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GForce Software OB-E

  • Thread starter Thread starter el-bo
  • Start date Start date
  • Watchers Watchers 37
Pier said:
I wonder why he is saying the PC version would be a "huge job".

Are they doing their own GUI framework from scratch?
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I think so Mario aka Evil Dragon said as much,to paraphrase:they have a young in-house coder that is Mac oriented and as far as anyone can tell is not familiar with the JUCE framework which offers cross platform compatibility.
 
They're probably using Apple's UI frameworks directly (using Metal APIs, Swift etc). The whole preset browser is .aupreset format only instead of a cross-platform format, etc.

They did hire two developers to do the ports, and an internship position to help those devs out with the porting is also open (JUCE knowledge required), so they are not gonna go Mac-only really. It's just gonna take time for the ports.
 
EvilDragon said:
They're probably using Apple's UI frameworks directly (using Metal APIs, Swift etc). The whole preset browser is .aupreset format only instead of a cross-platform format, etc.
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Jesus if that's the case what a terrible idea and waste of money.
 

Graeme Rawson emailed me:​

Thank you for your interest in OB-E. We are very keen to bring OB-E to PC as soon as we can. However it is no simple task and I'm afraid that we are not committing to a timeframe
 
On the one hand they are saying that the majority of their users are McPeople, but they are also saying they will release a Windows version.
But, they seemingly haven’t used cross platform tools, so the Windows version will be more expensive to develop due to this and also released much later.
It seems an odd business decision!
I have zero interest in buying this but did enjoy their documentary which they recently made available on YT for free.
 
Could've sworn I offered my services pro bono last summer while I was out of work, as I was doing JUCE help for another small vendor at the time. Maybe the email bounced.

As someone who has done a fair amount of DSP coding on three platforms (macOS, Linux, Windows) and in three computer languages (C, C++, Java), I can vouch for the platform issue being primarily related to GUI stuff, and to a somewhat lesser degree the VST spec -- all of which JUCE takes care of!

At any rate, I spent a few hours last night with the OB-E demo, going into single-voice mode so I could compare directly against SEM-V and the Brainworx emu, on custom patches I came up with on my own (as most of the presets suck for all of these VI's).

OB-E blew me away with its cleanness, three dimensionality, organic phrasing, etc. Also, it was musical at almost any setting; whereas I find it really hard to get SEM V to sound good on my own presets so I usually search hard for cherries in the preset packs.

I'm not going to buy it though, as I've noticed a trend where several vendors release similar products in previously uncompetitive spaces, all within a short span of each other. More often than not, I like one or two that come after the "early bird". My guess is there's a lot of industry leaks, and some vendors rush to market as it can have a big impact on overall sales.

I wouldn't hold my breath on this one being available for Windows, based on what has been said so far by all parties (including the vendor). What I mean by that, is it's long-term not short-term.

I'm currently on macOS but have been seriously considering switching to Windows due to the pandemic, as I find it harder to do development work on a Mac, which didn't matter pre-pandemic when I went into the office and used Windows Remote Desktop on the Mac. I am holding off on buying single-platform products as a result.
 
BTW that's the first animated GIF I've ever seen that made me laugh instead of getting nauseous and annoyed.
 
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Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but from the developer's statement I see they view developing for Windows as being way more effort for a much smaller user base, and consider that to be not worth their time unless there's significant sales in the Mac market first. While I understand they are a business and need to prioritise their efforts, I feel that there's more than enough Windows users out there that the effort wouldn't be likely to be loss making, just less profitable.

As a Windows user I'm getting the message that they don't value Windows based customers as much as we don't bring in as high returns, and that they'll only be creating plugins for Windows going forward as an afterthought... eventually.... Given that's the approach they've chosen I'm unlikely to be paying attention to their product announcements going forward as it'll mostly be news about Mac plugins I can't use, with an occasional announcement hidden amongst it about a Windows release way after the fact, so even if they do eventually release for Windows I probably won't notice because I've stopped paying attention.

Oh well, there's still Synapse, U-He, Tal, Xils etc.

Edit - I think I've slightly misunderstood. They're not being as dismissive of the Windows market as I initially thought, just prioritising Macs for their current phase of development of their in-house development tools. Still disappointed though.
 
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In the second half of my statement (not part of your quote; you might not have refreshed first) I added clarification that it would come, but later vs. sooner. Good to hear you'll be on the beta team.

And for all the Windows users who are in a huff, the shoe used to be on the other foot for around 15 years or so. I was frankly surprised when dual platform became the norm (and this was before JUCE came along), much less when macOS became slightly dominant in the audio software world.
 
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Hah, that's funny! I started turning down beta testing and feedback requests myself, as I was just too busy. It's pretty much a full-time job (and then some), with some of the vendors.

Many vendors require us to sign an NDA that is permanent and that states that we are not to state publicly that we are or were part of the beta team. It's a big commitment; not a perk!

It's probably been two years now since I last accepted a beta testing request vs. turning it down. I've decided instead to put my pro bono time into GitHub open source code contributions, helping small vendors with technology shift strategies and implementations, and occasionally doing audio demos for new products.
 
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Mark Schmieder said:
Hah, that's funny! I started turning down beta testing and feedback requests myself, as I was just too busy. It's pretty much a full-time job (and then some), with some of the vendors. Most of them require us to sign an NDA that is permanent and that states that we are not to state publicly that we are or were part of the beta team. It's a big commitment; not a perk!

It's probably been two years now since I last accepted a beta testing request vs. turning it down. I've decided instead to put my pro bono time into GitHub open source code contributions, helping small vendors with technology shift strategies and implementations, and occasionally doing audio demos for new products.
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Personally I'd be more than glad to beta test for U-He.
 
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