Affinity Designer beta for Windows is now available to download for free

Really THAT good IYHO? (for hard-core use I mean)

As a web designer/developer my needs maybe different from most but from what I 've seen from colleagues it is possible to completely abandon Adobe stuff. All I would really need is Adobe Bridge to manage assets.

Well, I don't know what you do or how you use Adobe CC, but this application is still not much compared to what adobe offers. the most important one? the plugins you can get in PS, Ai, Ae, Pr.
​This is just another example of more hyper just to say "Oh Adobe can be replaced" by many, just like when people say that Krita will soon replace PS or Ai. but no, it won't. there are many things i don't like about how Adobe keeps adding stupid mobile oriented features in PS, or I hate the fact that it pretty much sucks for drawing compared to others like Clip Studio, since it sucks out of the box without something like Lazy Nezumi, but not a killer thing since I rarely draw or sketch on PS. but Adobe is still powerful, and it has a good support for companies that make: Plugins, Extensions, Actions, scripts, presets, templates, etc etc etc. Not even Lightroom, which would be the easiest one to replace can be easily replaced. even if I hate the catalog structure, there are many plugins and nice addons you can get for Lightroom and soooo many presets paid and free. That's the advantage of Adobe just like Autodesk, the plugin support they get, presets, tutorials and everything is so much that you can't really leave it. And of course, the job opportunity you get by knowing and using their software is more than others. This might look like a nice app, and I have seen it fuction on Mac which is where you can really see the potential, and is okay. but it's not an Adobe killer. maybe you don't do professional work with Adobe software, though, and Affinity might works for you, just like Inkscape (eek) might be good for you and others, but Adobe still seems to be on top, in support by many companies around the world. Even something as "simple" as a Font Manager like Suitcase Fusion is available only for Adobe PS, ID, AI, IC, and now After effects, and then QuarkXPress. this is what I talk about. you might say "it's only a font manager" but it has some advantages over not having it. anyway! it all depends on each one, to each its own blablabla. I used to use CorelDraw and now I use Adobe. I see still the advantages even if some features are only gotten through plugins, etc.

As I mentioned above, my needs may vary from most but so far, I subscribe for the whole Adobe suite merely for Illustrator and Photoshop simply because they have no smaller package that would be beneficial for me. I hate pay $650 per year for just 2 apps yet I can get most of what I need in Designer and [Gimp] - As a Web Design/Developer, I enjoy that ability to extract CSS from Photoshop and even Illustrator but it's not that important with most of my CMS based sites as plugins and shortcodes are easily accessible to make beautiful sites. I will get a few days or weeks of usage out of Designer before I cancel my Adobe subscription just to make sure there aren't any features that I will miss in my daily workflow.

CC is so ridiculously expensive... Is there a way to get the most important apps (but not the entire suite) for far less, & buy them outright, instead of having to freaking pay ~$700+ every year!? I want their latest software, don't won't to fork out a once-off amount for their older stuff, if I can fork out a once-off amount for their newest stuff, I'd definitely be interested. Even if it was guaranteed updates for just ~5yrs I guess I'd be happy, preferably it'd be indefinitely but I guess that's dreaming. I don't use this sort of sw in a professional sense, or as a way to earn my living, but I do want the full power of a large chunk of the suite.

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_Emi_ or anyone else, I don't suppose you can spare a minute to address my post? http://www.windowscentral.com/affinity-designer-beta-windows-now-availab... Thanks again.

Seems cool.  Will play with.

Windows Store: A place choke full of Beta apps.

"chock full"

This is not a Windows Store app.

That doesn't make my comment invalid, does it?

It kinda does.  It's not the ONLY reason that your comment is invalid, but it is one reason.

I hate to break this to you, but every app market out there has some crap software in it. Every. Single. One.

Ihave Affinity Photo and Designer on Mac. They are amazing.

Wait....There's someone besides Adobe in this industry? I am genuinely shocked. Edit. Nevermind, It's just Serif.    

Is that bad?  

I've used Serif software before. It's no Adobe. More like the box software you find on the shelves at Big Box Marts "Photo picture editor master: Pro! Only $49.99"

I gotta say I'm no pro, but I belive these affinity series are good enough for at least 80% of users and they are getting better. I really do belive that they are gunning for Adobe this time and that in few years they will be very close to them, ofc 3rd party plug ins are a big part of that story.

Well I'm certainly a person willing to eat his own words, so I'll sign up for the Beta and give it a go. Thanks for the feedback!

Lets hope there's a reson to (eat your own words) :) cuz Adobe monopoly really needs to die.

Affinity Photo and Designer have been out for a year or more on OS X.  Maybe you can try doing something as trivial as a Google or Bing search to read reviews and see what they're like, before blindly condemning them simply because they're "Serif."

"It's important to remember the Windows beta version is far from the finished article and at this stage it might not work perfectly..." Same can be said for Windows.

Or pretty much any non-trivial software as complicated as an OS that supports practically all PCs on the planet (and yes including Mac machines as well)

Same could've been said for your mom, too, but I finished her last night.

Eewww! A necrophiliac!

This is amazing, running it right now, lets see how it holds up to oldschool PS

That is one seriously cheesy promo video.  Product looks nice though.

Yea there were some cheesy elements the video could do without.

Its not cheesy as Microsoft promos.

pen support?

I just watched a few video tutorials after installing the beat.  3 words, TAKE MY MONEY!  Switching between Vector and Raster images is a breeze in Affinity Designer. Stacking images to get rid of noise is brilliant, not to mention sky replacement and blend modes, killer. Love the brushes and fonts. Very nice stuff.