What happend to Lunar Lander??

NeonSilicon

@NeuM said:

@NeonSilicon said:

@YFP said:
Over 14,000 🤔 @P900 More than enough to hire in a temp iOS Dev to do a hot fix and try and save what’s left of Pulsar Modular’s reputation. While you still can.

In the first set of purchases they are working at recovering the costs spent in development of the product. So, the 14000 was probably already spent.

The conversion numbers look good. But, the initial week's sales would actually be troubling for me. The drop off in downloads in the second week is typically very large. The 2k or so number is pretty consistent with what I see for my plugins that have less universal appeal (not EQ's for example). By the 3rd week it's more like a tenth of that. So, even if they had kept their conversion numbers, the revenue wouldn't stay that high. Probably the only way for them to counter that is marketing and higher prices. Marketing definitely would help. I see pretty large download increases when a popular vid on YT includes LRC5 for example.

I tend to think that if they hadn't done the IAP route, priced it at about $20, and not done the standalone container app, that they'd still be on iOS. It would help trying this kind of path if it were possible to do demos on iOS. If their conversion from demo to purchase stayed as high as the IAP conversion, it might have provided enough incentive to dedicate full time resources to porting their other products to iOS and maintaining them.

If you recall, when they first offered their app it was not fully functional. There were a number of bugs which they fixed over time. I don't recall exactly how long it took to fix, but I'm thinking I waited at least a couple of weeks before I felt confident enough to buy the full in-app upgrade.

No, I don't recall. I downloaded the app when it was released but didn't find it compelling. So, I didn't keep up with it at all. I didn't have any issues with it working though. I thought the problem they had was with the IAP being messed up.

Are you mentioning this because the initial support makes you think they were seeing more sustained downloads? That could be true. But, having watched the pattern with my own apps and how the buzz around iOS plugins flows in general, I think it is likely that they saw something similar.

Stuntman_mike

I remember when it launched there was an in-app purchase bug

ExAsperis99

@YFP said:
Over 14,000 🤔 @P900 More than enough to hire in a temp iOS Dev to do a hot fix and try and save what’s left of Pulsar Modular’s reputation. While you still can.

1400 downloads, not 14,000.

NeuM

@Stuntman_mike said:
I remember when it launched there was an in-app purchase bug

Yes, the app was not fully functional. After it was fixed, I paid full price.

YFP

@ExAsperis99 said:

@YFP said:
Over 14,000 🤔 @P900 More than enough to hire in a temp iOS Dev to do a hot fix and try and save what’s left of Pulsar Modular’s reputation. While you still can.

1400 downloads, not 14,000.

‘1460 opted to purchase’ x 9.99 = 14,000+

Gavinski

@el_bo said:
I don't really understand the scam and run accusations. To my knowledge, their software was top quality (O've heard people rave about their modular for years). Why would a company go to such lengths to do such a great job, if they were just looking for a quick cash-grab. Moreover, the fact that (in the case of LL) we're not talking about a huge amount, just makes the idea even less believable.

Definitely no scam. I had many many discussions with the dev during the beta period, which were very time consuming for both of us, but he always came across as a well-meaning and stand-up guy. Unfortunately they still had a messy release. I see it more as a mix of having hired a shoddy dev to do the iOS port, poor pr skills, and maybe some current financial difficulties on their end. The current macro-economic market is definitely not ideal for niche products with a high price point.

Also, as mentioned, the free app was far too generous. That said, I do remember at the time that the dev commented here that he was very happy with the number of people who bought the IAP, they felt the iOS release was a great success. As someone else mentioned, it's likely they lost whoever they had hired as an iOS dev, and just can't justify the cost of hiring a new one to do updates. Does it suck though, and was it dealt with badly - yes.

Gavinski

@NeonSilicon said:

@YFP said:
Over 14,000 🤔 @P900 More than enough to hire in a temp iOS Dev to do a hot fix and try and save what’s left of Pulsar Modular’s reputation. While you still can.

In the first set of purchases they are working at recovering the costs spent in development of the product. So, the 14000 was probably already spent.

The conversion numbers look good. But, the initial week's sales would actually be troubling for me. The drop off in downloads in the second week is typically very large. The 2k or so number is pretty consistent with what I see for my plugins that have less universal appeal (not EQ's for example). By the 3rd week it's more like a tenth of that. So, even if they had kept their conversion numbers, the revenue wouldn't stay that high. Probably the only way for them to counter that is marketing and higher prices. Marketing definitely would help. I see pretty large download increases when a popular vid on YT includes LRC5 for example.

I tend to think that if they hadn't done the IAP route, priced it at about $20, and not done the standalone container app, that they'd still be on iOS. It would help trying this kind of path if it were possible to do demos on iOS. If their conversion from demo to purchase stayed as high as the IAP conversion, it might have provided enough incentive to dedicate full time resources to porting their other products to iOS and maintaining them.

Agreed - a demo mode is badly needed. I think that Apple should maybe make a separate policy for games (which people can often finish within a few days) and apps that people are going to NEED to keep coming back to again and again - like apps used for iOS music. For games, give a demo period of a few hours. For other stuff, make it a few days.

NeuM

@Gavinski said:

@NeonSilicon said:

@YFP said:
Over 14,000 🤔 @P900 More than enough to hire in a temp iOS Dev to do a hot fix and try and save what’s left of Pulsar Modular’s reputation. While you still can.

In the first set of purchases they are working at recovering the costs spent in development of the product. So, the 14000 was probably already spent.

The conversion numbers look good. But, the initial week's sales would actually be troubling for me. The drop off in downloads in the second week is typically very large. The 2k or so number is pretty consistent with what I see for my plugins that have less universal appeal (not EQ's for example). By the 3rd week it's more like a tenth of that. So, even if they had kept their conversion numbers, the revenue wouldn't stay that high. Probably the only way for them to counter that is marketing and higher prices. Marketing definitely would help. I see pretty large download increases when a popular vid on YT includes LRC5 for example.

I tend to think that if they hadn't done the IAP route, priced it at about $20, and not done the standalone container app, that they'd still be on iOS. It would help trying this kind of path if it were possible to do demos on iOS. If their conversion from demo to purchase stayed as high as the IAP conversion, it might have provided enough incentive to dedicate full time resources to porting their other products to iOS and maintaining them.

Agreed - a demo mode is badly needed. I think that Apple should maybe make a separate policy for games (which people can often finish within a few days) and apps that people are going to NEED to keep coming back to again and again - like apps used for iOS music. For games, give a demo period of a few hours. For other stuff, make it a few days.

Devs themselves should weigh in on this idea of a demo version of the software. I know a lot of apps get cracked and then pirated. Would this make the problem even worse?

Gavinski

@NeuM said:

@Gavinski said:

@NeonSilicon said:

@YFP said:
Over 14,000 🤔 @P900 More than enough to hire in a temp iOS Dev to do a hot fix and try and save what’s left of Pulsar Modular’s reputation. While you still can.

In the first set of purchases they are working at recovering the costs spent in development of the product. So, the 14000 was probably already spent.

The conversion numbers look good. But, the initial week's sales would actually be troubling for me. The drop off in downloads in the second week is typically very large. The 2k or so number is pretty consistent with what I see for my plugins that have less universal appeal (not EQ's for example). By the 3rd week it's more like a tenth of that. So, even if they had kept their conversion numbers, the revenue wouldn't stay that high. Probably the only way for them to counter that is marketing and higher prices. Marketing definitely would help. I see pretty large download increases when a popular vid on YT includes LRC5 for example.

I tend to think that if they hadn't done the IAP route, priced it at about $20, and not done the standalone container app, that they'd still be on iOS. It would help trying this kind of path if it were possible to do demos on iOS. If their conversion from demo to purchase stayed as high as the IAP conversion, it might have provided enough incentive to dedicate full time resources to porting their other products to iOS and maintaining them.

Agreed - a demo mode is badly needed. I think that Apple should maybe make a separate policy for games (which people can often finish within a few days) and apps that people are going to NEED to keep coming back to again and again - like apps used for iOS music. For games, give a demo period of a few hours. For other stuff, make it a few days.

Devs themselves should weigh in on this idea of a demo version of the software. I know a lot of apps get cracked and then pirated. Would this make the problem even worse?

Maybe @NeonSilicon would be the person to ask. I don't see how demos would be a problem from that side

ExAsperis99

@YFP said:

@ExAsperis99 said:

@YFP said:
Over 14,000 🤔 @P900 More than enough to hire in a temp iOS Dev to do a hot fix and try and save what’s left of Pulsar Modular’s reputation. While you still can.

1400 downloads, not 14,000.

‘1460 opted to purchase’ x 9.99 = 14,000+

Ah, I see what you did there. Though you forgot Apple's 15 percent. And also the fact that they might want to pay themselves out of that windfall.

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly referred to Apple's commission as 30 percent. The commission is 15 percent until app sales reach $1 million.

wim

@ExAsperis99 said:

@YFP said:

@ExAsperis99 said:

@YFP said:
Over 14,000 🤔 @P900 More than enough to hire in a temp iOS Dev to do a hot fix and try and save what’s left of Pulsar Modular’s reputation. While you still can.

1400 downloads, not 14,000.

‘1460 opted to purchase’ x 9.99 = 14,000+

Ah, I see what you did there. Though you forgot Apple's 30 percent. And also the fact that they might want to pay themselves out of that windfall.

It's 15%.

Sorry. It's an obsession of mine to break the world of quoting the 30% figure when it has been reduced to 15% until sales exceed $1 million per yer.

Gravitas

@Gavinski said:

…..and maybe some current financial difficulties on their end. The current macro-economic market is definitely not ideal for niche products with a high price point.

I think this is the issue more than anything else.
All of the markets have gone a bit “weird” in light of the “Global” issues.

NeonSilicon

@Gavinski said:

@NeuM said:

@Gavinski said:

@NeonSilicon said:

@YFP said:
Over 14,000 🤔 @P900 More than enough to hire in a temp iOS Dev to do a hot fix and try and save what’s left of Pulsar Modular’s reputation. While you still can.

In the first set of purchases they are working at recovering the costs spent in development of the product. So, the 14000 was probably already spent.

The conversion numbers look good. But, the initial week's sales would actually be troubling for me. The drop off in downloads in the second week is typically very large. The 2k or so number is pretty consistent with what I see for my plugins that have less universal appeal (not EQ's for example). By the 3rd week it's more like a tenth of that. So, even if they had kept their conversion numbers, the revenue wouldn't stay that high. Probably the only way for them to counter that is marketing and higher prices. Marketing definitely would help. I see pretty large download increases when a popular vid on YT includes LRC5 for example.

I tend to think that if they hadn't done the IAP route, priced it at about $20, and not done the standalone container app, that they'd still be on iOS. It would help trying this kind of path if it were possible to do demos on iOS. If their conversion from demo to purchase stayed as high as the IAP conversion, it might have provided enough incentive to dedicate full time resources to porting their other products to iOS and maintaining them.

Agreed - a demo mode is badly needed. I think that Apple should maybe make a separate policy for games (which people can often finish within a few days) and apps that people are going to NEED to keep coming back to again and again - like apps used for iOS music. For games, give a demo period of a few hours. For other stuff, make it a few days.

Devs themselves should weigh in on this idea of a demo version of the software. I know a lot of apps get cracked and then pirated. Would this make the problem even worse?

Maybe @NeonSilicon would be the person to ask. I don't see how demos would be a problem from that side

Yes, devs should have the say on enabling a demo.

I don't think that enabling demos would have any impact on piracy on iOS. The one truly good thing about iOS is how it pretty much kills piracy of apps. The lockdown and Apple's control via signing and the pricing model works in this regard.

NeonSilicon

@wim said:

@ExAsperis99 said:

@YFP said:

@ExAsperis99 said:

@YFP said:
Over 14,000 🤔 @P900 More than enough to hire in a temp iOS Dev to do a hot fix and try and save what’s left of Pulsar Modular’s reputation. While you still can.

1400 downloads, not 14,000.

‘1460 opted to purchase’ x 9.99 = 14,000+

Ah, I see what you did there. Though you forgot Apple's 30 percent. And also the fact that they might want to pay themselves out of that windfall.

It's 15%.

Sorry. It's an obsession of mine to break the world of quoting the 30% figure when it has been reduced to 15% until sales exceed $1 million per yer.

I think I read somewhere in this thread that they were originally taking the 30% hit but then it changed to 15% for them --- could be that they didn't have the proper agreement setup with Apple before they launched LL for sale. Release timing wise I think it should have always been at 15% though.

Stuntman_mike

@NeuM said:

@Stuntman_mike said:
I remember when it launched there was an in-app purchase bug

Yes, the app was not fully functional. After it was fixed, I paid full price.

Me too, I love the app!
It’s one of a kind

Gavinski

@Gravitas said:

@Gavinski said:

…..and maybe some current financial difficulties on their end. The current macro-economic market is definitely not ideal for niche products with a high price point.

I think this is the issue more than anything else.
All of the markets have gone a bit “weird” in light of the “Global” issues.

Oh hell yes

el_bo

@Gavinski said:

@el_bo said:
I don't really understand the scam and run accusations. To my knowledge, their software was top quality (O've heard people rave about their modular for years). Why would a company go to such lengths to do such a great job, if they were just looking for a quick cash-grab. Moreover, the fact that (in the case of LL) we're not talking about a huge amount, just makes the idea even less believable.

Definitely no scam. I had many many discussions with the dev during the beta period, which were very time consuming for both of us, but he always came across as a well-meaning and stand-up guy. Unfortunately they still had a messy release. I see it more as a mix of having hired a shoddy dev to do the iOS port, poor pr skills, and maybe some current financial difficulties on their end. The current macro-economic market is definitely not ideal for niche products with a high price point.

Also, as mentioned, the free app was far too generous. That said, I do remember at the time that the dev commented here that he was very happy with the number of people who bought the IAP, they felt the iOS release was a great success. As someone else mentioned, it's likely they lost whoever they had hired as an iOS dev, and just can't justify the cost of hiring a new one to do updates. Does it suck though, and was it dealt with badly - yes.

Thanks for sharing your first-hand experience. It's an important perspective.

echoid

@Alex_Zvook said:
Someone already commented on their facebook page about this and this is their reply again with their usual B.S. blaming others

What he is saying doesn't make any sense, a contractor signs a contract, its part of how the software business works. He did buy the IP for the code after all.

echoid

@ExAsperis99 said:
I know that I'm beating the ground where a dead horse used to be, but I can't get this thought out of my head.

What would the scam be?

In what situation are the nefarious owners of Pulsar Modular popping Champagne and laughing all the way to the bank? This is terrible for them, too!

Funny enough the dev posted on gearspace two weeks ago wondering why the mac/win version of Lunar Lander didn't sell, make up your own mind why he hasn't bothered posting on here why he's pulled the IOS version. I nearly bought the IAP some time back as well but after reading the train wreck of the P42 thread thought I would hold back, guess I won't be buying any of his apps now

Alex_Zvook

@echoid said:
Funny enough the dev posted on gearspace two weeks ago wondering why the mac/win version of Lunar Lander didn't sell, make up your own mind why he hasn't bothered posting on here why he's pulled the IOS version. I nearly bought the IAP some time back as well but after reading the train wreck of the P42 thread thought I would hold back, guess I won't be buying any of his apps now

Yes, the dev @P900 @PulsarModular is not even responding to any comments now and is blocking everyone on Facebook who exposes his unethical business practices, unfortunately he can get away with it because of the many posts in his support here from his friends and the cowardice of many others that didn't even bough the IAP but are still defending him because "it was just 10 dollars IAP" B.S.

Gravitas

Talking about Lunar Lander…

Did you know you could build something similar in Tonestack Pro and dRambo?

What was it again?

Modulation, bucket brigade delay and plate reverb.

Admittedly dRambo doesn’t have bucket brigade delays but you could put
a low pass filter in the Delay Rack and a decimator and you can get quite musical delays.

A thought.

NeuM

@Gravitas said:
Talking about Lunar Lander…

Did you know you could build something similar in Tonestack Pro and dRambo?

What was it again?

Modulation, bucket brigade delay and plate reverb.

Admittedly dRambo doesn’t have bucket brigade delays but you could put
a low pass filter in the Delay Rack and a decimator and you can get quite musical delays.

A thought.

If you (or anyone else) builds their own version of LL, post it!

Gravitas

@NeuM said:

@Gravitas said:
Talking about Lunar Lander…

Did you know you could build something similar in Tonestack Pro and dRambo?

What was it again?

Modulation, bucket brigade delay and plate reverb.

Admittedly dRambo doesn’t have bucket brigade delays but you could put
a low pass filter in the Delay Rack and a decimator and you can get quite musical delays.

A thought.

If you (or anyone else) builds their own version of LL, post it!

Agreed.

ExAsperis99

@echoid said:

@ExAsperis99 said:
I know that I'm beating the ground where a dead horse used to be, but I can't get this thought out of my head.

What would the scam be?

In what situation are the nefarious owners of Pulsar Modular popping Champagne and laughing all the way to the bank? This is terrible for them, too!

Funny enough the dev posted on gearspace two weeks ago wondering why the mac/win version of Lunar Lander didn't sell, make up your own mind why he hasn't bothered posting on here why he's pulled the IOS version. I nearly bought the IAP some time back as well but after reading the train wreck of the P42 thread thought I would hold back, guess I won't be buying any of his apps now

Welcome to the forum, guy who jumps right in on a long, confusing thread and immediately posts two comments that happen to echo (I see what you did there!) a certain irrational conspiracy! You'll love it here!

jsmonzani

As I wrote earlier, miRack includes a BBDelay and 2 plates reverbs. Here’s a super simple patch with mono delay (just add another delay if you need stereo). This should be pretty self explanatory.

ExAsperis99

For those who don't know exactly what a bucket brigade delay is [glances nervously over his shoulder], here's a video.

Alex_Zvook

@Gravitas said:
Talking about Lunar Lander…

Did you know you could build something similar in Tonestack Pro and dRambo?

What was it again?

Modulation, bucket brigade delay and plate reverb.

Admittedly dRambo doesn’t have bucket brigade delays but you could put
a low pass filter in the Delay Rack and a decimator and you can get quite musical delays.

A thought.

Yes @Gravitas, I agree there are MANY other options to replace Lunar Lander but the point is not that but the fact that this dev PulsarModular @P900 dropped and app and its IAP just MONTHS after its release disregarding all the people who trusted him and PAID for it...

And just as I mentioned, the ones quickly jumping again to defend this unethical dev are his friends or the ones who didn't bought it or are just too bored and needed for attention 😄

Besides the other options already posted here to replace Lunar Lander I personally like Imaginando K7D at just 6 dollars: https://apps.apple.com/app/k7d-tape-delay/id1460245991

Or Lofionic Duplicat at just .99 CENTS! : https://apps.apple.com/app/lofionic-duplicat/id1128402103

But again, the fact that are better and cheaper alternatives is not an excuse to justify the unethical behavior of this shady developer @P900 I don't care what his friends and fanboys say, I just won't trust him ever again and will never paid for any of his apps even if that's laughable to trolls like the ones who defend him here 🙂

JeffChasteen

Mistuh Kurtz he dead…dead…dead…dead…

Alex_Zvook

@JeffChasteen said:
Mistuh Kurtz he dead…dead…dead…dead…

Yes, now @P900 is "The Hollow Dev" 😄

echoid

@ExAsperis99 said:

@echoid said:

@ExAsperis99 said:
I know that I'm beating the ground where a dead horse used to be, but I can't get this thought out of my head.

What would the scam be?

In what situation are the nefarious owners of Pulsar Modular popping Champagne and laughing all the way to the bank? This is terrible for them, too!

Funny enough the dev posted on gearspace two weeks ago wondering why the mac/win version of Lunar Lander didn't sell, make up your own mind why he hasn't bothered posting on here why he's pulled the IOS version. I nearly bought the IAP some time back as well but after reading the train wreck of the P42 thread thought I would hold back, guess I won't be buying any of his apps now

Welcome to the forum, guy who jumps right in on a long, confusing thread and immediately posts two comments that happen to echo (I see what you did there!) a certain irrational conspiracy! You'll love it here!

You asked about motivation More sales for the mac/win version is the simplest and most obvious reason.

Old regular here but every time I come back I forget my username/email