upgrade). For example:
1. Buy version 8 ... and it is yours to keep
2. You get free updates during the year ... 8.1 8.2 etc
3. Next year new version 9 ... next year version 10 ... ppl can choose to pay to upgrade to new version ... or keep using old version

Version model works well ... another good examples for use of this are: Launchbox and JRiver

PS: it's hard to recommend your software when Steam Input does the same for free (including radial menus and they have other type of menus) ... I personally use reWASD for:
1. Support for non mainstream controllers - for me it was DualShock3
1. Polling rate for virtual Xbox of 500hz (steam is 250) ... if same can be done for DualShock4 too ... better still 1000hz for xbox and DS4 ... then you can probably win over some DS4Windows users

[DevX]

Thank you for your posts - opinion of our users is very important for us and we'll carefully consider all options.

> Polling rate for virtual Xbox of 500hz (steam is 250) ... if same can be done for DualShock4 too

Ok, we'll make 500 hz on virtual DS4 for you personally But maybe not in current release. You will be notified.

[CriticalComposer]

I also think subscription model is bad:
1. You loose everything if subscription ends
2. You loose everything if reWASD company cease to exist

As for number two, that's already going to happen with the current version. reWASD phones home periodically and if it can't then it removes the authentication status, putting itself in trial mode. I hope there is something in place that will change this behavior if the reWASD devs discover that they're closing down but as of right now there hasn't been any information given about that so we have to assume the worst.

[tij]

Thank you for your posts - opinion of our users is very important for us and we'll carefully consider all options.

> Polling rate for virtual Xbox of 500hz (steam is 250) ... if same can be done for DualShock4 too

Ok, we'll make 500 hz on virtual DS4 for you personally But maybe not in current release. You will be notified.

Thank you!!!

[x.iso]

I think the fair compromise would be to have upgrade plans for 1 year instead of subscription. meaning you maintain access to the app and features for version that was available when upgrade plan ends. if you want newer version - you buy upgrade plan for 1 year worth of updates.

[strokel]

Hi. Thanks for the suggestion; we'll discuss it with the team.

[akima]

Thanks to all of you for your feedback. Every word from you is valuable and important to us.

First of all, I want to note that we are still actively working on the monetization model. Our main goal is to consider the interests of as many users as possible. We understand that financial changes rarely receive a positive response. However, I want to assure you that we are striving to find the optimal solution. And maybe the one we'll release at the beginning won't be the final and will get its development further to cover more needs.

On the one hand, we have our users we want to provide with a clear, understandable purchase model (and yes, we got it that for you - advanced reWASD users - everything seems clear and good enough, but we are still getting requests from the new users who can't handle the way all these basic license-additional features things work), and on the other, as some of you noted, we have the costs of supporting the app, development, office maintenance, etc. However, we also have big plans that will take reWASD beyond its current usage. I hope you can believe us that the last thing we want is to let one of our current or future users down. So... I can't reveal all the details just yet, but I believe it's gonna be a blast. Also, in the future, we plan to provide users with more information about upcoming changes and make announcements so you understand what to expect and what you're paying for.

Once again, thank you for your feedback. It has been very useful. We believe that the final solution will be more balanced and satisfactory for most users.

[NPC]

I would highly recommend exploring the idea of rolling updates. It's a stop-gap between one time purchase and the subscription model. The core idea is that people aren't buying access to a program but instead updates to a program. Basically have the users pay $30 USD for a year of updates. At the end of the year they can either buy another year of updates or continue to use the software at the last version they had before the subscription ran out. Many programs have handled things this way such as Reaper, Affinity Photo, Bitwig, and Guitar Pro. (I'm now seeing this is popular in music software 😄). This allows you to see the consistent revenue stream from those who want the cutting edge updates while still allowing those who are content with what they have to continue using their older version without extra cost.

Rolling updates are definitely the best option for this kind of software. It's a common enough format that is proven to work for both vendor and user. The vendor gets recurring income from their updates, and the user gets to own their software and update it as fits their needs. It's the best of both worlds. In my common usage, I experience this pay system with Reaper, Syncback, eM Client, Start11, Multiplicity, MediaMonkey, and iZotope RX, to name the first that come to mind. The benefit is that I can choose to stick with my current version for as long as I want for a single cost, and then later choose to purchase a new update if I feel enough work has gone into the new version to justify it.

But most of those softwares above also have the added distinction of being developed by teams with proven track records for constant improvement, bug fixes, feature additions, and more. Reaper, Syncback, and iZotope justify their costs and then some by churning out constant updates, each delivered with gobs of fixes and enhancements, and remaining extra communicative with their fanbase. The ReWASD team has not proven that same dedication, as long-reported bugs and long-requested features continue to get ignored. You guys make this announcement, and keep saying "Trust us!" but you're still just giving us the proverbial stick, with no hint of a carrot even existing.

In many cases, those other app developers also have the integrity to stick by their word and honor "lifetime" users as exactly that: lifetime users continue to get all updates and upgrades for the lifetime of the software. The way ReWASD currently uses the word lifetime seems deceptive. Your use of that term conflicts with what every user naturally thinks it means, and I suspect you already knew that.

Software should never be sold as a subscription service unless there is an actual service being provided. "We develop more software" isn't a service, it's a job. At the end of the day, ReWASD is a local application, with no service-based components, and not a good candidate for a subscription-only model. I will happily continue to pay for more features and updates, but only provided I get to keep using my software without a subscription.

[1ncorrect]

I think akima's post fully answers your feedback.
I just want to add that, in fact, there will be no forced transition to a subscription and the functionality you purchased within the lifetime license will remain with you.

[Mobeeuz]

With this grandfathered-in "lifetime" license, can we still unauthorize a PC and move the license to another, or will that require "upgrading" to a membership?