I’m a hobbyist, have always been for several decades now. I have had TBS since, dutifully upgraded with every new version, and I have to ask this question again…was it necessary to kill TBS? TBS was always meant for hobbyist, it was the anchor application for this company and it was strategically designed. It was not too complicated, and it was not too watered down, allowing for a platform that could suit professionals and hobbyist alike.
What this created (back in the days) was a rich forum that could encourage the hobbyist like me, grow the upstarts, and newbies to animation and give the professionals a forum to teach others. Now that’s all gone. Harmony will never suit me, too expensive to start, and too complicated for someone who often go months without doing any animation. The fact is TBS could have been kept active and allowed to run side-by-side with Harmony, when a newbie decide to get move up from TBS, Harmony is still there for him. Of course today I can use TBS, but when you discontinue the product you discontinue the exchange of ideas, many posts on TBS go unanswered, ideas and technical insights are no longer discussed, no one is interested in videos, documents on how to use TBS.
I think the idea of killing TBS is just wrong, TBS is not cannibalizing sales of Harmony it in fact helped.
I wonder now if Flash is the option to fill this void?