Agreed, it is great that Alexey and team are open to discussion on this and many other subjects in the forums. It is rare to see, and much appreciated.
However, it is still a disappointment to be left with the same options.
I think what makes it difficult is the vast price differential between the two versions of software. I can completely understand not wanting to cannibalize sales of your premium level product by not having enough feature separation between the two versions. But I don't think I have ever seen a larger difference in prices between a 'basic' and 'premium' version of software. It is a nearly 2000% price increase.
The pro version has some fairly important features (as indicated in this thread) to people who are working to create digital assets (games, cultural heritage, etc). Yet the price is much higher than other prices of software that are normally in the asset building pipeline (Zbrush, Mudbox, 3DCoat, etc). I understand that I am sort of talking 'apples and oranges' here, and that in the area of digital acquisition (laser scanners, structured light scanners, etc) the pricing for tools in that pipeline run much higher (and even far beyond the PS pro price).
I guess for many of us, we are just hoping there is some solution that can help bridge the gap.
Cheers, -C
