MSI Afterburner Developer Hasn't been Paid for a Year, Product Development in Limbo

[lexluthermiester]

They can use their branches from other countries without legal issues to pay him

There is that possibility and it's what I was referring to with the comment about "special arrangements".

Is Evga Precision still available?

Yes, but EVGA will be dropping support for it in a few years. They are going to maintain it for as long as the RTX3000 series cards are relevant, IFAIK.

 

[BlaezaLite]

JayzTwoCents did a video on this. Maybe the exposure will get the guy paid, one way or another.

 

[AusWolf]

There is that possibility and it's what I was referring to with the comment about "special arrangements".

If there is a will, there is a way. They could offer him a job and a visa as a critical worker, for example.

Yes, but EVGA will be dropping support for it in a few years. They are going to maintain it for as long as the RTX3000 series cards are relevant, IFAIK.

That's a shame. I preferred Precision to Afterburner, to be honest. I like my programs lean and clean.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I preferred Precision to Afterburner, to be honest.

Same here.

JayzTwoCents did a video on this. Maybe the exposure will get the guy paid, one way or another.

Hopefully!

 

[xorbe]

Problematic connectors, sky high prices, discontinue power user software -- sure let's just drive a stake through the heart of high end PC gaming, why not.

 

[NRANM]

MSI Only offered to do something after an entire year had passed and he made it public

Perhaps you should read the headlines, as they contain that basic nugget

Is this a joke I'm not getting? The headline contains no information that MSI offered to help only after this was made public. Nowhere in the initial news article is this mentioned either.
And perhaps you should not be passive-aggressive to your users.

Users here seem to react as if I'm some kind of MSI shill so I defend the company and blame the developer. That is not the case. I believe both parties have mishandled the situation. It could very well be more MSI's fault, but Unwinder doesn't seem to have handled it optimally either.

I acknowledge that MSI reacting (at least publicly) now, after a year, doesn't inspire much confidence. However, if we assume this was apathy on MSI's part, then why didn't Unwinder inform the public earlier? Why wait an entire year? That part is on him. If I were in his shoes, I would've given MSI maybe a few months of buffer, and then make an announcement. An entire year is a lot to just sit there and do nothing about not being paid.

 

[AusWolf]

An entire year is a lot to just sit there and do nothing about not being paid.

That's what I thought at first, too. If I don't get paid on payday, I don't show up for work the next day. Simple as.

Besides, if he could afford to wait for a year, then I get the feeling that he wasn't in much need of that money in the first place. I'm not denying MSi's responsibility, but just sayin'.

 

[ADB1979]

I'm sure between Unwinder and W1zzard (Seriously - ATItool was what made TPU explode all those years ago) we could make one hell of an OCing program

Do it...
Have a nice day.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I don't think we have the whole story here. The developer may not have received the money he "claims" he is owed, but that does not mean MSI has not been direct depositing it into his account. The account may be frozen (for withdrawals) as so many are.

I agree with Lex - MSI may have their hands tied here. And making payments to some "off shore" account may put them shackles too.

I also think it important to remember MSI Afterburner is not a product MSI sold. It is free. And I would venture to say no one bought a MSI graphics card just to get MSI Afterburner.

A lot of guessing going on here. We all should reserve judgement until all the facts are in - "IF" that ever happens.

Also the name "MSI Afterburner" may be trademarked, but the word "afterburner" is not. I know that I refer to the program as just Afterburner. Someone else can pick it up, and rebrand it as just Afterburner. Hopefully, it will not a GPU or graphics card maker - to avoid even the appearance of favoritism or tweaks that favor a specific brand. No doubt everyone here would love it if it became...

[worm can opener]

Microsoft Afterburner!​

[/worm can opener]



PS: Don't believe the polls. It is very likely many poll respondents are not free (or feel safe) to say how they truly feel.

 

[ADB1979]

If TechPowerup obliges, here is a video that might be worth watching.

 

[95Viper]

I'll repeat...
Stick to the topic.
This is not a discussion about who is at fault for the war in Ukraine, who can stop it, who the leader is that is responsible, or other off topic comments.
Any more off topic (political or other) posts will result in warnings with points, reply bans or more.

 

[Mussels]

I tried looking up some information on EVGA precision and found this absolute gem
I won't link because they deserve a DDOS, not ad revenue

Ah yes, let's install Geforce drivers on my AMD card to get EVGA precision to work

 

[lexluthermiester]

I tried looking up some information on EVGA precision and found this absolute gem
I won't link because they deserve a DDOS, not ad revenue
View attachment 278678

Ah yes, let's install Geforce drivers on my AMD card to get EVGA precision to work

That statement is complate hogwash. EVGA's Precision works fine with NON-EVGA NVidia cards. It will not work with NON-Nvidia cards true, but what's the notion of an AMD card being supported by a Geforce driver?!? Someone at EVGA was not doing their job the day that sad bit of twaddle was made public.

 

[eidairaman1]

I tried looking up some information on EVGA precision and found this absolute gem
I won't link because they deserve a DDOS, not ad revenue
View attachment 278678

Ah yes, let's install Geforce drivers on my AMD card to get EVGA precision to work

I think Sapphire Trixx still works

 

[BlaezaLite]

I think Sapphire Trixx still works

Trixx does work, but it doesn't have any sliders to alter frequency and so on, apart from to alter resolution. And enable TOXIC mode and RGB stuff.

 

[AusWolf]

Let's just all agree that Nvidia needs to include their own tweaking tool in their drivers the same way AMD and Intel do. Problem solved.

 

[igralec84]

It seems a new beta version is out

 

[Totally]

It's more like MSI has licensed rivatuner, which is the devs product. So yes he can.

Considering rivatuner ceased to exist when Afterburner came about and MSI hasn't and isn't replacing him, there is a mutual exclusivity clause in the agreement in some form.

 

[Vayra86]

You are saying as this is solely MSI's job. There are two parties in this situation, and you are automatically absolving one of them because it's much more poetic to blame the huge corporation instead of the individual person.
Now, it could very well be that it was mainly MSI's fault, but isn't certain because we lack details. Based on what Unwinder wrote in Guru3D thread, he didn't appear particularly proactive in finding a solution either. It sounded like he simply accepted it. That assessment of course could also be wrong but, again, we have very few statements from both parties on the matter, and even less actual details as to what had happened during this period.

We don't know what the communication has been between Unwinder and MSI. We don't know if either side had offered solutions. We don't know, if there had been solutions proposed, why they were rejected by the other side. Etc., etc...

My point is that people jump to conclusions way to easily, and I do find it curious that the "victim" is much more forgiving of the "perpetrator" than some random people online.

I admire the nuance, but there's a year of ongoing stuff and we're reading this now. This is MSI-style the way we know it, there's a pattern here with the company. How likely does it sound to you that 'he just accepted it', waited for a year and then 'just discontinues it'? The story is weird, honestly I don't see much reason to give MSI benefit of the doubt here. We're talking about multi million dollar business vs the lonely guy, who's supposed to be pro active here? Even more so if there are still revenue streams for MSI in Russia. MSI adopts a 'holier than thou' defense I'm certain, instead of just getting it done.

This story fully sounds like a devout modder that had some half formalized agreement with a developer to make stuff for a game, and then suddenly got left hanging at the least sign of trouble - all the while developer was still receiving content. It sounds unjust, unfair.

 

[R-T-B]

Considering rivatuner ceased to exist when Afterburner came about and MSI hasn't and isn't replacing him, there is a mutual exclusivity clause in the agreement in some form.

I prefer not to speculate.

 

[INSTG8R]

I think Sapphire Trixx still works

Which is built on W1z's original ATI Tool code
I personally don't use AB as I just use the Tuning in AMD software but I DO use RTSS plugged into AIDA64 for my LCD monitoring setup for the FPS counter(not a fan of overlays)

 

[NRANM]

We're talking about multi million dollar business vs the lonely guy, who's supposed to be pro active here?

Considering that the "lonely guy" needs a source of revenue to pay his bills, I'd say he is at least equally expected to be pro-active. If my employer failed to pay my monthly salary even once, at the very least I would be making inquiries what is going on.
My guess is Unwinder needs MSI a lot more than MSI needs him, which would be a decent explanation in my opinion as to why MSI is reacting (publicly) only after being put on the spot.

We will never have the full story, so all we can do is guess, but I'm still kind of intrigued that Unwinder is much less upset with this whole ordeal than other people on various forums. One would think it would be the other way round.

 

[AusWolf]

I admire the nuance, but there's a year of ongoing stuff and we're reading this now. This is MSI-style the way we know it, there's a pattern here with the company. How likely does it sound to you that 'he just accepted it', waited for a year and then 'just discontinues it'? The story is weird, honestly I don't see much reason to give MSI benefit of the doubt here. We're talking about multi million dollar business vs the lonely guy, who's supposed to be pro active here? Even more so if there are still revenue streams for MSI in Russia. MSI adopts a 'holier than thou' defense I'm certain, instead of just getting it done.

This story fully sounds like a devout modder that had some half formalized agreement with a developer to make stuff for a game, and then suddenly got left hanging at the least sign of trouble - all the while developer was still receiving content. It sounds unjust, unfair.

If that's the case, there's nothing to prevent him from calling new versions of the program just "Afterburner" (no MSi), and host it on a private website. If it's MSi's trademark, then he's a fool for continuing to develop it without payment.

 

[lexluthermiester]

If my employer failed to pay my monthly salary even once, at the very least I would be making inquiries what is going on.

Yeah, but you're not in Russia. Alexey knew/knows what's going on and was trying to be understanding. However, that understanding can't go on forever.

My guess is Unwinder needs MSI a lot more than MSI needs him, which would be a decent explanation in my opinion as to why MSI is reacting (publicly) only after being put on the spot.

Perhaps. But to say that MSI doesn't need him to continue working on Afterburner would be foolish to a fault.

but I'm still kind of intrigued that Unwinder is much less upset with this whole ordeal than other people on various forums

Because, again, he understands the big picture. He understands the situation is unpleasant for all involved.

 

[NRANM]

Yeah, but you're not in Russia. Alexey knew/knows what's going on and was trying to be understanding. However, that understanding can't go on forever.

I'm not sure what you mean. I never implied the understanding should go on forever. Quite the opposite. If MSI were ignoring him or told him he's on his own, then he should've made this public much, much earlier.

Perhaps. But to say that MSI doesn't need him to continue working on Afterburner would be foolish to a fault.

I'm not convinced of that.
If MSI wants Afterburner to remain in development, then they do need him, yes. Even if they own the rights to the product (which I doubt) and can switch developers, that would most likely result in failure, as nobody is better equipped to develop Afterburner than Unwinder.
What I meant was that, (hypothetically) should MSI make the decision to abandon Afterburner, I'm guessing they aren't really going to lose much. MSI's reputation will suffer, sure, but that would be among enthusiasts that use Afterburner. I sincerely doubt that is a large percentage of the company's customers. Will MSI's sales suffer? Probably not to any meaningful extent. Any boycott of MSI's products would be limited to the aforementioned enthusiasts. And even then, chances are not all of them would participate in said boycott, and of those that do, not all would boycott all of MSI's products but just the graphics cards.
Would a boycott of all people that seem to care about the situation really be sufficient to make even a small dent in MSI's sales? My guess is no.
Whereas on the other hand, I would assume that Unwinder would much rather continue his relationship with MSI, than look for a new job, especially considering the current "state of affairs".

I can try putting it a different way: Unwinder stands to lose more from ending his MSI contract/relationship than MSI does.

Because, again, he understands the big picture. He understands the situation is unpleasant for all involved.

Exactly. He does seem to understand the situation is unpleasant for all parties involved. My point was that I would've assumed people here would understand that as well.